Are most obese people addicted to food or do they

kgagnon7779

just eat a lot? I am very sincere in asking this because I would like to understand this issue. I can tell you that when I see an obese person, I immediately wonder what demons they have in their closet.This is mostly because I have a close connection to the issue.

My aunt had been thin most of her life, then she developed a pill problem in her 20s, went to rehab and got clean and then started really packing on the pounds. She's been obese my whole life. She'll lose 20 pounds here and there and then she'll obsessively shop for new clothes and then gain it all back. Most recently, she had gastric bypass - then, because she wasn't eating as much, she shopped, and shopped and basically just transferred her addiction. But, because of low funds, she's not shopping and she's eating again and slowly and systematically reversing the gastric bypass surgery. It's so painful to watch.

Clearly, my aunt has some addiction problems and really does have a true eating addiction, but for those of you struggling with your weight - can you be obese without an addiction? Just curious - if you don't want to share I understand and please don't be offended by my asking.

sbwood888

I truly don't know why I struggle so much. Maybe just weak? Low self esteem? Poor self control? LOVE food? I don't know. It has just been my problem forever. Some people smoke, or drink, gamble, do drugs...I eat. Also, I do not exercise like I should. HATE to exercise. Ugh. Don't know why...this is just me. :huh:

Amandamccl

I know I'm very addictive to the foods I eat when I eat I want more of it it ot so bad I made a rule to myself if I can't just have one don't eat it

deadstarsunburn

Finally been able to break this, but I ate when I was sad, happy, angry, bored. My friends like to celebrate with eating. It was just a lot of eating for the wrong reasons. I get now it's to fuel your body not make sadness go away and when I'm happy I exercise instead. I'm not sure if I was ever addicted, but I used it to "fix" my emotions.

BRANDYLYNETTE

I have wondered about the addiction problem myself. I have a family memeber who was OBese.....he is 6'6.....and was extremely heavy. He had gastric bypass surgery..two years ago....and changed his addiction from food...to alcohol. HE is 40 years old....wasnt a drinker...but exchanged his addiction with alcohol. He has two small children...and now, I feel that that surgery only made things worse for his family. I dont understand the addiction problem. His wife says that after the surgery , he couldnt have soda pop....has issues with self esteem....and so now he is constantly drinking hawaiin punch with vodka in it. His weight is still off.....but, now.....he is an alcoholic. NEver would I have dreamed that this PROFESSIONAL man could exchange food for alcohol. I dont know if it is self esteem problems or if it is more...... Is it that a person who has some sort of addiction....exchanges their addiction to something else if they get off of pills, food, alcohol or something else? Does everyone who gets off an addiction exchange it to something else? So sad......

jezirus

For me, personally, it is an addiction with an emotional connection. I have only been able to begin making changes *this* time because I finally addressed the emotional issues in therapy a few months ago.. I still struggle with it. The hard part about it being an addiction is that you have to have food... unlike an alcoholic, who can actually be sober and make that choice every day, all day long, a food addict cannot choose NOT to eat. I realized that the things I was truly addicted to (meaning, I craved them constantly, and could never get enough, felt crabby and cranky unless I ate those things, and even then I wanted more) were sweets (chocolate, cake, candy, etc.), cheese (pizza, nachos, etc.), and caffeine (pop/soda and coffee drinks). I quit those cold turkey at the beginning of June, and have lost 26 pounds since then. I still struggle, when I get depressed, I find that I immediately want those same things I used to turn to for comfort. But I'm slowly learning (not without mistakes!) to replace them with other things that are better for me, like exercise. I know there will be lots of people who disagree and say that if I'm fat I must just eat too much. I HAVE eaten too much, but there is a LOT more to it, at least for me.

ChrisWag

Excellent post. I battled all my life with weight. I have no idea why. i yo-yo'd. I was always the "chubby" girl.

One day I just decided, enough is enough. Over a year I lost 45lbs, and now my addiction is being obsessed with keeping it off. just ask mu hubby if you don't believe....I obsess over everything that I eat or don't eat, I work out 6 days a week....

I guess it is just about choosing what the obsession will be.....

