Obesity per se is incurable. Even when the obese person is able to take some
reasonable control of his/her diet, engage in a program of physical activity,
and weight loss is possible, the patient will be thinner, perhaps weigh less,
but the unfortunate fact will remain that he/she is just a starved fat person.
That most likely explains why they eventually will gain back their lost weight.

The mind of the obese patient does not change. The obsessive-compulsive behavior
of the overeater does not change. The compulsive carbohydrate binge that starts
when the simple carbohydrates are ingested on any given day does not stop until
the day ends, and if awakened at night, depending on the previous carbohydrate
load, may just start all over again.

To the Editor,

I enjoyed your take on the cure for obesity.[1] But it won't fly. The answer to
inappropriate eating is appropriate eating. Many formerly fat people can testify
to the efficacy of a more rational approach, ie, "I stopped eating french fries
and burgers everyday and slowly reeducated my taste buds to lower calorie,
nutrient-dense foods -- fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and
low-fat dairy -- but I didn't stop eating and nobody took the food out of my
kitchen. I took it out myself. I policed my own behavior."

Many overweight people have gotten used to "feeling fat," to buying larger
clothes, to not being able to bend over, to not fitting in a car comfortably,
and to not being able to walk without panting. I volunteer at a farmer's market
and am stunned at the very obese people who I see walking by my nutrition table.
I have also been stunned by "former fatties" who do stop by my table and tell me
their personal stories of weight loss. One woman had lost 90 lb and had 5 in of
excess skin surgically removed from her arms -- skin no longer filled with fat.
How did she do it? She ate the right food, appropriately, per Weight Watchers .
She did it with exercise. She did it with support. She kept eating. But she ate
different foods than she did when she was "fat." And she kept a log to be
accountable to herself.

Many overweight people who I counsel are depressed and hopeless and tired of
failing with the "stop eating" strategies that they have tried in the past. We
are a fat nation. But every person is capable of learning new skills and
building a support network to help them gain a healthier weight. As a consulting
dietitian and certified diabetes educator, the major obstacle I find is that
many people don't want to pay for a consultation with a qualified health
professional to learn these new skills. They buy a goofy book instead. They
listen to their next-door neighbor instead. They lose 4 lb by not eating and
then give up because they are starving and tired of feeling restricted. There is
a solution to obesity but it is not to "stop feeding fat people." In my opinion,
that would be a demeaning and dehumanizing approach.

Thanks for listening.

Candyce Roberts, MS, RD, CDE
Pleasanton, California
info@yourowndietician.com

Reference

Lundberg GD. How to prevent the obese from becoming "obeser" -- stop eating.
Medscape General Medicine. 2004;6(4). Available at:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/495270 Accessed December 17, 2004.

Do you KNOW how old the Pope is? Something like 84?
Is there NO end to the "long and happy life" you fat-busters would wish
upon us?

Gandalf  Parker

Since when is 85 years old a shortened life span?

LD

Without the extraweight, he would likely already be dead.
Remember he has Parkinson's disease which is largely
unrelated to his weight. Don't get me wrong a good
diet with lots of phytochemicals and antioxidants, unrefined
foods, and certain hormones, he might have lived
another decade had he started decades ago.

So how come nobody ever said anything about

Do you know that his doctors never put him on a diet????

J.

Because diets kill faster than being over weight.  Look what happened
to that Atkins quack.  He's been dead for several years, and idiots
are still using that scam diet.

What charmers you types are. The Pope might have put on weight, but
any fat he had was of a very different type from the fat of Sharon,
the Rothschilds or Bilderbergers, whose fat is from gorging on the
rest of us.

The decent world has lost a good friend, and because you recognize
that he knew you for what you are and knew what you are at, you hate
him for it. Well be that as it may. He was not alone in that.

Incidentally, the orientals may like to know that such kosher fat as
lards Bilderberger meat tastes exactly the same as chicken.