To think obesity is an eating disorder? *POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING*

[pinkliquorice]

I don't want this to be triggering or offensive in anyway. If you are stuggleing with your weight or an eating disorder and are likely to be triggered by these discussions please dont read on.

Do you consider obesity to be an eating disorder in the same way as anorexia for example? AIBU to suggest this? Me and my partner have been discussing it all evening

Extra info:
(Being out of the healthy BMI range on either sides is obviously really dangerous and can have numerous negative effects on health and can even result in death.
But why as a society do we view being dangerously overweight any different to being dangerously underweight?
I have struggled with anorexia and bulimia on and off since I was 13 and when I have been severly underweight I have been given support and sympathy not judgement and that is the only reason why I am now better.
When my weight has fallen below a certain mark I have been hospitalised and given treatment to help me return to a healthy BMI, but for someone over the healthy BMI range they are not given the same treatment.
Body positivity is extremely important to me, and everyone no matter their weight deserves to be happy and respected but is there not an opposite to the Pro-Ana movement?
If someone commented on me being underweight and told me I needed to eat, I would go into panic and restict even more as controlling and reducing my weight and food consumption was my comfort, I was addicted to not eating and that took my pain away.
Surely obesity is the exact opposite of this, is it not the case that often when someone is overweight, they eat for comfort and if someone tells them they are overweight and they need to eat less that they eat more to take the pain away.)

Again, I know this is a really sensitive subject and I dont want to upset or cause offence to anyone.

I run the risk of being accused of fat shaming but society seems to be slipping into acceptance of obesity

Really? I do not see this at all. It is perfectly acceptable to fat shame the obese. You see it on here. On facebook on twitter in the street.

It's all their own fault.

Going by that argument. So is alcohol. Yet on a recent ambulance doc. There was nothing but sympathy for the alcoholic who had to finish his drink off before getting in the back of the ambulance.

Why is one okay and not the other?

To clarify. My point being both can be harmful to health but only one comes with support.

I think a lot of it is just that overeating has been normalised. Larger portion sizes, more eating out, regular moderate drinking. I don’t think most obese people are compulsively eating. The threshold for obese is lower than most think. If you see a person these days who looks a little overweight in comparison to the average they would likely meet the obese criteria without looking massive.
If we’re talking about people being bed bound then that would be a mh issue yes.

Jon Snow As a formerly obese person i totally agree. Terms like "wine o clock" are tossed around like its perfectly acceptable to indulge in alcohol very regularly.

Try saying cake o clock on MN if you are over a size 12.

In most cases, not all, the amount of calories needed to consume to reach obese (not overweight) is way above the calories to maintain a healthy weight. So from that point of view, I believe it is an eating disorder.

Also there is the secretive aspect of eating. In my experience, the obese people that I have had in my life never eat in public the amount that is needed to stay at that weight. That leads me to assume that they must be eating huge amounts by themselves. But my experience is basically my cousin and a couple of work colleagues.

In my cousin's case, no one says anything to her as it is deemed too sensitive. But she will have health problems related to her weight and complete inactivity in the future. If she was underweight due to anorexia, I believe she would have had help. Also I think that her obesity has underlying issues. She claims that she is asexual. This may or may not be linked. In my mind she has an eating disorder caused by some unknown underlying cause. And our family turns a blind eye for risk of upsetting her ("fat shaming").

@JonSnowsWife

I don’t think shaming is the answer though, like I said in the OP when I was most ill the people around me calling me skinny and telling me I needed to get a grip and just eat made it worse and I ate less as a result.
Do you think ‘skinny shaming’ people with eating disorders will work?
Shaming people who are obese to stop eating probably won’t help in the same way.

OP sorry I think you misunderstood my point. I'm not saying I think it's perfectly acceptable to fat shame. I'm saying it's become perfectly acceptable by society, to fat shame. This is evidenced on social media everywhere.

The average weight has slowly been increasing over time. Although at a certain BMI range there probably is a mental health component.
There are lots of factors that influence weight gain; sedentary jobs, log commutes sitting, calorie rich food options etc.
Sadly decreased calorie intake, leads to a metabolism that uses less calories (downward spiral).

@JonSnowsWife

Yes sorry, reading your message again I see that now.

I am obese because of the tablets I am taking and other health issues.

Your point is?

What a ridiculous post >

You know full well what the OP's point is, and it clearly doesn't involve people who are obese due to taking medication.

Because how could taking tablets for a health issue, possibly mean you have an eating disorder?

I've had big problems with binge eating since I was a teenager. To the extent of doing things like sneaking out in the middle of the night to buy food to binge on, when I was a student. Running up debt because of spending so much on food. Sneaking rubbish out of the house to put in different bins. And like a PP, struggling to stop doing it and lose weight to be able to access fertility treatment. It took me a year to lose only about 2 stone because I was stuck in a horrible cycle of self loathing, guilt and bingeing.

