Is being fat a choice?

[notevenamum1]

This has all been triggered from a post I read on here the other day that was based around how short men must feel how fat women do when it comes to dating. There was a comment made about how it was worse for the men because they had not chosen to be short. Now this blaze comment about how being fat is a choice really sent me down a rabbit hole.

I think this is probably easy to say if you are someone who has never struggled with weight before but if you are someone like me who has struggled and yo-yo’d with their weight their whole life then they would beg to differ. I am both tall and fat, I have in the past been slim(mer) but it was a hell of a battle to get there and was unsustainable to stay there. Even now I am 5ft8, 14stone and convince myself that I am a size 14...I have to be mindful of what I eat every day, and exercise regularly or I would be even larger than I am now.

Do people look at me and think I am fat because I have no self control? Do they think this is my “fault”?

Is being “fat” a choice?

[Mydogisthebestest]

So what part of it is a choice for me?

The accident itself? That was my fault?

The taking the Codeine based pain medication? That means I can move (you know, that walk to the bathroom with a frame and not use a bed pan and be stuck in bed 24/7).

The taking the nerve pain medication because my nerves are completely firing all the time and I need to take nerve pain killers so I don’t suffer with pins and needles, crawling sensations in my legs, burning sensations and more.

What part of any of that is my choice?

[Doggyperson]

No it's not a choice, who would want to be fat?! I was obese for many years because I used food as an emotional crutch, I would eat just for the sake of it and even now I do sometimes, the difference is now I also run a lot and other exercise.

It does run in our family, my great grandparents were fat, my grandma and grandad and mum also. So I do believe it can be In your genes.

I have a few family members who are fat 'and proud' in other words, we are fat and cannot lose weight so I'll just pretend to be proud. It doesn't ring true.

I do feel for people who remover weight as I had a constant battle fo ryears of losing then gaining, it's very hard to diet!

[Disfordarkchocolate]

For a minority it is. For the vast majority other factors make this a very difficult issue.

[Prokupatuscrakedatus]

I, too, have a thyroid problem. At the moment I am at the upper end of a non health threatening wieght.
But, if I continue to eat that 1 extra biscuit per day in addition to what I need, my weight will go up + I am in my late 50ties and, now, I need even less calories to maintain my weight.
Plus I have seen an elderly relative loose her independence because her weight stopped her from caring for herself.

So - I actively choose to not eat more than I need. It is not fun, in fact it is incredibly boring. But needs must.

[MadauntofA]

Being fat is so much more complicated than calories in/ out, or choice/ not. Look at the folllowing - if you can't see it, google foresight obesity map

images.app.goo.gl/f6vR1xh8fBfjTyew5

[MadauntofA]

This simplifies it slightly

[EmberElftree]

It's a choice for me personally. I'm fat again now. 5'8" with a 34" waist and my BMI is 34.

It's purely due to making bad choices with my diet. I always excercise daily, cardio, pilates, a 45 minute walk and I always drink a lot of water. I carry my fat around my middle. I am a natural hourglass but when my diet is poor I look hourglass from the front but become an apple from the side and look 6 months pregnant.

It's not good for my back carrying the extra weight and I look and feel bad. As soon as I make the right diet choices and follow a high protein diet with plenty of veg and berries I lose the weight and my stomach shrinks. It's a lifestyle choice and I don't know why I go back to eating badly, for me, when I know what works for me to feel good and to be a healthy weight.

I am following the MUTU system too as I have diastasis recti so I'm using a 3 prong attack (diet, excercise & MUTU) to get back to the weight where I feel good and most importantly I am strong and healthy for my son.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

For some people it is a choice, for some it is not a choice but caused by other factors (disability, disease, etc).

For those that it is a choice, it can be very hard to not be fat. Just because something is a choice doesn’t mean it is easy or requires no work and sacrifice. Conversely, just because not being fat is hard and requires work and sacrifice, that doesn’t mean it’s not a choice.

[Stellakent]

I think it is for the majority of people. It's not a choice to be fat, but a choice not to make the changes required to lose weight.

There are certainly people who are fat for medical reasons, but that isn't most people. I'm overweight, but I know that's because I need to eat and drink less. Exercise isn't enough in my 50s.

