Why is obesity considered deviant behavior?
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Obesity is easy to cure. Just eat less, move more. How simple is that.0
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These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...0 -
Economic influences contribute to obesity (low income areas have less access to fresh fruits and vegetables) and education hasn't been there for some people.
Depression, abuse, etc.. also lead to obesity. Substituting food for affection, feeding depression, etc.
It's easy to attack those you don't understand. You don't ridicule alcoholics or drug addicts for their choices, why is it so easy to do that to food addicts?
You would think that people on a website geared towards health and weight loss would be a bit more compassionate. I haven't seen that to be the case yet.
I agree with this and I am glad there are some people who are attempting to understand the issue rather than going "FAT PEOPLE ARE FAT CAUSE THEY HAVE NO WILLPOWER!". Many people don't seem to realise this is a complex issue and many factors contribute to it. There are people who overeat to the point of obesity because of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Similarly in some societal groups there is a lack of education about what foods are correct. We have a billion dollar diet industry that exists solely to confuse us about what we need to do to lose weight.
It's disappointing to see that people still treat overeaters with such disdain and accuse them of a lack of self control. Overeating can be similar to anorexia or bulemia. A disorder that is brought about by mental/emotional factors. A little bit of empathy would go a long way. YES, the answer is eating less and moving more but we need to get people to the point where they are able to do this.
Personally I think to address the issue we should start with plenty of freely available education for adults and children alike on nutrition and calories. I would love to see free access to gyms where you can sign up for casual sporting teams and classes aimed for all fitness levels are conducted. I would love to see fast food taxed more heavily and healthier foods subsidised. And finally, some counselling should be available for people who suffer from eating disorders. It shouldn't be so expensive to go see somebody and do some cognitive behavioral therapy, which I think can be highly effective in addressing these issues.
Also, while I don't think the government should babysit us or control our lives, I do think the food industry and the media do need some level of monitoring. If you study psychology/sociology you will understand the sheer power the media and marketing has on a person. It's nice to think of us as little independent free thinkers, but the reality is we are influenced by what we see greatly so there should be some monitoring of the kinds of messages the media send to us (ie. junk food ads targeted at kids shouldn't be allowed).0 -
My opinion....
People in this country are way too busy blaming something or someone else for things that are within their own control. The only person who controls what we put in our mouths is us.
This OP is just another example of such a mentality.
Peace.
Thanks for demonstrating your insight and free thinking abilities by parroting what everybody else says. Good stuff.0 -
OP, you might not have come to the right place when you started such a thread on a calorie-counting website.
With that said, I do agree with you - to a certain degree.
For all the "you can do it yourself" and "lack of self control", I still see alot of "fatty-shaming" going on that people should really think twice about.
After all anorexia and bulimia are food disorders. You cannot make fun of anoxerics or bulimics lest you be declared a social pariah. Its alright to make fun of fat people though - just look up any comments section on that news about the first airline to charge by the kilo. People choose not to acknowledge that obesity may have roots far beyond the physical such as depression, anxiety disorders and the such. Mocked as these reasons may be, they also include hormonal imbalances, which are very real.
I'm not saying that you should delegate your responsibilities to the government - your aim to feel happy, "healthy" and the such. But --
It would be nice to get appropriate support when you want help - not backhanded comments that often do more damage than good.
I have seen a lot more women get bashed for either having or wanting to build muscle than I have seen fat bashing0 -
PS-The person who cure obesity will be the richest person ever!
For 90% (maybe more) of people, the cure is already there. Eat less, Exercise, take care of yourself.0 -
These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...
My answers to your questions....
Yes.
Maybe.
Anything is possible but I doubt it.
People who don't care what they eat or if they get enough exercise ARE making free choices to do so. There is no concrete proof otherwise...even with all the research that has been done.
Peace0 -
OP, you might not have come to the right place when you started such a thread on a calorie-counting website.
With that said, I do agree with you - to a certain degree.
For all the "you can do it yourself" and "lack of self control", I still see alot of "fatty-shaming" going on that people should really think twice about.
After all anorexia and bulimia are food disorders. You cannot make fun of anoxerics or bulimics lest you be declared a social pariah. Its alright to make fun of fat people though - just look up any comments section on that news about the first airline to charge by the kilo. People choose not to acknowledge that obesity may have roots far beyond the physical such as depression, anxiety disorders and the such. Mocked as these reasons may be, they also include hormonal imbalances, which are very real.
I'm not saying that you should delegate your responsibilities to the government - your aim to feel happy, "healthy" and the such. But --
It would be nice to get appropriate support when you want help - not backhanded comments that often do more damage than good.
I have seen a lot more women get bashed for either having or wanting to build muscle than I have seen fat bashing
Wow, where are you seeing this? It certainly has not been my experience at all.0 -
These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...
