Weight of the Nation (Online Documentary)

[Denny]

http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

I just finished watching the first episode of this documentary series about the obesity problem in the US. The documentary seems fairly new and no results turned up in the search function so I don't think it has been mentioned here. As always the documentary has its up and downs, but overall it's doing a decent job.

It doesn't seem to be blocked in any region, I'm watching from Sweden, so all users should be able to give it a watch. I don't have much to say yet except that the anatomical showcases of the first episode was really interesting, seeing the actual effects of what obesity does to your arteries and liver to mention a couple of things.

[Kewilson]

I have it as a free preview through my cable package. I've been planning to watch it for awhile now.

[tungstenmouse]

I watched the whole series. I really enjoyed it. Just one thing stuck with me that they got wrong. When they interview the elderly couple with diabetes they say that they don't need the things that cause diabetes "like steak and pot roasts". Steak and pot roast doesn't cause diabetes. It's like they missed the whole point. Otherwise nothing really bad stuck with me and I thought it was a great documentary.

[BoydLabBuck]

It was mediocre. They definitely missed the point trotting out the same old "calories in, calories out, lazy Americans, etc".

[Denny]

They also kept the fat myth going, focused more on fat than sugar early in the episodes. Luckily they put focus on the grain industry toward the end so I forgive them for that.

[llsoszynski@gmail.com]

Thank you so much for sharing. I love how scientifically based the whole documentary is! I just watched Part I and plan on continuing watching them into the night.. heck yes to nerd nights, haha. So extremely interesting and great information to know.

Also! When they said only 1% of Americans can meet all 7 standards (of which I cant completely remember, along the lines of healthy diet, exercise, environmental ect) to maintain a healthy body fat percentage.. oh my lord! Only 1%?! I want to be in that one percent.. motivation much?

[Raikas]

I watched the series over the weekend - I was surprised by how even-handed it was. I thought it was very well-done.

They also kept the fat myth going, focused more on fat than sugar early in the episodes.

I didn't feel that they did - some of the interviewees seemed to, but I don't remember hearing that from any of the experts. If anything, the main message throughout was that there's not much point at focusing on any one thing because there's no single source for the issue.

When they said only 1% of Americans can meet all 7 standards (of which I cant completely remember, along the lines of healthy diet, exercise, environmental ect) to maintain a healthy body fat percentage.. oh my lord! Only 1%?!

That was crazy. I was blown away by the lack of activity in general - the people talking about people who have zero outdoor activities blew me away (and the fact that such a tiny percentage walks to work/school). I don't live in the US, but I usually don't think our cultures are so different, but apparently they are when it comes to things like that. It was really eye-opening for me.

[Waldo]

That was crazy. I was blown away by the lack of activity in general - the people talking about people who have zero outdoor activities blew me away (and the fact that such a tiny percentage walks to work/school). I don't live in the US, but I usually don't think our cultures are so different, but apparently they are when it comes to things like that. It was really eye-opening for me.

I think a lot of people that overly focus on food as the culprit fail to grasp this. The amount of daily activity of the average American is not too far from bedridden.

Walk from bed to bathroom. Walk from bathroom to car with stops in bedroom and kitchen. Walk from car to desk. Walk from desk to bathroom a couple times. Walk to lunchroom and back (or to car to restaurant to car to desk). Walk from desk to car. Walk from car to couch. Do some interval training with couch to kitchen intervals. Walk to bathroom then to bed. Rinse repeat tomorrow. Perhaps a single story flight of stairs is involved a couple times. Maybe walk a couple feet from your desk a few times while at work.

No amount of eating this food or that can fix that.

And heck gym class and all physical education is being phased out of our school systems.

Its sad, down the block from me is a 3-5 year old kid that is at least 100 pounds. Both parents are very overweight too. They must have had a doctor say something because I see them quite regulary trying to exercise, clearly to help the kid, the parents don't seem to care about themselves. By exercise I mean walking to the end of the driveway, or perhaps to the end of the block, something the kid really struggles with. My 14 month old could run circles around him. The kid down the block is an extreme case for kids, but not really for adults. For a decent % of Americans, walking up the driveway is as strenuous of exercise as they can handle.

[joeyb]

Do some interval training with couch to kitchen intervals.

lol

[Tocks]

I think a lot of people that overly focus on food as the culprit fail to grasp this. The amount of daily activity of the average American is not too far from bedridden.

I watched the entire documentary, and they did show a bit of exercise, mainly walking. You're right though, most focus is always on the diet. I think there's a couple things to keep in mind... 1) Documentaries are made to Sell and 2) Getting people to see that their Diet can change is not going to have as much of a negative effect on the individual than if you were to say "Stop watching this 4 Hour Documentary and Go Exercise!"

