Does the EV lifestyle lead to obesity?

[gpetti]

I think the biggest contribution to our obesity problems is the general sloth that pervades modern society. We are too lazy to go get a good meal because we are in a hurry to do something else. We don't want to take the time to prepare something good to eat with quality ingredients. Instead, we grab a soft drink and a bag of Doritos or a pizza. We don't walk 1/3 mile to the grocery store to get one or two items. We drive. Tesla owners are generally better educated and likely more affluent that most of the population, so we probably have a more circumspect outlook as to what we put into our mouths and the amount of exercise that we get.

My problem is that now I want to drive everywhere because I love driving that damn car so much. That is why Tesla owners could be prone to obesity. We don't want to walk or cycle when we can drive our cars instead.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

We own an S85. I bake all our bread from scratch. The 100% whole wheat contains (per loaf) 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of non-fat dried milk, one tablespoon of sodium chloride, 2 1/2 teaspoons of instant yeast, water, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/8 cup of flax seed and 1/4 cup of pinhead oats in addition to the 100% whole wheat flour.

When I bake dinner rolls or baguettes, one teaspoon of granulated sugar is part of each recipe. I really do not believe that these quantities of sugar(s) in the bread that I bake are deleterious to my health. I realize the controversy about high-fructose corn syrup, and we avoid it at all costs. But, as Grandmother used to say, "moderation in all things!"

I think the biggest contribution to our obesity problems is the general sloth that pervades modern society. We are too lazy to go get a good meal because we are in a hurry to do something else. We don't want to take the time to prepare something good to eat with quality ingredients. Instead, we grab a soft drink and a bag of Doritos or a pizza. We don't walk 1/3 mile to the grocery store to get one or two items. We drive. Tesla owners are generally better educated and likely more affluent that most of the population, so we probably have a more circumspect outlook as to what we put into our mouths and the amount of exercise that we get.

Your bread sounds fantastic. I was imagining the varieties of bread one would encounter while on the road. The problem with snacking on the road is that just about everything sold in a gas station convenience store or fast food restaurant is loaded with HFCS and/or salt. Even those bottles of gourmet presweetened iced tea are problematic. The amount of sugar in each bottle (usually in the form of HFCS) is quite startling. Most Americans consume well beyond the National Heart Association recommendation of 6-teaspoons/day for women, and 9-teaspoons/day for men.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

getting off topic, but I'd be surprised if sugar consumption is better correlated with obesity than lack of exercise, nevermind "has a much larger effect".
and I also doubt that HFCS is noticeably worse for you than cane sugar. Sucrose is basically a glucose molecule glued to a fructose molecule, while HFCS is basically a glucose molecule next to a fructose molecule. Glucose next to fructose is pretty much exactly the type of sugar found in most fruit, so saying that HFCS is most dangerous while fruit sugars are okay seems a bit ridiculous.

I think it's more accurate to say that obesity is more about calories consumed vs. calories burned than it is what you eat or how often you eat.
Personally, I eat often, I eat a lot of sugar, I eat fast food, but I rarely eat until I'm full and I get a fair amount of good exercise in 6 days per week. That works for me. I'm sure others have other ways to ward off obesity.

In the past few years, the American Heart Association has identified HFCS as a serious health risk, especially when it constitutes a significant portion of one's calorie intake. Excess fructose in the blood not only triggers fat production, it also causes the liver to produce Small Dense LDL, the most dangerous form of cholesterol. Scientists have recently been able to duplicate this LDL production in the laboratory.

The fructose found is fruit poses little to no risk because it is absorbed into the blood more slowly, and fruit carries with it other benefits such as fiber and anti occidents.

While it's true that obesity is the result of calories consumed vs. calories burned, study after study have shown that when people start to exercise more, they unconsciously consume more sugar. This is why it's essential to refocus the diet first. The World Health Organization recently lowered the recommended intake of calories-from-sugar from 10% to 5%.

 

[BerTX]

In the past few years, the American Heart Association has identified HFCS as a serious health risk, especially when it constitutes a significant portion of one's calorie intake. Excess fructose in the blood not only triggers fat production, it also causes the liver to produce Small Dense LDL, the most dangerous form of cholesterol. Scientists have recently been able to duplicate this LDL production in the laboratory.

The fructose found is fruit poses little to no risk because it is absorbed into the blood more slowly, and fruit carries with it other benefits such as fiber and anti occidents.

While it's true that obesity is the result of calories consumed vs. calories burned, study after study have shown that when people start to exercise more, they unconsciously consume more sugar. This is why it's essential to refocus the diet first. The World Health Organization recently lowered the recommended intake of calories-from-sugar from 10% to 5%.

I guess I need to study more about HFCS. I thought that sucrose (table sugar) was made up of glucose and fructose. Corn syrup is also made up of glucose and fructose, but less fructose. High fructose corn syrup is enzymatically treated to convert some of the glucose to fructose do that it will have the same ratio as sucrose (i.e., it is the same as table sugar).

So, what you are saying is that they should just put the regular corn syrup in, without treating it to increase the fructose level? Then it would be healthier than table sugar, because it has less fructose?

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[SW2Fiddler]

I thought the yeast ate the sugar, producing CO2 (to rise the dough) and alcohol (evaporated in the oven)...

 

[ToddRLockwood]

I guess I need to study more about HFCS. I thought that sucrose (table sugar) was made up of glucose and fructose. Corn syrup is also made up of glucose and fructose, but less fructose. High fructose corn syrup is enzymatically treated to convert some of the glucose to fructose do that it will have the same ratio as sucrose (i.e., it is the same as table sugar).

So, what you are saying is that they should just put the regular corn syrup in, without treating it to increase the fructose level? Then it would be healthier than table sugar, because it has less fructose?

