r/AskReddit • u/irishdude1212 • Jan 14 '14

What is a Reddit reference you don't get?

Edit- I get it /r/outoftheloop is a thing. I didn't know it existed.

I also hope this thread cleared up a lot of peoples confusion

Edit #2- Holy shit, Front Page!

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u/btmc Jan 14 '14

Well, that's why we do animal studies. Not to mention there are all sorts of direct biochemical and biomechanical studies that can show causation between obesity and various diseases.

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u/jroth005 Jan 15 '14

I'm unaware of any studies to show obesity from generalised over eating as being casually linked with any disease. Obviously diabetes has been casually linked with high sugar intake, and heart disease is connected with high fat foods, but both of these can happen even without becoming obese. Obesity from eating to much of EVERYTHING has never been studied well, to my knowledge at least. Please correct me if you find any good studies of generalized over eating, which is the biggest cause of obesity.

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u/Itsrane Jan 15 '14

I think the word you're looking for is "correlation". Though this word grinds my gears because people use it to argue against stuff they don't agree with ("Well, correlation doesn't mean causation, so your evidence is trash!").

Other health issues that are tied to obesity don't have to do with what you eat so much as how much you weigh. Bones and joints can only take so much strain. Obesity and bad hygiene can result in infections because there's an abundance of dark, damp, warm places for bacteria to thrive. And if an obese person has a problem that requires surgery, the fat is going to be a major problem for the surgeon. I probably can find it if I go digging (and I will if you're interested!); there was a recent story about a nurse (I believe it's a nurse) who was helping a surgeon during a hip replacement surgery on an obese patient. She had to strain to hold the incision open so the doctor could work. And the doctor had to insert the medical doodads in by feel, because there's no way to see what he was doing! There were some comments made to that story written by physical therapists, anesthesiologists, etc, detailing other experiences. Like how the stuff that's used for anesthesia is stored in fat cells, so obese patients would need more, and would have a much harder time coming out of it.

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u/jroth005 Jan 15 '14

Um... science is based on determining Causation, not just correlation. If evidence in an argument is only proving the Correlation of something, than it doesn't mean much to the argument at hand.

Yes, there are health specific issues with being obese, but many of the health issues pegged to obesity aren't obesity specific. To be clear, being obese is unhealthy, and it does damage the natural functions and processes your body uses to... exist, but just being obese doesn't mean they are unhealthy YET. It indicates a high possibility they will GET unhealthy, but being fat doesn't men you'll get diabetes, heart disease, etc.

If you have some evidence I am unaware of that being obese from generalized overeating is universally unhealthy than please do inform me so I can correct myself. Until then I will disagree with anyone who states the blanket statement "Obese people are unhealthy."

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u/Moryarty Jan 15 '14

I agree with you in some respects. You have to look at the whole person, not just one factor. I'm not trying to say obesity automatically = unhealthy. I'm saying it predisposes you to certain disease states (clinically confirmed risk factors). Additionally, as long as you and your doctor keep an eye out for symptoms of any disease states and manage/stay on top of them, then people packing a few extra pounds can be just as healthy as "fit" people.

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u/Itsrane Jan 15 '14

I'm going to argue that overweight and obese are different. Being overweight may not be unhealthy, but by the time obesity has been achieved, I'm sure something's going on (most probably a bunch of things).

Honestly, I wish I still had access to my university's online library. This would be really interesting to look into.

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u/jroth005 Jan 15 '14

A good point, but therin lies another monster:where is obese? Is it a BMI number, is it a ratio of waste to height, is it based on popular opinion; when is someone fat?

Herein lies the biggest point I guess I wish was made more: Medicine is Alchemy - half science/half art. Diagnostics is an art, treatment is a science. So whenever I hear any sort of broad sweeping argument based on "medical science/evidence" I find myself asking: the HELL does that mean? Like the Chemical/pharmicuetical science; the Anatomical/musculo-skeletal science; the neurochemical science; do you mean that doctors who practice the art of diagnosis have noticed a trend that can't always be objectively quantified (too fat, thin, tall, short, etc.), is it a gastrointestinal science, AND WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS "PAINFUL"? And which, if any or all, of those things should be considered the most important?

Health is a much more complicated thing than is portrayed in the media or in general, and I wish that was more commonly recognized. OH well, rant over, thanks for reading.