to wonder about obesity

[crashingwaves]

Please, please, PLEASE don't think that this is a fat-bashing thread, I hate it when people do that and I'd never ever do it myself.

The thing is, I love food, I do like nice food and I do overeat on occasions. My BMI is 'overweight' - I could do with shifting a stone - I'm most definitely not a size 8 smuggie person.

What I'm wondering about isn't even people a fair bit bigger than me. But really, really large people (I'm thinking around the 20 stone + region) Isn't it quite, well, difficult in a way to maintain and gain weight at that size, as you really would have to be eating an awful lot (unless a medical reason, I realise things like PCOS can contribute.)

I suppose I was wondering as my friend has a friend who is only 21 and weighs 18 and a half stone - to be honest I think she is in denial a little bit as she says things like "Oh I know I don't look this big" when to be honest she does - I understand that - but given that at that size it is fairly easy to make small changes and still lose weight, I guess I just wonder why people don't. That did sound quite bitchy and judgemental and I'm honestly trying hard to avoid that.

I can totally see how people get big, I've "been there" myself but I guess what I mean was when the scales hit 13 stone I thought "f*ck!" and went on a diet - surely if the scales hit 20 stone you would ...?

I probably deserve a flaming - can I just say mega apologies if I DO offend you as I honestly don't want to do that!

Correct piprabbit.

I have been anorexic (less than 6.5 stone in my early twenties) and I've been overweight, have both eaten too little and eaten too much.

It doesn't necessarily follow that because a person is fat, they are still eating too much and moving too little.

I say this as someone at work (morbidly obese) constantly talks about her confusion as she doesn't eat fatty food. To lose weight, one actually needs to regulate intake downwards and movement upwards for a period of time.

To actually lose weight requires a different kind of eating than to maintain a weight (wether the maintaining is of an obese figure or a healthy one).

Why is anorexia nearly almost brought up on these threads?

Fair enough if you're talking about an obese person with a serious food addiction but I thought this thread was about obesity in general?

I think that kind of 'lessens' the seriousness of anorexia and what sufferers have to go through.

It's simply not comparable to the obese people who don't have mental health problems.

Provocative? You don't think it's perhaps a teensy bit provocative to suggest that overweight people are stupid, lazy or greedy?

Thank you for the kind wishes poppett, sadly that's not an option. My POV is coloured by my diganosis, of course.

You know, I found it easier to cope when peope were staring because I'd lost my hair. Facing the world since putting on this weight, wheezing and sweating due to the drugs, is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

My own hang ups no doubt, but not helped by threads like this. I shouldn't take it so personally so I'll leave the thread now.

Not all overweight people are greedy but I think it's fair to say that some are?

Equally many slim people are greedy too surely?

Wubbly you can show me where I said fat people are stupid, lazy or greedy or apolgise.

In fact you cab just apologise. I never said that so you'll never find it anyway.

The OP says that the thread is about 'really really fat' people and the scales 'hitting 20 stone' - so I'm thinking probably people with serious food addicitions.

I don't why the struggle with with morbid obesity is considered less serious than the struggle with anorexia. Both are life-long, life-threatening conditions with potential impact re: future health, fertility etc.

I think because a lot of obesity is down to the lifestyles we lead now rather than any kind of mental condition Piprabbit but that is of course JMO.

Yes, anorexia is a mental illness. Obesity, for the vast majority, isn't.

Obesity is not less of a 'mental' issue than anorexia. It's only peoples attitudes towards it that are different.

I wonder if theres anyone with Prada willi syndrome on here?? or knows of anyone that must be tough.

Obesity is not less of a 'mental' issue than anorexia. It's only peoples attitudes towards it that are different.

That would depend on the person and their reason for over eating/not losing weight.

Not everthing is down to addiction or mental health issues. My friend for example readily admits she's obese because she loves food and hates exercise. She knows she's limiting her mobility and now has diabetes too, but she says it's lack of willpower that prevents her from sorting this out.

chipping

Anorexia is a mental illness

There are some mental illnesses which cause obesity, but obesity is not a mental illness.

