The fatting of America.

[tgibson3770]

Everywhere you look, obesity is there. I am not advocating to be a food policeman, but we need to start making a voice in our land. People do not like being overweight. But certain foods are addictive and the public needs to be educated on proper unbiased nutrition. Meat and dairy products and foods that are fried are absolutely in no way beneficial to the human body. The human physiological system is completely adaptable to a total vegetarian diet. But with the refined sugars and fatty foods that poison our body and cloud our minds, addiction sets in deep and becomes 'nearly' impossible to break the bonds.

I am challenging every nurse to take up the baton on this one. If we, health care professionals cannot make the first stand on the nutrition value of America, then the general population have little to no hope.

How about it? Educate, rejuvinate, permeate.

[KellNY, RN]

caffeine may be a diuretic but the sodium content in coke is insane, hence the fluid retention.

you know, it's really not. i'm not sure where this urban legend came from (maybe it used to be true?), but an 8oz coke has only 33mg of sodium. yes, i understand that they usually come in larger sizes, but still, a 16oz cup would only have 66mg.

that's hardly an insane amount.

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/mail/goodanswer/soft_drink_nutrition.pdf

[obnurse2004]

M.Mama - you're only 32! By the time you're 42, you might be needing a joint replacement or oral diabetic agent along with that Lipitor and anti-hypertensive. Hopefully, you won't have gained a lot of weight so that we can put you on a regular OR table and not have to do the case on a Hercules table (for those 600 pounds and over). I've been dieting since I was nine. I work really hard to stay slightly chubby and I'm glad I did because I see what limited lives the morbidly obese have. Their weight only adds to their unhappiness - unhappiness that they tried to soothe with food. Yeah, for a few minutes the food does make you feel better - but its only a temporary fix for a symptom and doesn't address the original causes of the obesity.

That is harsh. Just because she is obese now does not mean that she will gain more. In fact, she could lose the weight.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

That is harsh. Just because she is obese now does not mean that she will gain more. In fact, she could lose the weight.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound harsh. Just meant to point out that it is totally illogical to assume that because you don't experience difficulty now doesn't mean that things are OK. It's denial (and I do it as well as anyone else). If you worked in an OR, you would see on a mass scale (oooh, bad pun) what punishment your body takes from the weight and the costs to yourself and for society to periodically replace those joints. I didn't imply that she would gain more - just wanted to point out what things have become when an OR has to purchase two Hercules tables just to get the orthopedic cases done. It's just too easy to soothe our troubles with food - I've done it all my life and appreciate what an addiction food can become.

[Jo Dirt]

M.Mama - you're only 32! By the time you're 42, you might be needing a joint replacement or oral diabetic agent along with that Lipitor and anti-hypertensive. Hopefully, you won't have gained a lot of weight so that we can put you on a regular OR table and not have to do the case on a Hercules table (for those 600 pounds and over). I've been dieting since I was nine. I work really hard to stay slightly chubby and I'm glad I did because I see what limited lives the morbidly obese have. Their weight only adds to their unhappiness - unhappiness that they tried to soothe with food. Yeah, for a few minutes the food does make you feel better - but its only a temporary fix for a symptom and doesn't address the original causes of the obesity.

Well, I WILL NOT take any anti-HTN or cholesterol meds. or any other such thing. And I tend to be hypoglycemic, not hyper.I won't be dragging myself into a doctor's office with a walker. I won't expect doctor's to "fix" me and keep me hanging onto life a little while longer. That is the problem with medical care. People think it is worth it to live at all costs.

When your number is up, your number is up.

Furthermore, not all obese people are obese because of an underlying emotional problem. Some people are just built thick. My paternal grandma was one. She was short and fat, ate what she wanted, was all bubbly and jolly and active until she died in her sleep at 76 yrs. old. With the exception of bubbly and jolly, I take after her and I can think of others. Severely obese woman in a nursing home with rosy cheeks and shiny hair. Her daughter says her mom was never mean or angry and always positive. Her only problem now is that she thinks her mother comes to visit her everyday and she sees little dogs all over the nursing home...

but like Tweety said, just because you're thin doesn't mean you have the key to health. I was supposed to be too fat to get pregnant. But here I am, due in June. Funny thing is I hardly ever do anything to get pregnant, so if I was "active" I'd hate to see the pile of kids I would have by now. And as a matter of fact, the only time my cycle got out of whack was when I was taking soymilk and soy supplements. People point out that Asians don't have as much of certain kinds of cancers as Americans, but then they don't mention that there are much higher rates of other kinds of cancer in Asians than Americans.

