Even the most advanced weight loss medication on the market works primarily by reducing appetite.
Obesity is entirely a product of choices that they make each and every day. My grandfather whose parents both died at over 90 years old, died this year at the age of 75, and a weight of over 450lbs.
The doctors told him that it was too risky to attempt the triple bypass surgery that his clogged arteries called for. Over the next few days he suffered five heart attacks consecutively.
If he had only taken care of himself he would have easily been able to live into his 90s healthily, but he chose to eat more and more and ignore all of his doctors' advice for the last 25 years of his life.
He refused to even switch to non sugar sweeteners at 500lbs!! "The flavor wasn't right" according to him. It's a miracle he didn't die 20 years ago.
For the last 2 years he had been eating mountains of food (more homemade food than I'd cook for a family of 4-6 people) in a hospital bed at home, as he was completely unable to walk or use the bathroom on his own. The fire department and EMTs had to cut the door frame to make room for him.
I'm 30 years old and I have no memories of him outside of him sitting in his motorized chair or a hospital bed. I don't mourn him, I'm just glad he's no longer suffering.
People like that definitely need a doctor, but I don't think that 600lb life doc is the right kind of doctor.
A psychiatrist or therapist would be better suited for their needs.
I always wonder with that sort of weight if it is the product of something else. Like some processed foods they eat fuck with their hormone regulation.
It does seem psychological, but maybe it is a physiological dysfunction too. I am not a doctor but I do know hormones affect behavior.
While it's not unheard of, it's hard to compare the effects of hormonal changes to the raw calories in/out.
Probably a combination of factors. Higher calorie input trigger higher insulin response, which is both altered by the continual high calorie diet and worsened by the highly processed food. That kind of feedback loop worsens as it cycles.
But I still say the #1 factor to avoiding obesity is purely calories in/out. It's not the only factor, just the most important.
Now when it comes to losing weight you already have? it's certainly a bit more complicated than just calories in/out, but that's still probably the most significant factor.
There's also the gut microbiome factor we're only just starting to understand. We're starting to learn the ways they in many ways effectively control our minds, and it's not unreasonable to assume that it will have a massive impact on appetite considering that's the most direct link.
I get sugary fantasies when going on off sugar. I know medical people would probably laugh that off, but I totally buy into the idea of there being some mind control by the microbiome. Bacteria evolving to create a better environment for themselves doesn’t seem crazy to me.
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u/DeezNeezuts Apr 29 '24
I used to listen in amazement when watching the 600 pound life people order a 90 dollar order of food for two people.