Latest / Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson / Obesity is not about Forks and Willpower

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Obesity is not about Forks and Willpower · Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

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  >> Dr. Terry Simpson: Here's a question for you. Is obesity a
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  lifestyle choice? Short answer,
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  Absolutely not. Long answer. That's
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  what this podcast is about.
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  Buckle up, because today we're going to unravel the
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  complex, fascinating, and occasionally
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  ridiculous way our brains, ultra
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  processed food, and a little hormone called
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  GLP1 are running the show when it comes to
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  obesity. Oh, and spoiler alert.
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  Calling obesity a, uh, lifestyle choice is not only
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  incorrect, it is also fat shaming.
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  So let's put that nonsense to
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  rest.
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  I am your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry
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  Simpson, and this is Forku
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  Fork University, where we bust myths, make
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  sense of the madness, and learn a little bit about food
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  and medicine.
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  Let's start with the oldest, most tired
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  advice in the world. Just eat less
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  and move more. It's the go to slogan of
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  diet culture, printed on motivational posters
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  and yelled by personal trainers everywhere.
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  And guess what? It's as useful as
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  telling a person with depression to just cheer
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  up. If that advice worked, this
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  podcast would be about something way more fun,
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  like how to make a perfect sourdough bread.
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  The reality is, obesity isn't just about
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  calories in and calories out. It's a
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  complex interplay of your brain, your
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  biology, and the world around you. A
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  world stuffed to the gills with ultra
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  processed foods engineered to make you eat
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  more. I'm talking about foods so refined
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  they could pass as a contestant on the
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  Bachelor. But why do we keep eating them? This
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  brings me to my next point. Your brain is not
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  your BFF when it comes to food.
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  And here's the thing. Your brain has one job when it
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  comes to food. To keep you alive. And
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  it's stuck in the caveman mode,
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  constantly afraid you're going to starve.
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  So when you eat that bag of chips or that tub of ice cream,
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  your brain throws a party. Why? Because
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  these foods are packed with calories. And your brain
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  sees calories as survival. The
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  problem. Ultra processed foods
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  hack to the system. They're designed to hit
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  reward centers of your brain harder than a toddler hits a
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  pinata. They combine sugar, fat, and
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  salt into an unholy trinity of
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  deliciousness that keeps you coming back for more.
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  Your brain doesn't stand a chance. It's like playing
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  poker against a deck full of aces. And you're going to lose
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  every time. Oh, and let's not
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  forget the lovely hormone Ghrelin. The
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  I'm hungry hormone. Think of Ghrelin as
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  your annoying co worker who keeps reminding
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  you it's lunchtime even though you just ate. And guess
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  what? Ultra processed foods can
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  Amplify ghrelin's effects, making you
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  feel hungrier and eat more. It's a
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  vicious cycle.
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  Now let's talk about the hero of our story, modern
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  medicine and the GLP1s.
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  GLP1 is a hormone that helps you regulate your
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  appetite. And it's key to understanding why
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  obesity isn't just a willpower issue. You
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  see, GLP1 tells your brain, hey, you're full. You can stop
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  eating now. But for people with
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  obesity, that system is out of whack.
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  Enter GLP1. Like semaglutide
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  or Mounjaro. These medications mimic
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  the effect of GLP1, essentially whispering to the brain,
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  hey, chill out. You don't need another slice of pizza. And the
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  results? People lose a significant amount
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  of weight not just because they suddenly develop
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  superhuman willpower, but because their biology
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  is finally working with them instead of
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  against them. And here's the kicker.
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  These drugs have shown us that obesity isn't about
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  eating too much. It's a disease. A
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  complex chronic condition influenced by your
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  genes, your hormones, and, yes, that sneaky brain
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  of yours. And when you treat it like a
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  disease, guess what happens? People get
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  better.
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  Now, uh, let's tackle the elephant in the room. The idea that
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  obesity is a lifestyle choice. I'm just going to say it.
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  This is one of the most damaging myths out there. Calling
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  obesity a lifestyle choice is like calling an
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  asthmatic a bad breathing decision.
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  It's not just wrong, it's harmful.
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  When we frame obesity as a lifestyle choice, we're
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  essentially saying, if you're overweight, it's your fault.
