I just don't care about the 'obesity epidemic'

pkw58

I care about the obesity epidemic, I care about people who have eating disorders to the point they are walking skeletons, and I care about the elderly and the poor. I care about my Dad who died from lung cancer from smoking cigerattes. I care about a family member so deep in drug addiction she stole jewelry from other family members to sell it. I don't want other people to suffer thru drug addictions and disease enhancing addictions and behavior.

I do know I can't do anything about those situations, but I can pray and I can ask for help and VOTE for helping those people out. I can also volunteer time and money to charities that help all those people who have those problems.

I want all of those to have the best quality of life possible while on this earth, and if public awareness means calling it an epidemic, at least it draws attention that some people want help with their obesity.

Sure, I care.

davert123

Thanks OP, you drove me to find out how to block people on MFP :-)

fbmandy55

I don't care about the epidemic when there are far more pressing things in our world to be mad about.

But I will say I am annoyed when obese people complain about things that are a result of their lifestyle. For example, I am part of a PCOS awareness group and many of the women are distraught by infertility. But many of them are a solid 100lbs overweight and do nothing to try to lose weight! I have little sympathy for the women who cannot get pregnant because that is natures way of saying you are not fit for it. I have known many women to lose weight and find themselves pregnant, even with PCOS.

IF you choose to be overweight, live with it and I won't judge you. Just don't complain that life is unfair because of it.

What?! I have known MANY overweight women that have babies just fine. In fact, I know one young woman that went to a fertility doctor and he told her (VERY RUDELY I might add) that she would never have children because she was too fat. Smartass doctor. I hope she went back and showed him her GORGEOUS TWINS.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum, I have PCOS but am not terribly overweight (say 10 lbs) and have tried unsuccessfully to have children for almost 8 years now. So that's nature telling me I'm unfit to parent? I'm assuming you either had kids with little difficulty or prefer to remain childless, as that tends to be the sorts of people to make statements like that.

Not at all what I said. I also have PCOS and know infertility can be an issue. But there are also plenty of women who COULD get pregnant if they were not 100lbs overweight.

darrensurrey

How does the obesity epidemic effect me?

1. Not enough fit young people to to serve in war time. The military even has a program to get overweight and obese teens who wish to join into a "pre-boot camp" to see if they can get the weight off.

Sending young people to get shot at and blown up by IED's doesn't indicate much of a concern for their health.

Well, just see what happens to the United States and our freedom when we no longer have a strong military.

We'll finally take back what's ours!

guroprincess

I'm laughing at this entire thread.

I don't care if people are obese. I also don't care if they're smokers or drinkers. I don't see people complaining about lifelong smokers having higher rates of cancer and "costing us tax dollars", yet people are so willing to harp on the obese for having heart problems etc.

WHAT? the government took a HUGE stance against the tobacco company because it was costing us so much money. have you seen the price of a pack of cigarettes lately?

I meant in this thread, sorry. Also I don't know the going rate of cigarettes or how it's changed because I'm not a smoker and have never been

As a reformed smoker and former obese person I can personally tell you that as a smoker I was basically treated as a 5th class citizen at best...when I was just fat, most people didn't care.

Really? For some reason that surprises me, but that might just be because I've never had to deal with that particular kind of attitude first hand. I've never been a smoker and I never will be but I'm a big advocate of allowing people to do what they want. I mean, they'll eventually reap what they sow.

Steveburg123

people cost 40% more a year in health care related expenses than a "normal" weight person. As a rule they do not pay more for health insurance than a "normal" size person, i.e., there is a cost that is spread to people who can push away from the table. Statistically people call in "sick" to work more often and file more workers comp claims (not to mention health care workers who are injured taking care of patients-happens all the time), so again, money.

ekz13

....of allowing people to do what they want.

that's kind of part of the problem isn't it?.. more and more people just do whatever they want without regard to how if affects those around them

UsedToBeHusky

I have little sympathy for the women who cannot get pregnant because that is natures way of saying you are not fit for it. I have known many women to lose weight and find themselves pregnant, even with PCOS.

Hyper-judgmental much?!?!

You basically judged all women based on their ability or inability to conceive.

Only women who are capable of conception are apparently fit to be a parent. What about the crack mothers producing crack babies that they are dumping in trash cans? Why exactly has nature deemed them worthy?

Part of the problem with this whole stupid discussion is that people are establishing that the value of the individual is based solely on how much they eat and how much they exercise.

The judgmental attitudes on this thread are far more disgusting to me than the obesity epidemic.

UsedToBeHusky

I don't care about the epidemic when there are far more pressing things in our world to be mad about.

But I will say I am annoyed when obese people complain about things that are a result of their lifestyle. For example, I am part of a PCOS awareness group and many of the women are distraught by infertility. But many of them are a solid 100lbs overweight and do nothing to try to lose weight! I have little sympathy for the women who cannot get pregnant because that is natures way of saying you are not fit for it. I have known many women to lose weight and find themselves pregnant, even with PCOS.

IF you choose to be overweight, live with it and I won't judge you. Just don't complain that life is unfair because of it.

What?! I have known MANY overweight women that have babies just fine. In fact, I know one young woman that went to a fertility doctor and he told her (VERY RUDELY I might add) that she would never have children because she was too fat. Smartass doctor. I hope she went back and showed him her GORGEOUS TWINS.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum, I have PCOS but am not terribly overweight (say 10 lbs) and have tried unsuccessfully to have children for almost 8 years now. So that's nature telling me I'm unfit to parent? I'm assuming you either had kids with little difficulty or prefer to remain childless, as that tends to be the sorts of people to make statements like that.