Mommyof3loves

I wish I knew...I know for my oldest daughters father I think he learned it from his father....the men are very obese in that family and they really eat a lot. And his g/f now had lapband I don't know how long ago but apparently by the way she eats and looks didn't follow the diet. My daughter is overweight and she is constantly eating and we are constantly fighting with her and I am trying to show her a good example but it's falling on deaf ears and blind eyes with her. I don't think it's a clear cut answer I think for each person it's different.

catwrangler

I think the addiction is in trying to feed your emotions, not your body. Paired with messed up metabolisms and some genetics involved and bad habits formed, it is a hard to climb out of the pit.

I think the "happy jolly fat man/woman" thing is a myth, I eat when I am upset, angy, sad. I'm sure your aunt does the same.




But we are not irreparable!

pantoine

Barring genetic conditions, you'll find food intake is what drives the weight gain. What drives that level of food intake varies with each person... it could be addiction, self-medication, self-loathing... demons in the closet as you call it, you name it, there will be a rationale and something driving it. For *some* there is just a lack of understanding that they're no longer active, growing kids so can't get away with super-sized portions!

I have found my eating easier to control as I have come to understand my mental health issues better and sought help for those.

It's still not *easy*, but it's certainly more manageable than it was.

Your aunt would seem to have self-esteem issues on the face of it, but it could be much more complex than that. Certainly I think she would benefit from some counselling by a professional...

rmsrws

My obesity issue stemmed from a lot of things.

A) Medications I had to take in order to keep my lung function. Predinsone was putting 15 lbs on me a month.

Meciations for depression, they put about anther 20 lbs on me.

C) I was an emotional eater, and I did not realize this until recently.

E) If something tasted really good, why waste it even if I was full, so I over ate!

F) I didn't over eat when I ate it was what I was eatng that was working against me.

G) I couldn't exercise properly because of the lung issue.

H) ALL OF THE ABOVE and then SOME!

LATeagno

I truly, 100% believe it's an addiction. I believe that obesity isn't tackled the same as overweight when it comes to weight loss. For me, I spent years eating whatever. I didn't go out of my way to eat, really, but when it was around, I had absolutely no filter to say no. I convinced myself that I was due certain things-- a Big Mac at the end of a work day, donuts the next morning, brownies in the break room and candy bars that floated around the office. To be honest, it never *seemed* like I was eating *that* much. I mean, sure, I knew I was eating badly, but it wasn't like I was finishing off a bag of Doritos every day. I had meals, I had snacks... and yeah, they could have been better... but still, food is food, right?

I thought I was a fat piece of you-know-what when I graduated high school weighing about 175 pounds. Sometime between that, college graduation and having a daughter, I ballooned to 371 pounds. THREE-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-ONE freaking pounds. I had no idea how it happened. And it happened slowly enough that I somehow didn't notice. I mean, I did, but seriously-- I more than doubled my body weight.

Back then, I would eat when I was bored, sad, happy... pretty much any emotion warranted me to justify what I was eating. My eating was so out of control and I had no idea. If you'd asked me back then, I would have estimated that I was eating 2000 calories a day. In reality, there is no way it was less than 4000. Even more in some cases.

You'd think that somewhere around 250 pounds I would have stopped eating like a starving cow. But I didn't. In fact, the sadder I became about my weight, the fatter I became. It was a spiral that took some SERIOUS soul searching to get out of.

I've lost 50 some-odd pounds as of today. I have a long, long way to go, but I'm not in the same mindset anymore. I stopped filling emotional holes with food and, voila-- I lost weight. I'm writing a book now called "Know Yourself" about how being honest with yourself and not putting yourself in harm's way (food-wise) are keys to weight loss for obese people. Hopefully I'll help somebody out there who is struggling with food addiction in the same way I was! (Yeah, um, I'm not publishing 'til I get to my goal weight, which will hopefully be at the end of next year.)

In regard to how you look at the obese, remember that they got that way ounce by ounce. They didn't start off that way. For many, it is an addiction to food, that, in my opinion, may be harder to break than addictions to cigarettes or drinking... because you NEED to eat food to live, and you're surrounded by cheap, crappy food ALL the time. I mean, think about it-- imagine a crack addict surrounded by crack dealers selling crack for .99. That's what dollar menus are to many obese people. IMHO.

Rainbow011

This is something that I often wonder myself. There are always articles in magazines on this exact subject. I personally don't think obese people are addicted, they just eat alot out of habit.

Although I'm not obese I do have a habit of eating when I'm bored or when watching TV late in the evening. This is a habit that I can at times control, like I am right now. Once out the habit it becomes routine, something I don't even have to think about.