[HathorX]

I do believe people have different natural builds. I will never be petite. But I could be slim. "Me" a hundred years ago, would have weighed about 9.5 stone, I think, based on the fact I would have a different diet and a very different lifestyle.

So "choice" is a difficult word for me, but I do think weight is often more in our control than we allow. We can choose to only eat vegetables and brown rice and a bit of chicken or fish. But it can be expensive, so we might need to reduce our other spending - if I gave up holidays I could easily afford to eat healthily. But I LIKE food that is unhealthy and i find it hard to make the choice to forego unhealthy food. When I gave up dairy for 6 months, i lost a stone without even trying. It was pretty obvious I could lose weight and I am "choosing" not to.

I could make lifestyle changes to improve my health (i have, in fact). But I could force the issue more - I could try harder. Perhaps I should. I am choosing not to, because I'm lazy. Fundamentally.

For the majority of people it is hard to make better choices BUT in reality if we all took a cold, hard look at things we probably could. Most of us. I'm not talking about people on the bread line. But most people could find ways to take more exercise and eat more healthily. It might be difficult but I'm sure they could.

So, reduce it down and I think for most people yes, being overweight is a choice. But i do believe we should all be supported not judged, to make healhty changes if we want to.

[Tobytoesgoes]

I suppose the problem with the argument that there are some medical conditions that cause excessive weight gain, whilst being completely true that there are, it simply isn't true for the vast majority of people who are overweight. Most people who are overweight do not eat well and do not move enough and for the masses, that is as simple as it gets. So putting this into context, let's flip it... Yes there are people with exceptional metabolisms who can eat whatever they want and never gain an ounce but that is also not the case for the majority; the majority of people with a healthy weight eat sensibly and exercise regularly. So frankly, yes, it is a choice. But it's a choice in the same way that smoking is a choice of alcoholism is a choice. It's very hard to change addictions and habits ingrained over such a long period of time so I'm not arguing that it is a lot harder for people who are already overweight to lost weight than it is for someone of a healthy weight to maintain it. But ultimately yes, it's still a choice.

[cheeseismydownfall]

I think your OP oversimplifies what is a complex issue.

I do believe that being overweight is something that you have influence over in a way that is different to, say, your height, or your race, or a disability.

But it clearly isn't a simple choice in the same way that I might choose to have short hair, or wear make up.

Perhaps a better analogy for many would be addiction - we all know that we can simply choose not to smoke, but for many smokers it feels almost impossible, no matter how much they might want to quit.

So my answer to your question is, "sort of".

[Prokupatuscrakedatus]

MadauntofA
That is an interesting graphic (there are some interesting courses on that topic on FL, too) and I am pobably lucky that some of those aspects simply do not apply to me or my family (bc. food traditions / regionality) in a negative way (no ready meals, no take aways, very little processed food), which of course helps.

[Mydogisthebestest]

This thread has really upset me. I just don’t understand why you think I have a choice.

[IsItGinOclock1]

I think for some it's about making the wrong choices - overeating and not exercising. I know some people who do eat a lot of food, more than I could ever consume and they never exercise, unsurprisingly they are very overweight.

But then again there are people like my mum, she doesn't eat much at all (less than me easily) and that's 95% healthy, she goes to the gym 3 times a week (normally) and she's very active. She's around a size 18 and short, has been around that most her adult life. My dad eats the same exercises the same and you'd describe him as thin. I take after my dad, I eat pretty much what I like though fairly healthy too and currently don't exercise much (although in the past have been very into running) and I am a size 8, always have been as an adult even after 2 children. In my mums case I think there's an element of it being in her genes, she has been thinner (she slimmed down for her children's weddings so she didn't hate the pictures of her!) but she ate like a tiny mouse and upped her exercise, it wasn't sustainable though.

So choice for some but certainly not everyone, I really do think it's more than that, I think genes and biology play a huge role, two people can consume the exact same and be completely different weights.

[Pebblexox]

Unless your weight is due to medical reasons, then essentially it is a choice.
A person genuinely cannot do anything about their height, whereas you can make a conscious decision about your weight (again not including medic conditions or eating disorders)

[Bluntness100]

It’s not a choice as in someone thinks ooh I think I will be fat. Don’t get me wrong, a small minority do, but for most no it’s not like that.

