Skip to main content

Smoking and Obesity

interesting comment in the Guardian today from the artist David Hockney on obesity....

Is there a link between the decline of smoking and the rise of obesity and diabetes? It's been suggested that with a previous "health" scare of fat being bad for you, they took it out of a lot of food and thus the flavour, and then, to give it some flavour, added sugar. This was 30 years ago. It turned out some fat was not only essential, it was good for the heart after all, but they have now given a lot of people a sweet tooth. This is why it is so appalling that there is no debate at all about smoking. Some people might be much better off smoking instead of nibbling. There are still 10 million smokers, now treated like very naughty children. It seems there is no free lunch, and the media and political elite look like the cause of it all, exaggerating constantly to people they seem to despise.
Labels:

Comments

Kevin said…
Now there's a fantastic leap of logic...
May 1, 2012 at 4:00 PM
Thomas said…
You have got to be kidding! Is it 1 April again already?
May 2, 2012 at 2:29 AM
Anya said…
Stephan Guyenet talked about this a while ago :
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/02/cigarette-smoking-another-factor-in.html

Yep, nicotine suppresses food intake, it will satisfy the always present hunger from the brain to get 'a fix' (overeating/alcohol/drugs/..).
May 2, 2012 at 10:46 PM
Jim said…
Aerobic exercise suppresses appetite too. I think that would be a much better choice than taking up smoking.
May 4, 2012 at 12:15 AM
Unknown said…
"It turned out some fat was not only essential, it was good for the heart after all, but they have now given a lot of people a sweet tooth"
This statement is so bad it's not even wrong.
No one ever said you don't need fats, and no mainstream nutritionist "gave anyone a sweet tooth. We already had it. This is nonsense.
I suppose "they" told you smoking was bad, so we "despised" people should start puffing again.
Pure drivel.
May 5, 2012 at 6:43 AM
Anonymous said…
Even if this was right regarding appetite, I've seen what smoking does to the lungs, skin and teeth. Not a good option
May 6, 2012 at 6:31 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more