Forums → WEPR → Obesity

a little bit of both... it is the Fast Food corporations' fault for making unhealthy food so widely available and marketed, but it is ultimately the fault of the person who eats the food. Nobody told you to order this and that, and you need to take full responsibility for YOUR actions. If you eat 4 big macs for every meal, and you get fat, you dont have any right to blame it on fast food cuz its your own fault for eatin it.

well i personally think its the persons fault 100%

well, if you think about it, ppl shouldn't be selling the product in the first place... its like cigarettes... if you get lung cancer, its kinda ur fault for smoking, but the tobacco company isnt COMPLETELY innocent... they did produce the item that caused it to happen.

yes i know but its all the persons fault for choosing it. Its not like there holding a gun to your head

If youo yourself are fat then that is your own fault. Not trying to be mean or anything, I just think that is what causes it.

You choose to eat at McDonalds. You choose not to have the healthy option. You choose to drive to the shop rather than walk. You choose not to go to Subway and have a sandwich instead.

See, it is all you...not McDonalds.

KingRyan

Things you're forgetting:

1) Genetics and predisposition. Believe it or not this is highly relevant.

1b) Medical conditions- in some cases, endocrine disorders may cause deregulation of appetite and fatty deposition.

1c) The catch-22 of eating issues and often, associated depression- it is harder for a person who is overweight to lose that weight because their bodies and minds are generally not well disposed to being geared that way.

2) That people are actually born into circumstances: check the demographic distribution of obesity. You are more likely to be overweight if you are poorer. Why?

3) Targeted marketing: Maccas may not be holding a gun to your head but they don't have to. They can however make the most money out of a market that can't afford to eat anything else because they're too poor money, time and education wise, which is why you'll tend to see fast food joints more often in poorer areas: that's where the money's at.

4) That it's not particularly useful to lay the blame here. Exactly what are you achieving by telling, well, overweight people that they're fat and they're at fault for it? I would bet money that you might get some kind of vindictive kick out of it but pretty much nothing else.

Also, Subway is totally gross :P

Yeah....I did think about those but they slipped my mind.

I feel really bad now....strop just delete that post of mine....

So Sorry...

KingRyan

(Subway is yummy!)

lol, dude, it's okay. Everybody's entitled to a rant on now and then.

(How can you eat Subway!?)

Ok thats good. I still am a bit tired now and I needed to do homework....

KingRyan

(I like subway. It is easy to eat. I just open my mouth. Put it in and masticate. Simple. Being a doctor you should know what the italicised word means.)

Being seriously overweight is not caused by one single factor. There are a number of things that may interact and contribute to one becoming morbidly obese. That's why St.Vincent Carmel provides a complete range of services to address all these factors. These include:

* Genetics
* Culture
* Physical inactivity
* Emotional or psychological factors
* Gender
* Age
* High-fat / High Calorie diet
* Medical problems



Genetics - Genes play a part in how your body balances calories and energy. Children whose parents are obese also tend to be overweight. A family history of obesity increases your chances of becoming obese by about 25 to 30 percent. Heredity does not destine you to be overweight, but by influencing the amount of body fat and fat distribution, genes can make you more susceptible to gaining weight. You cannot change your genetic makeup by willpower any more than you can make yourself taller or shorter by wishing. But you can still achieve your weight loss goals even with a family history of obesity.

Culture - People learn to eat and cook the way in which they were brought up. Food choices and combinations are learned very early in life. Social events and family rituals are often centered around large meals.

Today's culture promotes eating habits that contribute to obesity. People may serve large portions and foods that are most readily available instead of choosing foods that are most nutritious. Cooking with butter, chocolate and other high-caloric foods is a normal part of the American diet. Also, food is often used as a reward in this country. Children are treated to sweets for cleaning their room, and the team is taken for pizza or ice cream after the game. Seldom is eating only when hunger is present.

