It's sad but so true, even i would trade a year of my life to be happy with my body, but even the thin women i know aren't happy with what they have, i wish everyone weren't insecure, i think it would make the world a better place.
Some stuff in the news about how surgery for Obesity is 'value for money' as far as the NHS is concerned, as despite the procedure and associated costs, it is cheaper than allowing the obese people to carry on that way and develop other conditions that will cost the NHS, MORE to treat. Not sure I appreciate this logic. It is almost akin to encouraging people to drink because if they didn't, they might consider using drugs instead to get out of it. I think that awareness of what is known as 'Syndrome X' would be a good start to prevent the widespread obesity 'glut' we will witness soon, with more and more people being overweight. Syndrome X is indicated in its prevalence by the way in which the Atkins diet works so well for some people. Despite the initial rapid weight loss by depleting carbohydrates, and this water..the fact is that the Atkins diet (and other low / no carbohydrate diets) do work, and they work best in the people who have the worst insulin resistance. The reason that they work is because they are bypassing the faulty carbohydrate metabolism in people with syndrome X, and instead utilising the metabolic pathways that rely on fatty acid oxidation for fuel. By eliminating sugar you eliminate the problem of the glucose being soaked up into fat cells, and the lower blood insulin levels allows fats to be oxidised as a fuel source which starts to correct the over storage problem in fat cells. Its is a neat solution, but it still does not correct the underlying disorder.
Is it not more akin to doing a procedure which physically stopped someone from drinking so they don't develop liver cirrhosis later on?
Just remember that in today's modern world, we humans know the price of everything, and the value of nothing. Teens today are driven along by social networks and the media which then constantly exploits a deep insecurity to look better than the next, of course, this leads to an easy way of making money by offering things to lose weight e.c.t and constantly, they go out buying designer clothes in a quest to "seem" better and richer because their plain old jeans have a name on that brings the price into the clouds. What people now see as a good quality of life is lots of money, good looks, big tits and nice clothes. What I see as a good quality of life is a standard of living you are content with, there's simply no need to want more.
In the case of obesity, there are things like gastric bands which can prevent over eating. But often, the patient can develop other none obesity related issues when these are used including psychological issues (not my forte, just seen it mentioned in studies) and general malnutrition. By malnutrition, the patient tends to eat certain types of foods and avoid others, which can lead to thinks like Anemia. I've also seen a few patients develop hair loss. Although not generally a dietary factor, hair loss can occur when there are strong deficiencies in certain nutrients and things like EFA's. As far as drinking goes, it it harder to prevent someone doing that. Short of tape their mouth up.
In the old days, the way to get noticed was to keep in shape, maybe do a few weights, wear decent shoes and get an education. Things like breast implants and tattoos (except the pain) are just quick ways of changing the way you look without much effort.
I just wanted to say good for you Malvolio and all the others who made the sacrafices to change themselves for the better! I love reading progess stories. Side note: I just ate at least 500 calories worth of sour gummy bears while catching up on this thread. And in 30 minutes I'll be drinking a 1k calorie shake... *makes Homer Simpson noises* (It's my binge day.) "LAY OFF ME I'M STARVING!!!" --Chris Farley in an SNL skit.