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squalidaesthetics20 t1_j49llai wrote

There is evidence to suggest that those who grow up in poverty are at a higher risk for obesity. Chronic stress brought on by poverty and stressful life experiences can alter the body's physiology and raise the risk of obesity. Changes in hormone levels, such as an increase in cortisol, which can cause weight gain, can be a part of these changes. Furthermore, those who are poor might not have easy access to healthy food options and might turn to high-calorie, low-nutrient meals as a stress-relief strategy. In addition, it may be difficult for people to afford gym memberships, activities, or equipment necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So it's a complicated problem with a lot of variables.

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BasileusBasil t1_j49wt3d wrote

It means almost nothing, but I started to gain weight when I was 9yo and my parents got a divorce. Their relationship thereafter was always really strained and so it was mine and my sister's with our parents, the finances also got strained both by the divorce process and the divided household. It was just some time ago that I was diagnosed with a depression that started sometime before the divorce and it's still around now 22 years later, reinforced by the long periods of poverty, unemployment and the all to real chance that the sum of all of my problems will stop me from starting an indipendent life and a family. When I'm stressed, sad or bored I start to eat a lot of sugary snacks and candies, and start to isolate myself inside the house so I gain weight easily and quickly. My main stressors were/are the lack of a job or the difficulty of paying the debts my mother had incurred in these 22 years. But, everytime we got a brief window of relief between a financial crisis and the other I always got the urge to get back in shape and somewhat managed to do that by going to the gym, eating less and better and by having my time occupied by work so I would spend less time idle and overthinking/getting bored.
I'm almost 31 and I am struggling with depression with suicidal thoughts, obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, long covid and shows signs of faster telomere shortening due to chronic stress (the last one it's still an hypothesis, I know, but I feel like 10 years older and no amount of exercise or weight loss managed to shake away the feeling to this day, i really hope it's just somatization though). Just my experience, but i thought it perfectly fit.

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curiosityasmedicine t1_j4dnxxc wrote

Have you heard of complex PTSD or r/cPTSD? Sounds like it could apply to you and maybe it will help you find some useful resources. Pete Walker is one of the top resources for info on cPTSD. I can’t recommend his books enough.

Signed, an internet stranger with cPTSD from childhood abuse and neglect who didn’t even realize she had it until age 35, and also a long hauler for the past 2.5 years. I am convinced there’s a link between cPTSD and long COVID. We already know from the Adverse Childhood Experiences studies that childhood trauma pretty dramatically increases the risk for chronic illness later in life (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc, so long covid really fits).

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subzero112001 t1_j4aixg5 wrote

Wasn’t there also studies done that show that an uneducated and obese mother were the biggest factors in the occurrence of obesity in a child’s future?

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iveabiggen t1_j4ahbna wrote

>But another recent study conducted with 394 adults in the UK found no difference in the total energy intake of food-insecure and food-secure people. What it did find, though, was that the diet of people without ready access to healthy food was high in carbohydrates, with less fibre and protein than other people in the study.

Meanwhile in asia, rice with every single meal, a carbohydrate. They report low obesity levels. Its not the carbs. You just eat too much kcal per day, and the excess is stored as fat.

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RobertPaulsonXX42 t1_j4b49re wrote

Say it louder for the kids in the back...

Western society is the only human population the planet has ever seen where one of the top problems facing the poor and impoverished in the past 50 years is obesity.

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Larein t1_j4czuqg wrote

>They report low obesity levels.

Its starting to change.

>Obesity in China is a major health concern according to the WHO, with overall rates of obesity between 5% and 6% for the country,[2] but greater than 20% in some cities where fast food is popular.[3]

Plus there is also same trend as in western cultures. More refined carbohydrates. With white rice becomming the norm over brown rice.

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IcallBSonthat t1_j4aw6v5 wrote

I've lived this first hand but in a different way. My parents actually did very well for themselves but my mom grew up very poor when she was a child. She had this scarcity mindset that she took out on me. So I was overfed quite a bit and it still bothers my mom when I throw out or waste food.

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this_wntlast t1_j49uj5g wrote

Seems as if lack of hope, rather than lack of money is more likely to contribute

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fhjuyrc t1_j4bjt8r wrote

Poverty coming back strong in the 21st century. I guess I hoped for better.

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john22544 t1_j4evtfa wrote

So far in the 21st century the percentage of the worlds people without access to sufficient calories has been cut by about 1/3. 50 million people per year have been lifted from extreme poverty (living on less than $1.90 per day). In 2000 around 30% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty, today it's less than 10% and is on track to be 0% by the early 30s.

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Nonstampcollector777 t1_j4cb5j6 wrote

What about the emotional stress of a verbally abusive household?

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mrburnttoast79 t1_j49q2uo wrote

Ok but how do you explain Francis Buxton?

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