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

BirdinHand said:
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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Except its to fulfill the Diversity requirement. None of what you typed relates.
 
zincwarrior said:
Except its to fulfill the Diversity requirement. None of what you typed relates.
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Yeah, silly diversity requirements.

Everyone in the US is exactly the same and has exactly the same needs, backgrounds, cultural influences, health, wealth, etc.

No sense whatsoever in preparing students to actually look a little deeper...all the knowledge they need is right at surface level.
 
BirdinHand said:
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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Good points.
 
BirdinHand said:
Yeah, silly diversity requirements.

Everyone in the US is exactly the same and has exactly the same needs, backgrounds, cultural influences, health, wealth, etc.

No sense whatsoever in preparing students to actually look a little deeper...all the knowledge they need is right at surface level.
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For $5,000?

On the positive the youngest has met with her internship advisor and can now say she officially has a 4.0 for her total Grad school grade. She gets the hood in two weeks!
 
What a galactic waste of time, a set of "university quota" type courses that "emphasizes fatness as a social justice issue," this is why universities are doing themselves no favors in keeping a good name.
 
trouble13 said:
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.
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Define "empty calorie" and explain why your body would not burn it as readily as some other type of calorie.
 
zincwarrior said:
For $5,000?

On the positive the youngest has met with her internship advisor and can now say she officially has a 4.0 for her total Grad school grade. She gets the hood in two weeks!
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That's awesome - congratulations to her!
 
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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There’s another unpleasant reality too few wish to address. Bad life choices are rarely confined to just one aspect of someone’s life. The mental discipline required to maintain one’s weight is not dissimilar to the mental discipline required to elevate oneself from poverty. Both require a plan, a willingness to work that plan on a consistent basis, and prioritizing activities that delay gratification. This is certainly not a blanket statement describing everyone who is poor or everyone who is obese, but it’s a factor and at least partially explains the correlation between poverty and obesity.
 
BirdinHand said:
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'.
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Of course nutrients make a difference to “health outcomes,” but you’re moving the goal posts. We’re not talking about general health outcomes. We’re talking about obesity. I stand by what I’ve said and nothing you have said refutes it.
 
NatMorton said:
Define "empty calorie" and explain why your body would not burn it as readily as some other type of calorie.
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Because not all calories are equal in value.

Quick answer from AI:



Key points about how different calories impact your body:
  • Protein:
    Generally considered to have the highest thermic effect, meaning your body burns more calories processing protein compared to carbs or fat. This can help with feelings of fullness and muscle building.
  • Complex carbohydrates:
    Provide sustained energy release due to their slower digestion, helping to regulate blood sugar levels and prevent energy crashes.
  • Simple carbohydrates:
    Quickly digested, causing rapid blood sugar spikes and crashes, often associated with cravings and potential weight gain.
  • Healthy fats:
    Important for hormone regulation and satiety, but should be consumed in moderation.

How this relates to your body:
  • Muscle mass:
    A diet rich in protein can support muscle growth and repair, especially important for individuals engaging in strength training.
  • Blood sugar control:
    Choosing complex carbohydrates over simple sugars can help manage blood sugar levels, particularly important for people with diabetes.
  • Appetite regulation:
    Foods with higher fiber content, like whole grains and vegetables, promote satiety and can help control overall calorie intake.

 
BirdinHand said:
That's awesome - congratulations to her!
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In Social Work actually. Now she gotsta get Da Yob.

To the topic, if someone wants to take the class, thats fine. Its not a class I would have signed up for from that college, but had to take plenty of wanky classes when I went.
 
NatMorton said:
There’s another unpleasant reality too few wish to address. Bad life choices are rarely confined to just one aspect of someone’s life. The mental discipline required to maintain one’s weight is not dissimilar to the mental discipline required to elevate oneself from poverty. Both require a plan, a willingness to work that plan on a consistent basis, and prioritizing activities that delay gratification. This is certainly not a blanket statement describing everyone who is poor or everyone who is obese, but it’s a factor and at least partially explains the correlation between poverty and obesity.
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What is "mental discipline"?

How do you know if someone has "mental discipline"?
 
zincwarrior said:
I like to discuss things on a discussion board. Whats your purpose for posting on a discussion board?
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That nice, but most people, myself included, prefer to discuss topics relevant to the OP. If you’re after idle chit-chat I believe there’s a forum for that.
 
NatMorton said:
That nice, but most people, myself included, prefer to discuss topics relevant to the OP. If you’re after idle chit-chat I believe there’s a forum for that.
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Thanks Mom, but I am discussing it just fine.
 
BirdinHand said:
What is "mental discipline"?

How do you know if someone has "mental discipline"?
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It’s a common term. If your question is genuine, go look it up. If your question is not genuine (which is my guess), my response to you is go find someone else to sealion.
 
NatMorton said:
That nice, but most people, myself included, prefer to discuss topics relevant to the OP. If you’re after idle chit-chat I believe there’s a forum for that.
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as to who cant walk 90 minutes it is a large segment of th population. not a majority, but not insignificant
Obese people cant do it either. an yone can get in the pool and thrash around
 
NatMorton said:
Of course nutrients make a difference to “health outcomes,” but you’re moving the goal posts. We’re not talking about general health outcomes. We’re talking about obesity. I stand by what I’ve said and nothing you have said refutes it.
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WHAT you consume matters. WHERE calories come from matters.

Vegans are very rarely obese even if they consume the same number of calories in a day as meat eating people.


I can eat a cupcake or I can eat a salad with chicken and a vinaigrette dressing.

Which is more likely to lead to obesity?


Common sense alone indicates that your assertion is simply false. Science supports that common sense.

The cupcake above has 400 calories, so does the salad. Equal calories but unequal in regards to what your body is going to DO with those calories.
 
BirdinHand said:
Because not all calories are equal in value.

Quick answer from AI:



Key points about how different calories impact your body:
  • Protein:
    Generally considered to have the highest thermic effect, meaning your body burns more calories processing protein compared to carbs or fat. This can help with feelings of fullness and muscle building.
  • Complex carbohydrates:
    Provide sustained energy release due to their slower digestion, helping to regulate blood sugar levels and prevent energy crashes.
  • Simple carbohydrates:
    Quickly digested, causing rapid blood sugar spikes and crashes, often associated with cravings and potential weight gain.
  • Healthy fats:
    Important for hormone regulation and satiety, but should be consumed in moderation.
How this relates to your body:
  • Muscle mass:
    A diet rich in protein can support muscle growth and repair, especially important for individuals engaging in strength training.
  • Blood sugar control:
    Choosing complex carbohydrates over simple sugars can help manage blood sugar levels, particularly important for people with diabetes.
  • Appetite regulation:
    Foods with higher fiber content, like whole grains and vegetables, promote satiety and can help control overall calorie intake.
Click to expand...
None of this refutes what I have said.
 
NatMorton said:
No, you’re not. You’re making irrelevant statements, and that only ever serves to district from a discussion.
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No, you're in the conversation asserting that the only thing that matters is 1. obesity and 2. calories.

And pretending that all calories are equal when even a child can explain that no, they are not.
 
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