Comments for Fat Science http://fatscience.wordpress.com Investigating the science of body weight regulation Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:40:36 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on About by Miriam Gordon http://fatscience.wordpress.com/about/#comment-49 Miriam Gordon Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:40:36 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?page_id=13#comment-49 Bill, thank you so much, I value your wisdom and friendship and look forward to working with you on these issues so dear to our hearts. Best, Miriam Bill, thank you so much, I value your wisdom and friendship and look forward to working with you on these issues so dear to our hearts.

Best, Miriam

]]> Comment on About by Miriam Gordon http://fatscience.wordpress.com/about/#comment-48 Miriam Gordon Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:39:44 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?page_id=13#comment-48 Chad, thank you so much for sharing your interest in my interests and sharing your interests with me. Your work sounds very interesting and I look forward to communicating with you further. I believe we can really help eachother out. Best, Miriam Chad, thank you so much for sharing your interest in my interests and sharing your interests with me. Your work sounds very interesting and I look forward to communicating with you further. I believe we can really help eachother out.

Best, Miriam

]]> Comment on About by Chad Stewart http://fatscience.wordpress.com/about/#comment-47 Chad Stewart Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:04:21 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?page_id=13#comment-47 I am a graduate student at the University of Victoria exploring obesity through the lens of political science. I'm unsure at this point the degree to which our work shares parallel trajectories, but ultimately, I believe it must. I have been looking at a series of social development theories, as well as US tort Law in order to understand identify formation etc etc etc. I would love to speak further with you. With Regards, Chad I am a graduate student at the University of Victoria exploring obesity through the lens of political science. I’m unsure at this point the degree to which our work shares parallel trajectories, but ultimately, I believe it must. I have been looking at a series of social development theories, as well as US tort Law in order to understand identify formation etc etc etc. I would love to speak further with you.

With Regards,
Chad

]]> Comment on Health At Every Size (HAES) by Bill Fabrey http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/health-at-every-size-haes/#comment-46 Bill Fabrey Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:35:24 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=108#comment-46 That was an excellent comment you made about to the Times article. Other posts (most of which were nowhere nearly as articulate as yours) are running 50-50 in terms of fat acceptance vs. fat bashing. Your links to Linda Bacon and ASDAH did not show up as links, but at least mention is made of them. Bill Fabrey Council on Size & Weight Discrimination www.cswd.org Mt Marion, NY That was an excellent comment you made about to the Times article. Other posts (most of which were nowhere nearly as articulate as yours) are running 50-50 in terms of fat acceptance vs. fat bashing. Your links to Linda Bacon and ASDAH did not show up as links, but at least mention is made of them.

Bill Fabrey
Council on Size & Weight Discrimination
http://www.cswd.org
Mt Marion, NY

]]> Comment on Causation, Correlation, Dogma, Weight, and Health by Bill Fabrey http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/causation-correlation-dogma-weight-and-health/#comment-41 Bill Fabrey Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:10:10 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=100#comment-41 Thank you, Miriam--You are onto something. I haven't read Taubes' book, so I am grateful for your comments. I no longer subscribe to Keys' Lipid Hypothesis, and this does impact what I do as a heart patient, having had a quadruple bypass (like Bill Clinton) 3 years ago, and wanting my replacement arteries to last as long as possible, so that I may keep reading this blog! For starters, I have given up statin drugs, and now must convince my primary care physician AND my cardiologist that I haven't taken leave of my senses. If you want to have your socks knocked off, buy or rent the new video "Fat Head", in part, a rebuttal of the documentary Super Size Me and also Keys' hypothesis, and the whole preoccupation with weight and dietary fat and cholesterol reduction. And it wasn't paid for by the Dairy Council. Be prepared for some real laughs, despite the serious nature of the subject. Which means, don't watch the DVD on the plane. LOL Thank you, Miriam–You are onto something. I haven’t read Taubes’ book, so I am grateful for your comments. I no longer subscribe to Keys’ Lipid Hypothesis, and this does impact what I do as a heart patient, having had a quadruple bypass (like Bill Clinton) 3 years ago, and wanting my replacement arteries to last as long as possible, so that I may keep reading this blog!

For starters, I have given up statin drugs, and now must convince my primary care physician AND my cardiologist that I haven’t taken leave of my senses.

If you want to have your socks knocked off, buy or rent the new video “Fat Head”, in part, a rebuttal of the documentary Super Size Me and also Keys’ hypothesis, and the whole preoccupation with weight and dietary fat and cholesterol reduction. And it wasn’t paid for by the Dairy Council. Be prepared for some real laughs, despite the serious nature of the subject. Which means, don’t watch the DVD on the plane. LOL

]]> Comment on About by Bill Fabrey http://fatscience.wordpress.com/about/#comment-40 Bill Fabrey Sat, 23 May 2009 03:58:12 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?page_id=13#comment-40 Great commentary. Good luck with your blog, and with working toward your many goals. Best of luck making peace with whatever weight at which your body seems to stabilize. It is still probably puzzled about all the stuff you've thrown at it to make it thinner. I hope that your long-term efforts will improve understanding and communication about this controversial topic for both scientists and laypersons. --Bill Fabrey, Media Director Council on Size & Weight Discrimination Great commentary. Good luck with your blog, and with working toward your many goals. Best of luck making peace with whatever weight at which your body seems to stabilize. It is still probably puzzled about all the stuff you’ve thrown at it to make it thinner.

I hope that your long-term efforts will improve understanding and communication about this controversial topic for both scientists and laypersons.

