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University of Maryland offers $5,000 'fat studies' course on how 'fatness' and 'Blackness' intersect

Grand Mal said:
Not true. Some women of child-bearing age can gain weight on 1000 calories a day. It's their bodies being very good at storing fat during famine in case they get pregnant.
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And you think that’s what’s driving the obesity levels referenced in the OP?
 
BirdinHand said:
Actually, the conversation is about a course at the University of Maryland.

You're the one going down a calorie rabbit hole because you insist that you know that the only possible answer is simply calories.
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The reasons for excessive caloric intake can be complex. That said, and speaking for a population and not a specific individual, yes, it comes down to calories. That’s how human metabolism works.
 
NatMorton said:
The reasons for excessive caloric intake can be complex. That said, and speaking for a population and not a specific individual, yes, it comes down to calories. That’s how human metabolism works.
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Well, I suppose if your understanding stops in elementary school.

Not all calories are created equal with how the human body utilizes and processes them.

A calorie is a unit of measurement, no more, no less.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Seems like a perfectly fine “diversity course” to me. ;)
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Something tells me that courses students are not very diverse. I'm thinking they all share the same body type and pigmentation. 🤣
 
multivita-man said:
Actually, I think there's value in understanding why one of our biggest public health problems disproportionately impacts certain demographics.
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more black poverty = less healthy food choices,
 
NatMorton said:
And you think that’s what’s driving the obesity levels referenced in the OP?
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No I don't.
Nothing is as simple as some people say, though. For another example, me citing an exception to your rule doesn't mean I believe the exception I'm citing is the new rule.
Capisce?
 
NatMorton said:
How expensive is a brisk, 90 min walk?
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when you have arthritis, it's impossible to walk much more then a mile, and that is a killer.
I swim - outdoor heater pool even in cold weather ..no stress on my joints
 
anatta said:
more black poverty = less healthy food choices,
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Arguably more poverty regardless of race, but it's worth noting that we have literally decades - even centuries - of political history in this country in which laws/rules were designed to deprive black communities of wealth, so it naturally follows that race and wealth intersect.
 
BirdinHand said:
Well, I suppose if your understanding stops in elementary school.

Not all calories are created equal.
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I was gonna point this out too but you beat me to it.

I believe the consumption of empty calories has a great deal to do with our over consumption habits.

Our bodies continue to demand the kind of fuel it needs until it gets it. Healthy food acts as an appetite suppressant for most people.
 
multivita-man said:
Arguably more poverty regardless of race, but it's worth noting that we have literally decades - even centuries - of political history in this country in which laws/rules were designed to deprive black communities of wealth, so it naturally follows that race and wealth intersect.
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for some city blacks. but there is also a thriving middle and upper class. It's the urban blacks that suffer ( food deserts too)
 
BirdinHand said:
Well, I suppose if your understanding stops in elementary school.

Not all calories are created equal with how the human body utilizes and processes them.

A calorie is a unit of measurement, no more, no less.
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Exactly. A unit of measurement of energy. My brother is a marine engineer and he sometimes thinks of diesel fuel in terms of calories.
 
BirdinHand said:
Well, I suppose if your understanding stops in elementary school.

Not all calories are created equal with how the human body utilizes and processes them.

A calorie is a unit of measurement, no more, no less.
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Quibble all you like, it does not refute the larger point. Except in certain rare conditions, obesity is the product of consuming more calories than you burn. The body stores excess energy primarily in fat tissue. To argue otherwise is blithering nonsense.
 
Grand Mal said:
No I don't.
Nothing is as simple as some people say, though. For another example, me citing an exception to your rule doesn't mean I believe the exception I'm citing is the new rule.
Capisce?
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Your exception does not disprove the rule. See post #64.
 
anatta said:
me 2 get in the pool
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Pools are not available to everyone, neither is healthy food.
I think we are talking in circles when we insist that everyone has means and opportunities to exercise and nutritious foods.
@NatMorton is correct, we should watch what we eat and move more, if we can.
But here's the thing, impoverished areas, underdeveloped rural areas, food deserts, are very common.
We shouldn't judge others by what is available for us.
 
Lovebug said:
Pools are not available to everyone, neither is healthy food.
I think we are talking in circles when we insist that everyone has means and opportunities to exercise and nutritious foods.
@NatMorton is correct, we should watch what we eat and move more, if we can.
But here's the thing, impoverished areas, underdeveloped rural areas, food deserts, are very common.
We shouldn't judge others by what is available for us.
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I would be fine with the course if it were coming out of STEM / Medical for biology / bioscience / medical students.
 
BirdinHand said:
Actually, the conversation is about a course at the University of Maryland.

You're the one going down a calorie rabbit hole because you insist that you know that the only possible answer is simply calories.
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There are a lot of courses at UMd. The specific one under discussion here is the one mentioned in the OP, and caloric intake is certainly an element of that discussion.

Do you attack the thermometer because it’s cold outside? Just asking…
 
NatMorton said:
Quibble all you like, it does not refute the larger point. Except in certain rare conditions, obesity is the product of consuming more calories than you burn. The body stores excess energy primarily in fat tissue. To argue otherwise is blithering nonsense.
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Well, you'd be wrong.

WHAT kind of food you eat is just as important as the amount of calories that you consume.

If person A's diet is 2K calories a day of potato chips, soda and processed crap and person B's diet is 2K calories a day of protein, veggies, and "healthy" fats....person A is going to have worse health outcomes (generally) than person B.

Even if both people exercise 30 minutes per session, 3 times a week.

What you eat is just as important as how many calories a day you consume and to claim otherwise is "blithering nonsense".


Someone can become obese and be unhealthy by eating crap - even if they exercise regularly and burn a bunch of calories. And obesity alone isn't the only factor in health - there are a lot of not obese people walking around with a bucket of health problems that operate under the false assumption that they are 'healthy' because they aren't 'obese'.
 
zincwarrior said:
I would be fine with the course if it were coming out of STEM / Medical for biology / bioscience / medical students.
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It’s also important for your civil engineers, for your social workers, for your psychologists, for your urban planners, for your business managers that will be a part of designing business campuses, for your project managers, etc etc etc.

Lots of things intersect and that’s why in college - students are required to take a variety of classes outside their core major field of study and to take certain numbers of elective credits that fall under different umbrellas…so they can begin to see the strings that attach one thing to another…and impacts they have.


An engineer that doesn’t appreciate the need for walkability is as useless as a software engineer that doesn’t appreciate that a computer program needs to be able to be modified for someone who is vision impaired and needs to be able to adjust a font size to a larger text.

🤷‍♀️

They may be excellent at programming or laying out a sidewalk…but they’re never going to go further than that.
 
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