Tommy Boy has Spoken (Obesity in America)

Addiction is a disorder, not a disease. You contract diseases, like TB. I could see it bring a mental illness, but I would not lump it into the categories with cancers, lupus, etc. it is a pattern of behavior.

I am 6'3 and about 290 so I know as well.

I don't think calling it an addiction really excuses the behavior. Alcoholism is an addiction, and it also can be seen as a huge personality flaw, to some people. And alcohol is a lot more chemically addictive than wanting to gorge yourself until you explode, so alcoholism is more excusable, IMO.

Addicts can die from Withdrawals. You don't see massive people dying because someone made them switch to small portions. (Unless they are literally starved)

Regardless, they both stem from a lapse of judgment from the victim/perpetrator.


The ol' "it's a disease" argument has been used as an excuse for way too long, IMO.

A lot of the extremely obese people who use that don't realize that they're calling themselves mentally ill. Which, to me, "mentally diseased" would be way more offensive to me, than just telling me to "lose weight, fatboy."


IMO, and this thread has touched on it big time, there has to be a balance between 100 percent making excuses for the person, and outright ridicule.

You go one way, and the person thinks its totally acceptable to be like that.

You go too far the other way, the person is completely insulted, and becomes depressed, possibly getting worse.

Both extremes are bad. If you just constantly say "it's ok, you are addicted" then nothing will ever change. You have to have some tough love about it, and speak the truth. How will they ever want to correct the problem, if they think they are afflicted, and not doing it to themselves?

On the other hand, if you just make them feel like a human turd about it, some will respond well, the majority will just sink further. Some people respond to a swift kick in the rear, some collapse.

So, I guess the right answer depends on who the person is.

 

If a fat person stays hydrated and takes supplements eating is optional.

 

The easiest way to lose weight is through exercise.

And trust me, I spent 4 years of my life trying to lose 10-15 lbs in 2 weeks, atleast twice a year. It isn't fun.and if you try to lose weight solely through dieting, it is close to impossible.

I tried that once, and after a few weeks, my mood was so bad people actually thought I was going into a deep depression.

It takes 1-2 hours a day to do as intense of a workout as your body can handle. Do this 3 times a week while maintaining the same diet and you will easily lose weight, guaranteed.

Getting in shape is the easiest thing to do, seeing how literally anyone can do it. No kind of ability required.

 

No, but we are trained from birth that fast and convenient is the way to go. This country is all about indulgences whether it be smoking, eating, pornography, or one of the many other slew of destructive behaviors that we find "acceptable in the name of being able to do whatever we want"


It starts with parenting and convenience.

Take a look at this chart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USObesityRate1960-2004.svg


Its the obesity rate. Watch how in 76-80, all lines start climbing, showing an increase in being overweight and being obese.

During the 80's, there was an explosion of marketing advertising and with the introduction of cable television.... advertising on tv exploded and has been on an upward scale every since. Then we take away family, during around the same time. This is going to sound alien to some people, especially younger people, but there was a time where a parent would slave over a stove for an hour or so, and everyone would sit around the dinner table and eat as a family with no distractions.

Basically its our culture, where we started inviting convenience over health. Then you add into it the food that is on the shelves in grocery stores these days. The sweets, candy, chips, the microwaveable death trap dinner, the pizza's. (ever looked at how unhealthy a pizza is? My favorite ones have 65 grams of fat in them, and they are small pizzas)

So yes, capitalism plays a major role in this. Its not about personal responsibility, its about being trained from an early age that convenience and indulging is the way to go. Its easy for us to sit on an internet forums and say "well it shouldnt be that way". In reality, its the only way that some people know. Especially considering that now, unhealthy and fast foods are cheaper than healthy and normal foods.

 

"There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns" in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Part of this is due to lower incomes and education, which result in purchases of cheap foods that are high in refined starch and sugar. More deeply, this also reflects lower public investment in education, public transportation, and recreational facilities," he says. The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. And that makes it even harder to change, Willett says.

In 1990, not one U.S. state had an obesity rate greater than 14 percent, according to the CDC. Ten years later, 23 states reported an obesity rate between 20 to 24 percent. And in 2010, 36 states had an obesity rate of at least 25 percent, with 12 states reporting an obesity rate beyond 30 percent. (The CDC notes that it used a new methodology for its 2011 survey, rendering comparisons with past years rather rough.)

http://health.usnews.com/health-new...-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates

 

I wasn't saying it's an excuse or trying to make it sound like being 500-600 lbs is acceptable. It's not. And the easiest way to combat addiction is to never start but that's really irrelevant here.

An who knows what is put into the food these days. Lots of chemicals and preservatives are used and I'm not sure what affect it has on us. Could lead to addictive behavior. I don't know, I don't have the time nor the want to research it.

But by no means am I saying "it's ok."

 

Oh come off it and stop being an overdramatic dork. Any company acting in it's own interest can still be irresponsible as hell and it has f**k all to do with totalitarianism.
You'da made Jessie Helms sooooo proud....

 

Oh I know that you don't personally mean that obesity is ok. Didn't mean to project that.

But the overall idea that is proposed by people about how it is a disease, gives obese people the idea that it is somehow not their fault, and that it was done "to them" and not "by them".

And ya. It isn't something you want to make them feel horrible about to the point that they give up on life. But it is something that they shouldn't be coddled with. That's my take on it. It takes a balance of compassion and telling people like it is.

 

Ridiculous to assume that adults can't think for themselves regardless of how they were raised. The information is out there, no one without mental disability realizes eating Big Macs everyday isn't good for you, but some still make that choice.

 

Coming from the guy that couldn't handle taboo that is rich.

Capitalism isn't making people obese.

I realize as a liberal you don't think people can think for themselves and need government to take care of them. But the world is tough and people need to quit blaming everything but themselves for their problems