this article ticks me off

What about this entire paragraph?

"Genetics, co-morbid medical conditions, psychology, pace of life, socio-economics, environmental obesogens, governmental failings in the provision of evidence-based nutrition and energy balance/caloric information, the unregulated self-help quackery of the commercial weight management programs, the confusion and contradictions of over 60,000 diet books, glossy magazines that promote quick fixes, reality television that promotes inane, non-sustainable and frankly dangerous treatment, crop subsidies that allow highly processed, hyperpalatable, hypercalorific foods to be sold for pennies, front-of-package labeling that confer health-halos to junk food, the demise of the family meal and the fall of cooking, predatory advertising targeting adults and children alike, a culture that promotes the provision of food at every event however small, super-sizing of restaurant portions, lack of caloric information at point of sale, medications which cause weight gain, juice and chocolate milk being promoted as healthy choices, public health messaging that wrongly suggests exercise is sufficient to "balance" calories consumed, epigenetic changes that occur in the womb, eating as a defense or a reaction to emotional, physical or sexual abuse....."

I think that there are some pretty valid points made in that article. I also believe that we should only ever speak for OURSELVES.

Personally, I got fat because I overate and didn't exercise... and I did those things because of severe depression.

Is overeating and inactivity my fault? Absolutely. Is depression my fault? No, not at all.

There are many reasons that people get overweight and obese, and there are also many people who are genuinely healthy at every size.

I'm an ex-smoker and an ex-fattie, too. I don't judge those who aren't where I'm at now, just because I chose to quit smoking and to lose weight.

I have under active tyroid problems but on meds for this and I am applying myself in losing all the weight I gained.. And yes I ate it on!!! Now it's gotta go!!!!!

I don't mean to discount personal accountability and I completely disagree with the line of thinking where smoking is a singular behavior but obesity is not, but how does one explain the meteoric rise in obesity compared to previous decades? It's obvious your surroundings DO play a major role. Telling a morbidly obese person to stop making excuses and eat less is akin to telling a hopeless alcoholic to stop drinking.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/yoni-freedhoff/smoking-obesity_b_879894.html

So I can choose to smoke and easily quit if I choose to but I can't choose to be fat and easily quit if I choose to? Sorry, I call bullsh*t. I smoke and I was obese. It took lots of hard work to get thin and I have yet to be able to apply those skills to stopping smoking but I could if I wanted it badly enough. I get really tired of hearing that being overweight is not your fault. There are a very few people who have medical conditions that cause them to be overweight. For the vast majority of us, myself included, it is simply a matter of overeating. Solving that problem isn't simple at all but it is still just overeating.

So how do you explain the "twins reared apart" studies, where they take identical twins who have been adopted away at birth, and compare them years later to find that their body shapes are very similar EVEN WHEN RAISED BY DIFFERENT PARENTS?

Just curious. I agree that choices are immensely important, but we all know people who eat crappy and are thin no matter what. I can make good choices (and am doing so) and impact my weight, but the fact is, it's probably a little harder for me to do so, than your average Joe(leen).

We inherit risks (say, for diabetes) and then our choices affect how much these vulnerabilites impact us. In the case of childhood diabetes, I would be hard pressed to blame a child for this. Again, diabetes can be MANAGED with good choices, but a diabetic has to work harder than the average Joe to maintain good health.

My ten cents...

Best,

Debbie

I agree with you that society does try to give people excuses for living unhealthy life styles but i dont agree with comparing obesity to drinking or smoking! I had a very bad drink problem and to give up I had to remove myself from places and situations where I was around alcohol which wasnt easy but doable as you don't need alcohol to live (even though it felt like it at the time). Where as you need food to live so you can't just remove yourself from it so its much harder to change that.

I got to the state I am by being greedy and lazy no other reason but it is bloody hard to change a habit of a life time so I can see wjy people would rather just use an excuse.