Causes for Obesity

Miss_Kallie said:
All I was suggesting is that obesity has a number of factors and should not be assumed that every obese person just chose not to take care of themselves.
Click to expand...

Did you really get the way that you are by taking care of yourself, never eating too much, eating healthy food, and getting plenty of exercise?

I seriously doubt it. Same with at least 98% of obese people.
 
I'm actually quite surprised at the majority of comments on this forum writing this article off as pure rubbish. The article clearly stated that these were possible "reasons" why americans were becoming increasingly overweight, but almost everyone here is immediately reading them as "excuses".

Granted some of the points need more research before taken as gospel, but I welcome research that delves into the complexity that is the obesity epidemic. Because I do believe it's a complex disease that effects different people in different ways. That being said I'm glad that there are quite a few things that we can control about being overweight and getting thinner.
 
Interesting to read all the victim-blaming in this thread. Sure everyone of us became overweight because of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. But why did we eat the wrong things and too much? Discarding social, psychological, environmental, cultural and genetic factors and just saying that obesity is a question of personal responsibility is oversimplifying a complex issue that does not explain:

- What causes people to have poor appetite-control? Why are some people not able to feel the fullness and continue eating, while others feel full and stop eating?

I can personally testify that quitting smoking contributed to my overweight. I was very active When I went to Medical School. I also smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. Of course I quit .... and gained 20 pounds. Those 20 pounds put so much strain on my knees that I got a meniscus problem that have prevented me from running ever since ... And yes put a lot of weight on (Since I was not able to run 50-70 miles every week anymore).

More than anything I think that crazy starvation diets cause more people to become even more overweight longterm than they would otherwise have been.

In my biochemistry book and physiology book I read the "The biochemical dogma of obesity". A positive calorie balance will cause weight gain and a negative calorie balance will cause weight loss.

But the words:

-98 percent of all people trying loosing weight by eating less and exercising more will fail to loose weight and even gain more in the long term perspective.

are etched in my mind.

And yet treatment of obesity is still based on the "the biochemical dogma of obesity" and the answer every obese person gets is to eat less and exercise more (Knowing perfectly well that 98 percent will fail to loose weight and even gain more by doing that!!!).

Yes it is my personal responsibility to do something about my overweight. Since I know what to eat I actually eat about twice as much as what I ate before I became overweight ( I eat about 3,5 pounds of food every day now and probably gets 3 times the amounts of essentials nutrients than I did before. I am sure it causes my appetite control to improve since healthy foods are not depleted of nutrients, like the foods I used to eat. And yes I have begun to exercise and build my body instead of tearing it down, by following the "Eat less and exercise more" philosophy.

I think what most overweight people need is education about correct nutrition and exercise and support to make those long term changes of habits that resulted in overweight.

Claiming that it is all a matter of personal responsibility is :icon_bs: and it is victim-blaming and seeing overweight as some sort of character flaw.

I worry very much when I see morbid obese people jumping up and down in some stupid tv-program, by some drill instructor working over the stupid lazy fat and irresponsible persons. I can almost hear their joint cartilage being destroyed ...

And what about eating disorders? Depressions? and medications that causes weight gain, because some medications alter peoples metabolism and appetite regulation?

Obesity is a much complex issue and complex issues do not have easy solutions. Many individual factors need to be taking into account. I live in Europe, but often comes to America ... Seeing how most people live it is no wonder that obesity has become such a huge problem in America:
 
I think there must be some genetic reasons why people gain weight. I know it's my own fault i'm slightly overweight, i don't excercise enought and eat the wrong foods. But I was brought up with my sister in the same house eating the same foods, having the same sort of life as her, same lack of excercise, yet she's a couple of stone and a few dress sizes smaller than me. I did eat more than her when I was younger, but the problem is that she didnt' want to eat, she has a large appetite wehn i comes to meals but never wants to snack. Even pregnant she gained little weight, and is now slightly slimmer than before.

I know It's my fault now, i'm not blaming anythign for the reason why I don't excercise or haven't lost the weight but I think there was some genetic reason for me gaining it when I was about 10.

The only difference between my sister and I is different dads, and the women on my dads side tend to be heavier than on my mums. It' snot learned habits because I live with my mum who is also naturally very slim, and was learning the same eating habits as my sister and also my very slim brother.
 
