PBS show on Obesity


(Marianne) #1

Yesterday I watched a PBS show on obesity. PBS in the US is the Public Broadcasting System. They are self funded, I believe, only by viewer contributions and have no commercials. They are touted as presenting only bona fide, non-biased, scientific information for the public good.

This show featured a moderator and a panel of experts - a cardiologist, a GP, a weight management director who is also a bariatric surgeon, Bob Harper (a fitness coach and celebrity) and a woman who was formerly obese until she had a gastric sleeve. It was so disheartening to watch. All of the doctors and individuals conceded that it is difficult to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle in our culture of highly processed, convenient foods. They all encouraged eating ā€œlean, clean and greenā€ and incorporating a moderate amount of exercise. The cardiologist discussed the correlation between obesity and hbp, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. For some people who were morbidly obese, they discussed that drastic measures (gastric bypass) are sometimes the only solution, and it is not the easy way out. I watched and just felt depressed by it.

We all here are sitting on the answer and it works. To me, itā€™s a very livable, sustainable way of eating for not much of a sacrifice compared to conventional dieting. Once the carb cravings are gone (I never had those from the get-go), and you become fat adapted, former binge foods become just a passing thought that is easy to dismiss. My lifelong problems with weight, illness and malaise are all gone now by following keto and now zero carb. I watch people who havenā€™t found the way and it breaks my heart for them.


(Shawn Patrick Malone) #2

Sadly one of the biggest issues here in the states is the huge push for government run health care. It is run under the guise that if everyone follows along with the current governments experts on all things health that everyone will be great. The huge push from government to eliminate meat from our diets, eat bugs and cow farts is killing the environment is a scare tactic to push people one way and only one way. Sorry to get political, just what I see here in the states.

There will never be a government backed health official that will ever say we have too much processed garbage in stores and being fed to our kids in schools, just not going to happen. I really donā€™t care if someone is keto, vegan, ZC, whatever. Just as long as people arenā€™t pounding down processed trash everyday. There is no push to correct these issues because some people want as many people reliant on government run health care. To get rid of the trash is to lower the number of sick people. The second highest amount of deaths here in the states from Covid was obesity with age (75+) being the highest and being T2D was the 3rd leading cause of death. Two out of three can be handled by diet.

People are going to eat the way they eat and live the way they live. Not much we can do except provide those close to us proper information on actual food. It doesnā€™t have to be keto or ZC, it can be Vegan or whatever, just as long as processed trash is left out. And no bugs.


#3

PBS is not as neutral and objective as their reputation leads one to believe. While they do not have commercials, many of their programs are underwritten by corporate donors. I donā€™t know who paid for the show, nor will I watch, especially after your review, however, their purse strings are not severed from those whose main objective is to make a profit.

I knew a woman who had a gastric bypass years ago. She lost over a hundred pounds. The sad thing is the last time I saw her, she had gained 50 of it back.

I know for myself, keto is the only way to sustain weight loss and improve my metabolic health.


#4

I donā€™t see this as the primary problem at all. Sadly, one of the biggest issues here in the states is that everything is run on a for profit basis. Big Ag, big pharma, big HMOā€™s, big medical equipment manufacturers, even supposedly non-profit hospitals(they arenā€™t) do not want you to get well. There is no profit in it.

Iā€™m on Medicare. I have to pay an outlandish amount for an insurance supplement with a deductible which I have not met. For one reason, even though Iā€™m diabetic, Iā€™ve improved my HbA1c scores so much with keto that my insurance only allows me one test strip a day. And as they say ā€œhell will freeze overā€ before I could get a CGM.


#5

I agree to some extent, @gingersmommy butā€¦

  1. Keto isnā€™t good for everyone.
  2. Keto isnā€™t possible for everyone. There is a huge connection with the first point as I just refuse to believe that me with my interesting attitude and about zero self control (maybe itā€™s a tad more since carnivore but not really significant) am so much better than the majority of people. And it was super easy for me to go low-carb. Keto was trickier and I needed years on low-carb first and close to carnivore (even if just on/off) is mysterious, I donā€™t even know how I got hereā€¦
    No, it seems people are just not health-conscious, they donā€™t really wanna do anything for their health apart from eating pills or something. They donā€™t even try even if they kind of believe that would be better for them. But surely some people have a mind full with misconceptions (though if they are determined, they can research and while not every dietary questions get answered, some truths arenā€™t that hard to dig out).

And I think I went to the 3rd point that keto can be SUPER hard for someone. I surely donā€™t have the attitude and willpower if itā€™s about food to do things hard. I only do easy changes and I want to keep eating whatever I want. And I do. I train myself though and learned and they drastically change what I want but I donā€™t go ā€œstrongā€ and force myself into something. (I would do if it would be life or death, health or sickness, I would sacrifice things for health. Fortunately I donā€™t need to.)

