Is obesity a CHOICE?

monty619

its not a choice its the result of an addiction or being irresponsible

tcunbeliever

There are many people for whom diet and exercies do not resolve weight issues - mind you, I still think that's the best place to start, but that's a road that doesn't work for everyone. Plus, the whole health/obesity thing while being a strong corelation, it's not a difinitive causation. Many overweight/obese people are quite healthy with strong cardiovascular systems and good indicators of a long healthy life. Just as many skinny or normal weight people have healthy issues. Averages and statistics are not accurate when applied to individuals. I think she's beautiful and a great role model!

Sarge516

I think in all but the rarest of cases, obesity IS a choice.

I also think it's an outward sign of some inward issue. It's not always a major issue, but there's always a "cause" if you dig deep enough.

nbhobbes

Yes obesidty is a choice..

Obesity is a result of a lifestyle same as being in shape is a result of a life style.

With the exception of a few legit and fairly uncommon medical conditions it's a choice.

Anyone who says/thinks otherwise is an idiot. I've heard plenty of excuses and lame attempts at dismissing obesity as a epidemic or a disease..

Seriously.. Who is the dolt that thought up the idea of it being a disease? It's not a disease, nobody ever got obese from unprotected sex. Heroin junkies aren't worried about becoming obese from sharing needles. Your mother never said put your coat on if your going to play out in the rain or you'll get obese..

It's a result of a lifestyle choice.. Pure and simple..

carriempls

I haven't read any responses so if this has already been said, forgive me.

Is alcoholism a choice? Are eating disorders a choice? Certainly we know no one would consciously choose any of these afflictions for themselves or their family. Of course, we can choose how we deal with these things, but they are undoubtedly a struggle.

The causes for obesity are complex and nuanced and different for every person. There are some general trends - we have more time to be lazy and more things to entertain us while we sit or lay about, our food supply is loaded with sugar and fat and preservatives, we build our cities in the US around driving, not walking, biking or using public transportation and of course, the favorite of personal responsibility.

My main point is whether it's a choice or not, it's going to take more than crying "PERSONAL RESONSIBILITY" to cure it. Shame is a horrible motivator. If that's all it took we wouldn't be in this mess. We need serious cultural changes. I'd start with food production.

lenniebus

Her point was definitely not that she wasn't responsible for her weight, or even arguing that it might not be the healthiest...her point was that it was not appropriate to send that e-mail. It was childish, unkind and served absolutely no purpose, although clearly its intent was to hurt. Someone who wishes to hurt another person, for absolutely no valid reason, In my opinion, has FAR more issues than anyone carrying extra weight.

miyam188

Yes and no. We make our own priorities. For years my priorities were raising 4 boys as a single mother at poverty (no below) level. My husband left after 18 years of marriage and I was thrown into a scenario I never imagined. Survival was key and perhaps by body chose to eat and store everything it could for those days food was scarce. I don't know all of the reasons, but now that my life has settled down I have time to focus on me and my health. Let's not judge others people. You don't know what they are going through right now. We all have faults. When did it become OK to run around insulting people. "You're ugly. You're fat. Your hair is gross. You're lazy. You're selfish." We can't run around with this communication. What happened to being nice? Sure we have free speech, but we should not let that be an excuse to be rude, cruel and ugly.

LaylaJo

My son showed me this clip and I thought it was fabulous. When you see someone, you do not know where they are on their journey, what struggles they face, and what they are doing about it. The fact that obesity is such a target for bullying is real, and for some reason people think it is OK to be mean to someone just because of their weight. This anchor addressed the society attitude head on and she was clear, concise and very brave to do it.

Every one should be a healthy weight. No one should smoke. Motorcyclists should always wear helmets. Kids shouldn't run around barefoot in rocky ground. People should get colonoscopies regularly. There are all kinds of 'shoulds' about how we should be safer, healthier, smarter. But bottom line, making that choice or avoiding it, does not affect a persons worth or right to be treated with respect.

