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.

on a tangent but your post made me smile…: research some of the transcendence monks and you’ll see it started many thousands of years ago :)

Those choices aren't difficult though, they become habits. It's not as if they're winning a battle every time they make the choice, they make it because they made it yesterday and the day before. It isn't a virtue.

We aren't monks.

Couldn’t agree more on adopting a “successful, proven method to support long term large weight loss and reduce the obesity crisis”: eat healthily (in general less) and move more.

It’s so tried and tested and successful the nhs and pretty much every other health organisation advocates for it.

I agree IMHO obesity is caused by MH issues causing overeating, or lack of food education and knowing the right things to eat, or both. This then causes physical health issues and/or MH issues as a result, like a domino effect.

So no evidence then!

How do you think they developed those habits?

And if so easy to maintain once established, why are so many posters stating it’s difficult to maintain a healthy weight after weight loss?

in your logic, once the habits are established they’re easily maintained.

No but it answers your question

Wrong. Literally didn't say that. I was talking about the biology of obesity, not claiming to speak for the psychological battles of every slim person. Which, BTW, I was until my 30s so it's not an entirely foreign country to me. Nice straw man though!

Also, I'm not sure you know what disingenuous means based on that post. I can't simultaneously fall into a trap of believing something, while being disingenuous about it.

Anyway, I'm out. Happy to leave you with your (low cal) pie in the sky version of how to solve the obesity crisis.

It's easy for those who made those choices from the start. How they are developed is via learned behaviours and the diet and attitudes passed on from the household or institution they grew up in. You'll find that is common discussion with dieticians and nutritionists and their patients, it is about unlearning unhealthy beliefs instilled from a young age. INCREDIBLY hard work, as it is to deprogram anything that contributed to the person you become by the time your brain has formed in your mid 20s. That's one example.

Maintaining weight loss can be difficult because the body has biological mechanisms that resist weight reduction. Following weight loss, hunger often increases, satiety signals can weaken, and the body may expend fewer calories than before.
Hormonal changes, including reductions in leptin and increases in ghrelin, can encourage greater food intake. These adaptations can persist long after the weight has been lost.
Essentially, someone maintaining a lower weight may have to manage greater hunger and a reduced energy requirement simultaneously.
This is one reason why maintaining weight loss is not simply a matter of willpower, and why treatments such as GLP-1 medications can be helpful. They address some of the biological mechanisms that make sustained weight management difficult.

Because it’s true! And you cannot also be judging all the weight loss coaches out there, surely …..

Anyway the NHS’s leaflet of facts makes no effort to acknowledge that losing AND mAINTAINING is extremely difficult for many people and that many people have to try and fail on repeat and potentially never succeed. Actually these are facts too.

No it doesn't lol. I was talking about people in general. Not one religious sect lol.

No.

@ExpectMore so by your definition people who lose weight or maintain their slimness are only doing it in a way that you approve of, if will-power is required?

I agree. That’s where I point re. Self control and Discipline comes in.

Since losing a lot of weight on WLIs I’ve noticed a lot of judgement from some slim people. Not loads in real life, but a few, and a reasonable number online. Those judgemental people are the ones who view weight as a moral issue and value thinness over health. Sometimes they disguise it as concern ‘oh WLIs are expensive/have side effects/we don’t know long term,’ but it comes down to the fact they love that they’re slim and they hate the fact that ‘lazy’ or ‘uneducated’ fat people can achieve thinness now. It’s very interesting and comes across in a few posts in this thread.

You’re being facetious. I think you’ll find it’s the NHS’ recommended way

I think most people come at it from a health perspective, not a “hey I’m slim” perspective.

Most are adults and understand the negative consequences after all

Most people do, but a reasonable number I’ve encountered are just pissed off other people who they looked down on now look more like them. They don’t like it.

Where in your shared nhs brochure does it talk about will power, discipline, etc? It doesn’t. My point was that the absolute fact that it is exceptionally hard to lose weight and maintain it and most of us fail. They are not telling the full picture and Not doing so exacerbates the judgmental comments of us, like yours.

What full picture are they missing?

Not very long ago levels of obesity were much lower, and there weren’t weight loss drugs around. The key difference is that people ate more healthily (often they had no choice: there was no money for takeaways, no access to chemical pumped ready meals) and moved more (either in their jobs or general lifestyle).

