Via Futurepundit:
The brain injection part isn’t exactly appealing. But surely some appetite-cutting compounds will be able to travel via the blood. After all, appetite is influenced by the hormone ghrelin (secreted epsilon cells of the pancreas and P/D1 cells of the stomach) and leptin (secreted by adipose tissues). So the blood does contain compounds that make it into the brain.
While we are living in an era with a high prevalence of obesity we are nearing the end of that era. 20 years from now I expect obesity to be rare in developed countries as drugs that suppress appetite hit the market.
So, if they can get around the “brain injection” part, sounds great. Right?
Not to me.
Let’s start with the fact that it is not our appetites, per se, that make us obese. Throughout history, humans with our appetites have not been, for the most part, obese.
It is a combination of our appetites with a body inherited by evolution to resist losing weight in times of scarcity, and plentiful high-glycemic carbohydrates unavailable to our pre-agricultural ancestors, and a lack of need to go running miles a day with a heavy load to bring home food. We are obese because food that is bad for us is cheap, we don’t exercise much any more because we have figured out how to do a living at a desk, and our bodies haven’t caught up.
But you know what?
I like my appetites. I think that appetites are one of the things that make us human. I like digging into a juicy filet mignon, a succulent lobster dipped in butter, an artichoke. I love the taste (and smell) of fresh bread coming out of the oven.
And you know what else? I really like engaging various of my bodily parts with those of another person of the opposite sex, even though it makes no sense, from an intellectual standpoint. I even like thinking about it, or looking at pictures of other people doing it (though not anywhere near as much as actually doing it). That’s an appetite, too. And one that decreases with age, but I haven’t noticed that it’s made me (or I imagine many others) any happier. And (at least from the literature) the age-related decrease seems to be increased in females, which doesn’t in any way enhance the happiness of many males for whom the decrease has been less, particularly when they are the only females available, sans adultery. That seems like a more worthy problem to attack than “reducing appetite.”
Yes, I know that some transhumanists (like Hans Moravec) want to be a robot. This has been the platonic ideal going back at least to…well…Plato. You know, the body distracts us from the higher values of the intellect…bla, bla, bla.
But does the intellect really make life worth living? The platonists, the transhumanists, would like to persuade us that it does, that properly implemented, the pleasures of the intellect will vastly exceed the base carnal pleasures of this rotting form.
Well, maybe. But even though I’m from Michigan, my darling Patricia is from Missouri. Show us.
Then, maybe.
But mere showing won’t be enough of course. We’d have to have a personal demonstration, in which thinking about…whatever…beats an orgasm, or even biting into a delicious meal.
Maybe suppressing appetites is the future, but I hope not, at least for the immediate future. I’d like to think that there are better redesigns of the body to prevent obesity. Because I like my appetite for food, and my appetite for other things, and if this is where technology is taking us, sign me…not up.
Of course, with the current administration, which clearly wants to put the government in charge of our health care, and which will be looking for ways to reduce the cost of such, and obesity being viewed as one of the primary causes of health-care costs, don’t expect that it will merely pay for appetite suppressants, brain injected or otherwise.
Expect them to be compulsory.
I don’t want my appetite to decrease — I have less appetite now than I did when I was 18, but weigh far more.
I want my metabolism to go back to throwing away most of the calories I eat.
But does the intellect really make life worth living? The platonists, the transhumanists, would like to persuade us that it does, that properly implemented, the pleasures of the intellect will vastly exceed the base carnal pleasures of this rotting form.
The empirical approach would settle this nicely. Rather than argue it around for a few decades, just get some impartial judges to give it a try.
I read about appetite suppression in conjunction with the notions of Obamacare, and I get this mental picture of Summer Glau murmuring, “Miranda.”
Don’t know why. :-/
The intellect is vastly overrated. It is very useful, but Western civilization is Aristotelean — matter matters.
I wonder whether those who benefit most from the intellectualization of the world (like, say university professors) also devalue the carnal desires inherent to humanity?
T’would explain an awful lot.
Hmm. after looking at the previous post, it occurs to me that Woodrow Wilson does a good job of linking the two.
Hell, I plan on being downloaded into the mustang ranch holodeck.
Actually, Ray Kurzweil has addressed this in ‘Fantastic Voyage: Living Long Enough To Live Forever’ and elsewhere (with the trademarked phrase; ‘Caloric Restriction without the restriction), likening it to the fact that we use contraception to have sex without pregnancy.