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  That kind of thinking leads to the stigmata, shame, and
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  discrimination. And guess what? Shame is not a good
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  motivator for change. If it were, the
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  gym would be packed with people who got roasted at
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  Thanksgiving dinner. Let's be clear. When
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  lifestyle factors like diet and exercise contribute to
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  obesity, they're not the sole cause. Genetics plays a
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  massive role, as does the food environment we live
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  in. Blaming someone for their obesity is like blaming
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  someone for living in a city with terrible air quality. Sure,
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  they can try and breathe better, but the odds are stacked against
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  them. And let's take a moment to appreciate how
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  diabolical ultra processed foods really
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  are. These aren't just foods.
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  They're science experiments designed to keep you
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  eating. They're hyper palatable, calorie
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  dense, often stripped of fiber and nutrients.
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  It's like the evil twin of a home cooked
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  meal. Here's a fun fact. Studies have shown
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  that people eat more when they consume ultra
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  processed foods. About 500
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  calories a day more. And guess what?
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  Those calories add up over time. That's
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  how you end up with weight gain, metabolic issues, and
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  a lifelong addiction to Doritos.
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  In my case, maybe it's Reese's. Ultra
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  processed foods aren't just bad for your waistline,
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  they're bad for your brain. They can hijack your
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  dopamine system, making you crave more and more.
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  It's like that one X. You can't quit texting at
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  2am you know it's bad for you, but you do it
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  anyway. So what have we learned today? To
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  recap, obesity is a disease. It has
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  been diagnosed as a disease since 2013.
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  It is not a lifestyle choice. Blaming people
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  for their obesity is not only wrong, it's unhelpful
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  and cruel. Two, your brain and hormones
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  are driving the bus and ultra processed foods are out there slashing
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  the tires. Three GLP1 drugs,
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  uh, are game changers. They've shown us that treating obesity
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  as a medical condition can lead to real society, sustainable
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  results. The bottom line, we
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  need to stop shaming people for their weight and start
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  addressing the root causes of obesity, starting with the food environment
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  and the biologic factors that drive
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  overconsumption. And here's one final
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  kicker. You know your body makes its own
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  GLP1. Did you know that ultra
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  processed food starts
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  feeding bacteria in your
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  microbiome that actually destroy the
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  cells that make GLP1? So imagine
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  this. Ultra processed foods not
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  only hack your brain into wanting to eat more, I
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  mean, you can't just eat one, but
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  they also promote a microbiome or the bacteria in your
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  gut that destroy the cells that make your own
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  endogenous GLP1. Oh, by the
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  way, is there something you can do to help
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  your cells make more GLP1 and
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  support a healthy microbiome? Yeah, turns out
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  eating more fiber, specifically a kind of fiber called
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  inulin, can do that. Well, that's
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  all for today's episode of Fork youk. If you've learned one thing, let it
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  be obesity isn't about bad choices. It's about bad
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  systems. And now we understand it better,
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  we can start treating it better.
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  Until next time, I'm Dr. Terry Simpson, your chief medical
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  explanationist, reminding you to love your food, love your body,
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  and remember, it's not about the fork in your
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  hand. It's about what's at the end of it. This
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  episode was written and researched by me, Dr. Terry Simpson.
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  You can find references in my blog
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  post@yourdoctorsorders.com and
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  forku.com and please. If you're going to
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  start a diet, start a diet for your nutrition.
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  Think about the Mediterranean or the- diet. And on my website,
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  Dr.terrysimpson.com, i actually have a course about the Mediterranean
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  diet. Before you start any diet,
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  please see your doctor. I am not your
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  doctor, but someone is. And please make sure
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  they're a western trained board certified physician,
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  not a chiropractor. Or please see a registered
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  dietitian. Your doctor and the dietitian will know
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  your particular health issues and can help with
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  diet that is good and nutritious and delicious for
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  you. Until next time. We'll
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  see you later. Have a great week and thanks to our friends at Simpler
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  Media and The pod God, Mr. Mr. Evo
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  Terra, for helping to distribute this
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  episode.
• 8:56
  Remember when you were on the beer and sausage diet?
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  Could you just drink one beer?
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  You mean one right after another? Uh,
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  yeah, sure.