My answers to your questions....
Yes.
Maybe.
Anything is possible but I doubt it.
People who don't care what they eat or if they get enough exercise ARE making free choices to do so. There is no concrete proof otherwise...even with all the research that has been done.
Peace
There's plenty of evidence to suggest it's not as simple as eating less food. At the very least back up your claims with some evidence.0 -
These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...
My answers to your questions....
Yes.
Maybe.
Anything is possible but I doubt it.
People who don't care what they eat or if they get enough exercise ARE making free choices to do so. There is no concrete proof otherwise...even with all the research that has been done.
Peace
What about the steady increase in obesity? Are those of us who aren't as "ol" as your generation somehow less capable of self control, or has something else changed? Causes? Solutions? I'm interested to hear what you have to say. We know what you think about what got us in this mess, any suggestions on how to get out of it, knowing that the current message of eat less move more has failed to change trends?0 -
So basically obese people are choosing to engage in activities which quite literally could and will lead to their deaths?
Given that the overriding biological imperative is survival that theory seems distinctly like utter rubbish to me...
How is it not " choosing to engage in activities which quite literally could and will lead to their deaths" when they are choosing to eat larger proportions than necessary, choosing to not exercise? I don't understand you logic on how that is rubbish. Overeating and lack of exercise cause health problems that cause death, yet they still choose to overeat and not work out...
To me a free choice means being able to consider two options and then consciously pick the one which is rationally in your best interests. Obese people are therefore making choices which will lead to their premature deaths, huge amounts of social stigma and generally being miserable.
For me that doesn't sound like a decision anyone would truly choose to make unless on an unconscious level something was impairing that, be that psychological or physiological or both.
Eat less, move more. Seems simple right? Then why is this mantra which is so widely touted and so much public money being used to promote such an abject failure in terms of long term weight maintenance? I can't remember the exact figures but I think I read a stat that 98% of kids who are obese at the age of 18 remain so for the rest of their lives or that only 10% of people who manage to lose a significant portion of weight keep it off for over 5 years.
If obesity has reached record levels and the answer is merely eat less move more it tends to suggest that people in the last 30 years when the obesity epidemic started rolling have either become a lot more stupid, irresponsible, weak willed and so on. I don't believe that at all. It's utterly facile.
Part of the reason is because as a nation we put really very little interest in people's emotional health. I am NOT saying that every overweight or obese person has emotional issues but I am saying that I think most people, if they're being honest, will admit to at least an emotional issue when it comes to their relationship with food. I learned most of my negative behaviors, when it comes to food, from my mother. We would binge, use laxatives, do weird diets like only eat grapes, fast for two weeks etc... Once again I am NOT saying that we should blame anyone else for what WE have done to ourselves. My mother made mistakes, sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes because she was dealing with her own demons. That being said, in order for me to achieve LASTING weight loss and a healthy relationship with food I need to address these emotional issues head on and with honesty and vanquish them. I really feel if you don't put as much effort into ridding yourself of these issues as you do in getting rid of the pounds that you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of battles with weight.0 -
The statements in these forums are opinions....mine included.
Peace0 -
These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...
My answers to your questions....
Yes.
Maybe.
Anything is possible but I doubt it.
People who don't care what they eat or if they get enough exercise ARE making free choices to do so. There is no concrete proof otherwise...even with all the research that has been done.
Peace
What about the steady increase in obesity? Are those of us who aren't as "ol" as your generation somehow less capable of self control, or has something else changed? Causes? Solutions? I'm interested to hear what you have to say. We know what you think about what got us in this mess, any suggestions on how to get out of it, knowing that the current message of eat less move more has failed to change trends?
The answer is there. Eat less...move more. There are plenty of examples where this formula has shown itself effective. Just look at this website alone. It's not all THAT complicated.
Peace0 -
OP, you might not have come to the right place when you started such a thread on a calorie-counting website.
With that said, I do agree with you - to a certain degree.
For all the "you can do it yourself" and "lack of self control", I still see alot of "fatty-shaming" going on that people should really think twice about.
After all anorexia and bulimia are food disorders. You cannot make fun of anoxerics or bulimics lest you be declared a social pariah. Its alright to make fun of fat people though - just look up any comments section on that news about the first airline to charge by the kilo. People choose not to acknowledge that obesity may have roots far beyond the physical such as depression, anxiety disorders and the such. Mocked as these reasons may be, they also include hormonal imbalances, which are very real.
I'm not saying that you should delegate your responsibilities to the government - your aim to feel happy, "healthy" and the such. But --
It would be nice to get appropriate support when you want help - not backhanded comments that often do more damage than good.
