Fat- The cause of the majority of covid deaths.

[Ken]

Just why people get into this state is the mystery. Yes ignorance does play a part in that someone might not be aware that being overweight can create diabetes. I'm more inclined to think that most people , regardless of their lifestyle, believe that 'I'm alright today, therefore I shall be alright tomorrow'!!

Medical science also plays it's part. Lots of illnesses and diseases are now survivable and so people depend on 'the doctor' instead of taking responsibility for themselves.

It is going to take a huge change in the attitude of society before there will be any change but at the moment being fat is acceptable. Just look at the people around you with a critical eye. Even so called 'normal' people have a 'gut' !! It's not going to change anytime soon.

[Théière]

Based on the real evidence the hydrogenated fats cause problems as your body doesn't recognise them because they do not occur in nature only in food laboratories and Governments have not simply banned them outright shows the systemic issues in society. Someone gets rich whilst others suffer for their weak willed ways and nothing changes due to the large donations or non executive salaries paid to influencers.

Look how long cigarette advertising took to stop, the damn things are still on sale and stupid people still use them.

[Alan Zoff]

Not exactly a scientific sample but here are two contrasting cases that have affected me:

1. My gran. Had a hard, active life as a single Mum. When she finally retired, she said "That's it. I am going to sit back, eat what I want now and enjoy what's left of my life". She went from being a fit jovial woman to a very overweight lady. Her knees gave out - her doctor said her weight was too much for them - so she struggled to get out of her chair and needed a stick to get around. She might have enjoyed her food but she paid for it for hours, days, years after, always complaining about her aches and pains, feeling bloated, etc.

2. My Dad. Pretty much the opposite. As a lorry driver he spent much of the working day seated behind a steering wheel. Meals were often taken quickly at transport cafes. So when he retired, he was overweight and not long after suffered a heart attack. His doctor said that unless he changed his lifestyle, he would be lucky to see 70. Unlike Gran, Dad followed the advice to the letter and within a year was at his ideal weight. He died aged 91, having continued to drive and enjoy all sorts of activities until only a few months earlier. He was a very sociable chap and 140 people attended his funeral, all commenting on how cheerful and active he had been to the end.

Certainly made me think, albeit somewhat belatedly.

[mint]

[quote user="betise"]It is true that type 2 diabetes can be reversed or avoided altogether by weight loss. A report in the BMJ stated "A condition that costs NHS £22m a day could be beaten into remission if patients shed the pounds, say experts

Type 2 diabetes is generally perceived as progressive and incurable, but for many patients it can be reversed with sustained weight loss of around 15 kg, say experts in The BMJ today."[/quote]

Betise, yes, it seems to be true.  Lots of articles about it and many surgeries in the UK have Diabetic Clinics that have tried it with much anecdotal evidence of either being able to do away completely with drugs or being able to reduce the normal dosage.

There is a Dr something or other (maybe Mozely) who has been banging on about it for years now.  Devising weight loss plans and an apparently famous surefire one where you eat very lightly for certain days of the week and then eat normally but less for others.  He's one of these TV doctors and a very annoying one at that but, in this instance, he seems to have done a lot of good to a lot of people[:)]

Personally, I take off my hat to anyone who can stick to these diets that forbid this food, that food and the other or where you have to weigh everything you eat or where you get an allowance of "points" for certain foods.  And then, they PAY for the privilege of following these diets.  Still, I suppose if they work, OK.

But as AZ has pointed out and I agree wholeheartedly, it's just good old common sense and self-discipline.

[NickP]

Mint, my lovely wife is a now-retired Practice Nurse who's speciality subject was Diabetes, she did extra studies at Warwick University and ran the local diabetic clinic where we lived. Her mantra is/was diet, diet and more diet. I weigh a healthy 75 kilos and considering that I've been retired now for 6 years after doing a very, very heavy manual job, it's down to the decisions my wife makes about our diet. I hate to think what a state I would be in if it wasn't for her care and attention. I must add though that she is a fantastic cook and that helps.

[Lehaut]

https://www.ft.com/content/7db2b641-c831-4876-ba0c-0f815a42c8f0

"Stark link between obesity and Covid deaths revealed

WHO-backed report concludes that 9 out of 10 fatalities have occurred in countries with high obesity levels."

Which goes some way to explain why poor countries have lower death rates.

All we have to do is convince people now.

[alittlebitfrench]

If we convince people to eat less or no meat at all we can stop global warming as well.

I certainly don't miss meat.

On the occasions I do eat meat, I don't really enjoy it. It does nothing for me.

Just close Mc Donnalds and other such places. You will solve Covid and global warming at the same time.

Edit...I think people should eat more fish in the UK.

By doing so they will get healthy, save the British fishing industry and stick two fingers up at the EU. Win, Win WIn.

Holiday in the UK and not in the Dordogne or the Costa de Brava.

You know what I am saying.

[Ken]

All we have to do is convince people now!!! Good luck with that! Even here people think getting fat is a cause other than eating too much!!!!!

[Théière]

Ah that rare commodity, common sense! Seems to be disappearing.

[Alan Zoff]

The problem with the word "diet" is that it immediately conjures up the idea of some rigid plan instead of just meaning what you eat.

Dad for example didn't have any structured list to follow. His doctor - an old-fashioned, sensible type - simply told him which foods to avoid or cut down on and generally to avoid eating too much. The only things that were written down were a few simple daily exercises. And together, it worked remarkably well.

When Dad died, I wrote to his (retired) doctor to thank him for giving us an extra 20 years with a healthy and happy father.

[Théière]

Betise wrote:

"Type 2 diabetes is generally perceived as progressive and incurable, but for many patients it can be reversed with sustained weight loss of around 15 kg, say experts in The BMJ today."

Not just the weight loss, although important its also the insulin resistance that can and needs to be reversed.

[Théière]

Far be it for me to post a conspiracy theory but very clever people are looking very closely at Covid 19. Its seems that it does really well in adipose tissue (fat).

It also only seems to do well in laboratory mice which are genetically bread to be more human like.

Apes are very susceptible to human flu virus and it can be fatal to them. Covid 19 on the other hand has left them untouched.

In short 4 unusual things with very high odds against each one happening therefore making incredibly high odds of 4 things having come together in just the right way to attack humans and especially overweight ones.

Coincidence or laboratory experiment?

[betise]

I read a very interesting article in The Week, scientists believe less and less in the jump between bats, pangolins and humans. They now think it may have mutated directly from bats to humans, but well before 2019, and that it has been quietly circulating for much longer. But that it is only in the last two years that it has adapted to infect humans so effectively.

[Théière]

The Conversation US: Fungal microbiome: Whether mice get fatter or thinner depends on the fungi that live in their gut.

https://theconversation.com/fungal-microbiome-whether-mice-get-fatter-or-thinner-depends-on-the-fungi-that-live-in-their-gut-155942