Taking responsibility for obesity

astrovivi

This is a brilliant article.

The author, Karen Hitchcock, is a doctor and writer.

She makes some interesting and excellent observations and gives an insight into a doctor's perspective when dealing with obese patients, often with chronic disease.

http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/march/1361848247/karen-hitchcock/fat-city

SideSteel

I read this today and really enjoyed it.

GeekAmour

Thanks for sharing, loved it.

DragonSquatter

Very much agree with this also. Good read.

REDI4CHANGE60

Great article ... thanks for sharing!

MCLA4mom

loved this article! Thank you

luvriden

Wow, this is a thought provoking article that is very sad and depressing. I'm glad I read it.

Iceman420

Wow....just wow. Thank you so much for posting this article. It's a real wake up call for me.

dwalt15110

Wonderful article. Thanks for sharing.

megaen29

What a great read! Thanks for posting the link

DopeItUp

Great article, thanks for posting it.

TOPSmarca

Thanks!!! Bump!

I_Will_End_You

Wow...great article. Depressing, yes, but insightful and interesting.

violettatx

I read that article last night and I think it brings up some excellent points. I was talking to my employee at work about it today. She has MS and is quite young. She is always upbeat and very positive. Her take on it is why would anyone not do something about being obese? After all, they CAN do something about it before is seriously affects their health. Others are not so lucky.

teresab101

Bump

cappri

I had a friend who had been anorexic and spent her teenage years in and out of hospital, being fed through a nasogastric tube. She recovered in her 20s and managed to channel all of her intrusive obsessional thinking about food into athletics. One day she said to me that she didn’t understand why she could be hospitalised against her will for not eating enough, and yet there was no limitation on how fat you could get. It was completely unfair, she said, that you could be refused alcohol if intoxicated but roll into your local fish-and-chip shop 100 kg overweight and be served the equivalent of a week’s worth of calories for lunch.

That right there. Just WOW!

ehimass

"He has no friends, no money to buy other consumables, little education, no partner, no job. Some days he doesn’t leave his bed. The choice for him is to eat this food or experience no pleasure. "

Wow, that hits a little close to home, and for myself, strikes to the heart of the matter (sans the education and job part).

astrovivi

Oh hey, I don't think it's depressing. I think it's a wake up call to everyone ... we should be taking responsibility for our health.

I think the message is that doctors can feel helpless when faced with patients who are obese or who rock up asking for a solution that doesn't involve them actually doing something positive about their own diet (and exercise, lifestyle).

I like that she encourages a focus away from aesthetics and more on health. This is important for everyone and a good message for anyone at the extremes of healthy weight, whether obese or extremely underweight.

astrovivi

I had a friend who had been anorexic and spent her teenage years in and out of hospital, being fed through a nasogastric tube. She recovered in her 20s and managed to channel all of her intrusive obsessional thinking about food into athletics. One day she said to me that she didn’t understand why she could be hospitalised against her will for not eating enough, and yet there was no limitation on how fat you could get. It was completely unfair, she said, that you could be refused alcohol if intoxicated but roll into your local fish-and-chip shop 100 kg overweight and be served the equivalent of a week’s worth of calories for lunch.

That right there. Just WOW!

yes I loved that too. As someone who also had anorexia in her teens, I used to wonder the same thing :O

newmein2013

Great read. Thanks for posting.

shortie_sarah

thanks for sharing. There is someone that I really wish I could show this to but I would just be told that I'm "judging" her or something along those lines...

sewingdiscontent

Whoa! Awesome article! Thanks for posting!

I like what she says about a fast food chain's sales going down 25% after not running tv ads for a week. It is so true. If I don't see it, I don't even think about it, which is why I pirate all of my tv (no commercials). Do I feel bad about "stealing" from corporations who are trying to kill me? Nope.

yarwell

Well written article.

The attempt to help people lose weight is generally seen as one of the most futile acts we as doctors of internal medicine can perform: pretty much all we can do is make you feel crappier about yourself than you already do.

GymBeast2

Awesome read.

kazzsjourney

I had a friend who had been anorexic and spent her teenage years in and out of hospital, being fed through a nasogastric tube. She recovered in her 20s and managed to channel all of her intrusive obsessional thinking about food into athletics. One day she said to me that she didn’t understand why she could be hospitalised against her will for not eating enough, and yet there was no limitation on how fat you could get. It was completely unfair, she said, that you could be refused alcohol if intoxicated but roll into your local fish-and-chip shop 100 kg overweight and be served the equivalent of a week’s worth of calories for lunch.

That right there. Just WOW!

That part of the article really struck me too...I had never thought about it....but so true...great article

Velum_cado

I didn't read the whole article, but, hmm... not sure about this part:

"I wish you could get morbidly obese and be considered beautiful."

I understand her point. That she wishes those who are "morbidly obese" are considered conventionally attractive, but the wording just rubs me the wrong way. Like, NO ONE who is morbidly obese can be beautiful. *kitten* off with that.

AwesomeSquirrel

really interesting article, thank you for posting!

blibby33

bump to read later.

pinkraynedropjacki

Whoa! Awesome article! Thanks for posting!

I like what she says about a fast food chain's sales going down 25% after not running tv ads for a week. It is so true. If I don't see it, I don't even think about it, which is why I pirate all of my tv (no commercials). Do I feel bad about "stealing" from corporations who are trying to kill me? Nope.

I watch Tv with those ads on & there is no motivation to go buy it. I dont think about it at all. I think it's more sad people have no willpower & wonder how on earth they walk past signs with any food on them without giving in or complaining.

Lifting_Knitter

Great read!

teresab101

Bump for later