Are most obese people addicted to food or do they

patrick323

I think, based on the amazingly VAST number of reasons that, clearly there are a VAST amount of reasons. So many in fact that even I find myself baffled and I have to come to the conclusion that they are mostly justifications and not reasons. Other than legitimate medical reasons (i'm skeptical of modern medicine though) there ARE certain reasons and likely only a few possible ones at that.

I was most struck by the non U.S. citizen's comment and it's a good insight into the real reasons. There are some universal facts as to why there are more obese people in the U.S than anywhere else. There are people with obsessive issues, dependency issues, lack of time leading to convenience foods, self-esteem issues, or the great number of all issues mentioned.. all over the world. Why does it manifest itself here in the U.S. more than most places? Or even certain areas of the U.S. more than others?
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1. Our commercialized, maximum profit goal oriented, food industry.
It's a horrid, shady business ranging from the publicity of it to the manufacturing of it to the downright hazardous nature of a lot of our foods. Not just fast food which is, of course, disgusting but even the things people often think are perfectly healthy which are quite the opposite. Lack of knowledge certainly comes into play. People are not educated about portions/calories, etc. etc.. Sure, there are good healthy alternatives for people but they cost far more than the commercialized foods and are certainly more rare it seems. They also require a bit of exposure to all the evils OF the food industry.

2. Our lazy lives.
We don't walk in our daily lives. Unless you live in the middle of a major metropolitan area you are driving everywhere, all day. Our lives are extremely sedentary and everything, it seems, is geared towards making us even more so. Want to know who's not obese here where I live? The mexican immigrants outside busing their *kitten*!! I could be wrong here but based on my limited travels; I think that the majority of citizens in other countries live in major cities with limited space and high populations which require a lot of walking every day. I commute an average of 75 miles a day (I live in giant texas, that's not such a common commute). I cant possibly walk that.


The combination of these two things are a breeding ground for every single reason I've seen in this thread to manifest itself in obesity but what do i know? Well, a lot as it turns out and I'm finally going with that. I'm most certainly medically "obese." I've been fortunate to carry myself well, maintain athletic ability (when I would rarely use it), no medical conditions ever, etc. etc. it just kinda went that direction. I have had an ever-growing interest in healthy eating and living. It's only when addressing these 2 big issues (quality of food/counteracting a life geared towards inactivity) that I finally feel confident in reclaiming my fitness. Unfortunately for a lot of people it has taken so long for certain things to come to light that the task of taking off the weight becomes another issue altogether and that's when the real questions come ... "what works for them?" Not "why are they that way." Me? I could be eating but no, i'm typing a lot. HA!