"Fat - What No One is Telling You"

Last night, PBS showed a documentary on obesity. It was fascinating. They interviewed people who were trying to lose weight, people who had managed it, health care workers, and researchers. They did a great job of showing why it is so incredibly hard to lose weight and keep it off. Plus they really spoke to the social justice aspects of how fat goes along with poverty. There were all these great feisty people, fighting the good fight in various ways... Who saw it? Who impressed you the most and what did you think?
(BTW, if you're interested in watching it, PBS is replaying it over the next few days at odd times)

Link

Thu. Apr 12, 10:11am

what were some of the things they said in the show? I rarely watch tv and I'd appreciate learning more about this program.

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 10:25 AM

you can click on the provided link and navigate to the transcripts section. it may not yet be available, since the show just aired, but it will be eventually. i was just on the site this morning to download the transcript of another show that was on last night about the first americans.

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 10:32 AM

One thing I really appreciated was seeing the big-shot scientists saying that it's not just as simple as energy-in vs. energy-out, that obesity is a really complicated problem and there are a lot of factors that contribute to it, that are different in different people. And they said repeatedly that obesity cannot be overcome by sheer willpower, and that it is not a character flaw -- at one point one of them said that for some people the subconscious drive to eat is so overwhelming that it would require "superhuman" strength to overcome it purely by force of will. Nevertheless, they did show how some people had lost weight -- one by an incredible exercise schedule (see link) and another by lap band surgery.
Another aspect I liked was how they showed how the different fat people have dealt with being maligned second-class citizens, and being blamed for their health problems -- they showed fat women in a dance troupe, and a comic who used humor, and a teenage boy who interviewed his family about why he was fat -- all being positive about themselves while being proactive about the problem.
Actually, the show didn't talk much about "weight loss tips" -- I think they wanted to get away from the prescriptive, blaming/nagging approach.

Link

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 10:43 AM

i was fascinated by the segment on the show that talked about the "second brain". there is a scientist who says there is a mamilian brain in the gut that probably has a lot to do with urges to overeat.

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 11:06 AM

You should read his book "The Second Brain". It really helped me in thinking about my IBS problems. It was neat for me to see him in person after reading the book, he's my hero. He talks in the book about how at the beginning he was like the ONLY neuroscientist in the world who cared about the gut nervous system, and he'd go to neuro meetings and when he'd tell people what he worked on, they'd say "Oh how nice" and walk away :)

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 1:00 PM

I thought this show was fascinating too. It's amazing how so many complex issues can lead to packing on pounds. There were so many theories about obesity explored - from family life, to serving sizes, to lack of parks and changing lifestyle.

I thought the point that there is no ONE solution was well made. Lots of different reasons pounds can pile on.

I was thinking that restaurant serving sizes are a big thing. All those fast food commercials that show suggested "servings" that are actually like twice or more of what is needed. It makes a normal serving look like a "diet".

Friday, April 13, 2007, 4:13 PM

thanks for the links

Tuesday, April 17, 2007, 10:52 PM

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