Obesity is not a choice

Efour · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:03

Brizzles said:
Ban food TV advertising and raise the legal age of food purchasing from zero to 18.

Sorted

Can you imagine starving 14year old chav gangs outside Tesco asking random adult strangers to buy em a loaf of bread and beans.

Malevolence · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:06

"It's not my fault I'm fat, I'm addicted to food and can't stop eating." Strange how it's always pies, burgers and junk food they're addicted to and never salad.

Zatoichi.uK · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:14

Its everyone's fault but mine.

dirtybeatfreak · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:14

R.P.L said:
The fact that you felt the need to add in that edit suggests that you understand the point that I was making and are therefore being disingenuous. To clarify - you could only draw the comparison with gay people if you felt that being gay was a flaw or problem in the same way that being fat was. If people feel like crap when confronting the truth about themselves then that's not my problem.

Only if ridicule was a 100% effective deterrent, which of course it's not.

I don't get triggered, but I do like to correct people on faulty logic.

See above my comments regarding ridicule and the obesity / homosexuality comparison. It's pretty obvious that some people will avoid doing certain things because they'll be ridiculed for it. To deny that is either more disingenuousness or indicative of a lack of understanding of a very fundamental human behavioural trait.

I did understand the point you were making. But you didn't understand the point ttaskmaster was making, hence my comment (which he confirmed). He wasn't saying they were the same, he was saying that ridiculing people for any reason doesn't work. Judging by your response, you don't see a problem with it though. Hope you lead a perfect life yourself to carry that attitude :rolleyes:

Ridiculing anyone is not on. Ever.

JBuk · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:15

Nutrition is a complicated subject and lots of people are ignorant as to how certain foods affect the body or just don’t care

I don’t think it is 100% a persons own fault for putting on weight, at least not consciously, it’s tough to find the will power to refrain from eating certain foods that your body is craving for and break the cycle of over eating, some people just do not have capacity to do this for themselves

MegaPinches · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:15

jpaul · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:18

Maybe government should adopt the same strategy attributed to smoking reduction

https://tobaccofreeflorida.com/powerfuladswork/
...
Strong evidence proves that graphic, hard-hitting anti-tobacco ads work, and those that arouse strong negative emotions perform better than those that do not. Hard-hitting media campaigns are not only effective at promoting quit attempts, they also reduce youth initiation.8
The Evidence
...
Studies indicate that sad or frightening ads that are highly emotional and feature the serious health consequences of tobacco use score significantly higher among adults on perceived effectiveness compared to ads that are funny or neutral
...

... it's not really been tried yet - why, because young children are 'involved' ?

esoteric · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:19

Getting fat is not a choice, no one would choose that in normal circumstances, thus no one wishes to be fat. However if you happen to get obese and then do nothing about it then I would say obesity is a choice.

R.P.L · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:23

dirtybeatfreak said:
I did understand the point you were making. But you didn't understand the point ttaskmaster was making hence my comment (which he confirmed he meant). He wasn't saying they were the same, he was saying that ridiculing people for any reason doesn't work. Judging by your response, you don't see a problem with it though. Hope you lead a perfect life yourself to carry that attitude

Ridiculing anyone is not on. Ever.

I would like to see some evidence that ridiculing people doesn't work ('working' in this context means causing people to stop the behavior in question). Don't you think that there are gay people who are in the closet or people who stay slim because they fear ridicule?

I never advocated ridicule, but the argument given against it wasn't a good one. If you think it's not on in any situation, fair enough. I don't tend to go around telling people what I think of them because I like an easier life than that would allow, but I also don't have any sympathy for people who find the truth about themselves uncomfortable.

Pawnless Endgame · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:30

People get fat because they eat too much and don't move enough.

So I don't agree with the article.

I say that as a fat ******* myself!

neckbeardthethird · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:31

G-MAN2004 said:
Congrats. You've now given obese people another excuse to carry on as they are.

Im sure they were all lining up to go on a diet before reading the article...

JBuk · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:40

esoteric said:
Getting fat is not a choice, no one would choose that in normal circumstances, thus no one wishes to be fat. However if you happen to get obese and then do nothing about it then I would say obesity is a choice.

Having been slightly overweight a few times I find that once I’m overweight it’s very hard to stop eating too much and stop eating the wrong foods, my body will crave food until I’m completely satisfied only to feel hungry again not long after, personally I blame this on an addiction to sugar which the body then craves and causes me to over eat, this snowballs and I end up eating more and more as time goes on. It’s very tough to break this cycle . I’m not sure at what point I could claim I don’t have a choice as physically and mentally I’m being told I need food.

EdwardTeach · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:41

Efour said:
How many fat people here or know fat people that live on fast food or surgery drinks?

I'm going to say zero..... It's a myth, it's more media hyperbole.

I just eat too much normal, good food and do too little excercise....

