Is being Obese an illness?

[agel]

Yes or No
Im really not trying to start an argument. I want to understand what people actually think/know/believe about this.

I am obese and am trying to gain some sort of control over my eating through therapy at the moment. I’ve tried diets and exercising that do work but long term I don’t seem to be able to change my lifestyle enough to keep the weight off. I hate living like this and how people treat me differently because of my size. My family don’t understand at all. My partner is not understanding and it’s seriously affecting our relationship in many ways. It seems unfair because I don’t feel I have much control over this. It’s actually very lonely being in this situation. I rarely mention the topic of my health or weight to others because pardon the pun it’s always the elephant in the room! But you can almost hear what people are thinking. I hate the judgemental looks and comments. I rarely go out now because of anxiety and panic attacks brought on by this situation.

For funsies, I looked up big snack retailer responses to the advent of widespread GLP1 use. 36 companies are also evidenced to have discussed GLP1s in their start of 2026 revenue meetings.

On the obesity being caused by mental illness piece what i can say is that psychiatric conditions usually have a first line of treatment that involves taking medication. Those medications unfortunately very often cause increase in appetite, sedation, and metabolism interference. So I wouldn't necessarily divorce the 2 entirely from being associated with one another in a significant number of cases. There's also the fact that research shows that long term UPF intake causes cognitive deficits and there has been research that links the increase of mental illness to UPFs also. I think it would be quite remiss to try and disconnect mental health from such a widespread physical phenomena especially when neurological processes such as the dopaminergic reward system are so central to eating - especially the sorts of foods we're advertised! And are a significant mechanism that GLP1s are used to disrupt.

No one is saying it is never mental illness, you missed the nuance, what’s being said is it is not always mental illness, in fact I’d hazard a guess it’s the minority where it is mental illness,

I'm not sure I'm the one that missed the nuance but that's by the by. It's more about what the direction of causality is, especially with regard the factors I mentioned in my comment. Of course it's not always due to 'mental illness' I think we covered the fact that it's a multifactorial situation quite some pages back. On nuance however, I'd be interested to know what precisely the type of 'mental illness' it is that you believe causes some cases of obesity and also what is it within the complex interplay of factors that lead to obesity that this aspect of mental illness causes. E.g. is it a lack of self worth that leads people to eat unhealthily, is it used as a way to manage difficult emotions, is it lack of regulation, is it addiction,..?
There's absolutely no use in 'hazarding guesses' - they're built on personal constructs and bear no reflection on the truth. It's 'hazarding guesses' that got people believing that overweight and obese people are stupid, lazy, and void of willpower.

I don’t know, maybe I’m missing your nuance and only speaking from my personal constructs but in most cases it’s not that complex and multifactorial. It is exceptionally easy to overeat and steadily gain weight. Once you are obese, successfully losing the weight becomes harder and harder, and any yo-yo-ing makes that worse.

Well, yeah. Honestly, that's how it seems to me. I can't work out why it's so tricky to not overeat.

So the factors I'm referring to are the same that the World Health Organisation mention in their description of obesity - 'It is driven by complex interactions between environmental, social, biological and behavioural determinants.'

A lot of things need to be in place in order for that 'easy overeating' to take place (which I don't think anyone is trying to say is complex in itself).

@Notmycircusnotmyotter of course you don’t understand. You haven’t had the experience yourself and you seem to lack the ability to imagine that other people might have a different experience to you.

Honestly, the “why don’t you just eat less?” comments are so so very pointless.

I have been in a constant calorie deficit for over two years now. Do you think human bodies naturally want to be in a long term calorie deficit? Or don’t you think that mechanisms exist to persuade you to eat more so that you don’t appear to starve as far as your body considers it? And that’s before you even consider other reasons why people in each moment might make a decision to eat when they don’t need the calories. Not because they’re all mentally ill, but because humans are quite bad at accepting short term uncomfortableness for a long term goal. We can be easily disrupted by tiredness, stress, lack of time, boredom, worry, sadness and so on.

You’re lucky that you’ve never had to fight against the continuous food noise that many, many people have to deal with.

I have referred to it as a mental illness, but what I mean by that is that there must be some kind of chemical imbalance for the food noise to be so loud. Possibly caused by a mixture of hormones.

I know that my constant hunger and cravings since going into perimenopause and now menopause has been very, very difficult to ignore. It’s not easy to ignore the hunger and it’s not easy to lose or even maintain my weight after years of being naturally slim. Why has my body changed so much? What is it that makes it impossible for so many people?

Well I manage to stay in the lower part of a healthy weight without any trauma because rationally I know what to eat and not eat. I don't understand why people can't exercise self control and claim to be in the throes of some sort of existential or society induced or mental crisis.