This is why I don't fall for the latest food scares. All things in moderation. And oh oh oh, I didn't mention I'm a LIGHT eater!!! I eat about two meals a day, and they aren't large meals, either. It's denial to assume people are fat because they are unhappy and overeaters and have emotional problems or some other kind of personal defect.. Sometimes a person is fat because they are FAT. And anyone who needs a Hercules table has bigger issues than food. People that fat are usually that fat because of a medical condition beyond their control. Yes, it's gross, but what do you want to do, take them out and shoot them? Shoot me?

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Well, I WILL NOT take any anti-HTN or cholesterol meds. or any other such thing. And I tend to be hypoglycemic, not hyper.I won't be dragging myself into a doctor's office with a walker. I won't expect doctor's to "fix" me and keep me hanging onto life a little while longer. That is the problem with medical care. People think it is worth it to live at all costs.

When your number is up, your number is up.

Furthermore, not all obese people are obese because of an underlying emotional problem. Some people are just built thick. My paternal grandma was one. She was short and fat, ate what she wanted, was all bubbly and jolly and active until she died in her sleep at 76 yrs. old. With the exception of bubbly and jolly, I take after her and I can think of others. Severely obese woman in a nursing home with rosy cheeks and shiny hair. Her daughter says her mom was never mean or angry and always positive. Her only problem now is that she thinks her mother comes to visit her everyday and she sees little dogs all over the nursing home...

but like Tweety said, just because you're thin doesn't mean you have the key to health. I was supposed to be too fat to get pregnant. But here I am, due in June. Funny thing is I hardly ever do anything to get pregnant, so if I was "active" I'd hate to see the pile of kids I would have by now. And as a matter of fact, the only time my cycle got out of whack was when I was taking soymilk and soy supplements. People point out that Asians don't have as much of certain kinds of cancers as Americans, but then they don't mention that there are much higher rates of other kinds of cancer in Asians than Americans.

This is why I don't fall for the latest food scares. All things in moderation. And oh oh oh, I didn't mention I'm a LIGHT eater!!! I eat about two meals a day, and they aren't large meals, either. It's denial to assume people are fat because they are unhappy and overeaters and have emotional problems or some other kind of personal defect.. Sometimes a person is fat because they are FAT. And anyone who needs a Hercules table has bigger issues than food. People that fat are usually that fat because of a medical condition beyond their control. Yes, it's gross, but what do you want to do, take them out and shoot them? Shoot me?

M. Mama Hey, just to defend us emotional overeaters - its not a defect. Its just being human. As for you, my dear, there is a great difference between being chubby and being morbidly obese. They call it "morbidly" obese because it can cause grave health problems. People aren't morbidly obese because they are just born that way. That defies the law of thermodynamics. Morbid obsesity was a rarity 40 years ago and now its rather common so its definitely lifestyle connected (because the dramatic rise happened before the recent phenomenon of morbidly obese people marrying and producing obese children). I'm not an advocate of "responsible eating" because food should be fun, but, of course, we all have a different definition of "fun." You can deny all you want, but no one wants to be morbidly obese. They can ACT jolly and all that stuff but no one wants that condition for themselves or for their loved ones.

[Jo Dirt]

And it is a delusion to think being thin will make you happy.

[jimthorp]

People that fat are usually that fat because of a medical condition beyond their control. Yes, it's gross, but what do you want to do, take them out and shoot them? Shoot me?

Simply not true. The majority of people at the local Old Country Buffet or Chinese food buffet are obese, most of those are morbidly obese. The majority of people I see in the local produce isle are not obese. One only needs to observe the contents of food shopping carts of obese people to see the real problem. But its not diet alone. These people do not get regular, vigorous exercise.

Shoot them no, but I also find it difficult to have empathy for them when they come looking to medicine to fix what they have done, then refuse to be compliant with the prescribed Tx modalities.

[jimthorp]

And it is a delusion to think being thin will make you happy.

Very true. Likewise, eating everything and anything you want and being morbidly obese will not make you happy. I have cared for many morbidly obese people anywhere from 45yo to 67yo and every single one of them had a Dx of depression. Not one of them had a medical condition not directly associative to their excess body fat with the exception of hypothyroidism and COPD.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I don't think anyone's happiness should be tied up in their weight. How many obese people think "if I only lost 100 pounds I'd be happy........." only to find they still are miserable being thin. And we all know many skinny unhappy people.

