We have all read the numbers. We all take care of the patients. But we bring our own experiences and biases, with varying levels of knowledge about obesity and its treatments, to the job. The media – lay press, social media, and medical journals – all play roles in our attitudes and behaviors toward those with obesity. A disproportional number of surgical patients have obesity-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, renal disease, and chronic pain. Imagine if we played a positive role in decreasing that impact on human life and health care spending?
Understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of obesity has skyrocketed in recent years. To “eat less and exercise more” has been roundly disproved as an effective prescription for a very complex disease process (Curr Obes Rep 2016;5:201-7). Widespread misunderstanding of the current body of knowledge, revealed in many online physician discussions, may lead...
Comments
Have we become lazier and more gluttonous?
I disagree with your statement, “Of course not.” Our environment and lifestyles have changed drastically. This is exactly the cause of the previous question you posed, "Have we become three times lazier and more gluttonous?" It is undeniable that we are more gluttonous as a society given all of the available and easily accessible poor food choices and distributors (7-Eleven, McDonalds, etc.). We eat for entertainment and eat too much. Lifestyles? Of course we don’t do nearly as much physical activity in both our jobs and personal life. Automation, computers, phones have all made us much less active.
RESPONSE FROM AUTHORS:
Thank you for your comment about our article. You describe several of the exact changes in our lifestyles and environments that have led to an increase in obesity. Highly processed convenience foods with highly addictive potential, full of sugar, unhealthy fats, and chemicals, many of which are less expensive and more available than whole produce, lean proteins, and healthier choices, as well as heavily marketed sugar-sweetened drinks, are the norm. As you mention, we are much less active in today’s automated, electronic world. Evidence for other environmental contributions to the epidemic appear daily, as described in a just-published review article by Heindel et al. describing several models for an etiology of obesity, which include in utero epigenetic contributions and myriad environmental obesogens1. None of these societal or environmental changes reflect gluttony or laziness. People struggling with this chronic neuroendocrine and metabolic disease deserve the same comprehensive care (combination of surgery, medications, and lifestyle interventions) and compassion as anyone suffering from any other chronic disease.