–Bill Fabrey, Media Director
Council on Size & Weight Discrimination

]]> Comment on Dr. Christakis’ Reply by Bill Fabrey http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/dr-christakis-reply/#comment-39 Bill Fabrey Sat, 23 May 2009 03:42:23 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=80#comment-39 This is one of the most intelligent exchanges on this topic between two professionals I have read in a long time--and the more remarkable due to the controversial subject matter. Both participants raised interesting points--Dr. Gordon voicing some of my concerns about jumping to conclusions on the basis of a set of statistics presented by Dr. Christakis, and Dr. C. giving an excellent defense of what he did and what he concluded. My experience has been that most researchers in the field of obesity are sincere, dedicated scientists who, nonetheless, are inherently biased in their view of fat patients, nearly always accept as a given that obesity is pathological, and are almost always mystified when the media uses their findings, often misquoted, to justify further discrimination against that population. So after Dr. K's conclusions reached the lay press, headlines around the globe blamed fat people for making other people around them fat, almost as if obesity is a transmissible disease. The exchange of emails between Drs. G and K show that no such conclusions could be drawn from his study. A little science can be a dangerous thing, in the wrong hands! --Bill Fabrey, Media Director Council on Size & Weight Discrimination This is one of the most intelligent exchanges on this topic between two professionals I have read in a long time–and the more remarkable due to the controversial subject matter. Both participants raised interesting points–Dr. Gordon voicing some of my concerns about jumping to conclusions on the basis of a set of statistics presented by Dr. Christakis, and Dr. C. giving an excellent defense of what he did and what he concluded.

My experience has been that most researchers in the field of obesity are sincere, dedicated scientists who, nonetheless, are inherently biased in their view of fat patients, nearly always accept as a given that obesity is pathological, and are almost always mystified when the media uses their findings, often misquoted, to justify further discrimination against that population. So after Dr. K’s conclusions reached the lay press, headlines around the globe blamed fat people for making other people around them fat, almost as if obesity is a transmissible disease. The exchange of emails between Drs. G and K show that no such conclusions could be drawn from his study.

A little science can be a dangerous thing, in the wrong hands!

–Bill Fabrey, Media Director
Council on Size & Weight Discrimination

]]> Comment on Diabetes or Diarrhea – Take Your Pick by Miriam Gordon http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/diabetes-or-diarrhea-%e2%80%93-take-your-pick/#comment-38 Miriam Gordon Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:11:51 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=51#comment-38 Thank you Nutrprofe, for your response and for the enlightenment. Clearly, I didn't do my homework sufficiently on this topic before writing about it. I believe this information is very illustrative in light of the fact that the woman who prescribed the metformin to me actually implied that I would have more diarrhea from the medication if I ate a lot of refined sugars. I know that to some extent, I'm imposing my own prejudices on to this woman by assuming that she was subconsciously driven to make me feel like a villain for eating refined sugars. However, I don't think its much of a stretch. Thank you Nutrprofe, for your response and for the enlightenment. Clearly, I didn’t do my homework sufficiently on this topic before writing about it.

I believe this information is very illustrative in light of the fact that the woman who prescribed the metformin to me actually implied that I would have more diarrhea from the medication if I ate a lot of refined sugars. I know that to some extent, I’m imposing my own prejudices on to this woman by assuming that she was subconsciously driven to make me feel like a villain for eating refined sugars. However, I don’t think its much of a stretch.

]]> Comment on Diabetes or Diarrhea – Take Your Pick by nutrprofe http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/diabetes-or-diarrhea-%e2%80%93-take-your-pick/#comment-37 nutrprofe Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:50:14 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=51#comment-37 Metformin works to reduce glucose production in the liver by mimicking AMP. While it has no side effects for most people, some people cannot tolerate metformin and have severe diarrhea. There is no known connection to dietary simple sugars. Metformin works to reduce glucose production in the liver by mimicking AMP. While it has no side effects for most people, some people cannot tolerate metformin and have severe diarrhea. There is no known connection to dietary simple sugars.

]]> Comment on Diabetes or Diarrhea – Take Your Pick by Miriam Gordon http://fatscience.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/diabetes-or-diarrhea-%e2%80%93-take-your-pick/#comment-18 Miriam Gordon Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:19:35 +0000 http://fatscience.wordpress.com/?p=51#comment-18 Dear Paula Jean, I am so glad you found this post informative and greatly appreciate your support. Fighting anti-obesity bias within the medical-scientific establishment is one of the biggest civil rights challenges that face us today. I will continue to assess the scientific literature on the science of obesity, and do my best to address the civil rights issues as well. I hope you will continue to check in with my blog. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I do believe there are many physicians and other health professionals that are becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of obese patients, and good information on how to eat healthier and exercise sensibly are out there. Despite culturally based anti-obesity bias on the part of obesity researchers, particularly those who have a financial interest in keeping everyone feeling terrible about being overweight, there is a growing database of excellent scientific evidence for the intractability of what is defined in our society as "excess" weight. All we can do is keep learning. I wish you also the best of health. Thanks very much again for your comment. Best, Miriam Dear Paula Jean,

I am so glad you found this post informative and greatly appreciate your support. Fighting anti-obesity bias within the medical-scientific establishment is one of the biggest civil rights challenges that face us today. I will continue to assess the scientific literature on the science of obesity, and do my best to address the civil rights issues as well. I hope you will continue to check in with my blog. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I do believe there are many physicians and other health professionals that are becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of obese patients, and good information on how to eat healthier and exercise sensibly are out there. Despite culturally based anti-obesity bias on the part of obesity researchers, particularly those who have a financial interest in keeping everyone feeling terrible about being overweight, there is a growing database of excellent scientific evidence for the intractability of what is defined in our society as “excess” weight. All we can do is keep learning.

I wish you also the best of health. Thanks very much again for your comment.

Best, Miriam

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