Is exercise the key to cutting obesity?

[BrilloPad]

It does? During and immediately after exercise I'm not hungry... if I'm feeling hungry or low blood sugar a cycle makes me feel better. But afterwards I am hungry again. When I've been active throughout the day, walking, sailing, etc, I am ravenous and eat a huge amount more than normal.

Try exercising every day.

I recommend about 30 hours a week....

[d000hg]

Try exercising every day.

Mostly, I do

I recommend about 30 hours a week....

That's just stupid, there's no time left to eat!

[SueEllen]

Mostly, I do

That's just stupid, there's no time left to eat!

Mmmm....

Actually ultra marathon runners have to learn to eat on the run...

[VectraMan]

That's just stupid, there's no time left to eat!

That's why it works.

[FatLazyContractor]

I had a dump this morning and lost close to 8 pounds.

Yes, I see you are so full of tulip

[SpontaneousOrder]

I say exercise is key! As it controls appetite.

Thoughts?

Appetite isn't the problem. Otherwise healthy people don't get obese because they are genuinely hungry.

[SpontaneousOrder]

I definitely eat too much. Not a great deal of rubbish, but I will typically finish my wife's meal if she leaves anything. And since having kids it's a nightmare!!!!

However, despite the fact that I probably weigh about 16.5 - 17 stone. I can run a marathon in around 4 hours.

I guess the point of that is that I'm overweight because I eat too much but I'm actually quite fit because I exercise pretty well.

Worth noting that the highest rate of heart attacks among 18-25 year old men (you can draw the parallel outside that gae range though) is among those in the armed forces (about 10 years old data). Because they are active they can eat crap without noticing that they are killing themselves.

I.e. fitness to run a marathon isn't necessarily the same as fitness to keep your heart beating for a few more decades.

Just sayin'

[d000hg]

Appetite isn't the problem. Otherwise healthy people don't get obese because they are genuinely hungry.

"genuine hunger" is misleading. If your brain tells you you're hungry, you are, regardless if that's a learned or an instinctive behaviour.

[SpontaneousOrder]

"genuine hunger" is misleading. If your brain tells you you're hungry, you are, regardless if that's a learned or an instinctive behaviour.

Right. But most fat people don't eat because they feel hungry. They eat because they can't think of anything else stimulating to do, and they enjoy the food.

Too large portions are probably equally common too. I.e. if you need to sit back and have a good rest after eating your dinner then you've probably stuffed yourself silly. Of course you still feel hungry after you finish for 10 minutes or so, especially if you eat fast like I do, but thin people experience that too.

I think that looking at obese people's eating habits (and of course i've not done some big study...) it's easy to see that they tend to be the ones who go to the vending machine when they;re bored at work, or get a takeaway to reward themselves for a tulipty day at work (or as a weekly weekend ritual - the reality is that a large dominos pizza every Friday night is enough to make you fat all else being equal), or those who don't eat crap & snacks, but plate up 4 sausages with their mash & veg for dinner because 2 looks too little - over years this adds up to stones and stones of excess weight.

None of those are really related to appetite except the last, and that's the same for everyone (i.e. giving it time to go down before deciding if you're satisfied or not).

[Zero Liability]

The thing with a lot of foods is they just spike your blood sugar levels and then leave you wanting more afterwards. Starchy foods, in particular, are not beneficial for curbing appetite cravings. Personally, I am partial to the primal diet, although I don't stick to it as much as I ought to do. Lots of protein treat replacements for someone who wants to rid of the worthless junk food, all the same.

As for exercise, it certainly helps keep weight off, just at a lower rate than dropping a 2000 calorie Dominos pizza would. Plus you get muscles, keep your skin healthy and it keeps your metabolism in tip top shape. It shouldn't be an either/or issue.