What is a choice is the food you eat and the exercise you take. Fat is simply the end result.

[Mydogisthebestest]

@Bluntness100

It’s not a choice as in someone thinks ooh I think I will be fat. Don’t get me wrong, a small minority do, but for most no it’s not like that.

What is a choice is the food you eat and the exercise you take. Fat is simply the end result.

How is the amount of exercise I take a choice. Please can you explain that to me.

[BertieBotts]

I agree with cheeseismydownfall

I'd add, it's not weighted the same for everyone. I have never been overweight yet I have not actively chosen to be slim. I don't pay any particular attention to my diet. I eat what I like really. It just happens to be that what I like isn't very fattening - I'm not keen on the taste of fat in general - would rather eat a big pile of fruit/veg than a plate of hot chips, and isn't very much... I'm motivated more by how much effort something is(n't) rather than the desire to eat more, so I am likely to skip a meal because I can't be bothered to make food. It is very easy for me to stay slim partly because I don't have the desire to eat loads, partly because I grew up in a household where portions were small and we ate healthily, partly because I seem to have a friendly metabolism.

I am likely "skinny fat" because my diet isn't great. That part is something I could change if I really wanted to, but I don't think it's likely that I could become larger any more than somebody whose tastes veer more towards fattening foods, who grew up with a model of eating larger portions and/or more unhealthy foods, whose metabolism is a different rate than mine, could choose to become slimmer.

We can change our fitness but size is a bit more complicated.

[BurtsBeesKnees]

Not many people will make a choice to be fat, and I don't think being fat is as a result of eating unhealthily in some cases. You can be over weight, exercise and eat really well. But eating 'well' doesn't always mean low calorie.

I used to be slim and could eat what I wanted, then I had kids, got old, and that isn't the case any longer. The only way I can stay slim is to be sensible in what I eat and exercise. You always have a choice to exercise and eat a diet based on lower calories, not snack or eat shit on an evening or drink loads of alcohol etc.

But I was also a smoker and I have to say that giving up smoking is (for me) just as difficult as dieting.

There are various medical reasons for being over weight, but that's a very small percentage

[Gwenhwyfar]

"We all know people who consume massive amounts and remain thin"

I have never known anyone over 20 in this category. I've known thin people who say they're foodies or greedy and that they love food, but if you watch how much they eat of it, it's not that much. Just because you see someone eat a lot on a meal out or at a party, doesn't mean they eat like that all the time.

[ManCubsMama]

No one actively decides to be unhealthy as humans we like to treat ourselves and often put things off until tomorrow.

That’s incorrect, lots of people are consciously unhealthy. Probably most! Think about drug takers etc.

[Pikachubaby]

Threads like these are pointless

People on medication saying “thanks for hating me!” and getting tearful and angry. But nobody points the finger at them.

But 60% of the population is overweight and yeah, for lots of them that is a choice

Treating all overweight people as helpless victims is disempowering imo

You have the power to change how fat and fit you are (medical issues aside, that’s a different story. Being on steroids or ADs Etc fucks your metabolism, but.... 60% if the population are not on steroids/ADs etc)

If everyone is fat but blameless/helpless, who is ordering all the pizza’s beer donuts etc? Nobody ever “needs” those items. It’s a choice to buy them. It’s a choice to eat them.

[Hyperion100]

95% of the time, its a choice

[Mummadeeze]

Posting again because some slim people on here still don’t get it. There are people like me who don’t eat unhealthily or very much and who do exercise who are still overweight. I am sick of reading it is as simple as eating less calories than you use up as it really isn’t or else I would be a size 10 too. Obesity runs in my family and everyday is a battle for me to not be bigger than I am. I know my slimmer friends eat more than me. Most people I know can eat dinner without putting on weight but I can only eat breakfast and lunch otherwise my weight goes up a pound a day. I am practically vegan and don’t eat many carbs. It is unfair and to think that people genuinely believe I am choosing not to be slimmer than I am - when trying to choose to be slim does dominate my life - makes me feel frustrated.