^^^ This

corrinnebrown

We honestly don't know this woman...Are you her friend? Do you know what she eats or drink everyday? Maybe she consciously eats right and has a thyroid issue. Just because she is fat does not mean that she chooses to be that way. Until we can see her "food diary" there is no reason for you to judge her.

ninakir88

On rare occasions, it's not a choice. On MOST occasions, it is a choice.

Just like being skinny is a choice. (most of the time)

Car0lynnM

You make a conscious decision about what to put in your mouth, knowing what the consequences are. Whether you set out to get fat, or it just happened, it was a direct result of choices you made. Aside from some serious medical conditions that result in obesity, I fail to see where the confusion is? (and yes, I will own my own choices to be overweight, and I will also own my decision to become healthy.)

Laureegi

. The man who wrote her didn't write out of concern for her health, he wrote because he feels that women who report the news should fit his ideal of what 'beautiful' is. It has nothing to do with her ability to do her job. If that were an overweight male anchor that guy would have NEVER written the email.

I totally agree with you! So, let me see if I've got this straight then......people make the choice to be obese by putting too much and the wrong types of food in their mouths over time? Well then, that must mean that chain smokers who light one up no sooner than putting the previous cigarette out have chosen to possibly get cancer and that alcoholics choose to drink too much, etc. etc. on and on we could go with this particular premise.

No, I think the guy wants to see only skinny women on the news that he prefers to see, and the news that she broadcasts is secondary. If the news anchor was a man who was clearly overweight, I'm betting he wouldn't even take notice let alone take the time to send such an offensive email.

nc90

There are things I agree with and disagree with. While the letter-writer could have executed his words a little more eloquently, I think she may have taken this much more personally than was intended, and turned it into an issue of bullying.

Not once did he use the word fat in his letter, or even call her fat directly. I feel that if he was intentionally trying to hurt her feelings, the letter would have read moreso like "Hey Fat@**, get off the news, it's disgusting"

Obesity is a medical term, and it seems that he moreso intended to make the point that with obesity being such an epidemic and leading to several health problems, someone in the public eye could (or should, by his opinion) serve as a role model promoting healthier lifestyle choices.

Again, there are several areas in his letter where I can see what he wrote would be hurtful, just because of the rhetoric he used. I also agree that no one ever WANTS to become obese, or chooses that path for themselves. However, in most cases, it is several, small choices we make that add up to weight gain: eating too much, working out too little, and there are several choices you CAN make it go the other way as well. I know there are several reasons for it as well, that can and cannot be helped; not understanding nutrition or exercise, thyroid problems, medications, etc. Up until college, I was completely clueless that I couldn't just eat what I wanted, whenver I wanted, and that my teenage metabolism wouldn't stick with me forever. Hell, I barely knew what a calorie was until making the choice to lose the bit of weight I gained my freshman year four years ago.

I also don't agree with the way she compared this situation to making fun of people for the color of their skin or with disabilities; those are things people are born with. I'm not saying that it's okay to bully people for their weight, it's NOT at all acceptable to bully anyone for anything, but to put obesity on the same level as skin color or a disability is not right either; it's like comparing apples to oranges.

So overall, I feel there are faults on both sides of this argument. The writer was probably not in the right to go so far as to say "surely you don't consider yourself a good role model.." after not knowing the anchor for any more than her appearance, but I also believe that she twisted the intentions of the letter, and made some claims that I don't agree with either. Just my $0.02

jonchew

I love this so much,
just replace obese with smoker and you see how bad this really is. She avoids the point thats shes a bad roll model and claims giving someone health advice is bad.

ITS NOT MY FAULT I EAT TO MUCH YOU BULLY.

Replace obese with smoker and then you need to deal with 2nd. hand smoke, which I find offensive... this is truly a BAD analogy. I personally believe that our weight and overall body shape is in a very real sense genetically predetermined, and to change it in-order to be socially acceptable takes a real, and for some monumental effort.

I believe the email author may have been well-intentioned, but nonetheless WAY out-of-line with their comments. There is a smugness amongst some who are physically fit; I know that I sometimes judge people differently, since I've become more "physically acceptable", according to the rules of our society. This is my problem, and is something that I've been working-on.

