translated from Spanish: World Obesity Day: 7 myths affecting our “war on rolls”

Global obesity has almost tripled since 1975, according to the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) figures.
The U.N. agency estimates that more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight in 2016. Of these, more than 650 million were obese.
These figures help justify why authorities in various fields are talking about an “obesity epidemic” that, according to the UN, is killing about three million people a year, and whose annual cost is around US$2 trillion (according to a 2014 estimate from the firm McKinsey).
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Scientists and policymakers warn that efforts to address obesity are thwarted by misconceptions and prejudices, but what has been proven so far to be true or false around obesity?
You may be surprised by the answers.
“Obesity is a choice, not a disease”
Scientific evidence indicates that willpower is not linked to obesity. The United States is one of the countries most affected by the obesity epidemic. U.S. health authorities estimate that more than 36% of the population is now obese.
The American Medical Association considers obesity to be a disease since 2013.
Still, a 2018 survey conducted by Medscape, a news portal for health professionals, found that 36% of doctors and 46% of nurses in the country thought otherwise.
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And 80% of doctors responded that lifestyle choices were “always or often” the underlying cause of obesity.
However, a report published in September by the British Psychological Society emphatically stated that “obesity is not a ‘choice’.”
“People are overweight or obese as a result of a complex combination of biological and psychological factors combined with social and environmental influences,” the report says.
“Obesity is not simply due to an individual’s unwillingness.”
“It’s not really about genetics”
Research revealed the link between genetics and obesity in the 1990s.Scientific research has identified genetic links to obesity since the 1990s.
Last July, a team of researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology concluded that genetically predisposed people are at higher risk of having a high body mass index (BMI), especially in recent decades.
BMI is the most standardized way to measure whether our weight is healthy and is calculated using our weight and height.
The team analysed a sample of nearly 119,000 people in Norway who had repeatedly been measured their BMI.
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They found that BMI had increased substantially in the Norwegian population over the decades, but that genetics had made some Norwegians gain more weight.
“Today, genetic predisposition would make, on average, a 35-year-old Norwegian of average height 6.8 kilos heavier than his (genetically protected) pairs,” Maria Brandkvist, one of the team’s researchers, told the BBC.
“Being overweight will always make you less healthy”
Some obese people can be metabolically healthy. The relationship between excess weight and health complications is well known and proven.
But a growing number of studies are questioning whether being overweight or obese is in all cases dangerous to health.
In 2012, the European Society of Cardiology published the largest study to date and revealed an “obesity paradox.”
He found that some people may be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, and that they are no more at risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people.
They also do not suffer from conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure and have a better physical condition than other obese.
“Obesity is known to be linked to a large number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular problems and cancer.”
“However, there seems to be a subgroup of obese people who seem to be protected from metabolic complications linked to obesity,” said Francisco Ortega, a researcher at the University of Granada in Spain, and lead author of the study.
“Doctors should take into account that not all obese people have the same prognosis.”
“All calories are the same”
When it comes to calories, quality should be the focus of the diet rather than quantity. Not overeating is the golden rule for weight management, but shouldn’t calorie quality more than quantity of a diet?
In its definition of a healthy diet, WHO mentions a daily intake of 2,000 calories per day for adults as a guide.
But the agency also adds other recommendations: for example, that less than 30% of total energy intake comes from fats.
A 2011 Harvard University study showed that certain foods are more likely to lead to long-term weight gain.
Researchers monitored more than 120.00 healthy men and women for nearly 20 years and studied them in 4-year cycles.
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The average participant gained 1.52 kg every four years (a total of 7.6 kg in 20 years).
Consumption of processed foods high in starches, refined grains, fats and sugars increased weight gain: only eating fries resulted in an average weight gain of around 1.5 kg every four years, while eating vegetables in excess actually led to a weight loss of 0.09 kg.
“We should set realistic goals for weight loss so we avoid frustration”
Realistic goals for weight loss are no guarantee of success. Avoiding high expectations can be a good rule of view for life.
However, several studies suggest that there is no negative association between ambitious goals and weight loss.
According to a 2017 experiment described in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, high expectations for weight loss led to better results in a group of 88 severely obese people.
“Obesity is just a problem in rich countries”
The low price of unhealthy food is linked to an increased risk of obesity in the low-income population. While many developed countries have high rates of obesity, a look at the global obesity ranking might surprise you.
In terms of obesity prevalence, the countries most affected are Pacific Islands (in American Samoa, about 75% of the population is considered obese).
It is true that these nations have very small populations, but developing countries are increasingly struggling with obesity. In Egypt and Turkey, 32% of the population is obese, according to 2016 WHO data.
In fact, studies show that people with lower incomes are the most vulnerable to obesity.
“Obesity is the product of social inequality. In the U.S., the most ‘obese’ state, Arkansas is also the fourth poorest state, and the poorest, Mississippi, is also the third most obese,” says Martin Cohen, author of “I Think Therefore I Eat”, a book on food sociology.
“Breastfeeding is not linked to obesity”
Breastfeeding reduces the chances of a child becoming obese. In recent decades, formula has been aggressively touted as a substitute for breast milk.
But according to a WHO study published in April, breastfeeding can also reduce the chances of a child becoming obese.
Scientists who analysed 30,000 children in 16 European countries found that children who were never breastfed were 22% more likely to be obese.
Although experts were quick to point out that factors such as a healthier lifestyle in families where women breastfed their children could be a factor in influence.
Joao Breda, one of the study’s authors, noted that the benefits of breast milk against obesity were irrefutable.
“Breastfeeding has a very strong protective effect. There’s evidence. The benefit is huge, so we should tell people.”

Original source in Spanish