All anyone needs (not matter what size) is a realistic goal and willpower.

whitney22blue

definately food, today food portions are bigger and more calorific, plus there is more choice. Here in the UK the amount of takeaways and fast food resturants has increased in the last 10 to 20 years. I remember growing up there was only McDonalds nearby and that was about 4 miles away, not far but as a teenager who relied on public transport it was far away (oh and that is in London too) In supermarkets too there is more choice, breakfast cereals with chocolate in, more variety of biscuits, larger packets of crisps, microwave meals.
Family dynamics change, my mum cooked all our dinners for us in the evening, now microwave meals and cheap food is fuller of artificial flavourings, colour and are highly calorific, thats is why the less well off population are more likely to become obese, my excuse is because i like my food.

kalelwifey

I dont think im addicted to food..lately ive noticed its very easy to eat less when your watchign what your eating...before i was just eating whatever tasted good without thinking about it at all..wasnt conscious about the fact that i was eating way to much.

MarchelleLynne

I have always just ate and drank basically what I wanted and this is where I ended up!

kgagnon7779

I'd like to throw a few thing into the discussion from my experience. I do think, as a few of you pointed out, that it is different for everybody. My aunt clearly has issues - she used to be a model, then the pills, then the weight - I think for someone who was once prided for her beauty, gaining weight and not being able to lose had to have taken its toll (not that this is the only issue here but it is related to self esteem). What I'm incensed about here is that pre-gastric bypass surgery they require NO counseling. Are you serious? You have to have counseling before you get breast implants. I'm so bothered by this.

I do think it also has a lot to do with socio-economic factors and the idea of "if you know better, you do better". I love, love, love to eat. My family was very comfortable financially growing up. My mom is a chef - we barely ever ate fast food. Instead, we were eating fruits and veggies from the garden, lean meats, etc. But, our lives were and still are completely centered around food. BUT, I've never been overweight. I guess I just have that switch that turns off...I don't know. I don't understand the difference. My mom was a runner and was very fit until she was in her late 40s. Now, she's about 40 lbs overweight and she just called to tell me that she's been put on blood pressure and cholesterol medication - she says they are both genetic and won't really blame it on the fact she's overweight. My other aunt is very overweight too and all three sisters are all on the same medications.

I don't think I have a food addiction....but I absolutely LOVE to eat. I love to grocery shop, I love to prepare food, I think about food all the time, I wake up in the morning and think about what I'm going to enjoy at every meal....so what makes me different from someone who is obese (besides the obvious reason that I'm not)? By the way - I don't have a raging metabolism. I don't lose weight easily at all, but I do exercise 6-7 days a week. How do I know I'm not just going to turn into my mom or my aunts in 20 years?

harley0269

mine was more medical.
i blew my back out twice & now im disabled. i can not move like i used too. they had me on some heavy pain meds & steriods.
then the depression set in, which made things worse!! & ofcourse more meds for the depression. the weight piled on.
my whole lifestyle changed. it was a very hard reality to deal with, because i was so young. life was not worth living.
my food choices were not the best. i thought i was eating healthy, but i wasnt.
it wasnt till my health took a dowmward spiral & the docs put me on the diabetic diet & the dietatician referred me to mfp that i learned to eat healthy, live healthy & be healthy.
my world has changed since i came here. i quit my meds, reversed my health issues & im learning to live in a whole new way.
so not every person is large because they eat too much. some may be medical problems, some may be addicition, some may be depression, or abuse. some may be their enviroment & not knowing the skills to live healthy.
the world is a different place than it was 30 years ago, where everyone was skinny, & large was the abnornal.
everyone has a different battle or demon.
i try hard to never judge anyone unless ive walked a mile in their shoes. thats my lifes motto.

lynn1982

i think there is such a thing as being addicted to certain foods. I used to binge on processed and sugary junk. It would be late at night and I wouldn't be hungry, but all of a sudden, I would get an urge to eat macaroni and cheese, so I'd make an entire box and the eat the entire box. Or I'd see a picture of a cupcake and "need" to eat an entire box of cupcakes. I say "need" because it was like a compulsion that could only be satisfied by binging on that particular product. I wouldn't think of how many calories I was consuming. I would just eat it because that was the only thing that would satisfy my compulsion and that was comforting. I've also seen it with my obese uncle where he had to have french fries and no one was going to get in his way.