To paraphrase one of my hero's - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - "Do Not Judge Me By The Color Of My Skin, But Judge Me By The Content Of My Character" - the same holds true for the outline of our bodies.

DebbieLyn63

This is a really complicated issue and not nearly as black and white as it appears to some. There are several questions here-

Is it ok to voice concerns over someone else's health?

On the one hand, it might appear that it is none of this man's business how much the anchorwoman weighs, how she lives her life, what choices she makes. But he does have a very good point that she, being on TV in the public eye, is a type of 'role model' for our younger generation. What we see on TV becomes the accepted norm.

I recall back in the 70s and 80s that there were very few people who were 'obese'. Someone who was 'morbidly obese' was extremely rare and viewed more as a circus side show. They weren't hired for positions where they would be publicly representing their companies. Was it nice for some people to make fun of those who were obese? No. But that fear of social rejection, is what kept most of us within a healthy weight range.
When I was in school, kids who were 10-20 pounds overweight got teased by their friends and other kids. Was that nice? No. But again, that peer pressure to fit in and not be ostracized was enough motivation to keep most of us within healthy weight ranges.

Now, there has been such a push to be 'accepting' of any and every lifestyle that there is very little motivation to better ourselves. Parents are told they are destroying their child's self esteem if they say anything about their weight or food choices. Companies are afraid to not hire someone, or to not to promote someone into a more visible position due to their weight, because they are afraid they will be sued. Kids at 10 years old are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It is not uncommon for a 16 yr old girl to not only weigh 250 pounds, but to be nominated for Homecoming Queen. We are 'nicing' ourselves into a nationwide health crisis. We have become a nation of excess and it is killing us. We have lost the ability to tell ourselves 'NO', and insist that no one else can say it either.

I am very much against bullying, but the term Bully, is losing its impact because it is being thrown around so casually these days.
What this viewer wrote may not have been easy for her to read, but it did not meet the criteria for bullying. It was a member of the viewing audience voicing his opinion in a very respectful way. TV execs care a great deal about their viewers opinions, because that affects ratings.

I will be curious to see how this story turns out. She may be hailed a hero right now for standing up for herself, but in the future, she might find herself out of a job and not being able to get hired. There are a lot of people who share the viewer's opinion, but instead of saying anything, they just change the channel.

Yes, most of us have some very good reasons why we gained the weight we did. But that is not an excuse to not work our butts off to lose it, which we are. Our choices got us here, and our choices will get us healthy again.

Society is not doing me any favors by telling me that I am just fine the way I am.

chachita7

You do choose what you do... so eating healthy or not so healthy is a choice.

However, I do not believe that a person should be judge by their size, color, religion - what ever. Being a roll model is about what you do not how you look... there are plenty of "fit", "skinny", "gorgeous" people who are simply nasty and goods for nothing and I wouldn't want to be around them...

If anything, she could be a roll model to all the non-fit people (which are plenty) in how it is ok to love yourself for who you are regardless of what and to follow their dreams - being overweight does not determine who you are as person.

nbhobbes

Freedom of speech or not, no one has the right to criticize, judge or bully another person.

Clearly you don't understand the point of freedom of speech. You do realize that the point is to enable people to criticize and judge other people and institutions without fear of reprisal right?

cici1028

Thanks for posting this. I had a similar reaction to the video. My first thought was, "Wow, no one should be judging her. She knows she's overweight". I was disappointed in the fact that someone would bully her and make her feel badly.

But then I started to think about it some more... yeah, being overweight is a choice. I decided not to be and now I'm not. I decided not to be a smoker and now I'm not. (Although I'm having a rough time with it... For me, quitting smoking is WAY harder than losing weight was.)

I am getting a little tired from all this "coddling" we do in society today... everything is fine. Just accept everyone as is and be ok with it... give EVERYONE a trophy for participating... it's turning our kids into entitled brats and enabling our adults to just accept being unhealthy.

TheRealParisLove

The point is that which our mothers used to teach us back in the ice age - if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Why does that man care so much he took the time to write and send an email? It's none of his damn business, and she was absolutely right to call him out on it. It *is* bullying behaviour and it shouldn't have any place in decent society.

