dagblog - Comments for "The Fat Drug"

You're right about the

artappraiser — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:58:33 +0000

In reply to The article wasn't dealing

You're right about the article, but with me, you're dealing with a true believer in the total antibiotic load we're subjected to doing a lot of damage. That's why I found the article interesting, as a matter of fact. I'm not convinced by it in totality, it's just an interesting theory that may prove to have some legs in the future in a way the author isn't aware of.

The article wasn't dealing

Lurker — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:52:23 +0000

In reply to And I was thinking how many

The article wasn't dealing with traces of antibiotics that may or may not be ingested from animals. It was concerned with the effects of antibiotics as drugs which we take to fight human diseases.

And I was thinking how many

artappraiser — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:10:03 +0000

In reply to There is a trend to have

And I was thinking how many animals eaten in Africa are probably still mostly raised the old-fashioned way, except in urban areas with supermarkets, of course. Don't know about Asia, but then much of their cuisine is low meat percentage.

The NYT article also suggests increased breast feeding may be having an impact. It's strange, but I think now how my mom always said that I, the oldest, didn't have a weight problem like the other kids because she breast fed me the longest. And back then I would think that she was being silly, like: where the heck did she get that idea (maybe Dr. Spock?) The formula followed by cows' milk = the antibiotics?

My personal anecdotals on the U.S. as an old lady, maybe worth nothing: over the years, seems to me more and more lower working class type parents seem much more conscious about giving junk to baby to eat to make him/her stop crying. Even before Michelle Obama's campaign. Pacifiers seem to have made a big comeback over recent years, for one.

There is a trend to have

trkingmomoe — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 23:42:44 +0000

In reply to And actually, very recent

There is a trend to have meatless meals once or twice a week. People who can afford it are buying organic raised meats for their families. Going vegan helps with weight loss.

And actually, very recent

artappraiser — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 23:23:39 +0000

In reply to The U.S.(and Mexico) are just

And actually, very recent news suggests the U.S. may be on a trajectory of reversing:

Obesity Rate for Young Children Plummets 43% in a Decade
New York Times, Feb. 25, 2014

Federal health authorities on Tuesday reported a 43 percent drop in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade, the first broad decline in an epidemic that often leads to lifelong struggles with weight and higher risks for cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The drop emerged from a major federal health survey that experts say is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as a welcome surprise to researchers. New evidence has shown that obesity takes hold young: Children who are overweight or obese at 3 to 5 years old are five times as likely to be overweight or obese as adults.

A smattering of states have reported modest progress in reducing childhood obesity in recent years, and last year the federal authorities noted a slight decline in the obesity rate among low-income children. But the figures on Tuesday showed a sharp fall in obesity rates among all 2- to 5-year-olds, offering the first clear evidence that America’s youngest children have turned a corner in the obesity epidemic. About 8 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds were obese in 2012, down from 14 percent in 2004.

“This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” said Cynthia L. Ogden, a researcher for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the lead author of the report, which will be published in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association, on Wednesday. “It was exciting." [....]

The U.S.(and Mexico) are just

artappraiser — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 23:15:42 +0000

In reply to Antibiotics have spread

The U.S.(and Mexico) are just way ahead, a lot of other countries have been catching up in an escalating fashion:

Wikipedia: Epidemiology of Obesity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_obesity

I'm no expert, just have a habit of checking out articles with headlines like this one

Obesity epidemic becomes worldwide phenomenon
New Scientist, 08 January 2014

or this one:

Spain packs on kilos in obesity epidemic (March, 2013; More than half of Spaniards are now overweight according to a major new study published on Thursday)

over the last 5 or so years.

Here's a simple chart comparing 1980 and 2008:

Source: U.S. and Mexico: Fat and Fatter, July 16, 2013

Antibiotics have spread

Lurker — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 22:32:27 +0000

In reply to The Fat Drug

Antibiotics have spread around the world since their discovery; there is nothing American about them. But you don't see grotesque American-style obesity in other countries, at least not to the same extent.