And I’m reminded of an exchange I had with a former co-worker 20-od years ago, wherein she made a negative statement regarding (mostly male) interest in sex, ending in her observation that “It’s so primitive.”
My response: “So are eating and sleeping, but I enjoy those, too…”
I’m a relatively tall guy, at 6’1 + dependent on posture. On my mothers side of the family I’m the tallest person in the family except for one person, and he’s adopted, not to mention we are actually the same height, I’m just more frumpy.
I have genetic benefits, even though I’m the second shortest male on my fathers side of the family (only person shorter is my brother, who is about 6′ flat)
But a number of years ago I read a thing about the maturation of females having to do with diet. There is of course a genetic component, that is likely the most powerful component, but in this article I read, it was basicaly a statement about how black girls in their early teens reach womanhood earlier than their white counterparts.
Apparently, the opinion in the article was, diet initiates hormonal changes promoting maturation and growth.
High fat diets, are treated by the female body as prosperity, so the body responds by making that girl a woman at an earlier age.
High proteins, make a male a viable adult male, making them initiate physical maturation, and then they grow taller.
I don’t know if it’s true, I’m not a scientist type, but Most of the American blacks, are from western regions of africa, and they are not a tall or muscular group in general. They tend to be lean. It’s the eastern and continental blacks who are tall and muscular, the western blacks tend to be rather small and lean.
American blacks (those of the old slave stock, I hate that word but it’s useful for comparisson) tend to be from the western regions, yet they are now giants.
It isn’t just “good breading” as Jimmy the Greek said, it’s also diet.
Got a second cousin, who towers over me, TOWERS! (6’8) and his dad was damn near a midget, but he was from a good home, with a good diet.
Is he a genetic anomoly? or is he a product of good diet?
I don’t know, but that article about a girls maturation being dependent on diet made me think about stuff like this.
as for sex, I’ve always had firm control of my libido, at the moment, I’m damn near a monk, but that’s not out of disinterest of the act, but more about disinterest in the selection of objects I might practice it with.
I got my eyes set, I love my girl, and until I take that hypothesis to conclusion, I am really not interested in any other experiments.
besides, I was Marine, I got mine. I charged that battery so to say.
Is he a genetic anomoly? or is he a product of good diet?
It’s diet. Nisei Japanese saw the same phenomenon, when even the first generation raised in the US were considerably taller than their parents.
I would not take anything that messed with my appetite. I have seen people who took similar food metabolism changing drugs with pretty nasty side effects. I would rather change my diet to something else. People will stop being fat when everyone can find a diet which not only tastes well, but has balanced calories for them, and can be found everywhere. I lost much weight a couple of years ago by only eating meat/fish and salad for example.
Lean protein (fish, chicken or turkey breast) helps control appetite.
Healthy fats (Omega 3 from salmon), canola or olive oil
Carbohydrates from beans, and limited amounts from fruits and grains.
Avoid sugars and margarine.
Exercise.
75# weight loss in five months. Without being hungry. And it is still off.
“and plentiful high-glycemic carbohydrates unavailable to our pre-agricultural ancestors”.
A vast majority of processed food contains high fructose corn syrup. Go to the store and read some labels. It appears that there is a correlation between the wide scale introduction of this product in the early 70s and our current “obesity epidemic”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup
“and plentiful high-glycemic carbohydrates unavailable to our pre-agricultural ancestors”
a.k.a. Nature’s Perfect Food — the jelly donut
I noticed in my weight training that my strength increased a bit when I went from a pure whey protein isolate to a mixture of whey isolate, casein, and soy protein. Recent studies have shown that the so called negative estrogenic effects of Soy protein in males is unfounded. The possibility exists but it turns out that one has to eat copious amounts of soy protein at unreasonable levels.
I’ve been using a roughly 40% whey protein isolate, 30% casein, 30% soy protein mix of my own creation and had great results. I get a nice power spike out of the isolate with sustained protein absorption from the casein and the soy. It appears that soy coupled with milk protein increases protein uptake and off the top of my head, regulates insulin spikes.
Carbs are not evil. In fact they are necessary for the production of muscle. Load up on proteins prior to strenuous exercise. Then, within an hour of working out eat a baked potato or a cup of white rice. Insulin uptake is what drives the creation of muscle mass. Carbs will also help prevent lactic acid formation. It is the lactic acid that makes your muscles sore and stiff the next day. With increased muscle mass your body’s metabolism will improve.