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Yes, that's correct. Although any form of sugar is bad for you if it constitutes more than 5% of your calorie intake. HFCS magnifies the negative impacts of sugar, and it's used in so many food products, most of us have no idea how much of it we're consuming. For the wee bit of sugar I use, I like agave (cactus nectar). It tastes sweeter than table sugar, so I can use a lot less of it.

 

[deonb]

Yes, that's correct. Although any form of sugar is bad for you if it constitutes more than 5% of your calorie intake. HFCS magnifies the negative impacts of sugar.

That still doesn't explain why. You're contending that HFCS is the same as sucrose, but then somehow it's more dangerous than sucrose...?

I thought the large issue with HFCS isn't that sucrose was replaced with HFCS, but that fat was replaced with HFCS during the low fat craze (still is).

 

[cpa]

Chemically, HFCS is like sucrose, although I will defer to the chemists as to the bonding structure of the molecule. Digestion starts in our mouths with amylase breaking down certain starches and then it continues in our stomachs with hydrochloric acid and other enzymes breaking the food down further into chyme. Some nutrients are absorbed from the stomach, while the rest gets dumped into the small intestine for further absorption. (If I remember this correctly.)

Since as they say, "Sugar is sugar," I wonder if there is a biological difference in digestion/absorption/metabolism between eating a peach or an apple with eating something manufactured with HFCS. Fruits and vegetables have complex cellular structures that contain not only fructose and glucose but also complex carbohydrates, various soluble and insoluble fibers, acids, micronutrients, anti-oxidants and likely other compounds that we do not know what they do to us as organisms. Processed foods do not contain these substances. It is certainly possible that some of the sugar that we consume from eating a fruit or vegetable binds to other molecules during digestion and is eliminated, never being absorbed. But drinking a sweetened tea or a Hostess Twinkie will allow for nearly all the HFCS to be absorbed in our guts. To my knowledge no study or research paper has ever addressed the body's methods of absorbing various types of sugar.

Take this with a grain of sugar, as it were, as I am only a CPA, and have no real background in biochemistry or physiology.

 

[yobigd20]

Just the opposite. Because I no longer stop at the super WaWa gas stations to fill up I've lost a bit a weight as I'm no longer buying soft pretzels and other junk food while my car is gassing up.

 

[AudubonB]

One thing you wrote, Todd Lockwood, caused my eyebrows to rise. And...through Google, anyway...I can't find any verification that, other than in low-fat chocolate milk, there is any HFCS added to low-fat milk. Can you corroborate/

 

[ToddRLockwood]

One thing you wrote, Todd Lockwood, caused my eyebrows to rise. And...through Google, anyway...I can't find any verification that, other than in low-fat chocolate milk, there is any HFCS added to low-fat milk. Can you corroborate/

Sorry, I should have specified flavored low-fat milk.

The food industry went on a reduced-fat craze a decade ago, replacing fat with sugar, usually in the form of HFCS. Now we've come to realize the added sugar has more risks than the fat did.

 

[BerTX]

What about people who gave up eating in restaurants so that they could afford the Tesla? They might lose some weight.

 

[jerry33]

What about people who gave up eating in restaurants so that they could afford the Tesla? They might lose some weight.

We ended up eating in restaurants a lot more since it doesn't cost $80 just to get there.

 

[BerTX]

We ended up eating in restaurants a lot more since it doesn't cost $80 just to get there.

Careful, these people are going to start thinking folks from Texas exaggerate...

 

[Idleup]

We ended up eating in restaurants a lot more since it doesn't cost $80 just to get there.

Very good Point! LOL

Mike

 

[paulkva]

So my hypothesis is that EV drivers are more likely to be overweight because they will often kill time by eating at a restaurant while their car is charging.

Thoughts? Comments?

Funny, I'd expect the reverse. Most gas stations nowadays are attached to convenience stores, which in most cases are absolutely loaded with junk food. If you know you'll be stopped to charge for 15 minutes or more, I think you'd be more likely to take the time to think about what you're going to eat.

 

[Canuck]

I also doubt that HFCS is noticeably worse for you than cane sugar. Sucrose is basically a glucose molecule glued to a fructose molecule, while HFCS is basically a glucose molecule next to a fructose molecule. Glucose next to fructose is pretty much exactly the type of sugar found in most fruit, so saying that HFCS is most dangerous while fruit sugars are okay seems a bit ridiculous.

Sounds like you've been drinking the soda industry's kool aid... But it's not true according to research:

Aug 2 (Reuters) - Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same.
Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.
They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.
"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.
"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."
Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.
...
The [soda] industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.
Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.
Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney's team wrote.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/02/cancer-fructose-idAFN0210830520100802

 

[ModelX]

Canuck, thanks for sharing this article! Had had not seen it previously and appreciated the information!

 

[Spidy]

Obesity is not so much about how often you eat, as it is about what you eat.
...
So what to snack on while on the road? Apples, bananas and unsalted almonds are good basics to begin with. And drink plenty of water.

Unless you are eating salad without dressing then the amount you eat is often much more important compared to what you eat. I have been eating pretty ****** at college, lot of frozen pizza etc. drinking soda and almost never cooking myself, but gained no weight because apart from that soda and pizza I would not eat that much more.

Oh and apples are really bad for your teeth, so maybe not what you want to snack all the time.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

Funny, I'd expect the reverse. Most gas stations nowadays are attached to convenience stores, which in most cases are absolutely loaded with junk food. If you know you'll be stopped to charge for 15 minutes or more, I think you'd be more likely to take the time to think about what you're going to eat.

Good point! I believe Tesla's Supercharger team considers access to decent food when sizing up SC locations, although it may sometimes be trumped by other factors.