I'm with you on the kid thing though. Young Kids don't have a choice on what they eat. They don't make bad decisions not to get exercise. I was in good shape as a kid, until I hit 14 and started making my own bad decisions.

Also - I was hoping this documentary would have touched on Insulin somewhere. They made a basic point that "a calorie is a calorie," but I don't know how true that is.

[Raikas]

Getting people to see that their Diet can change is not going to have as much of a negative effect on the individual than if you were to say "Stop watching this 4 Hour Documentary and Go Exercise!"

I thought there was quite a bit about exercise in there. There was a huge focus in the final part about building sidewalks/playgrounds and in the third one about promoting school sports classes, but there were also quite a few stats throughout about how activity levels have dropped over the past 30 years. And taken together, the implication of all of that is clearly about movement. ETA: Which isn't to say that I thought it was a perfect documentary, but in terms of obvious bias, I thought it was impressive in how even-handed it was. Too many food/fitness docs are clearly selling a single cause/solution, so this was refreshing with its balance.

On a personal level, it was terrifying stuff - my husband just got back from a business trip to Houston, and one of his comments was about the lack of sidewalks and bike lanes ("Everyone drives everywhere!"). There's some possibility that we'll end up spending a couple of years there, and it's wild to think about what a massive lifestyle change that would be.

[Tocks]

There was a huge focus in the final part about building sidewalks/playgrounds and in the third one about promoting school sports classes, but there were also quite a few stats throughout about how activity levels have dropped over the past 30 years.

You're right - I forgot all about that part. Showing the kids playing in a parking lot and wanting something more was sad.

[ellystar]

I checked out the trailer and it looks fascinating. I'll definitely watch it tonight when I'm home from work.

[Strawberry Squatcake]

I think the attitude about walking and biking (in my city) is awful. On the occasion a biker is hit by a vehicle, most people say, "The biker deserved it. Maybe it will teach 'em." I think a lot of frustration is actually concern disguised as anger (it is scary when you come over a hill going 60mph and all of a sudden there's a biker - there's not a lot of time to react).

But, without bike lanes, it's not fair to be annoyed at the bikers. And without bike lanes, it's also not fair to expect drivers to not get frustrated. Unfortunately, I can't imagine room in the budget to update even a portion of our streets.

[Weazley]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I watched the whole series too. I thought it was balanced for what its worth. I think that what it covered dietary-wise was good in that it didn't force a doctrine down your throat, I thought it was very "we (as a society) have no idea, if we did, there wouldn't be this issue".

As for the exercise stuff, it made me actually realise how lucky I am here - there are sideways and bike paths and playgrounds and parks all over the place, and that I have the freedom to not only walk to work and to the shops but also to have choice of which paths (or parks) to take and to do it safely. And yet, it makes me feel awful too, because despite the amount of people I see walking/cycling, I don't see a lot of people in the parks or playgrounds.

Although Kelly, I too have had my fair share of annoyance at cyclists. In a previous city where I used to live, they spent millions of dollars putting bike lanes on the artery roads into the city - because of the amount of cyclists who refused to use the bike path (in most cases) not even 5 metres from the road because "they should be allowed to use the roads too". Its that arrogance that irritates me. Although I realise most cyclist are not like this - but then again they wouldn't be the ones trying to cycle on what is effectively a freeway.

Uh.... yeah in summary it was a nice documentary and I would highly recommend it.

[ellystar]

I've watched the first two parts so far and it's really interesting. It makes me wonder how honest people are with their eating. It's so easy to overestimate calories, to say this one soda won't hurt me. I don't want to generalize off of one person, but I watched my uncle say for years he was trying this, trying that, but I always saw him eating unhealthy foods, and so much of it. Thankfully he had successful gastric bypass surgery early this year, and he's gone from almost 500 pounds to 400. But, he's also finally started making the right decisions about food, because now there is no choice because of his surgery.

Love how they criticized the Biggest Loser. I used to be such a fan of that show.

Out of curiosity, how many of you were confused by the type of bowling the identical twins were doing in part 2? I don't think there's much candlepin bowling outside of eastern Massachusetts. I think I've seen that sign for the alley they were at before.

[Ktread]

What is the general opinion on how BMI is measured?

I have a friend who is a body builder, I mean intensely in shape. When he calculates his BMI, he is considered morbidly obese. He has no noticeable body fat.

I am just not sure if the BMI measurement currently used is the most accurate.