@SilenceInside"food noise" is such a ridiculous term made up to excuse greed. Imagine I said I have booze noise or cocaine noise. Would that be considered a real problem or just weakness brought on by consecutive bad decisions?

Sorry that was in response to @JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn

Having read Ultra-processed people, 100% yes - suggest you give it a read if you haven't already, it's eye-opening and shocking. But definitely worth digging into your eating habits too as it sounds like you are, are there emotional links to eating? Is it stress relief? Or just genetic food noise, are weight loss jabs an option?

Ignorant I'm afraid. I suffered a fairly long-term period of sleep deprivation with my youngest child and the urge to consume carbs/energy-filled foods was unreal compared to not being exhausted. It manifests in different ways, but you only have to look at the resounding success of GLP1 inhibitors to see it's clearly genetic to a large degree!

Thank you, having a little scroll before work and with my coffee and read your posts, which literally made me laugh out loud. 😂

So to avoid confusion I've referenced a scientific journal which details the definition, measurement, and future research directions for 'Food Noise'. I'd hate to think that this popularises as just another thing to use to mock or belittle those who have genuine difficulties maintaining a healthy weight.

Source: Journal Article

"Abstract
The term food noise has been recently popularized by individuals managing their weight or adhering to specific diets for health reasons. Anecdotal evidence from patients and clinical observations suggests that food noise involves constant preoccupation with food-related decisions—such as which foods to eat, caloric intake, macronutrient balance, and meal timing—which can become intrusive and unpleasant. Food noise also appears to affect cognitive burden and quality of life, and is being cited as one reason weight-loss attempts fail. The increase in public discourse about food noise has highlighted its potential significance, yet a formal clinical definition and method of measurement of food noise are lacking. Herein, we define food noise through clinical and patient anecdotes, describe initial research validating a food noise questionnaire, and outline future research directions. The formal definition of food noise is persistent thoughts about food that are perceived by the individual as being unwanted and/or dysphoric and may cause harm to the individual, including social, mental, or physical problems. Food noise is distinguished from routine food-related thoughts by its intensity and intrusiveness, resembling rumination. We describe our initial research developing the Ro Allison Indiana Dhurandhar- Food Noise Inventory (RAID-FN Inventory) to measure food noise. We also outline future areas of research, including exploring the prevalence and physiological underpinnings of food noise and the role of cultural and sociodemographic factors. The effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on food noise, the potential role of food noise in weight management and metabolic health, understanding food noise’s impact on health outcomes and quality of life, the stigma associated with food noise, and the potential influence of food noise on public health policies are discussed. Future research should aim to refine definitions, improve measurement tools, and evaluate therapeutic strategies for managing food noise."

And just in case you are dubious about the legitimacy of such a term, this artice is published as paty of the Nature database of articles. Those unfamiliar with Nature:

"Journal Information
Aims & Scope
Nature is a weekly international journal publishing the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature also provides rapid, authoritative, insightful and arresting news and interpretation of topical and coming trends affecting science, scientists and the wider public.
Nature's mission statement
First, to serve scientists through prompt publication of significant advances in any branch of science, and to provide a forum for the reporting and discussion of news and issues concerning science. Second, to ensure that the results of science are rapidly disseminated to the public throughout the world, in a fashion that conveys their significance for knowledge, culture and daily life.
Nature's original mission statement was published for the first time on 11 November 1869."

Thank you for pasting that. Very interesting. To be mocked and sneered at for using the term food noise isn’t funny.

Quite interesting the reference to rumination. I have a mild form of (well managed these days) OCD (ha another one where ignorance is still very common) and rumination has been a constant companion. I don’t tie my food noise to my ocd thoughts, for me they are entirely different. The food noise is much more physical and the verging perhaps on obsessive calorie counting isnt done to neutralise a fear.

I do agree that too many people use "food noise" as an excuse.

There is an assumption that naturally slim people don't get this urge to eat unhealthy food. But they do. Friends of mine who have never got over a size 10 always comment how tempted they feel when faced with the option of choosing unhealthy food. Most of the time, they choose not to.

I think the word for that is will power. I don't have as much as my slim friends but I take responsibility for that. Doesn't mean they don't feel tempted by cakes, chips etc or wouldn't snack all day if there weren't consequences.

@DeliaPith321 thank you for posting the Journal article about food noise. It is something I consider a great deal, as I had no idea I had it until I didn't!

Everything they say in that article reflects what food noise is for me and this sentence really sums it up:

"Food noise is distinguished from routine food-related thoughts by its intensity and intrusiveness, resembling rumination."

To me, it feels like I imagine an addict would feel when they want their next fix. Just a constant itch that you are desperate to scratch.

Yes I'd agree (though never been addicted to anything else! So nothing to compare with) and a constant, unignorable and unrelenting hunger. It's really odd. And not how you are supposed to feel. I think if I hadn't experienced both sides of the coin, I wouldn't believe it either.