The phrase, "if you don't have anything nice to say..." blah, blah, blah should be thrown out of our national cliche arsenal. It is crap designed to keep us meek and compliant when faced with the bad behavior of our betters. I prefer that people act like jerks to my face rather than act like everything is fine to my face, then talk trash behind my back.

Include the phrase, "the customer is always right," in my cliche pet peeves, too. That one also gets me hot under the collar.

crazybookworm

Absolutely. Although I don't think it's a consious choice, but you are chosing the food you put in your mouth. I was 252 pounds, and I didn't get that way from eating healthy. I knew I was overweight, but I still chose a big mac combo at McDonalds. When it's not a medical problem, being Obese is a choice just like getting healthier is a choice.

dansls1

Freedom of speech or not, no one has the right to criticize, judge or bully another person.

What exactly is freedom of speech if it is not the right to criticize and judge other people. Bullying is indeed wrong (and illegal in most cases) - but America is founded on the right to criticize and judge, probably more than any other principal.

UsedToBeHusky

I'm willing to put money on it that the email was sent by Bobby Clerici.


While obesity is definitely not a desirable state of being (choice or otherwise), addressing obesity is a personal decision and does not and should not include anyone other than the individual.

pkw58

I take full responsibility for my health/fitness. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. but I sure enjoyed my share of cupcakes, chicken fried steak, and overdosed on potatoes, bread, rice and pasta for years. Had my share. When I got to the point it created pain last December, I chose to be healthy. The weight came off in less than six months and it doesn't matter how much, just that I am in a healthy weight range/bmi/etc.

People's choices are people's choices. Just because they chose a behaviour that may or may not limit their mobility / lifestyle that I choose a different direction doesn't make them or me better or worse than either - it is just their choice and their lifestyle they are choosing. People have medical issues/handicaps. It's their internal decision to live the best life they can and seek a healthier lifestyle or the best health / fitness they can have with those issues/handicaps.

Additionally, it is all about discovery. We are all learning. I like me better not overweight. But freedom of speech doesn't mean i get to tell someone else how to be happy. But I can certainly cheer on the ones that choose seeking/obtaining/maintaining a healthy lifestyle. No need to make people who are not healthy - either too "medically thin" vs too "medically overweight" feel worse about their current health - they live inside those bodies.

And since I am not a doctor, I don't have the where with all or credentials to proclaim anyone healthy or unhealthy.

All said, my personal experience is that my weight is my chosen weight. I don't chose to be overweight, so I monitor what and how much I eat, and my activity level.

daisiemae123

My son showed me this clip and I thought it was fabulous. When you see someone, you do not know where they are on their journey, what struggles they face, and what they are doing about it. The fact that obesity is such a target for bullying is real, and for some reason people think it is OK to be mean to someone just because of their weight. This anchor addressed the society attitude head on and she was clear, concise and very brave to do it.

Every one should be a healthy weight. No one should smoke. Motorcyclists should always wear helmets. Kids shouldn't run around barefoot in rocky ground. People should get colonoscopies regularly. There are all kinds of 'shoulds' about how we should be safer, healthier, smarter. But bottom line, making that choice or avoiding it, does not affect a persons worth or right to be treated with respect.

Well said.

T1mH

I don't see the bullying on the emailers part. I see the news anchor being a bully by using her position and power to put this guy in his place. Whether the email was inappropriate or not. I bet she has gotten far more inappropriate emails. She choose this one because the guy tried to express his opinion in a nice way. Right or wrong he was expressing an opinion. By choosing her career to be in a public position she made the choice to open herself up to public scrutiny and public opinion. I do think it was a jerk move on the guy's part but a bigger jerk move on her part to make such a big deal about it and to call it bullying.

As someone else pointed out if she was unhealthy thin would it be ok for him to write her an email expressing concern about her thinness and the role model that is to young girls? Our society and this thread makes excuses for fat people. Anorexia, bulimia, and other under eating disorder sufferers don't get this benefit of the doubt.

I'm seeing a lot of hypocrisy on this site. What does every thread in the "success stories" thread look like? Nearly every reply comments on how much better the poster looks. People here are constantly judging people for the way they look and calling it encouragement or motivation.

