Anyone who is a veteran of the health and fitness industry knows that there are a number of theories about why the proverbial ?we? are getting fatter, and fatter and even fatter.? Everyone has an opinion, and they all claim to have research on their side.? When it comes to obesity, there is certainly no shortage of finger-pointing in today?s media driven health arena, nor is there a shortage of financially inspired cures.? Ironically, in the midst of these accusations and solutions, people continue to get fatter.
Popular rhetoric seems to be that carbs, more officially know as carbohydrates, are the problem.? Unfortunately the case against carbs is weak at best, certainly not any stronger than the evidence once used to suggest fat makes us fat.? Still, ?low-carb? has gained traction just like ?low-fat? once did, and in matters of nutrition, fact and science almost seem irrelevant.? Everyone knows, public perception sells products, even food.
Those who have studied nutrition understand that despite anti-carb campaigns, not all carbs are created equal, just like not all proteins or all fats.? They can concede that ingestion of overly-processed, nutrient-void foods, carbs or otherwise, probably contribute to obesity at some level, yet they don?t necessarily get wowed by phrases like ?anti-nutrients?, ?leaky-gut? or ?paleolithic?.
Most nutritionists are scientists who look at the science and see it for what it is, one more piece of the puzzle that needs to be considered when making cohesive and meaningful recommendations to the average person who really has no clue what gluconeogensis is or how the liver metabolizes fructose.? They understand that what we do know is often overshadowed by what we don?t know.? Yet this realization doesn?t stop supposed experts from making unfounded claims, selling their books, and peddling their revolutionary philosophies to any one looking for the next big ?answer?, the one that will finally reverse this trend that is now being deemed an epidemic.
But what if that answer doesn?t exist, or what if it exists but is different for everyone?? What if obesity is influenced by a multitude of factors and not just the result of any one macronutrient or behavior?? What if the masses lose weight on a low-fat diet only to gain it back, then lose it again on a low-carb diet, only to gain it back?? What if the carb counters of today are the fat fanatics of yesterday? What if we continue to get fatter even amidst all the revolutionary ideas, best-selling books, new theories and sexy solutions?
The rise of obesity suggests that health/fitness/diet professionals are still losing the battle despite a radical shift in nutrition philosophy that went from blaming everything except global warming on fats to carbs.? Low-carb or low-fat, health and wellness professionals are still failing the public who looks to them for advice in areas where they claim to possess some expertise.
It?s easy to point the finger at the USDA food pyramid or their recommendations to eat more grains, even though stats tell us that people never bought into the USDA recommendations, or at least they didn?t follow them.? It?s all too easy to blame high fructose corn syrup, even though obesity is increasing in countries where high fructose corn syrup isn?t used.? In the end, it seems, it is just as easy to blame carbs as it was to blame fat twenty years ago.
Nutrition, health and disease are extremely complicated.? Understanding them often involves teasing out the effect of individual factors that can?t always be isolated or considered out of the context of the entire human experience.? Yet despite this obvious complexity, health professionals are always trying to neatly package things for the masses.? They echo public health messages like eat healthy, but then disagree, sometimes profoundly, on what constitutes eating healthy.
As a nutritional professional, I personally have no problem with someone cutting back on carbs, or fats, or sugar, or anything else if that particular diet works for the individual.? However, I highly doubt low-carb diets are the answer to our obesity problem.? In fact, one could argue the low-carb approach to weight loss is just as flawed and limited in scope as the low-fat approach.
So, people like me wonder, what?s next? What happens in another ten years when all the books are sold, low-carb products dominate our shelves, people have lost and regained the weight, and few people are any healthier than they were a decade before?? What happens when the low-carb philosophy fades into the background as history suggests it will?? Perhaps I?m a perpetual cynic. Still, I have to wonder, what happens if history repeats itself and we are forced to accept that it?s not just the carbs, then what?
Suggested Reading:
Association between Dietary Carbohydrates and Body Weight
Photo Credit:
Croissants ? Freedigitalphotos.net
Shaun received her Bachelor's of Nutritional Science with minors in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Delaware in 1994 and then completed a Professional Master's in Physical Therapy also from the University of Delaware in 1997. Shaun has worked as an aerobic/group fitness instructor, a personal trainer, a massage therapist, an out-patient orthopedic physical therapist, and a consultant for an international credentialing agency that evaluates the educational documents of physical therapists educated overseas. She is currently an advisory board member for the Delaware Academy of Massage and Bodyworks and has taught continuing education for massage therapy practitioners. She also writes online fitness and nutrition articles and runs a blog titled Fitness for Smart People. Perhaps most importantly, Shaun is a mother of four who was forced to deal with a serious injury that left her with permanent nerve damage in her right foot. She understands the unique challenges we all face when trying to get and stay healthy.
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Tags: carbohydrate, carbohydrates, carbs, diet, diets, health, health care politics, healthy eating, losing weight, low carbs, nutrition, politics of health, public health, weight loss
Source: http://blog.fitnessforsmartpeople.com/2011/obesity-what-if-its-not-the-carbs/
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