For those who can't understand, it's like how you would feel if you are hungry but can't eat, like ever.

@MargoLivebetter and @Ffiohna you're welcome. I think that demonstrating the research is the best way to come back at the cruelty and the tropes. It's not as if obesity is new. It's the biggest public health issue in the UK and has been significant in the US for far longer. None of this is new. The conversations have been had, the research has been done, we aren't going to be breaking any ground in this conversation - and those who keep rolling out the usua tropes do clearly need educating. For something they appear so opinionated about and interested in, it would pay to do some reading on it. Wilful ignorance of the truth is the only explanation given the ease of access to information we have now.

@Nottodaybob I'm going to sound annoyingly pedantic now - sorry. But the food noise sensation I get doesn't feel like hunger at all.

I know when I'm hungry, I have a growling stomach and and empty sensation. It is a clear signal that I need to eat. It is something that I can acknowledge and also put to one side.

The food noise I experience is completely different to hunger. It is a fidgety, itchy, shouty, chitter-chatter and it is in my mind. I find it almost impossible to sit still and relax when I can "hear it". It takes up vast amounts of head space. I've often wondered if it is the kind of thing that might be helped by hypnosis. So bloody weird.

I have managed to maintain a healthy weight for around 10 years through willpower.

I am hyper aware of the consequences of giving in to the temptation of cakes and chips, which means I have some lets say, odd attitudes and behaviours around food to help me avoid the temptation, and it takes an awful lot of brain space and energy to keep up on top of it.

Being on WLIs has completely changed all that in a way that I hoped for but I still can't quite believe the reality.

I can now look at unhealthy food and can make a quick and easy choice of whether to eat it or not. I am not calculating how I am going to have to adjust my food for the rest of the day to compensate, I am not feeling guilty about giving into temptation and berating myself for being a bad, weak person if I do eat it. I can start eating it and half way through decide I've had enough. I can eat it all and think 'that was nice, right, I need to go and fetch the washing in' rather than having a big mental argument about wanting more but knowing I shouldn't have any more, and why did I have some in the first place, and I may as well have some more because I am weak and stupid, and so on and so on.

So yes, there is willpower but there is also food noise and the balance between the two is different for everyone.

So for some people, willpower is the issue - for those who are tempted to eat for enjoyment and can choose whether or not to do so (with varying levels of success and discipline). What I and others have tried so hard to explain all through this thread is that there is another category, which is where the disease element comes into play.

As I said earlier, I didn't used to eat for enjoyment. It wasn't a case of being tempted by a sweet treat or a second helping. I am talk about a drive that is absolutely overwhelming and impossible to suppress. Maybe this is what is meant by food noise, but I prefer the explanation I have read elsewhere which attributes it to survival. Hunger is a primal and instinctual force and the body will do whatever it can to avoid starvation. Because of faulty signalling within some percentage of people, the body is telling us that it is starving and driving us to eat not for pleasure - because food was not enjoyable for me most of the time but rather a source of struggle and misery - but because our bodies cannot recognise what is actually happening. This faulty signalling is corrected by GLP-1 medications. Eating for me used to be like that desperate gasp for air when you get into cold water - an uncontrollable instinct to survive. Not a case of fancying a cream cake and giving in. I can recognise that there are varied experiences and that for some people a struggle with their weight is about temptation and indulgence and their ability to manage that. For others, it's a dysfunction within the body that requires medical intervention - it's a disease. It would be nice if you could acknowledge that there are different experiences to your own when it comes to this. It's so disheartening to be told over and over that forty years of trying and failing is just that you didn't try hard enough. Those of us who have been caught in the trap of yoyo dieting have been unwillingly damaging our bodies and metabolisms for years as we tried to cure ourselves without the tools that actually make it possible. Again, I will say that it's as helpful as telling a dyslexic person to try harder to read or an asthmatic person to try harder to breathe. There are many things that can go wrong within the body, and faulty signalling and hormonal imbalance leading to obesity is one of them.

I think food noise is probably very similar to the noise any kind of addict experiences. It is a compulsion.

I've never been addicted to alcohol or drugs, but I am addicted to picking the skin on my fingers. My fingers are covered in scar tissue from repeatedly picking, even though it makes my fingers bleed, it hurts, often becomes infected and looks awful. I have had to step out of meetings because my compulsion is so strong but I know that it will look so dreadful to pick my fingers until they bleed in front of people. I don't want to pick them, but I am compelled to do so. That's what food noise feels like to me.

I spent 40 years battling that noise and had long periods of slimness, so I definitely don't need anyone to tell me what will-power looks like or that food noise is an excuse for greed. Imagine all that compulsion going on and resisting it.