According to some sources, at least 1 in 8 of the world population is classified as ‘obese’. Since nobody in any government seems to have thought up a working solution, what do you believe can be done to solve the epidemic?
Get rid of BMI.
Add glp1s to all sugar ingredients in processed food.
I stopped eating animal products and lost 50 lbs, so that’s a start
Then meat being made largely unaffordable by the inflation crisis ought to bend the curve.
Theres a whole host of issues, many of which are already mentioned, but two other big ones are treating it more as a health issue rather than a moral one, and improving healthcare - especially mental health care.
People don’t realize, but a lot of obesity cases are tied into other health issues - especially mental health. This is doubly true for more extreme cases. For a very simple example, those who are neurodivergent often struggle with specific stimulations including food textures (limiting food options), especially in combination with food deserts or areas with little selection. On the other hand, this can often be improved or worked around with medication and/or therapy. Medication such as antidepressants or antipsychotics causing weight gain is another very common example, and while it isn’t as easy to avoid, better medical support can make it easier to manage, especially if you need to change diet as a result. For a more extreme example, trauma is very closely tied to weight gain and eating disorders. Watch any episode of My Six-Hundred Pound Life (or better yet, don’t), and you’ll notice that almost all of them have significant trauma. For example, childhood abuse can lead to difficulty self-regulating, or sexual abuse can cause someone to feel that being “”“ugly”“” will help prevent future assaults. These examples just scratch the surface too, and things only gen messier when you have comorbid conditions. Just imagine, for example, someone with OCD affecting how they eat, depression treated with a weight-gain causing medication, and PMOS (a hormonal issue common in women, which often makes it extremely difficult to lose weight). Doctors often ignore or struggle to treat any of these individually, nonetheless all three together, and thats before we open the conversation around affordability.
Given this, and just how sensitive and defensive humans are in general, that makes it all-the-more important that we treat people respectfully and kindly. Even ignoring basic decentcy, demonizing or mocking people for their weight delegitimises efforts to change systematic barriers, makes accessing care more difficult or unfriendly, often wastes time or confuses with “advice” that is unhelpful or outright destructive given the context of someone’s medical background (I.E. telling someone with an eating disorder to control their eating more), and increases stress, which in turn, makes medical issues worse and harder to cope with. Instead, if we treat it as a medical issue, we avoid all of this and stop moralising or hurting people already struggling.
Hormone shots seem to be the most effective. Diet works but good luck convincing many people of that let alone getting them to actually stick to it.
Teach children how to eat. In school. Countries that do this have much lower obesity rates.
I was taught how to eat in school, from a food pyriamid modified by producers of breads, dairy and sugar. :(
Treating it like the multifaceted issue it is instead of a moral failing would be a start.
In the US that would mean labor laws which favor the human instead of the business. With hours that allow more daily personal time and pay that allows prosperity even at minimum wages. These things would tale care of most people.
It would also mean medical treatment being available without burdensome cost, and with consideration to it being a mental hurdle like addiction and destigmatizing seeking aid for it in that manner. Universal healthcare removing the need/demand for private and employment tied insurance would help this as well.
There are many more facets, and facets within facets to all of this, but from a mile high view I think this would help a lot.
I don’t think there is a solid answer but the current political chaos points to one step
- make junk and fast food more expensive - vice taxes
Looking at myself, I see portion size is the number one issue. Mental state also contribute, although I can’t claim anything treatable. So I eat too much and it’s a comfort thing but I don’t see a way for government to help me do the right thing there
Exercise. While exercise isn’t the main contributor to being overweight, it does go to state of mind. I’m much less likely to overeat when I’ve been active. This is where we ought to be able to do something to keep people moving
The collapse of industrialized society will solve it very quickly.
Make people even poorer, so that they can transform from too poor to buy healthy food to too poor to buy food
I can tell you what I did. I went from 92 kilos to 69 kilos in a year.
- Nearly removed all carbs from my diet
- Increased diet to include vegetables and chicken and eggs
- Removed artificial sugar
- Removed all apps which allowed food delivery
- Went to gym 5 days a week
- Told myself everyday “trust the process”
I started noticing changes after 3 months.
Now how do you convert this into government policy? That is a huge problem altogether. Long term thinking + strong regulations. Even if you try something like this, you will be ridiculed for suggesting government overreach. At the end of the day, a diet is a personal choice.
Free healthcare including counseling, free gyms, shorter work weeks to give people more time for activities, and subsidize healthy foods so they’re more affordable.
Thanks for highlighting counseling. I think people kind of ignore/underestimate the mental aspect of trying to be fit. A true long-lasting healthy life needs its ground work to be based on sustainable habits. It needs to be taught that fitness isn’t what you do for 1 hour in the gym, but the full 24 hours in your day. At the same time, fitness isn’t torturing your body. You need to reward yourself from time to time (but within limits).
I’d like to add that this education and building of habits should start in grade school.
This works, I did it too. I lost 65 pounds in six months, and It’s been gone for over ten years now.
But, that doesn’t make profits for the rich and takes effort, so they made a drug instead.
If you reduce obesity, how will healthcare insurance companies survive? Won’t someone think about the poor billionaire CEOs?
The upcoming food shortages should take care of it.
I am obese. It’s a cumulation of
caloriesfactors. It’s some part meds - which I have to take because society and I don’t mesh well because I actually believe people deserve a good quality of life instead of profit over everything. It’s some part emotional issues - I’ve had some trauma and I need some therapy but I can’t afford the time and money. It’s some part convenience - I don’t have a lot of external support to take care of my family, so I have to do a lot and the available choices are usually focused on convenience not health. It’s some part logistics - walking is not an option around my city and public transit is completely worthless.I think most problems with obesity will be solved like this:
If it weren’t taboo, people would for sure just buy mobility scooters and ride around in those all day.
Have you never been to Florida or any state fair in the USA? No one walks, walking is for suckers.
Ban every food and drink invented in the last hundred years
Dr Pepper was invented in 1885 and Coca-cola a year later in 1886.
Thread over. This is clearly the answer.