The old saying "I'd rather die being fat and happy..........." is a good thing in a way because it doesn't tie up being miserable with being obese, but it also rings true bedcause obesity does indeed cause a host of problems that could be deadly.

There's peace of mind somewhere.

[EmerNurse, BSN, RN]

I dunno what to think honestly. Had a guy a while back 500lbs+, the x-ray table was only sanctioned for 350lbs. Took us hours to figure out how to get good x-rays on the guy because he couldn't position himself. He was in pain despite very reasonable amounts of dilaudid, was younger than I am. It was very difficult and the guy had to stay on our gurney until we could get him admitted. His size alone caused his admission, because his problem was one that otherwise could have been solved in the ER.

He told me he didn't want banding or other bari surgery - wouldn't "do that to his body" and that he was "happy the way he was". This ER admit wasn't the first for the same problem, by the way. Took 4 male techs to put a foley in the poor man - between holding up the porifice and finding the member.

It was an amazing challenge to care for this guy, simply due to his size. But he honestly didn't see the connection between his weight and his problem. Truely didn't want to take any action to change anything. And no, it wasn't due to a thyroid or other problem. He'd had it checked.

Again, no idea what the solution is, but if this trend keeps up, we need more resources (beds, supplies, STAFF) to care for these folks appropriately!

[Jo Dirt]

Very true. Likewise, eating everything and anything you want and being morbidly obese will not make you happy. I have cared for many morbidly obese people anywhere from 45yo to 67yo and every single one of them had a Dx of depression. Not one of them had a medical condition not directly associative to their excess body fat with the exception of hypothyroidism and COPD.

I say the worst kind of illness to have is mental illness. So maybe people should be more sympathetic to their infirmity.

Funny thing, I have a patient in private duty who is HUGE. The extent of her mobility is standing to transfer from a lift chair to a BSC and vice versa. She told me she weighs 210 pounds. I know without a doubt there is no way this woman weighs anywhere close to 210 pounds. Maybe 350 pounds. But I'm in the 210-215 range, and I don't understand. I literally do not eat much. She will have me fix her a bowl of ice cream and she will eat 3-4 of those big peanut butter cookies like you get from Wal-Mart in ONE sitting. Or she will have me fix her SIX to TEN of those sugar cinnamon graham crackers with peanut butter. It is appalling and turns my stomach. I can't even eat a whole 3Musketeers. I will usually eat a breakfast burrito from Mcdonald's with a large sweet tea (it's only a dollar, after all) and for supper an apple or orange and a pimento cheese sandwich or packet of tuna for supper. I will be the first to admit I suffer from severe depression. This may affect my appetite, but I sure don't lose any weight. In fact, when I feel myself going down it's like I can feel my body expanding and while I don't enjoy looking like a wad of chewed up bubble gum my VS are perfect and I just won't die.

Yep, it's gross. Better shoot me.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

Well, I have to admit, I've skipped a fair bit of this thread. Probably I should just keep skipping, but I feel I need to contribute something useful to the discussion.

Years ago, I could lose weight on a 3600 kcal/day diet. I know, because I did. But about every 5 years or so, my activity level declines a bit more, and in the months it take my diet to adapt, I gain 10 pounds. Now I'm seriously overweight, on the verge of morbid obesity, and it's hard to increase my activity level. But I'm working on it.

Still, my overall health is decent. Why? Because smoking is aerobic. 1-2 cigarettes raises my pulse just as effectively as ten minutes of jogging, without getting all sweaty.

My doctor says i have borderline HTN and am prediabetic. When I lost some weight right after nursing school, he did an HbA1c, because effortless weight loss can signal the onset of DM. It was fine. I lost my "nursing 20" when I quit eating most of my meals in the car, on the way to or from class and clinicals. My BP is normal when anyone but my doc takes it. Hmmm. So there's that, and the extra 80 lbs or so, and the chronic bronchitis...at least I've got my health.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I do educate patients about the evils of smoking and the importance of diet and exercise. I don't feel at all hypocritical about it. I'm a living example that it isn't easy to adopt/maintain a healthy lifestyle, but we all know it's important to do so. I do encourage patients who look a lot like me to consider starting with small steps. Skip sweets. Walk a little extra. Smoke less. I do a fair job of following my own advice, most of the time, but I'm just as resistent as they are to the idea of making huge, collosal changes all at once. Maybe I'll stop at Subway on the way to work tonight. Better than the hospital cafeteria.

I don't believe a lot of righteous indignation helps anybody.