Main causes of obesity

fireblade28

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

It has been proven that weight gain does not come solely from calories intake and calorie expenditure. Some people do eat more than they believe that they do but the bacteria in the gut have a far bigger influence on body weight than anything else.

Research done on obese mice and slim mice where they fed both the same and the mice's weight remained. They then transferred the gut bacteria from the obese mice to the slim mice and the slim mice's weight increased and they became obese.

Bacteria in the gut produce fatty acids which can contribute considerably to the total calories available to the body. If your gut flora is disadvantaged then you are much less likely to be able to lose weight. This is why obesity tends to run in families because of the bacteria that they pass on to their children during birth. However I have seen obese neighbours teaching their children very poor eating habits, high in carbohydrates and snaking between meals which contributes to the problem IMO. These type of eating patterns promote the growth of certain bacteria which promote weight gain. That is why obesity is such a problem in the west because unnatural high carbohydrate diets are promoted.

BTW changing the gut flora is a very long and slow process. There are diets which can assist such as GAPS and SCD but they are hard to follow for most people. People crave carbs for a reason, the bacteria that want it promote the desire for it.

There is a lot of research being done on the human microbiota ATM.

I think its a stretch to say it has more effect than anything else. There is probably some effect there but current research is in its infancy and the mechanism isn't known very well.
The research is valuable but at the moment the studies conflict each other with some positive and some negative. There is defo some association there but whether it is causative remains to be seen.

FBaby

It has been proven that weight gain does not come solely from calories intake and calorie expenditure. Some people do eat more than they believe that they do but the bacteria in the gut have a far bigger influence on body weight than anything else.

To me, this is the same argument that blaming poor metabolism on obesity. The bottom line is that if you have to reduce your calories because your gut flora is disadvantaged compared to someone else, then that's what you do.

It's the same than blaming age. We know that it is harder to maintain/lose weight the older you get, so you adjust your diet. I'm only 45 and can't get away with half the things I did 10 years ago and that despite being much more physical. However, I still want to be slim, so I accept it and have cut down accordingly.

fairy_lights

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

It has been proven that weight gain does not come solely from calories intake and calorie expenditure. Some people do eat more than they believe that they do but the bacteria in the gut have a far bigger influence on body weight than anything else.

I very much doubt that, and if you have links to the research I would love to read it.
It is calories in vs calories out that determines weight loss or gain - energy can't be created from nothing and can't disappear in to nothing either.

fireblade28

fairy_lights wrote: »

I very much doubt that, and if you have links to the research I would love to read it.
It is calories in vs calories out that determines weight loss or gain - energy can't be created from nothing and can't disappear in to nothing either.

Of course. I have read the studies they tend to be very inconsistent with probiotics. I have a particular problem with the mice one I that they didn't control the amount of food they ate they just let them eat what they wanted and weighed it (I didn't read it in detail just looked for the methodology faults so hopefully I have that correct)

The studies can be found in the links on this page https://authoritynutrition.com/probiotics-101/

pathtofreedom

fairy_lights wrote: »

I very much doubt that, and if you have links to the research I would love to read it.
It is calories in vs calories out that determines weight loss or gain - energy can't be created from nothing and can't disappear in to nothing either.

Do feel free to contribute to one of the many global gut flora studies if you doubt the other fundings eg https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/4sSf3/ab/5qJ7f

bsod

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

It has been proven that weight gain does not come solely from calories intake

the bacteria in the gut have a far bigger influence on body weight than anything else.

.

It has been proven conclusively that weight gain does come from excess calorie intake.

If you consume no or few calories, you will lose weight, and if you consume vast amounts of calories, you will put on weight.

Tesco doesn't offer a gut flora transplant service, so people looking for, or promoting excuses would be better off walking past the 2000 calorie cheesecake, and picking up some low calorie vegetables and a smaller plate instead.

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

That is why obesity is such a problem in the west because unnatural high carbohydrate diets are promoted.

ATM.

More likely is the fact that the West is rich and food of all types is easily obtained and plentiful. We are also well educated and calories are printed on the packaging, so (in adulthood) obesity is a matter of choice and self control

.Gigolo_Aunt wrote: »

If you're collapsing in front of the tv with a ready meal each evening you're storing up health problems for the future

A very good idea is to batch cook and freeze meals, so that you can just pop something in the oven when you get in.

That is the definition of a ready meal

fred246

Obesity is caused by eating too much. The effect of exercise is often over-rated. If you over eat it is almost impossible to exercise the excess calories away. If you look at pictures of people who have lived in a concentration camp for some time they are all thin. If you eat very little you will lose weight. There are no exceptions. I used to enjoy the Secret Eaters programmes. It showed you exactly why people on diets weren't losing weight. They weren't sticking to the diet! After a lifetime of overeating it is hard to stick to a diet but the reality is that if you are obese you EAT TOO MUCH.