I think there is something in these processed foods that leads to some sort of addiction in some people's brains. I have no actual scientific proof to back this up, but I just know from my own experience. I got fat because I would eat an entire box of chocolate bars and then a whole pot of macaroni and cheese and not worry about the consequences. I have also found that the more I eat healthy and unprocessed foods, the less I crave. When I started on MFP only 3 weeks ago, I could not look at a picture of a cupcake without having an intense need for one. I couldn't have an entire box of chocolates in the house without eating the entire box. Now I look at that cupcake and I don't have this voice in my brain telling me that I absolutely need it or I can just eat one chocolate and put the box away. So yes, I think there is such a thing as being addicted to food, but like all addictions, i think one can overcome it. And that's my two cents!

Also, I am not saying that there are not other possible reasons for obesity - there obviously are. But I think food addiction is real and in my case it led to over eating sugary processed foods, which resulted in me being lethargic and exhausted and not wanting to go to the gym, and then led to me sitting on my couch and eating more sugary processed foods.

hemlock2010

I'm not addicted to food, but I eat chocolate and sugar to self-medicate for depression and to stabilize my mood. I have tried chemical anti-depressants, but chocolate and sugar have the same effect at much lower financial cost, fewer other side effects except (duh!) weight gain, and with the added benefit of being fun.

I'm in the process of transitioning to exercise as my primary anti-depressant--hence the weight loss--but I'm able to do that right now because I have a little more free time in my life right now than I have in the past. When I'm crunched for time, I can multi-task eating chocolate with any desk work. It's hard to multi-task exercise.

As a completely unrelated issue, my job has occasional spikes of intensely demanding mental activity, which I can ONLY do if fueled by simple carbs. For the past six months, I've been mostly avoiding those--another component of my recent weight loss--but that was a conscious decision to use this time to put my health ahead of work performance in order to accomplish specific health-related goals. I can't do that forever and still keep my job.

So for RIGHT NOW, my life is working out to make weight loss possible, but I didn't gain 75 pounds by choice or because I'm lazy or because I didn't know what I was doing to myself. I made a conscious decision to accept fatness as a survival strategy. No, I don't like being fat, but considering the alternatives, I still think I made the choices I had to make at the time.

Could I have made different choices? Yes, but that would have required being a lot more able to demand time for myself and to demand the things necessary to manage depression in other ways. NOW I'm the kind of person who can make those demands, but it took me a long time to get to this point.

mommyami1

I did a presentation on childhood obesity a few years back so I found your post particularly interesting. Even though your aunt is obviously not a child I'm thinking that some of the issues involved with childhood obesity carry over to adult obesity. I went back and looked at my presentation and reviewed the 4 perspectives that can contribute to obesity. Mainly, according to my reserach, there is a biological and personality aspect that contribute to this issue. Genetics greatly effect our personality. We can be predisposed to the condition. Add in cognitive and sociocultural aspects, and our eating behavior can be explained, in theory, anyway.

Personally, even though I've never been declared "obese", I've struggled all my life with food and and my weight. I have had times when I was my ideal but my "norm" has been chubby, or "round" as my mom used to put it. I come from a working stock of people. My body was built for work and for storage. I never had a problem with building muscle or gaining weight. As a child, both my parents worked and because my mom worked at night, I often heated up my own can of spaghettios or fish sticks. I was an active child, but still was heavier than the other kids. I also learned nothing about healthy eating beyond "eat your vegetables". As a young adult I lost some weight and my mom told me that was enough. By the way, my family immigrated from the Philippines when I was a baby but culturally we were quite different. As an adult, I have realized that being bigger isn't seen as bad. It just means we eat well and are strong. Today in the US though, it means we have no self-control, lack self-esteem, or have an addiction, etc. I think it's human nature to want something we can't have so when we are constantly bombarded with weight loss commercials, excessively skinny "role-models" and quick and easy fast food, it's only natural to want and look for something "better" than what we are and have. I know for me, if I can't have something, I obsess over it until I give in and get it, or distract myself with something else. Your aunt did that with shopping, but now that has stopped and so eating may be her way of giving in. She's probably really tired of trying so hard. Just reading your post, I felt tired for her. And it stirred up a lot of my own feelings and attitudes. I don't know much about the science of addiction, but maybe that's what it looks like, psychologically...always searching for something but it's never enough.

I hope your aunt gets the help she needs. I hope she has the support she needs, as well.

Btw, if you want to see the presentation, you can friend me and I'll send it over to you.