Physical Inactivity â" Overweight people are usually less physically active than normal weight adults. Seriously overweight people may have difficulty moving. The additional weight can cause pain in the feet, knees and ankles. It can cause shortness of breath, making you feel tired quickly. Also, we have so many labor-saving devices now that it is difficult for people to get exercise in the amounts the body requires. For example, we drive to the corner store for a frozen dinner. We drive home, click the garage door opener and relax on the couch with the remote control. All these devices can keep us from physical activity.

Emotional or Psychological Factors - Food is often a source of solace or celebration. If we feel blue, we may turn to food. If we celebrate a new job or birthday, we may go out to a big dinner. If a friend is grieving, we bake them a pie. Often as children, parents told us to clean our plates. Food carries many significant memories from our past. Food may be your best friend. Food may become less important in your life after weight loss, especially if you have surgery. Weight loss will allow you to acquire new interests in your life and become more active and varied in your activities.

Gender - Muscle uses more energy than fat does. Men have more muscle than women, and burn 10 percent to 20 percent more calories than women do at rest. For this reason, women are more likely to be obese.

Age - As you get older, the amount of muscle in your body tends to decrease, and fat accounts for a greater percentage of your weight. This lower muscle mass leads to a decrease in metabolism. Your metabolism also slows with age. Together, these changes reduce your calorie needs. If your food intake is not adjusted, you will gain weight.

High-fat / High-Calorie Diet - Ounce for ounce, fat provides more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates (nine calories for fat versus four calories for carbohydrates). This energy difference may explain how fat promotes weight gain. Yet even when caloric intake is the same, a person eating a high-fat diet tends to store more excess calories as body fat than someone eating a lower fat diet. Often low-fat foods are high in calories.

Medical Problems - Less than 2 percent of all cases of obesity can be traced to a metabolic disorder, such as low thyroid function or hormonal imbalances.

INFO FROM... www.stvincent.com

As a Canadian in Denmark whose been around the US and Europe, I have some perspective on this. People are skinnier in Europe I think because they have more active lifestyles. Is this a choice? Well, everything can be looked at as a choice, but different options can be more appealing in different circumstances. In Europe it is more common to bike (social pressure) and public transit is highly useful (infrastructure). The society as a whole is more sportive and people are educated more to take care of their health, in terms of exercise and cooking - cuisine is a big part of European identities (socialization).

There are fast food chains here, but not as many. Less people are interested in fast food than in getting together with friends and cooking something or going to a nice restaurant.

There are fat people here, I see them plenty, but I rarely feel inclined to think of them as obese... they still seem healthy. Some people have slow metabolisms, or other conditions, due to their genetics. This means that skinniness doesn't come naturally to them, but perhaps it wouldn't be healthy for them to be thin, and having a few layers is their natural balance. So be it! They can still ride their bikes, walk, run, whatever, maybe not as well as someone who is fit, muscular, thin... but they aren't unhealthy.

The kind of obesity I see in Canada and the US is, frankly, disgusting and I think that every person can make a choice to live healthier. But it's hard to make these choices when unhealthy food is cheap and healthy food is expensive. Blame should go primarily to the producers and then to the consumers, IMO. I think that it is less important to blame someone than to think of solutions, though.

So, here's two questions:

As a society, what can we do to address obesity?

As individuals, what can we do to stay healthy?

@Squalick= We can address to society that being healthy and fit is the way to go. We can get on schools to get healthier food. We can choose better things for the child to do.

We can stay healthy by staying fit, working out and taking a little 5 mile jog every day to lose some pounds.

the obese person

Yes, the obese person. Is something wrong with that.

Obesity cannot be stopped by us sitting here and talking about the bad things that will happen to obese people. The only people that can do anything about it are the parents of those kids. They need to make them do more than just sit around and eat. But that's the whole problem, the parent's don't do anything. Most of them are druggys, alcoholics, and other things. They don't care about their own children and just let them do whatever they want.