on PolicyMic
Cameron English Kids eat poorly today, and they usually learn that behavior at home. You'll get no argument from me on that point. But this issue is far too complex to be addressed with a blunt solution like putting kids in foster care.
Cameron English Why do we have to talk about crazy religious leaders at all? The guy lives in fundy land. Let's dismiss him and move on to more important issues.
Cameron English David, it's not difficult to find one example of the policy working. I pointed that out in the article. But this isn't a debate over pulling one child out of her home. We're talking about potentially taking many overweight kids from families and sending them through the foster system. That's where all the problems arise.
Cameron English But it's for the children.
Cameron English It's definitely a difficult issue without a clear solution. The only thing to do is slowly change our food culture, I think.
Cameron English Indeed. I'm surprised at how many people in this thread are alright with this.
Cameron English Those are chronic health problems. They usually develop over a period of years. Unlike physically abusive parents, for example, those are not immediate threats. And you're wrong to assume that the obesity is due entirely to parental neglect.
Cameron English Because lots of dumb people read those articles.
Cameron English Yeah, it is pretty cool, isn't it?
Cameron English I've got one: every team that signed one of Oakland's all-star players beginning after the 2001 season must contribute $50 million to build the A's a new stadium.
Cameron English I mostly use it to promote my PM articles and network with other writers. It's useful in that sense, but the interactions are otherwise pretty shallow. Though I think that's true of most written communication these days. In fact, that's why I have a job, because most people never learn how to write grammatically correct sentences.
Cameron English Why?
Cameron English Maybe. My first thought was, "Really? Facebook's depressing?" So I'm glad they did this study.
Cameron English Yeah, it's a weird complaint. I'm very much an introvert, but I've never felt worse after being on facebook
Cameron English I agree.
Cameron English That is not an example of forming an opinion without evidence. The very report you accused me of misquoting said the same thing about how exercise affects individuals. Furthermore, using an anecdote as part of an argument is different than depending entirely on an anecdote, which I did not do.
Cameron English Time to revive this classic: http://www.policymic.com/articles/3279/kanye-west-fred-durst-matt-damon-and-other-celebrities-should-stay-out-of-politics
Cameron English You spammed my article with seven comments over this quote: “Still, despite the intuitive appeal of the idea that physical activity helps in losing weight, it appears to produce only modest increments of weight loss beyond those achieved by dietary measures and its effects no doubt vary among people (64)." That's perfectly consistent with the argument I made in the original article and the followup piece. People achieve modest weight loss through caloric restriction and exercise, and then they gain every pound of it back. The studies show this over and over. Anyway, the summary from the ACSM is just that, a summary. The bulk of the argument is based on some uncontroversial biochemistry and a lot of clinical research.
Cameron English You're honored because I think Maher's a self-righteous ass clown? : )
Cameron English Darwin, I was going to get super pissed and point out that Maher is as much an unfunny ideologue as Limbaugh. But I think that would prove your point. Good article.
Cameron English Congratulations on your success. I'm glad you found something that works for you. However, I eat way less fish and I've never biked ten miles in my life, yet I've lost 50 lbs in the last 7 months. If you can so authoritatively state how the health equation works, I wonder how I and so many other people succeed by eating hella bacon and skipping the bike rides.
Cameron English Good point. But it was still a relatively small group of people. And the research showing that most people regain their lost weight is also difficult to reconcile. Nobody exercises hoping that they can slim down for two months, only to undo all the hard work shortly after.
Cameron English " Every few months, a new dieting trend comes out, and we rush to pick up the new literature, demonize whatever macronutrient is chosen as the villain..." That depends on the macronutrient we're demonizing. The primary reason we have such a problem with obesity is because we blamed the wrong portion of our diets (mainly saturated fat) and embraced the "calories are calories" mentality.
Cameron English Yeah, it's a very good point. Thanks for the constructive criticism.
Cameron English "5:30" and "jogging" should be all the lack of motivation you need, dude. : ) But seriously, I exercise 3-4 times a week--push ups, pulls ups, long walks and disc golf. It's all enjoyable and I see the benefits. I just don't think the weight loss is one of them.
on PolicyMic
Cameron English Kids eat poorly today, and they usually learn that behavior at home. You'll get no argument from me on that point. But this issue is far too complex to be addressed with a blunt solution like putting kids in foster care.
