to think that people's weight is mostly down to how they're made?

[blackwell]

OK, I know there are a few people who either overeat massively or starve, but I think that in general if people are 'heavily built' or 'lightly built' that is just how they are. I would say most of my friends eat roughly the same amount, yet there is quite a big difference in size between us. Some people are just naturally slim and maintain it without effort, and others are naturally bigger and it would take a massive effort for them to maintain a size 8/10 whatever.

It's a massively unscientific theory, I know, mainly based on my personal acquaintance!

YABU, Im fat cos I eat like a pig.

Getting the popcorn in.

Oh shit maybe not - I'm already a lardy arse from too much popcorn. (Or maybe I was made that way).

I predict 400 posts by the end of the day.

Really? Oops.

Could be fun though!

Nope, I completely disagree. There's no way that, for example, anyone is 'naturally' a size 18. When I was an 18 I was at least 3 or 4 stone overweight, and ate like a pig. I agree there's no need for anyone to starve, but most people kid themselves when it comes to their weight ime

I think most of its down to the way you are made but some is down to eating too much or too little. I used to be a size 8-10 until i had the dd's, now i seem to eat so much more and enyoy food so i am a healthy 12-14, i think its due to the fact i was always unhealthy as a teenager and felt so much better after i had children. I would love to be that size 10 again but by body has changed so i know i never will be (bigger hips etc..). Some people are just bigger built so will never be a size 8-10 how ever much the dieted.

I'm one of those skinnies who eats mostly crap. I have a friend, who is a couple of dress sizes bigger than me, but SO much healthier - eats better, exercises etc. I guess we will see when we are both 50!!

Well, I don`t agree.

ALL the people I know who are size 8-ish looking are always very careful about what they eat. Yes, you will see them eat fish and chips, but look closely and they don`t eat teh batter and only half the chips and then eat a salad at night. I have one friend who once only had a coffee for lunch as she said she had had a "massive breakfast" and was still full. When I asked her did she have a fry-up, she said "No, but I ate a WHOLE banana".

Most people who are a bit bigger, but still average weight, so not overweight, will eat a bit more and give into temptation every once in a while.

Most people I know who are overweight or obese seem to find it a bit harder than most people to say "no" when offered a biscuit with their tea, or a snack, or a take-away. They are the "No thanks, oh, all right then" kind of people.

It is mainly about lots of small decisions during the day that add up.

There is some difference genetically, and some people definitely have a more slender build, and others have bigger bones, wider hips etc., but that does not affect the amount of bodyfat.

This is also all non.scientific!!!! :)

Yabu and its statements like this that lead obese people to think that its just nature and they can't do anything about it

The fact is that if you eat more than you burn off then you will put on weight.

Plus you can hav no idea what vour friends are eating, they're not likely to admit to downing a block of cheese every night are they?

Yabu and its statements like this that lead obese people to think that its just nature and they can't do anything about it

The fact is that if you eat more than you burn off then you will put on weight.

Plus you can hav no idea what vour friends are eating, they're not likely to admit to downing a block of cheese every night are they?

I think there's an element of both. There are certain body types which I think are more predisposed to putting on weight, but diet does affect it, particularly once you get over a certain size.

I just hope this won't turn into a fatty bashing thread though.

Obviously no one is naturally obese, I'm talking about within the acceptable BMI range, which is a big range.

I think there are differences in body shape down to your genes. Shape is different to weight though! I have small boobs - thats the way I was designed. I have bigger hips than boobs. However through how I eat/exercise, I could either be a size 18 pear, or a size 10 pear.

I know there may be a minority of people who are thin/heavy due to hormonal/thyroud issues....but it is mainly due to self control or lack of it IMHO.

I am (somewhat) naturally a size 18. I got here by 'overeating' one slice of toast for 10 years.

I am genetically unfortunate (short Scot, stocky, giant breasts). I can only eat 1500 calories a day without putting on weight. So that extra slice of toast has done that.

