I have just watched a program on fat people - too fat to work!
I'm sure that the producers picked the least intelligent people, but my question is - are these really big humans really stupid enough to think that the huge amounts of food that they consume doesn't add to their weight that along with doing basically nothing
It was mind blowing to listen to them.
Both this and the Katie Hopkins program has opened my eyes to the major problem of obesity across the Globe but mainly in the UK and USA.
Opinions welcome.
Ideal solutions welcome.
Extreme obesity is really a form of addiction. And I'm not talking about being chubby or thick or overweight - but morbid obesity - to the point where the weight has caused an actual disability, like not being able to work or function or causing major health issues that strip decades off your life expectancy. It's not just that they like to overeat - at a certain point, they are compelled to and it becomes like an 'illness'.
I've channel surfed through similar shows where people are needing gastric bypass or are practically bed-ridden and at that point, I'm not thinking "jeez, why don't these people just stop eating"... it's like questioning why an addict keeps binge drinking or snorting 8-balls or taking oxy to the point of total obliteration where they're broke and willing to do anything to get their fix and feed the addiction. Food is really the same thing - it's a psychological crutch they can't be without. If you notice, they often have 'enablers' too - family members that are buying/preparing the food - no different than the way a drug addict can manipulate to get what they want.
When you think about it - I'm sure everyone would say they'd prefer to be at a healthy weight, and yet something is compelling them to indulge this short-term pleasure (or high) of over-eating in preference to the long-term ongoing satisfaction of positive body self-esteem and good health. It has to have a chemical and psychological component to some degree.
I do agree that it's reaching epidemic proportions, especially in certain countries. It's a combination of genetic predisposition, cultural trends of oversized food portions and the economic factors of cheap food being the unhealthiest kind. Personally I think food portions need to be re-learned. What you get at a mid-level restaurant (or a buffet) or fast-food place is often value-priced, which means it's way more food on the plate than a person should be able to consume in one sitting... but people do it, stomachs stretch, people start to think a massive bowl of pasta or supersized fries is a normal 'single portion' and then eat at home in the same way.
Whether it's just a habit or a full-fledged addiction, it takes a huge toll on the body. Once it gets past a certain point, it does impact quality of life and that's the really unfortunate thing. I do think healthcare professionals do need to treat it as an addiction though. It's common for people who have gastric bypass to just transfer addiction tendencies to some other vice when they're no longer able to over-indulge in food. You have to treat the underlying issue - the mind, as well as the body.
As a great big fat person myself I get annoyed with people assuming that I'm hugely fat because I'm greedy and lazy. I have pcos which causes weight gain and I do exercise and I eat healthily but to lose weight I need to limit my calorie intake to well below a 1000 and exercise like a demon which results in my blood sugars plummeting and my feeling faint and hair falling out in clumps' . Yes, there are some who live sedantry lifestyles and who eat junk but there are some of us who just can't help our weight. I would love to slim ( and therefore attractive ) but all I can do is accept that I'm never going to lucky enough to be very slim. People can be very judgmental and downright cruel.
They're not thick. I think that once they start, they find it difficult to stop. I mean, imagine if all women kept eating for two after they'd had their baby. Half the world would be obese. People get into bad habits and we shouldn't judge them but help them. My dad's friend was huge (literally, as wide as the door), he had a gastric band put in and he looks GREAT. He has young kids and now he can enjoy them. I personally tell myself that if I don't buy junk food, I won't eat it - if it's in the cupboard, it gets eaten. Everyone should do this when they go shopping. Avoid it as soon as you can. Don't just think 'I won't eat it' because when it's there you will, or it'll get wasted which isn't good either. I also think junk food should carry health warnings, and like a huge red exclamation mark if the fat/sugar content is high.
In all fairness my photos are just of my face and upper half and hides a multitude of sins, I'm not particularly tall and at my dress size I'm very overweight for the height I am. So yes I am a fat person, I can dress it up and call myself"curvaceous" but in reality I'm fat.
Sorry but I stick to my post, If you eat less you will lose weight if of course you do moveas well.
Gastric bands if they help then great - although one participant in the programme had had one fitted lost loads of weight and has now started to grow again by eating too much food. It's an excuse waiting to happen.
Also if someone wants a gastric band they should have to pay for it, in the UK they are approx £6,000 $9,000 that is paid by the NHS.
While I'm at it we should charge incrementally more for larger clothes as why should people who are bigger and get more/much more material pay the same price.
A dress for example at size 8 to 20+ is the same price but possibly uses five times more material.
It's just not fair on society as a whole.
Finally using excuses like genes is crap, if this were the case these people would not exist as they would have exploded milenia ago.
Oh dear-where are you from? - for felix
Clothing as stated in the UK doesn't change in price regardless of size "for same design" just thought I would point that out.
In case you missed the joke people don't really explode.
Are you of a larger statue?
Finally if you eat one cheese burger per week along with a regular diet I wouldn't foresee a problem, eat say 21 and you would put on weight and start to feel and look crap.
same again if you ate a chicken dinner with veg each day probably not an issue but eat 5 per day and again you would look and feel crap.
Unless of course you were a Rugby player "or a pretend one - US call it football I think" then they would probably work it off
Eat too much and dont move = fat - fact.
Different people do carry weight differently. Different sizes do cost different prices.
I'm a big girl. (6', 250#) but I watch my diet like crazy. I don't eat sweets, snacks, or "treats". I don't eat fast food, or bread. Most of my meals are salad. I run most everyday, as well as ride my mtb 6x week for 2 hrs each time. I live a very active lifestyle. By your statement my calorie consumption of less then 1200 calories/daily should mean I wear the smaller sizes. Sadly I do not.
Don't be so judgmental.
You obviously don't know what addiction is...
~*~*~* Only the one that hurts you can make you feel better ~*~*~*
~*~*~* Only the one that inflicts pain can take it away~*~*~*
Check out my latest story: Drawn to Addy - Part 2 I have never had a weight problem and in some circles I may seem a little obsessed with staying in shape.
Having said that, I think it's important to remember that the goal of the show that you were watching was
to sensationalize an extreme example of the situation in order to get viewers. Being overweight is not symbolic
of a lack of intellect or even in some cases (and I do stress some) it is not even associated with laziness. In some
circumstances, if someone is on certain medications it affects the rate of metabolism. Often it lowers it dramatically,
especially if the person already has a low metabolism. Weight loss can be attained but it is extremely difficult. Thyroid problems can also wreck havoc on a person's metabolism and grossly encourage the development of fat within the body. Some people inherit the tendency to be obese. life in general is just hard, everyone has an outlet whether they admit it or not. For some it is food. Admittedly, eating is fun and a stress reliever for many. So like with any other addiction it takes more than just the desire to lose weight, it's a whole restructuring of the mental concept of food. It's like someone being Bipolar. You can't just say you need to behave and think that's going to solve the problem.
I guess my point is to not judge.
However, I will add that in today's society, regardless of the situation,
everyone has access to information about health and weight loss. No situation
makes it impossible for you to control your weight. You do have to want to. Just,
for some it isn't just a battle, it's a full time fight to the death type of war with less soldiers
than the other side has.
Not everyone who who is fat eats loads and doesn't exercise. I eat sensibly and I exercise but the pcos makes my weight fluctuate. Do I want to be thin and therefore attractive? Yes, I would, but to achieve that I will have to cut my calorie intake further and exercise every hour god sends. I don't choose to look the way I do but all I can do is work hard to keep my weight stabilised and avoid eating junk. People assume that its laziness or stupidity that makes people fat and that really angers me.