Food is the only, and can be the only, cause of obesity.

There is no other cause.

Causes for overeating? That would be a better topic title.

Michael
 
I disagree. One cannot list down the reasons for obesity. There can be multiple. You need to get advice of an expert Chiropractor.
 
I totally agree with this. People think that food is the only reason behind obesity, however it is only ONE of the several variants!
 
ChefChiTown said:
What does a chiropractor have to do with obesity?
Click to expand...

haha nothing.
but i'm blaming my chiropractor for my weight gain, damnit.
everytime i go there, i want to go to auntie ann's pretzels and get one of those slushie things...half cherry half vanilla. and a pretzel dog.
probably about a million calories of deliciousness.
fail.
 
Shep03 said:
haha nothing.
but i'm blaming my chiropractor for my weight gain, damnit.
everytime i go there, i want to go to auntie ann's pretzels and get one of those slushie things...half cherry half vanilla. and a pretzel dog.
probably about a million calories of deliciousness.
fail.
Click to expand...

Dude, eating an Auntie Anne's pretzel is like twisted, doughy sex. Seriously, it's sooooo good, it only lasts a few minutes and when it's over, all you want to do is go to sleep.
 
ChefChiTown said:
Dude, eating an Auntie Anne's pretzel is like twisted, doughy sex. Seriously, it's sooooo good, it only lasts a few minutes and when it's over, all you want to do is go to sleep.
Click to expand...

hahah never thought of it like that... but yeah, now i want one.
 
corey.the.star said:
What a great read.

I can't say as I agree with all of the nature vs. nurture arguments I've read here, but what I can say about myself is as follows:

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Essentially, it's a catch-all name for a collection of symptoms caused by a hormonal imbalance. One of my symptoms is being overweight in the 'male' way - much of it in my stomach area. This is the kind of fat that puts people at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so it's a good thing I'm finally losing it.

The thing about PCOS is this: which came first, the weight gain or the PCOS? It's so hard to tell. My tipoff was my irregular menstrual cycle, which wasn't present until my early teens, so PCOS could have been present factor even during my childhood (thought I wasn't a particulary big child).

Like Kallie, I'm making lifestyle changes that I'll have to stick with forever. I'm not 'on a diet', I've changed my diet. I can't eat like everyone else and not gain weight. It's a physical impossibility for me.

I think that, generally speaking, we're ignorant about our bodies, our digestive systems, our metabolisms, and our basic dietary needs - and how they work together to create the person we are... obese or not. I learned some pretty bad eating habits from my mom - one of which was to skip meals, another was calorie-counting (1000 a day!! YIKES!)... and I watched her diet and yo-yo pretty much my whole life. Because I thought I was eating well (good and nutritious foods), I didn't believe there was anything I could do to lose weight. And because I had seen my mom (and my younger sister as well) try and fail again and again, I never tried.

I've learned a buttload of stuff in the past 2 weeks about nutrition and how your body processes food, and applying that to my life in conjunction with exercise has worked for me. I've lost 7lbs in 7 days. I doubt it'll continue at this rate but that's a dang good start!

However... I'll have to stick to this kind of diet for my whole life. Because I can't eat the way other people eat without gaining weight. That's genetic, or as a result of my PCOS which was a result of being overweight in the first place, take your pick.
Click to expand...

I just got diagnosed with PCOS this last month myself. While it presents a challenge in weight loss, my OBGYN, did tell me that as I loose weight, the symptoms won't be as harsh as they are now.

But back on topic, while I do believe that there may be reasons some individual gains weight more easily that others, ultimetly it's up to the individal to take control of their health and get the weight off.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
KawaiiMira said:
I just got diagnosed with PCOS this last month myself. While it presents a challenge in weight loss, my OBGYN, did tell me that as I loose weight, the symptoms won't be as harsh as they are now.

But back on topic, while I do believe that there may be reasons some individual gains weight more easily that others, ultimetly it's up to the individal to take control of their health and get the weight off.

Just my 2 cents :)
Click to expand...

I hate to put a dampener on things, but I've been diagnosed with PCOS as well, and contrary to what my GP and gyn told me, ever since I have started losing weight, my symptoms have worsened considerably. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top