Cameron English Why do we have to talk about crazy religious leaders at all? The guy lives in fundy land. Let's dismiss him and move on to more important issues.
Cameron English David, it's not difficult to find one example of the policy working. I pointed that out in the article. But this isn't a debate over pulling one child out of her home. We're talking about potentially taking many overweight kids from families and sending them through the foster system. That's where all the problems arise.
Cameron English But it's for the children.
Cameron English It's definitely a difficult issue without a clear solution. The only thing to do is slowly change our food culture, I think.
Cameron English Indeed. I'm surprised at how many people in this thread are alright with this.
Cameron English Those are chronic health problems. They usually develop over a period of years. Unlike physically abusive parents, for example, those are not immediate threats. And you're wrong to assume that the obesity is due entirely to parental neglect.
Cameron English Because lots of dumb people read those articles.
Cameron English Yeah, it is pretty cool, isn't it?
Cameron English I've got one: every team that signed one of Oakland's all-star players beginning after the 2001 season must contribute $50 million to build the A's a new stadium.
Cameron English I mostly use it to promote my PM articles and network with other writers. It's useful in that sense, but the interactions are otherwise pretty shallow. Though I think that's true of most written communication these days. In fact, that's why I have a job, because most people never learn how to write grammatically correct sentences.
Cameron English Why?
Cameron English Maybe. My first thought was, "Really? Facebook's depressing?" So I'm glad they did this study.
Cameron English Yeah, it's a weird complaint. I'm very much an introvert, but I've never felt worse after being on facebook
Cameron English I agree.
Cameron English That is not an example of forming an opinion without evidence. The very report you accused me of misquoting said the same thing about how exercise affects individuals. Furthermore, using an anecdote as part of an argument is different than depending entirely on an anecdote, which I did not do.
Cameron English Time to revive this classic: http://www.policymic.com/articles/3279/kanye-west-fred-durst-matt-damon-and-other-celebrities-should-stay-out-of-politics
Cameron English You spammed my article with seven comments over this quote: “Still, despite the intuitive appeal of the idea that physical activity helps in losing weight, it appears to produce only modest increments of weight loss beyond those achieved by dietary measures and its effects no doubt vary among people (64)." That's perfectly consistent with the argument I made in the original article and the followup piece. People achieve modest weight loss through caloric restriction and exercise, and then they gain every pound of it back. The studies show this over and over. Anyway, the summary from the ACSM is just that, a summary. The bulk of the argument is based on some uncontroversial biochemistry and a lot of clinical research.
Cameron English You're honored because I think Maher's a self-righteous ass clown? : )
Cameron English Darwin, I was going to get super pissed and point out that Maher is as much an unfunny ideologue as Limbaugh. But I think that would prove your point. Good article.
Cameron English Congratulations on your success. I'm glad you found something that works for you. However, I eat way less fish and I've never biked ten miles in my life, yet I've lost 50 lbs in the last 7 months. If you can so authoritatively state how the health equation works, I wonder how I and so many other people succeed by eating hella bacon and skipping the bike rides.
Cameron English Good point. But it was still a relatively small group of people. And the research showing that most people regain their lost weight is also difficult to reconcile. Nobody exercises hoping that they can slim down for two months, only to undo all the hard work shortly after.
Cameron English " Every few months, a new dieting trend comes out, and we rush to pick up the new literature, demonize whatever macronutrient is chosen as the villain..." That depends on the macronutrient we're demonizing. The primary reason we have such a problem with obesity is because we blamed the wrong portion of our diets (mainly saturated fat) and embraced the "calories are calories" mentality.
Cameron English Yeah, it's a very good point. Thanks for the constructive criticism.
Cameron English "5:30" and "jogging" should be all the lack of motivation you need, dude. : ) But seriously, I exercise 3-4 times a week--push ups, pulls ups, long walks and disc golf. It's all enjoyable and I see the benefits. I just don't think the weight loss is one of them.