So itā€™s complexā€¦ But I understand the frustration.

I would never lose my extra fat with keto and IF alone though. It just doesnā€™t happen to all of us. I still overeat fat like on high-carb. I need carnivore AND extra rules to avoid it. Itā€™s not hard but takes a loooong time (with my uncontrolled and not particularly motivated self, at least). I understand my SO just skipped meals when he wanted to lose fat but I still couldnā€™t and wouldnā€™t do the same, he suffers hunger just to keep his still not ideally slim figure (not a big deal for him but not my style). We are different and need different solutions, itā€™s understandable. He canā€™t even try low-carb but thrives on high-carb and nearly everything satiates him the same. Keto hardly would help him any.

I mostly do this for health. And because I canā€™t eat much carbs for long, my body tasted very low-carb and refuses to accept anything else :smiley: But itā€™s fine, itā€™s easy, the food is good and I still can go off sometimesā€¦

Some people have more serious circumstances too. Sometimes itā€™s really hard to do keto just because them. Itā€™s probably very rare, usually one can find a way when determined. The problem is that people arenā€™t so determined. I get it that one doesnā€™t care about fat-loss so much as I donā€™t seem to care enough either. But HEALTH? Well-being? Energy? Why people donā€™t care a LOT about these? Mysterious.
And I am a hedonist, I never changed my diet to another that gave me less joy but itā€™s so easy to eat lovely food on keto. Itā€™s not a pain even for a big hedonist not to eat EVERYTHING that is available and tasty (though I understand something about itā€¦)! If we eat delicious, good food, we enjoy it while eating and enjoy it later as well, isnā€™t that enough?
(My condolences towards everyone who only likes bad food but some training and thinking about the ā€œjoysā€ of sickness should help even thenā€¦? Maybe itā€™s not that easy in some unlucky cases but in the others?)


(Joey) #6

As @Janet3 notes above, PBS is anything but self-funded. Just listen to all the ā€œcommercialsā€ before/after the show (PBS NewsHour is a perfect example). Lots of foundations with deeply-entrenched agendas and commercial for-profit corporations fund PBS.

Some of their content is excellent. Some of it is ludicrous. You decide.

[EDIT: Actually, for many years I was a viewer-supporter of PBS and NPR ā€¦ but as I came to realize just how commercialized they are (and how they run ads while pretending thatā€™s not what they are) I gave up. Would make no more sense to send ā€œpublic TV/radioā€ my money than it would to send cash off to the major broadcasting networks. I was being a useful idiot.]


(Marianne) #7

Very true. Eating clean is better than eating fake food.


#8

I SO feel your pain thru this! Me too but not a darn real thing anyone can do about it. Just support your local great Keto people pushing the plan to the world and support the ZC people letting their info truths be known out there andā€¦but I sure get your post. I canā€™t even watch any shows like this anymore, ainā€™t got it in me to watch a total disaster of fake truths on nutrition out there. Nope, canā€™t do it anymore. Too disheartening truly. One can only hope they find their way like many of us have :slight_smile: thru all the BS out out thereā€¦we did, more might? :sunny:


#9

I donā€™t watch shows but still read articles and listen to the radioā€¦ Itā€™s easy to get annoyed. And saddening if I think about other people, indeed.


#10

Agree with everyone that PBS is corporate funded and while that is not a reason not to watch any more than it is not to watch ABC, it has to be taken with that view. And yes I agree pretending you are above money while accepting money is in some ways worse.

I do not ever see there being a one payer system in the US, insurance companies make too much money. Since Obamacare started our premiums have almost doubled for commercial insurance through a private company.

I am not sure that Keto/Low carb or IF is for everyone. I have several people that I do not know well who I have had dinner with recently. They are 50s - 60s, health conscious, seem to be deep into the vegetarian, meat is unhealthy but I will have a piece of chicken once in awhile camp. Since they do not know me well and I am far more overweight than they are, they politely tell me I am wrong so I do not bother and tell them we will have to agree to disagree. That does not bother me the way my uncle does who is 80, diabetic and is happy to pump insulin as long as he can keep eating cake. He is a smart guy but believes his doctor and enjoys his food and wants nothing different. Nor does he believe what he has is able to go into remission.

I was listening to a Peter Attia podcast about Cancer and the researcher was talking about possible supplements and keto as adjuncts to Chemo. He was explaining the complicated diet levers that can be used and I was thinking, you cannot get the average diabetic to keep his carbs under 50 (never mind 20) are you really going to be able to help anyone this way


(Marianne) #11

Youā€™re right; I canā€™t do it anymore either. From now on, Iā€™ll be staying in the solution.


