Comment by 7Figures2Commas | Hacker News Reader

Comment by 7Figures2Commas | Hacker News Reader

7Figures2Commas

> They're calling it a possible solution to obesity and a preventative measure for diabetes, one that turns up the body's metabolic rate without the negative side effects of increasing the heart rate or blood pressure.

I think "possible solution" is too strong. According to the CDC, as of 2012 "more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese" so it logically follows that simply restoring the metabolic rate of adults to their teenage rates probably won't help a sizable portion of the population.

Also, while it's promising that this doesn't increase heart rate or blood pressure, weight is just one factor in overall health. There are a lot of adults who are of a healthy weight but still aren't very healthy. For instance, a healthy weight doesn't mean that an individual has good cardiovascular health or functional strength. It's a shame that so much emphasis is placed on weight when it's really only a part of the equation and arguably not even the most important.

It's kind of silly how we keep looking for a pill for appearance (weight) when it's not hard to notice that people who focus on cardiovascular conditioning and functional strength usually have the healthiest looking bodies. Weight and body composition follow from healthy lifestyle; health does not follow from weight.

[1] http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

> I think "possible solution" is too strong. According to the CDC, as of 2012 "more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese" so it logically follows that simply restoring the metabolic rate of adults to their teenage rates probably won't help a sizable portion of the population.

I think the message here is slightly different; it's not talking about 'setting it back to what your metabolism was like as a teenager', but rather 'setting a healthy person's metabolism back to what a healthy teenager's would be'.

It's entirely possible that the reason for the childhood obesity epidemic is an underdeveloped biology pumped full of these metabolism-destroying foods (accelerating the production of serotonin, etc.), resulting in a ruined metabolism far earlier than would be normal.

In other words, the diet that would cause obesity after 20 years starting at age 15 might cause obesity after 10 years starting at 5.

Again, you're focusing too much on weight. "Healthy" does not mean "not overweight."

There are tons of people, including young people, who can't do 5 minutes of moderately intense walking without becoming excessively winded. There are lots of people who can't do more than a pushup or two, and many can't even do a single pushup. And so on and so forth. A good percentage of these people are not overweight.

Many of the problems that become particularly troublesome as people age are related more to cardiovascular health and functional strength than they are to weight alone. If we create a magic pill that prevents or delays the onset of excessive weight gain from poor diet and lack of exercise, it's not going to produce "healthy" people and it won't address many of the quality of life issues that arise from unhealthy lifestyles.

In some ways, weight gain is a good thing. For young people who otherwise feel okay, it is sometimes the only visible symptom of a destructive lifestyle. And I say that as someone who lost nearly a third of my body weight by radically changing my lifestyle in my 20s.

Also, while it's promising that this doesn't increase heart rate or blood pressure, weight is just one factor in overall health.

True, but it's a very telling factor. Past a certain upper threshold, weight will have adverse impacts on a person's health, eg joint issues at a minimum. It's fairly easy and logical to look at a skinnier person (above a certain lower bound) and predict they will have fewer medical issues than a fat person. Of course, this is judging by certain proportions, hence why the BMI was invented (and before anyone goes off on the inaccuracy of BMI, just realize that unless body fat percentage is below a certain threshold (eg high-level athletes), BMI is a fairly accurate predictor of health).

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