One of the problems with obesity treatment is the gap between knowing how weight loss works and understanding why achieving and maintaining it can be so difficult.
The NHS provides useful information about calorie deficits, healthy eating and exercise. None of this is necessarily wrong. However, obesity is considerably more complex than simply eating less and moving more.
One area where conventional weight-loss advice can fall short is in explaining the biological mechanisms involved in weight regulation. Following weight loss, the body can respond with increased hunger, changes in appetite-regulating hormones and reduced energy expenditure. These adaptations can persist, making it considerably more difficult to maintain a lower weight. Patients need to understand these mechanisms rather than interpret weight regain as a personal failure or lack of willpower.
Another concern is the emphasis on achieving weight loss rather than sustaining it. Short-term dietary interventions can produce results, but obesity frequently requires long-term management. A 12-week programme cannot necessarily provide the support someone needs over the following 12 years. Maintaining weight loss can be physiologically and psychologically challenging, and treatment needs to reflect that reality.
There is also a need for greater attention to the psychology of eating. Eating behaviour is influenced by stress, reward processing, learned associations, emotional regulation, habits and environmental cues. Simply advising someone to exercise greater self-control does little to explain or address these processes. Psychological and behavioural interventions can be valuable components of comprehensive obesity treatment.
Individual differences are another important consideration. Genetics, medications, menopause, sleep, socioeconomic circumstances, mental health and underlying medical conditions can all influence weight regulation. Two people following similar dietary advice may experience very different outcomes. Effective treatment therefore needs to account for individual circumstances rather than relying on a uniform approach.
Access to sustained, multidisciplinary care is also a significant issue. Obesity management may require input from dietitians, psychologists, specialist clinicians and other healthcare professionals. Medication or bariatric surgery may also be appropriate. Unfortunately, access to these interventions can vary considerably, leaving some patients without the level of support they need.
So where can people find better information and support?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes comprehensive clinical guidance on obesity management, including individualised treatment, behavioural interventions, medication and long-term support. Its guideline NG246 is a particularly useful resource.
Obesity UK provides patient education, advocacy and peer support, while the British Dietetic Association offers evidence-based nutritional information and access to appropriately qualified dietitians. The Obesity Medicine Association also provides educational resources exploring obesity as a complex, chronic condition, including its biological and medical management.
Importantly, NICE already recognises many of these complexities. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of scientific understanding within the NHS, but how effectively that understanding is communicated and translated into accessible, sustained treatment.
We need to move beyond asking people why they cannot simply lose weight and start asking whether the treatment and support they receive adequately reflect what we now know about human physiology, psychology and obesity.
Weight loss is one outcome. Sustainable health improvement is the bigger objective.

I think my points were clear.

there is this sweeping assumption that obese people do not eat healthy food. They they just consume UPF laden foods, ready meals, and takeaways. I do not dispute the proliferation of these is a problem.

me? I am old enough to have had proper cookery, nutrition, and home economics lessons at school. My mum was a fabulous cook and taught me loads. I can cook and create healthy and enjoyable meals from scratch. I love a fridge/cupboard challenge and waste little. I spend lot of money on my ingredients. I hardly eat out. I eat minimal UPFs. I know the calories value of everything that I eat and that goes religiously into MFP.

I was average weight till peri. Actually it was no effort then I just ate what I wanted which must have been a proportionate calories in energy out, as I didn’t put on weight. I look back and can’t believe what little effort that took. Certainly no willpower or special control were needed! Unlike now!

I do eat in a calorie deficit right now but I am so miserable feeling hungry even straight after a meal. Always looking to the next meal. Going to bed at 8 pm to avoid temptation, and waking for the loo and feeling hungry in the night.

What happened around peri? I’m still walking my dogs need me to. I do heavy lift garden work I have a good size garden. I think what I eat should satiate. Fabulous protein and whole foods. Why, I wonder, does it not? Yes it’s taking all the willpower I can muster to keep going. But I am human and living like this is not fun.

If I were to try WLI, I would hope that eating exactly the same would satisfy me. That’s it! Call it whatever you like, but I believe something happened physically or hormonally mid life that changed me. And all the willpower, effort, whatever other lack of whatever you think i may have, won’t change it.

Many of us in this thread have tried and written lots of differing experiences and viewpoints and like most others, I like to read and expand my mind and understanding. I spoke a bit like you did only a short few years ago. I now don’t.

I thought I’d write one last post to you but I don’t think anything will change your perspective- fine that’s your prerogative, but I don’t want to waste any more time.

I think I love you @DeliaPith321 ❤️

I think you’re over complicating it and infantilising large swathes of the population. They may be over weight but they’re not stupid. They don’t need spoon fed basic info.

look at it a different way: not very many generations ago we didn’t have an obesity problem. What’s changed since then? Did they have information programmes and were they hand held by the government into how to eat, be active etc?

No. Or at least not that I’m aware of. That’s because the concepts are basic. Eat less, move more. Yes bodies fight back against weight loss as evolutionary that’s a good response. Yes some eating is behavioural. But it all boils down to (quality &) numbers in vs numbers out.

As I’ve said before, that’s the refreshing bit both for individuals and as a society as it means we can get it under control on a individual and holistic level, without having to think it’s beyond anyone’s gift and / or needs expensive medication.