I have seen a lot more women get bashed for either having or wanting to build muscle than I have seen fat bashing
Wow, where are you seeing this? It certainly has not been my experience at all.
Start a thread on muscular women like women who compete in figure or bodybuilding, people have had to delete their own threads because of the amount of hate they got.0 -
PS-The person who cure obesity will be the richest person ever!
For 90% (maybe more) of people, the cure is already there. Eat less, Exercise, take care of yourself.
If it was that easy there would be no more fat people.
And as one of those fat people. I struggle every day. I learn every day. I fight every meal. It's more than this. It's a whole mindset, spirituality, and managing.0 -
These are the top 10 obesity rates around the world:
1. American Samoa (US territory):74.60
2. Tokelau: 63.40
3. Tonga:56.00
4. Kiribati:50.60
5. Saudi Arabia:35.60
6. United States: 33.90
7. United Arab Emirates: 33.70
8. Egypt: 30.30
9. Kuwait: 28.80
10. New Zealand: 26.50
Are huge swathes of these populations, hundreds of millions of people, obese because they predominantly lack self control and are making free choices to do so? When obesity researchers call it a multifactoral problem are they making it up? Could it be there is something more to this issue...
My answers to your questions....
Yes.
Maybe.
Anything is possible but I doubt it.
People who don't care what they eat or if they get enough exercise ARE making free choices to do so. There is no concrete proof otherwise...even with all the research that has been done.
Peace
What about the steady increase in obesity? Are those of us who aren't as "ol" as your generation somehow less capable of self control, or has something else changed? Causes? Solutions? I'm interested to hear what you have to say. We know what you think about what got us in this mess, any suggestions on how to get out of it, knowing that the current message of eat less move more has failed to change trends?
The answer is there. Eat less...move more. There are plenty of examples where this formula has shown itself effective. Just look at this website alone. It's not all THAT complicated.
Peace
So basically, you're a pot stirrer and not very interested in having a real conversation based on data...bummer.0 -
OP, you might not have come to the right place when you started such a thread on a calorie-counting website.
With that said, I do agree with you - to a certain degree.
For all the "you can do it yourself" and "lack of self control", I still see alot of "fatty-shaming" going on that people should really think twice about.
After all anorexia and bulimia are food disorders. You cannot make fun of anoxerics or bulimics lest you be declared a social pariah. Its alright to make fun of fat people though - just look up any comments section on that news about the first airline to charge by the kilo. People choose not to acknowledge that obesity may have roots far beyond the physical such as depression, anxiety disorders and the such. Mocked as these reasons may be, they also include hormonal imbalances, which are very real.
I'm not saying that you should delegate your responsibilities to the government - your aim to feel happy, "healthy" and the such. But --
It would be nice to get appropriate support when you want help - not backhanded comments that often do more damage than good.
I have seen a lot more women get bashed for either having or wanting to build muscle than I have seen fat bashing
Wow, where are you seeing this? It certainly has not been my experience at all.
Start a thread on muscular women like women who compete in figure or bodybuilding, people have had to delete their own threads because of the amount of hate they got.
MFP opinions do not equal real-world. On this website, sure, population at large, no.0 -
1. Treating smokers with ridicule and disgust has helped to reduce the number of smokers. Same should apply to obesity. Don't underestimate the power of societal pressure.
I don't know about that. It has made some people seem incredibly annoying though. *lights up*
No one shamed me into getting in shape and no one will shame me into quitting smoking. I made the choice for myself. I'm sure you all have plenty of habits I could treat you with ridicule for, tell you how disgusting I think you are. I prefer to just leave you alone and ask that you extend me the same courtesy.
Agreed about smoking. I smoke too, started smoking at a young age. I maybe smoke 3 ciggs a day between school and taking care of a baby whom I do not smoke in front of or even let him see the pack. But still even when a doctor told me I smoked a healthy amount, strangers passing by me at the far end of a parking lot cough and act like they are dying all because I am doing what I want to do without affecting them. I can't stand people like that. It is annoying, NOT shaming me into stopping. I much rather blow the smoke right into their faces instead of putting it out and apologizing.0 -
If you need a huge, expensive study to tell you that the cure for obesity is to burn more calories than you eat, you fail at life.
FTW0 -
The answer is there. Eat less...move more. There are plenty of examples where this formula has shown itself effective. Just look at this website alone. It's not all THAT complicated.
Peace
[/quote]
So basically, you're a pot stirrer and not very interested in having a real conversation based on data...bummer.
[/quote]
Once again....these forums are about opinions. There is plenty of "evidence" to support both sides of this issue. If you can't tolerate someone who has an opinion that differs from yours without getting into name-calling (pot stirrer), then I suggest you go elsewhere.
Peace. 0
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