Free Lecture from this Course:
Obesity: Ethics & Harms in Weight Loss
“When you enter into the science of obesity, it resembles more the realm of religious belief rather than science.”
~ Gary Taubes, science writer
In this course we review accurately the actual science on weight loss attempts, beginning with the three meta-analyses which summarize the effects of all previously published clinical trials. All three reached the same conclusion: It is medically unethical to advise a patient to restrict calories in order to lose weight. Unethical because it is well established in repeated trials that such attempts provide no benefit to health, that those who diet, when followed long term, gain more weight than those who do nothing. On the other hand dieting readily causes metabolic and psychological injury. We show root causes of the obesity epidemic, clarify issues concerning BMI as a marker of health, and direction for therapeutics aimed at the metabolic basis of many cases of obesity.
Overview
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Review clinical trials and comprehensive meta-analyses in the field of weight loss.
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See what happens to The Biggest Losers when they are followed for five years.
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Survey the attitudes of weight stigmatization common among the general public, medical professionals, nutritionists, and herbalists.
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Learn the scientific and logical fallacies in the idea that one can simply eat less and exercise more to lose weight.
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Review the science on the correlation of BMI with health and mortality.
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Review the pathophysiology of obesity as a metabolic disorder.
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Learn the endocrine roles and interaction of white and brown adipose tissue with the endocrine system.
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Learn some of the root causes of obesity.
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Learn the role of insulin resistance in some obese patients and learn which patients can benefit from methods to normalize insulin function.
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Review the physiology of ketosis and ketogenic diets, and how to determine which patients might benefit from them and which will not.
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Learn the role of food intolerance in abnormal weight gain, and the value of screening with elimination and rechallenge before attempting to lose weight.
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Learn a nutritional protocol that can correct deficiencies that tend to cause obesity.
Lessons
Lesson 1. Ethics an Weight Loss
Lesson 2. Body Mass Index
Lesson 3. Metabolism and Obesity
Lesson 4. Causes of Obesity
Lesson 5. Science review
Lesson 6. Ketosis, Diets, and Nutrition
Course Materials
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58 audio files totaling over 5 hours
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148 pages of notes & slides
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A PDF library of full-text research articles and classical herbal texts totaling over 450 pages
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total storage 397 MB
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The recorded lectures were delivered by NAIMH Director Paul Bergner in a classroom setting, edited and supplemented with studio portions.
