
How Fat May Hurt the Brain, and How Exercise May Help - prostoalex
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/how-fat-may-harm-the-brain-and-how-exercise-may-help
======
leobelle
Yeah well it's not like I love being fat. We all know fat is bad, and I wish I
had less of it, but it's not like my adipose is going to go away by scaring it
with more bad news about why it sucks to be fat. Once you're fat, not being
fat anymore is a really hard problem, which is why fat people aren't really
known for eventually being skinny some day again, but there's a high
prevalence of skinny people who once were fat eventually getting fat again.
I've been fighting my weight for near a decade now, and I used to be a pretty
athletic individual in my 20's.

I don't think skinny people understand. Maintaining weight feels like
starvation to fat people, for at least some of them, like me. If you only eat
enough food to just maintain your weight it hurts just as much as dieting.
That will probably never change for us, even if we lose a lot of weight (and I
have lost a lot of weight). So fat people have to be on painful diets the rest
of their lives, just to not get fatter.

So my advice to young people is, don't get fat. If you're already fat, you're
pretty much fucked.

~~~
laichzeit0
And for skinny people trying to gain weight it's the exact opposite. Trying to
eat at a 500 calorie surplus feels like you're constantly full to the point of
discomfort, you shit 3 times a day and you're spending about 2 hours a day
just eating, such an awful waste of time.

~~~
AutoCorrect
I had to wait until my 40's to gain weight. In HS I weighed 125lbs (at 6'1").
Boot camp (PI) put on 17lbs in 3 months through a combination of a sadistic DI
and good food. I stayed at 142 until... I don't know when. Now, in my late
40's, I weigh 220lbs. I'm lifting weights (StrongLifts) and trying to get rid
of my spare tire.

~~~
laichzeit0
I should have mentioned that it's eating at a surplus + lifting weights trying
to gain muscle weight :) I think it takes as much discipline as trying to lose
fat. I lost 10kgs in 2 months by just not eating enough after having my
appendix removed in November 2013. A natural skinny person has as much
difficulty maintaining weight as someone trying to keep fat off. It's a full
time job.

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sheetjs
Original research:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24523551](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24523551)

Original NYT piece: [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/how-fat-may-
harm-th...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/how-fat-may-harm-the-
brain-and-how-exercise-may-help/)

If someone from fastco is reading this: please provide more references and
links to the article. It takes reading until the end of the article to realize
that the original piece was from NYT. Contrast with
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-
targe...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-
figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/), where the second
paragraph links to the article
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-
habits.h...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html)

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chm
I've been looking for a nice way to write this for the last 20 minutes:

I believe this type of journalism does more harm than good. Clickbait title,
confused explanations, no scientific citation.

Elevate your standards.

~~~
kolev
There's no more journalism - only pornalism.

------
stormbrew
And the merry-go-round of health research goes round and round and round.

[http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2009/07/strenuous-e...](http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2009/07/strenuous-
exercise-makes-you-dumb-says.html)

~~~
rhizome
At least eggs are still good for us...or _are_ they?

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dinkumthinkum
This is just link bait for advertising.

~~~
kolev
Media doesn't care about truth anymore - it's all about page views and clicks.

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DevKoala
Over the past three years, I've lost 80+ pounds thanks to a lot of exercising
discipline (I just cannot stick to diets) and I honestly feel brighter.

What motivated me was vanity, so I won't get on any high horse to tell people
what to start or stop doing with their lives. However, I should mention that
what helped the most was a meticulous measuring of my calories intake against
the calories burned through the day. Plotting data and observing the results
turned the process from a matter of faith and will, to strict science;
something I could believe in.

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jmtame
I can think of very smart people who could be classified as overweight of
obese, such as Gabe Newell, Linus Torvalds, or Steve Wozniak - so that makes
me a bit suspicious. On this topic though, I do notice a significant drop in
cognitive ability or "mental sharpness" from eating certain foods which have a
higher GI. Have been experimenting with this lately, and I had wondered why
after lunch time I wasn't able to focus as strongly as in the morning (I
usually skip breakfast or eat light).

~~~
durakot
You never know, Gabe, Linus and Steve might be EVEN SMARTER if they lost a few
pounds.

Who knows, Half Life 3 could even arrive sooner.

~~~
jmtame
You're probably being facetious, but yeah it could all be relative and we
don't really know. Wonder if there's any reason they haven't tried this
experiment on humans.

~~~
avn2109
>> "Wonder if there's any reason they haven't tried this experiment on
humans."

Institutional Review Boards.

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ommunist
Hm. Cholesterol is vital for building neural circuitry and long-term memory.
This bs article is selling something. By the way - we are not mice.

~~~
kolev
The journos are mice. In a trap.

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spande
I can confirm that this actually works. I have since explained this to people
I meet. I have lost 46.9 kg over a period of a year through dieting and
exercise.

As I lost weight, I continued to feel motivated to continue what I am doing
while getting better at building strategy.

~~~
ommunist
you should compare your learning speeds before and after.

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dromidas
Let some scientist surgically install 'fat pads' on you and then let you try
some cognitive tests that require you to walk around and lets see if your
performance seems 'clouded'.

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ilaksh
It says they don't know that it applies to humans. It doesn't say they think
it might. It just says they don't know if it does.

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Shorel
May and may.

Weasel words if I've ever seen them.

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camus2
I know plenty of obese people who are smart,like PHD smart, so your article
proves that you may not be fat, but you are obviously an idiot clickbaiting.

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LynchDeez
I don't see how a headline like that can lead to ANYTHING but thoughtful and
judicious comments.