Not at all what I said. I also have PCOS and know infertility can be an issue. But there are also plenty of women who COULD get pregnant if they were not 100lbs overweight.

I was 100 lbs overweight... didn't have any problems getting knocked up. The issue of infertility is only marginally related to weight.

tiggerhammon

My statements were not meant for anyone to take personally. You had large babies. From the looks of it, you appear to be genetically a "big baby" maker. Some people just are.

I'm guessing that your children were healthy and your deliveries successful. That's not always the case.

I'm not "name-calling" newborns. I'm using "obese" is an adjective to describe a disproportionately large weight to length ratio AT ONE POINT IN TIME, not as a chronic condition.

I think the main issue we have is with the person freaking out about her friends having an 11-pound baby, not so much with you. But it's still silly to label a baby as obese, since that term denotes something that is within someone's control and can lead to health problems. You just can't tell that about a newborn based on weight. Some babies are just born big and there's not necessarily anything wrong with that. They're just big babies. If they weigh 80 pounds at 2 years old, there's a problem.

Really? So, explain to me how my stepmother had a 14.0lb baby when she is 5' 7", in perfect health, not one prepregnancy or during pregnancy problem/condition, she isn't a single pound overweight and gained exactly 14lbs during her pregnancy.
He must have just been born randomly obese, right? We are so bad our children are being born obese (whatever!)
So, today, he is tall, thin, healthy and strong and not an ounce overweight. His mother must have put him on a diet and made him run circles around his playpen I guess. That's how you fix an obese child, isn't it?
So sad that he had to just be born that way.

Pink_turnip

multiple articles on how fat does not necessarily equal un-healthy

http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/articles-evidence/

tiggerhammon

The judgmental attitudes on this thread are far more disgusting to me than the obesity epidemic.

^^This^^

Agravatingly, horribly sad.

AprilMae1975

Through all of my struggles with my weight and being "obese" I have learned that the only person who has control over the problem is me. I made myself fat....i ate too much and didn't exercise. Can I blame it on genetics or medical problems-sure, but I choose not to. I don't know that anything would have made me stop the destructive behavior other than my own will to change. I guess if I was only given healthy food and forced to exercise then that would have worked. I try not to judge anyone except myself. What I can do, is offer help and motivation to anyone who wants it. I can't say how I feel about other people except that I hope they hit the point that I did and want to change their life.

msf74

Tax dollars. :grumble:

The position may be different where you are but in the UK I read a report last year which indicated that obese people, much like smokers, actually have a lower net cost to society than healthy individuals. This is for the reason they die sooner and long term care costs for the elderly far outstrip the higher health care costs that obese patients attract while they are alive.

The most pressing concern for western economies in this regard is an ageing population which is outstripping the replacement rate and which presents a tax burden that the younger generation it seems will simply be unable to support.

Old people need to start taking one for the team and dying sooner.

And don't get me started on those sports people who rack up huge healthcare costs when they suffer complex injuries and require restorative surgery. So selfish and avoidable...

anybeary

For starters, we live on a world with finite resources. Gluttony takes away from those resources.

dbanks80

Tax dollars. :grumble:

The position may be different where you are but in the UK I read a report last year which indicated that obese people, much like smokers, actually have a lower net cost to society than healthy individuals. This is for the reason they die sooner and long term care costs for the elderly far outstrip the higher health care costs that obese patients attract while they are alive.

The most pressing concern for western economies in this regard is an ageing population which is outstripping the replacement rate and which presents a tax burden that the younger generation it seems will simply be unable to support.

Old people need to start taking one for the team and dying sooner.

And don't get me started on those sports people who rack up huge healthcare costs when they suffer complex injuries and require restorative surgery. So selfish and avoidable...

Wow.

manique45

You're taking this way too personally. I don't care about specific people being obese (except about their health) but there are plenty of reasons to care about the bigger picture of such a big proportion of the population being obese.

^^^^^
Great Points... There is a bigger picture of the problem. People are either one. Not educated or two. they don't care about their health. Maybe a combination of them both.... Either way it saddens me to see people not take care of them selves. Like watching honey boo boo, Although I also get so confused on how some people that are very obese have the greatest confidence and don't let their size hold them back. Off topic a bit I guess...

Siansonea

For starters, we live on a world with finite resources. Gluttony takes away from those resources.

Trollolol

"Gluttony". U So Superior! :yawn:

msf74

Tax dollars. :grumble:

The position may be different where you are but in the UK I read a report last year which indicated that obese people, much like smokers, actually have a lower net cost to society than healthy individuals. This is for the reason they die sooner and long term care costs for the elderly far outstrip the higher health care costs that obese patients attract while they are alive.

The most pressing concern for western economies in this regard is an ageing population which is outstripping the replacement rate and which presents a tax burden that the younger generation it seems will simply be unable to support.

Old people need to start taking one for the team and dying sooner.

And don't get me started on those sports people who rack up huge healthcare costs when they suffer complex injuries and require restorative surgery. So selfish and avoidable...

Wow.

That is a common reaction when people meet me, yes...

Siansonea

The judgmental attitudes on this thread are far more disgusting to me than the obesity epidemic.

^^This^^

Agravatingly, horribly sad.

You would think that people who have themselves struggled with weight loss would be more compassionate towards those who have not yet made any progress in that direction.

You would think. And you would be wrong.