But if I ever tried to seek help for an eating disorder I'd be laughed out of the place because I'm a size 18. Obesity is becoming more socially acceptable but it's still perceived as always being the result of laziness and gluttony, whereas being underweight as a result of food issues is taken seriously and help provided to address the mental health factors involved.

Can anyone who is classed as obese without an underlying health issue causing this, say that they have a healthy relationship with food and their body and that they don’t need to be treated for an eating disorder?

Oh it is perfectly acceptable to shame overweight ppl Men thought it ok to shout comments in the street at me when i was a size 28.

Post weight loss at a size 14 i only see comments from women on MN that anything over a size 12 is fat.

I find it interesting and a little sinister that post my successful weight loss the comments are coming from women.

I put a hell of a lot of effort in to beat my eating problems.

A few days ago i saw the publicity for the new Costa Christmas drinks menu. My only thought was.........oh what pretty and festive cups. Would make lovely Christmas decorations.

Ive come a hell of a long way and to see comments on here like "anyone over size 12 is fat" or "11 stone is fat unless you are 5 foot 7" is a let down . It lets women down and it lets this site down.

It's an addiction. (There are exceptions though obviously)

I’ve been very fat and very thin and in my experience, when you are fat your friends won’t say anything but you get laughed / shouted at in the street by strangers. When very thin strangers don’t blink twice but friends will start to express concern.

I agree with the OP. I don’t know many people with weight problems that aren’t related to disordered eating.

I think overeating is a form of self-harm. Food can be used to numb emotions that are hard to deal with and the damage to the body can be huge over the years. You wear the evidence of your weakness every day, there's no hiding it

There is no good treatment for obesity.

This is, in itself, interesting.

Oh pink, I’m obese, and remain of sound health. I tend to eat a few more calories than I expend so weight gain is slow and gradual.
I enjoy calorie rich food, lead a retired relaxed life. Though not totally sedentary.

'Obesity is an eating disorder'

In other news, water is wet.

I think it depends on how/ why you are either under or overweight. It’s the mental part that really makes a disorder. You can be underweight and not give food/ weight much thought, the same as overweight. If you purposely use food, weight or exercise or other behaviours to control/ not control your weight to manage your life then yes it’s an eating disorder. Eating disorders are extremely complex, weight is just a tiny part of it.

Can anyone who is classed as obese without an underlying health issue causing this, say that they have a healthy relationship with food and their body and that they don’t need to be treated for an eating disorder?

This is perfectly possible. I put weight on when I’m too busy to exercise and eat properly. That’s not an eating disorder.

I’m sure people who are obese with eating disorders but it doesn’t automatically follow that because you are obese that’s the result of an eating disorder.

It definitely is. Obese patients are given support but it is usually in the form of dietetic intervention than psychological. Being underweight, I think is more socially acceptable - people see thinness as a positive thing which I don't get. I don't think people have much sympathy for the obese.

HelenaDove exactly.

There are a couple of acquaintances on my fb feed who post nightly pics of the giant glasses of wine. I inwardly eyeroll.
But then that might be because I have had family members who have fought and won alcohol addiction and i know how easy it is to 'slip' in to.

If I was to post nightly photos of my cake/chocolate. I'd probably give it two days before j get a "U okay hun" "wow that's a big piece you fat bastard" type comments start.

It's the same with smoking. DD is asthmatic and has to go to hospital regularly for checkups and procedures relating to other conditions. There is one main entrance where we have to walk through, and all the patients in with smoke related illnesses are outside having a smoke in the 'no smoking area'. Guess what's right next to the main entrance? The postnatal ward. Where everyone brings their babies out into the world for the first time in a cloud full of smoke. The only action that has ever been taken is the staff found smoking before the designated point will be disciplined. It doesn't stop the patients.

In mt opinion. Food, well sugar mostly, is just a different form of addiction.

The problem arises when people refuse to accept that some people can try and try and still not lose. I have a friend that walks that many miles on her daily dog walks she'd put Julia Bradbury to shame. She's still classed as obese though. She's diabetic. When she started physio the physio told her to stop walking so much.

Gben you have those who have certain medications which do cause weight gain, but you'll always have an overnight google university doctor tell you that the medications dont cause this (steroids for one do) or it'll be someone who takes the same drug as 'June' from no 48 who's 17stone but they're only 9stone so it's clearly something June is eating otherwise they'd be 17stone too.

A big part of having an eating disorder is denial.
When I was at my worst despite eating nearly nothing and being extremely underweight I was convinced I was fine, that I just wasn’t that hungry and enjoyed exercising and that I am in complete control but I wasn’t.
The same may happen when people are overweight, they say all they need to do is eat a little less and exercise a little more but that they are fine but I think it is a lot more complicated than that.

It lets women down and it lets this site down.

I agree. It lets our daughters down too. Especially in this instagram age. A friends daughter was bullied for being overweight (slightly chubby if at all) they have spent the last few years obsessed with getting a thigh gap. That would be worryingly acceptable in society apparently.