I know basic physics..

To be fair with fat people, I will often see them eating too much of everything (half a lady of bread for lunch!). When you see an obese person reading something unhealthy; crisps ice cream, chocolate bar etc it kind of looks "wrong" and sticks in your head.

V F · 24 Sep 2019 at 18:56

nitram100 said:
I'm a Nurse for NHS and I can see back problems in my future rolling these obese patients, only 35 and already damaged my wrists and lower back turning these whales in beds.

I remember hearing that. Beds reinforced in both hospitals and ambulances compared to the past.

nicktay2605 said:
I feel for kids growing up with obese parents, they don't have much choice what they eat and their parents are likely to impart the same poor diet choices on them. Over the weekend I was in a supermarket queue behind a very overweight woman and her overweight son and the amount of chocolate, crisps, cakes, biscuits, sweets and ready meals they had in their shopping was crazy. I have less sympathy for obese adults, they have the independence and finances to live healthy lives, but many choose not to.

The government needs to take steps to educate people about the serious dangers of being overweight, impose greater taxes on fast food and supermarket-bought foods that are high in sugar and saturated fats and put more emphasis on sport and exercise in school. Being overweight is most definitely a choice and is easily avoidable, but it's not something we can just leave to the population to sort out themselves. Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, several forms of cancer, osteoarthritis, gout, asthma, etc are all caused by or linked to obesity, and with the NHS under enough strain already with our ageing population, it can't take the additional strain.

When obese people are so fat a normal thin healthy person is now seen as anorexic. "You have to eat some food dear."

explicit4u · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:03

hominid said:
Ridicule has and does continue to work

R.P.L said:
You're not really suggesting that being gay and being obese are the same, are you?

I think it was James Cordon recently who said something along the lines of if bullying and ridicule worked they'd be no fat kids.

Zefan made a very good post in the bimbling along with life thread that I'd say applies here too, you need self confidence and self belief to improve yourself and your life. Bullying fat people cause they're fat isn't going to help*, fat people have been bullied for decades and obesity is only increasing.

*admittedly it does work for some people but i'd say there's more complex things at play there, rather than just the bullying = taking responsibility for your weight.

Malevolence said:
"It's not my fault I'm fat, I'm addicted to food and can't stop eating." Strange how it's always pies, burgers and junk food they're addicted to and never salad.

There's not much to get addicted to in a salad, whereas fast food and fizzy drinks are loaded with additives, sugar, and salt.

dirtybeatfreak · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:06

R.P.L said:
I would like to see some evidence that ridiculing people doesn't work ('working' in this context means causing people to stop the behavior in question). Don't you think that there are gay people who are in the closet or people who stay slim because they fear ridicule?

I never advocated ridicule, but the argument given against it wasn't a good one. If you think it's not on in any situation, fair enough. I don't tend to go around telling people what I think of them because I like an easier life than that would allow, but I also don't have any sympathy for people who find the truth about themselves uncomfortable.

You're deflecting the point I chimed in with my response for. My discussion with you was that you simply misunderstood his point, using the same sarcasm you did. I haven't even given my view other than I think ridiculing someone is wrong, so I'm not sure why you want me to provide evidence?

I will however say there is a massive difference between someone finding the truth out about themselves and being ridiculed. You say you don't advocate it, but you are coming across like you do (at least that is how I am seeing your posts).

gary996 · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:13

If you are a fatty then you have no one else to blame but yourself.
If you cant look after yourself then why do you expect others (NHS) to do it for you.
If your health is going to start causing you problems and you do not give a ***t then you should have to pay a private health care.

Efour · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:19

EdwardTeach said:
To be fair with fat people, I will often see them eating too much of everything (half a lady of bread for lunch!). When you see an obese person reading something unhealthy; crisps ice cream, chocolate bar etc it kind of looks "wrong" and sticks in your head.

hALF A LADY OF BREAD OH MY THAT SOUNDS LIKE A lot OF BREAD LOlol

Efour · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:21

gary996 said:
If you are a fatty then you have no one else to blame but yourself.
If you cant look after yourself then why do you expect others (NHS) to do it for you.
If your health is going to start causing you problems and you do not give a ***t then you should have to pay a private health care.

Couldn't agree more. NHS should be scraped and replaced by private healthcare. Fairer for everyone, you pay for what you use.

Uther · 24 Sep 2019 at 19:28

Efour said:
How many fat people here or know fat people that live on fast food or surgery drinks?

I'm going to say zero..... It's a myth, it's more media hyperbole.

I just eat too much normal, good food and do too little excercise....

I know basic physics..

Nope, I work maintenance in a McDonalds, and see the same obese people every day I'm there waddling in for their double quarter pounders with cheese (about 700 calories) and large coke, with a muffin or apple pie to follow.
They also park as close to the door as possible and take the shortest route.