There are lots of misconceptions about obesity, and its relation to diseases. The so called obesity epidemic is overblown, as a 2006 Scientific American paper stated:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/obesity-an-overblown-epidemic-2006-12/
Obesity is not life threatening, and it is not necessary leading to illness.
In dealing with obesity, it is important to distinguish morbid obesity from non-morbid obesity.
The most prominent cause of obesity is infectious diseases and inflammation, and the term infectobesity was coined by Dr. Nikhil V. Dhurandhar in 2001:
Article Infectobesity: Obesity of Infectious Origin1
The up-regulated autophagy (xenophagy) triggered by infectious diseases turns the eliminated pathogens and dysfunctional cell components into nutrition and energy, which contributed to obesity. So obesity is a side effect of our body’s protective reaction to illness.
Obesity is normally measured by BMI. Yet, the big contributor to BMI is the subcutaneous fat, which is protective and normally harmless. But one relatively small component of the obesity, the excessive visceral fat and ectopic fat that surround the organs or enter the organ tissues, are very dangerous, which contributes to morbid obesity, and is associated with numerous diseases.
To get rid of the ectopic fats that surround the organs or enter the organ tissues, so as to avoid morbid obesity, daily regular time restrictive eating is efficient, and one still can live a long and healthy life by doing so:
Article Time-Restricted Eating to Prevent and Manage Chronic Metabol...
Dear Ligen Yu,
Yes, I agree fully. In recent years, the number and percentage of obese people has been growing steadily in many countries, mainly in highly developed countries. This increase is mainly due to the following factors: oily diet, rich in carbohydrates, low physical activity, genetic conditions, other diseases, the invention of the refrigerator to which people often look, irregular pores of food, excessive food caused by stress and other factors, etc. Obesity increases the probability of getting sick for certain types of cancer, for diabetes, vision defects, etc. Obesity can significantly affect the shortening of human life for many years. Obesity reduces the capacity of the organism and may limit human activity, including professional activity. Obesity is therefore not only a problem of human health, not only a social problem but also an economic problem in the context of the analysis of the country's economic development. Obesity is a plague and a great problem of modern civilization.
Health policy, education policy etc. in every country should now include active promotion of healthy lifestyle in the media. As part of this policy, informational, educational and activating programs for sports, healthy eating, preventive health check etc. should be finalized from state funds. The governments of countries should consider introducing additional taxation of confectionery enterprises and thus funds for health policy programs could be significantly increased. Obesity is a serious problem that should be taken into account in the current pro-social policies for the promotion of healthy living co-financed from state finance funds.
Dear Dr Dariusz,
Thank you very much for your contribution to this discussion. Your view on obesity is very important to the discussion. Although I think it would be more proper if you specify that you are referring to morbid obesity. In my view, the danger of non-morbid obesity is overrated. But different views are surely very welcome in this discussion. Thank you!
Just as what the Scientific Americans paper suspects, urging the overweight or mildly obese to cut calories and lose weight may actually do more harm than good.
If one wish to substantially lose the subcutaneous fats, which is the main component contributing one's BMI, the negative energy balance will impose a huge stress on the homeostasis of our body, which in turn trigger more up-regulated autophagy, and will make our body more prone to morbid obesity:
Book Dieting Makes You Fat
At the same time, the stressful negative energy balance gives one so many negative feelings, that he cannot stop the temptation to quit the calorie restriction process. This tendency of becoming more fatty will not stop, till one has fully developed sustained upregulated autophagy, which is the root cause of morbid obesity/anorexia nervosa (these two are the two sides of the same coin). Only by then, one will feel that starvation is anxiolytic, and one has to adopt the anorexic Luigi Cornaro diet like what I am doing now, and which I really think is not necessary for most of the obese yet healthy (without metabolic syndrome) populations.
The Obesity Paradox clearly shows the importance of distinction between morbid obesity and non-morbid obesity. Only the morbid obesity has detrimental effects, while non-morbid obesity is actually protective:
Chapter Obesity Paradox
Chapter The Obesity Paradox and Cardiorespiratory Fitness
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