A very small percentage of overweight and obese people are so because of a mental illness.

Prada willi syndrome is extremely rare and bot really relevant to a general discussion on obesity.

My daughter has Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Actually research into PWS is very exciting as they are exploring multifactorial reasons for obesity.

They are studying things such as hormone levels and appetite regulators, muscle mass, metabolism and weight gain, stuff like that.

Relevant for many obese people and not just those with PWS.

But yes, not really entirely relevant to this discussion thread.

I also wonder why people are getting bigger.

It's a bit of a mystery really.

What really is amazing, when you think about the easy availability of cheap (junk) food, combined with the average human's cravings for salty, crunchy and sugary and fatty food, is that not everyone is massive.

The question should be: Why are there still some people who are NOT overweight?!

DH is obese and I am normally just into the overweight category (am pregnant right now). We eat a similiar diet, although I eat breakfast (toast and a piece of fruit) while DH has a cup of tea at work. It is interesting to me that DH is so much bigger than me and there are a couple of reasons for it. Individually each item does not make much of a difference but the sum of them does. The differences are:

1. Portion sizes - DH will go for seconds.
2. Dessert - I will eat fruit DH will get a frozen fruit bar.
3. Drinks - I drink water, DH drinks juice.
4. Exercise - If I walk the dog I go for a 30min walk. DH goes over the road and has the dog run after a ball.
5. Scales - I weigh myself at least 3 times a week, DH about once a month.

After I met DH I pounded the weight on and was soon obese. I didn't go on a diet but just made sure I stuck to my guns and went back to my normal diet. I now insist that every evening meal that goes on the table has at least 2 portions of fruit or veg and I banned DH from frying food. I also do the main supermarket shop and don't even go down the sweetie aisle. DH does a shop too where he buys his crap which I make him hide from me.

Another reason for the difference in weight is his bloody mother. When we visit the food they eat is terribly unhealthy and she starts to cry if plates are not polished off (grrrr!). It is all meat and dairy based with lashings of butter and salt. Needless to say DH and his family all have high blood pressure and cholesterol problems. DH says it is genetic. It isn't genetic, anyone who ate as much saturated fat as his family would have clogged arteries.

Obviously, there are legitimate reasons for being obese but in my experience it is primarily due to a combination of poor portion control and poor dietary choices combined with a lack of exercise.

Would't be surprised if your scenarios were very, very common reasons for obesity, want2

In my opinion a lot if people use the genetic card when really it's that their entire family over eats to gross excess.

Everything I've seen in the genetics of obesity show a genetic predisposition to store fat ... Not to over eat.

Surely if someone knows there is a genetic factor then thats a good reason to be more careful with food thn to shrug it off as an excuse?

Just like those who's families have the cancer gene are best placed not to smoke?

So Leoni people on meds that affect
Metabolism / cause weight gain need to be more careful of their diets, rather than carry on as before.

There's obviously a lot more going on than just calories in, energy out. About three years ago I went on some medication that made me eat absolutely enormous quantities of food. I'm talking two whole cakes for breakfast, sixteen frankfurters for lunch etc. Actually the whole idea of meals went out the window as I just ate nearly the whole time I was awake. And I lost over twenty pounds in thirty days, enough that my GP tested me for Graves Disease and all sorts --and found nothing. And it wasn't correlated with more exercise, as the meds made me so exhausted I was crawling into bed by 2pm. About two weeks after coming off the meds, which also made me lactose intolerant (?!) and cleared up my spots (I honestly cannot explain it!), my eating and energy returned to normal, and I regained the lost weight gradually.

I could not have eaten more food, physically; it could not have fit in my stomach. And I could not have done less exercise. The experience really shook my (hitherto generally unconsidered) eat less move more understanding. It's just more complicated than that. Bodies are more complicated.