Obesity has become a global issue

[Jim Logajan]

A recently deleted thread about fat Americans got me looking for stats on the subject when I ran across the following fresh news stories. Since that thread got deleted and I wanted to share what I found I thought I'd start this one.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/obesity-epidemic-global-problem-30-worlds-population-overweight-2013-america-still-heaviest-285178

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2014/05/29/no-country-immune-to-battle-bulge-as-30-pct-world-is-obese/?cmpid=GoogleNewsEditorsPicks&google_editors_picks=true

LONDON (AP) – Almost a third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the last three decades, according to a new global analysis.

Researchers found more than 2 billion people worldwide are now overweight or obese. The highest rates were in the Middle East and North Africa, where nearly 60 percent of men and 65 percent of women are heavy. The U.S. has about 13 percent of the world's fat population, a greater percentage than any other country. China and India combined have about 15 percent.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Reminds me of a Chris Rock joke from many years back: "We've got too much food in America! We've got so much that we're becoming allergic to it. Do you think anyone in Rwanda has a 'lactose intolerance'?"

Primary adult lactose intolerance in the Kivu Lake area: Rwanda and the bushi

Abstract
In order to investigate the ethnic differences of lactose intolerance in the Bantu and Hamitic races, lactose loading tests were performed on the populations living around Kivu Lake in central Africa. In addition to the blood sugar rise the identification of the urinary sugars after the loading test was found to be a useful criterion for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance. Two out of 27 Tutsi (7.8%), 21 out of 36 Hutu (58%), 17 out of 22 Twa (77%), and 27 out of 28 Shi (96%) were lactose intolerant. These frequencies are not linked with the actual milk-drinking habits. Of 3 Twa families, 2 were mostly lactose intolerant, whereas the third was predominantly tolerant. For 11 mixed-bred Hutu-Tutsi the frequency of lactose intolerance was 55%. The results are in favor of a genetic origin of lactose intolerance.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01844941

 

[Jim Logajan]

As an aside, I'm down to 205 from 227, with few changes in my diet other than avoiding processed foods. That **** will kill you. My target weight is 180. I was 150 when I graduated high school and 165 when I got out of the service. My doctor and I agree that 180 is a reasonable goal for this stage of my life.

I was 145 to 150 out of high school. Over the next 38 years I topped out at around 182. In the last few months I've moved back to 147 to 150. I was 69 inches tall but am now closer to 68. My BMI and my perception tells me my current weight is good. I don't know your height but I suggest you target 165, not 180. I've been using an app to track my weight (and BP) and the last year's results are in the attachment.
My weight had settled in between 156 to 159, which was OK but not at my target of 155. Then I started eating a half sandwich at lunch instead of a whole sandwich. I would not have expected such a small change to make much difference, but it is the only significant change I made in September of last year.

 

[Jim Logajan]

What app is that?

Healthsome by Taconic System LLC.

It has worked fine for tracking the three variables that appear in that chart; I haven't used it for anything else. I only wanted something simple to record my weight - so I started with a sheet of paper. But later when I started checking my blood pressure before work each morning I searched for an app to record all three that would generate a chart. It is OK but there may be better apps out there - I haven't looked in a while.

 

[Jim Logajan]

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/7...ieters-friend-study-claims-foster-obesity.htm

No cause and effect claimed. Just a correlation. The two variables could be effects from a more fundamental cause.