It is very difficult to eat less than 1500 calories or maintain at that. I have managed to lose 18 pounds in the last 6 months by eating 1050 calories a day.

This is extremely hard but for now I would rather be slightly thinner than eat food.

As I get older I am sure that I will just be happy to be a size 18 and hopefully my appetite will reduce as I get oldr and that 1500 calories will be easier to accept.

Ah, this is similar to my BIL, who has high cholesterol.

Dr has told him that he is genetically pre-disposed to high cholesterol (this found out during investigations when he had to have a stent fitted to cure his angina).

So, BIL has decided that it doesn't matter what he eats, you see it's genetic. So he still has chips with almost every meal, and cheese sandwiches whenever he feels like it (annoyingly, he isn't really overweight).

I think those skinny people who eat nothing but cheeseburgers and chips and still stay skinny and those overweight people who eat nothing but salad and still don't lose weight are v rare. Most of the skinny-but-eat-what-I-like brigade are mysteriously celebrities.

I don't think YABU at all. I eat what I like and always have done and am about 8 stone at 5'5" (the heaviest I have ever been - before pregnancy I was usually around the 7 stone mark). Eating more to try and put on weight never worked for me and I spent years drinking high-calorie supplements to try and weigh a little more. I have a very small frame and small bones.

I have tons of friends who are always on diets (sensible ones and they exercise too) and without exception they weigh a lot more than I do and in some cases are actually overweight. The diets don't seem to be working for them any more than my putting on weight attempts did for me.

I've just read 'The Diet Delusion' by Gary Taubes (US science journalist) which is fascinating on this very issue. He sets out all the key research on diet and nutrition since about the 1900s and argues that it shows:

-how much you eat is not the key factor in what you weigh. In fact, studies show that most obese people eat no more than those whose weight is in the normal range;

-dietary fat does not cause heart disease or weight gain;

-the key factor in weight gain is the amount of one's carbohydrate intake, particularly refined carbohydrates like sugar;

-children and other highly active people (such as labourers and athletes) are the exception to the carbohydrates=weight gain mechanism because their bodies use the carbohydrate as fuel immediately, rather than storing it as fat.

Taubes suggests individual and often subtle differences in metabolic mechanisms also explain why some people weigh more than others: some hold on to fat more and do not effectively release it into the body for use as fuel. Others do.

Also, because of insulinaemia and other aspects of metabolic syndrome caused by carbohydrate intake and over-weight, obese people really are 'internally starving': their body fat is not released to fuel the body so they feel hunger and eat, which causes further insulin release which prevents body fat being released in a vicious cycle.

That summary does a long and very detailed book a disservice. It is a very well-argued thesis. it has certainly made me think differently about diet and the obesity epidemic.

I think if you confine this discussion to whether you can be a size 8, 10, 12 or 14 it would make more sense.

I really don't think I could be a size 8. I know I can be a size 10-12 (though am currently, post-baby, a size 14-16).

When I was a size 8-10 I was at the lowest weight for my height and I had to work hard for it, walking 10-20K a day, gymming it 3-4 times a week, watching what I ate etc. I would have to really, really push it to be a size 8 (I am 5ft 9).

I don't know if I agree it's mainly genetic, but I think that whether it's nature or nurture, it is hard to change your weight drastically. I was always 11 st 4 and a size 12-14 at school and I'd expect I could get to this weight again pretty easily. However, even getting from this weight down to 10st 10 requires a lot of effort. I'm no lazy bones, enjoy healthy food and exercise and am, in all areas of my life, very disciplined... but I do sometimes forget to eat and overeat to compensate. I wonder about my blood sugar as both sides of the family have diabetes (type I and II).

Who knows? You just have to try to live as healthily as you can and, if you are prone to putting on weight, battle it a bit. No point ruminating on the whys and wherefores.

Sorry, when I was a size 10-12. I have never been a size 8-10!