Merithyn

I personally believe that our weight and overall body shape is in a very real sense genetically predetermined, and to change it in-order to be socially acceptable takes a real, and for some monumental effort.

I believe the email author may have been well-intentioned, but nonetheless WAY out-of-line with their comments. There is a smugness amongst some who are physically fit; I know that I sometimes judge people differently, since I've become more "physically acceptable", according to the rules of our society. This is my problem, and is something that I've been working-on.

Very well said, and what I was thinking throughout this thread. Especially that first line. You, sir, are my new hero. :flowerforyou:

Meaganandcheese

Put junk in your body, what's the result? Not nice. Make healthy choices and you will be rewarded with a healthy body.

Heatlh and weight don't always go hand in hand. I have nearly perfect blood pressure and other vitals, but am overweight. My body is perfectly healthy.

Obesity is one of those things that doesn't fit in a neat category of causation. There are just too many emotional, physical, and environmental factors. Of course there is a huge element of behavioral cause, but it's not always as simple as "change what you do and you'll be good."

ArroganceInStep

The world isn't a nice place. Bullying is a fact of life and will happen, just like hate, and racism, and taxes. Trying to prevent it and make things all better isn't going to stop it. If you're a public figure, one of the things you will ultimately have to deal with is harsher than normal treatment in that regard. This anchor isn't the only person being publicly mocked for her size and such. You can't control what other folks say about you or to you, what you can control is how you respond to such treatment.

Her reaction to the letter, to me, came off as pretty pathetic. She should have ignored it and moved on rather than crying about it on air.

I've been teased for my size my whole life, being Samoan in a Japanese neighborhood you kind of stand out. You know what I did? I first learned to fight, which probably wasn't the best way to go about things but is a useful skill to have. Then, I grew up and learned to deal with it with a bit more class than that. I'm now focusing on improving myself not for them, but for me. You want to be a role model and teach kids the right way to live, try showing them how to rise above strife with dignity instead of failing at preventing them from facing it in the first place.

grannyfranny2

I like your response. So true. I am refering to usbornegals note.

MommaKit79

My son showed me this clip and I thought it was fabulous. When you see someone, you do not know where they are on their journey, what struggles they face, and what they are doing about it. The fact that obesity is such a target for bullying is real, and for some reason people think it is OK to be mean to someone just because of their weight. This anchor addressed the society attitude head on and she was clear, concise and very brave to do it.

Every one should be a healthy weight. No one should smoke. Motorcyclists should always wear helmets. Kids shouldn't run around barefoot in rocky ground. People should get colonoscopies regularly. There are all kinds of 'shoulds' about how we should be safer, healthier, smarter. But bottom line, making that choice or avoiding it, does not affect a persons worth or right to be treated with respect.

^^^^WELL SAID!!!!!

I love this so much,
just replace obese with smoker and you see how bad this really is. She avoids the point thats shes a bad roll model and claims giving someone health advice is bad.

ITS NOT MY FAULT I EAT TO MUCH YOU BULLY.

I wasnt going to reply but....How do you know her situation? Does she have a medical condition that isnt allowing ehr to lose weight? Is she on medication that is causing her to hold the weight? Does she have a psychological issue that is pointing her toward food? HOW DO YOU KNOW HER to be able to say she is a BAD ROLE MODEL for our kids. I.M.O. she is a GOOD role model for addressing this and "standing up" to this person...she is a GOOD role model for making a career for herself, dispite what she looks like or how the world may view her...she is a GOOD role model for standing up to the bully that wrote the email.

YES, I have CHOOSEN to start eating healthier and work toward getting HEALTHY but, it isnt easy for the weight to just DROP off of me as it is for someone else doing the EXACT same thing I am. I have a thyroid issue that I have started taking medication for and hopefully that will help. YES, there are some people in society that CHOOSE to eat the way they eat so, in turn, CHOOSE to be Obese and stay the way they are. BUT, again, you dont know their situation nor do you know what they are going thru. Maybe instead of BULLYING someone, people could try to HELP them find a reason for their actions and things would start to change for them in ALL aspects of their lives!