#12

smart move cause the brain can only handle so much it canā€™t ever correct, life is about YOU and your forward movement so ā€¦I also get thisā€¦time to bow out of the bs of life as it is and try to make changes ā€˜slightlyā€™ on the side of the right side you believe in and has giving you a better lifeā€¦but the total crap out there, from politics, to financial, to govt subsidies policies, family issues and that is alot for some of us, to nutrition being spouted still, to the total crazy of it all, yea at some point our brains say too much, let go and live me fine :slight_smile: Hey I get ya on it, I had to do just that for my own darn sanity over it all too, lol
It is a very tough darn ā€˜influenceā€™ we see daily in our livesā€¦a rough darn road for alot of us for sure


(Joey) #13

ā€¦ and your deductibles? :see_no_evil:


(Jane) #14

mine are through the roof, but I know people with higher than mine.

After a $3500 deductible my plan pays 80%. At $7000 it pays 100%


(Joey) #15

Sounds like a great plan by comparison!

Before I qualified for medicare, my premium + my wifeā€™s came to a combined $17,000/year ā€¦ and our combined deductible was roughly $13,000.

In other words, we could kiss $17k good-bye for sure. And if we actually needed medical attention, then that would cost another $13k/yearly out of pocket. And after that, we had 70% coverage.

Whatā€™s more, we were forced by law to buy this ā€œaffordableā€ policy from a for-profit company. It was the cheapest one we could find (a bronze plan).

Although I now finally qualify for medicare, my wife, being a bit younger, is still subject to this ā€œaffordableā€ care. So about $8500/year premium and about $6500 deductible. :roll_eyes:

(Oh, and yes, we could ā€œkeep our doctorā€ if we wanted to ā€¦ except he wasnā€™t on our ACA-approved plan. So sure, we could keep him. We simply had to pay his office directly without it counting toward our $13,000/year deductible. Yeah.)

Okay, sorry. Iā€™m done whining.


#16

My friends had the exact same situation. This was about 10 years ago. They were fortunate they could afford it. They never met their deductible. Whatā€™s more she was quite healthy and could have qualified for less expensive, still outrageous but less, however the insurance company would not insure the husband unless she was also covered by them. .


(Joey) #17

Yes, over the years we never met our deductible(s) either. Good health is a true blessing ā€¦ hands-down better than ever reaching oneā€™s deductible. :vulcan_salute:


#18

Our deductibles have doubled in that time or even more. We pay more than $8500 a person in premiums (kids count as 1 person in premiums). A few years ago (Trump was already president but pre Covid) we paid out $$$$ in expenses that were not covered or were part of our deductible. Nothing was cosmetic and nothing involved a major life threatening health problem fortunately but gastro diagnostic procedures and other things or visits to an emergency room while on a school trip in another state (in network!) I think the gastro was about $4000 out of pocket and was toward the end of our plan year and I think our insurance did pay something toward it but that was only part of what we spent


(Kirk Wolak) #19

Letā€™s not jump to that conclusion. The problem is NOT the for profit, or the profits being made.
The true problem is the lobbying system which corrupts the government guidelines.

Consider Fen Phen being pulled by the FDA. A few deaths, where people abused it. Itā€™s out of there. Now consider VIOXX, up to 20,000 people a year dying and we can turn a blind eye.

The people selling Fen Phen were making profits and doing far less harm than VIOXX.
Itā€™s the dirty collusion between the drug companies and the FDA!

As for you CGM. Mine costs me $70/month (out of pocket). I donā€™t know your situation, but you HONESTLY only need a CGM for about 1 month. Spend the money. Get the Freestyle Libre.

But you CANNOT trust the glucose reading, just the DIRECTIONAL moves. Mine is up to 20 points off from my glucose levels, but it trends in the right direction.

The VALUE of seeing what food does what to you, over time, and when you are waking up early, what is going on before you wake up. (My CGM shows my glucose dropping below 40, then I am wide awake. Test with my Keto-Mojo and my glucose is 100ā€¦ My body panicked and PRODUCED Cortisol/Epinephrine to wake me up. Great, now I am WIDE awake).

But finding that, and tracking that back to what I was doing. Learning that taking some ketone supplements beffore bed can ward it off. Learning that going to bed too late or too early can trigger this. THAT was helped by having the CGM.

Profits and the motive to make profit are what created CGMs, KETO-MOJO, etc.
They are not evil.

Governments. And Government Collusion, and the apparent IMMUNITYā€¦ Those things are Evil!


(Joey) #20

Thank you for this defense of profit-making.

As a died-in-the-wool capitalist, Iā€™d hate to live in a world where people have no meaningful incentive to spend their time, energy, and talents creating whatever it is that others find to be of value.

:vulcan_salute: Live longā€¦ and prosper.