this article ticks me off

http://youtu.be/_6-A0iHSdcA

I found this documentary interesting in terms of blame.
I also think that ...well, people should not be so quick to get angry at individuals for responding predictably to their environment. Doesn't mean its an excuse, but environment matters. We'd change more lives by changing the environment (advertising, culture etc) than growling at people about "personal responsibility".

A lot of the growling about personal responsibility seems to come from two camps. The first is the kind that wants to eat at mcdonalds and is frightened of some dystopian future where they're forced at gun point to eat salads. The second is the person who is constantly worn out from the force of will that it takes to resist temptation and as such resents people who didn't put in that much effort. The first... is just selfish, the second would be as much better off in a world with reduced temptation than the one they're forced to contend with.

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.

The part you are missing is that food is an addiction that you can't quit.
You have to eat and take in calories on a daily basis. You don't have to smoke, drink or do any kind of drugs to sustain a normal lifestyle.

You can believe whatever you want, but just because something was easy or worked for you doesn't mean that it is the same for every other person walking the planet.

Speaking for myself only, when I got to the point of being obese exercise was an impossibility. I let it go to the point where I physically couldn't exercise my way back to a healthy lifestyle.

Dieting is easy, maintaining is the difficult part. Anyone who is truly overweight (obese) would probably agree with me. I'm not talking about the Oh, I'm a size 4 and want to be a size 3 I'm talking about medical related co-morbidity type of weight problems.

Anyhow I had weight loss surgery, and it was a life saver. I had to lose 20% of my weight before they would do the surgery, which I did. After the surgery I lost another 150 pounds.

I had never been a runner, I had done sports, played baseball, football, Judo, but the positions I played or the activities I chose didn't require high end cardiovascular abilities. Hell I failed PE in high school because I refused to run laps. At the same time I was qualifying for the Jr. Nations in Judo. So I had reached a pretty high level of ability in that sporting activity, but I was far from being physically fit.

So what did weight loss surgery do for me. It gave me a jump start. It reduced my desire and my ability to gorge myself. It allowed me to see results which was encouraging and helped to keep me motivated. That rapid weight loss allowed me to add physical activity back to my life. It gave me time to focus on what I was eating and to attempt to establish a healthier diet.

Since surgery I have run a couple half marathons, a 70.3 Triathlon, several 100+ mile bike rides, and a handful of shorter distance triathlons.

So was it the easy way out? Yes and no, The weight came off faster than I could have done on my own, but I still to this day struggle with food, I have a hard time with imagery of how much to eat. I'm still addicted to food, but I attempt to control that by logging my foods and I weigh or measure everything I prepare. When I go out to eat I often ask for a to go box to be brought when I place my order, or I share it with my wife or son. I know what I did to get the way I was and I know what it took to get to the way I am now.

I exercise 4-6 times a week as my schedule allows and I'm enjoying my life.
Whenever I hear someone talk about the easy way out, I usually just shake my head and tune them out, because they don't know what the F they are talking about.

Tell you what if you don't do things the easy way, the next time your car breaks down, don't call a tow truck or a friend for help, just hop on out of the car and start pushing that thing home, because to ask for assistance would be to take the easy way out.

Scott

What is it with American culture, and the complete rejection of the most basic freedom we have, "Personal Responsibility"?

There needs to be a middle ground with the whole "I cause everything in my life, good and bad" and "Society did it to me!" argument.

A little off topic but sorta relevant to the general point you are making....

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/user-post-omg-im-obese-quot-the-pretty-face-syndrome-quot-2501704/

This is a girl that fits this mentality to a T...rather than adopt a healthy lifestyle by proper nutrition and exercise she is going the "lazy way" out for cosmetic reasons and a genuine lack of trying the right way.

Losing weight in our society is like going to a loud concert and trying to meditate. You can do it, but it requires a lot of self-discipline. Someone might say, "Just ignore the music and concentrate. It's your own responsibility; take ownership of it!" But, seriously, it would be a lot easier to do it in a quiet forest without any distractions. Wouldn't it be nice if our environment supported us so that it weren't a uphill battle at every turn?

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.

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.

Nothing annoys me more than people who are overweight and complain non-stop but never do anything about it.



Plus I love the fact a nuture versus nature debate has opened up here. As an ex-pysch student I had many lectures on it.

Personally I'm on the middle boat. Genes play a huge part in our lives but we are not slaves to our faulty genes. (says the person who got some DODGEY genes let me tell you.)