Links To Low-Carb Articles I Have Written
"382 1/2!"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1301
"Obesity Is A Choice, Not An Illness"
http://www.wirestaurant.org/news/obesity/76.htm
"Atkins Study Misses the Point"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1638
"Low Carb Beats Low Fat for Successful Weight Loss"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1764
"The Demise of Atkins Is Greatly Exaggerated"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1791
"Anti-Atkins Crowd Just Doesn't Get It"
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2004/jm1_1207.shtml
"Make Atkins Your New Life Resolution"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1810
"New Dietary Guidelines Fail To Address Weighty Problems"
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2005/jm_0113.shtml
"Doing Atkins: 15 Months Later"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1898
"I'm Writing A Book"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1950
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1301
"Obesity Is A Choice, Not An Illness"
http://www.wirestaurant.org/news/obesity/76.htm
"Atkins Study Misses the Point"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1638
"Low Carb Beats Low Fat for Successful Weight Loss"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1764
"The Demise of Atkins Is Greatly Exaggerated"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1791
"Anti-Atkins Crowd Just Doesn't Get It"
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2004/jm1_1207.shtml
"Make Atkins Your New Life Resolution"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1810
"New Dietary Guidelines Fail To Address Weighty Problems"
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2005/jm_0113.shtml
"Doing Atkins: 15 Months Later"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1898
"I'm Writing A Book"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=1950
posted by Jimmy Moore at
4/21/2005 12:47:00 PM
3 Comments:
I'm going to challenge your premise that obesity is not an illness. The implication seems to be that it is not an illness for anyone. Part of my job involves reviewing medical records and I've found that people can have many reasons for gaining weight. One example might be untreated conditions like hypothyroidism. This condition can cause fatigue and weight gain even when eating normal amounts. The problem that I have is not with government programs but with government programs and doctors that use bad science and mislead people. A woman in a record I saw today was severely depressed and had gotten up to over 400 lb. She is now looking into gastric bypass surgery because she really wants to get better. She sees a lot of doctors and tries various things but is also taking care of a family and is just wiped out besides being depressed. Has any doctor ever suggested a low carb approach? They are very bullish on the low calorie diet and exercise but she is too exhausted to exercise. She also has a history of hypothyroidism, but that never really goes away, so I suspect she needs to get back on medication. I think she really has a disease and I think a major part of her treatment should be a low carb diet managed by her physician along with the proper medication as long as she needs it. She doesn't understand that a bacon cheeseburger without the bun is not the same as a twinkie because that is what every doctor and dietician and health professional has always told her. But when she tries their approach, she always fails. And many people will until these health professionals wake up and start really looking at the science behind nutrition. Just because you can treat a disease with food doesn't mean it's not a disease. Some people can eat carbs and have no ill effects. Consider diabetes, which can also be treated with the right foods, assuming that the physician knows his or her science. I would argue obesity is the same. Maybe there is a family history like there could be with diabetes. But correct use of nutrition can reverse it or head it off before it gets out of hand. Let's not be so hard on people just trying to do the right thing. We need to be harder and more demanding of the people who know better, the scientists and the doctors. That's where Atkins fought his battles and he was right.
I'm glad to see my "obesity not an illness" assertion challenged by someone who seems to agree with me on most points regarding livin' la vida low-carb. Healthy debate (all pun intended) is good and I will seek to clarify points of concern.
My main concern about calling obesity an illness is that it gives people an excuse for not doing anything about their "problem." Oh, well, I'm obese because I have a sickness that prevents me from taking personal responsibility for my own actions. Woe is me!
Gimme a break. While it may be hard to lose that excessive weight (and I know it is!), describing it as a disease is not the answer.
In your profession, I am sure you see people all the time (as you have described) who have conditions that cause them to gain weight. I am not referring to these people in my condemnation of obesity as a disease. For them, it is a physical condition that makes them get larger.
But the implications of calling obesity a disease disturbs me because it puts the emphasis on a medical problem that does not necessarily exist for most people. They just need to find an appropriate eating plan, exercise and motivation to make it happen for themselves.
On your point about the 400-pound woman, I am sure no medical doctor suggested low-carb because of the myriad of reasons I have given in article after article on this blog. And you are right. THEY are the ones who need to be educated more about the real alternative that low-carb offers. Unfortunately, patients tend to rely solely on what their doctor tells them. It's a barrier we have to overcome.
But my own doctor warned about low-carb and did not recommend Atkins for me. So I decided to embark on this journey on my own. Guess what? He's now singing the praises of low-carb because he has an 180-pound success story to tell people. :-)
Once more doctors and so-called researcher scientists realize low-carb is amazingly effective, maybe the bias against such an eating lifestyle will finally disappear. Until, we must be vigilant about edifying and encouraging those who struggle with obesity and pointing them in the direction of low-carb.
Sorry, I didn't mean to be anonymous with the first comment and I want to add to it. People need to take responsibility with any illness if they really want to get better. Most illnesses improve more with lifestyle changes and attitude changes than they do with medicine alone.
I'm really glad you won your doctor over. I hope he is applying your experience to some of his other patients. I know of a woman with adult onset diabetes who controls it with low carb and has also taken off weight using the low carb model. Her physician harped on her for the longest time, but every time he tested her blood sugar on low carb, it was normal. Finally, after 5 years of haranging, he had to admit that she was doing something right. Let's hope doctors aren't so slow that the low carb populace has to educate them one at a time.
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