Obesity: Far more deadly than eating disorders, yet increasingly socially acceptable.

In this thread the point came up that while eating disorders, in this case, anorexia, are almost universally* viewed as dangerous to the sufferer's health, and a medical condition warrenting immediate intervention, there is more and more of a trend to view obesity as socially acceptible, even though it has a comparable health risk and mortality rate.

For example there is the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. There's BBW Magazine Here's advice on how to reconize and deal with Fat Discrimination.


I want to be very clear that I have nothing personal against overweight people, and I don't want anyone on the board to take this as a personal insult.

What I am objecting to is the idea that people who are overweight and obese should be accepted as that, without question. I beleive this is an extremely dangerous idea for the media to put forth. There are so many deadly complications from obesity that it is literally costing lives.

Compare these statistics.

# About 1 in 150 girls of age 15 have anorexia.1 [0.666%]
# About 4 in 100,000 people aged 10 to 39 get anorexia each year.2 [0.004%]
# About 1 in 200 women get anorexia at some time in their lives.3[.5%]

besttreatments.bmj.com...
(I have added percentage rates.)

The US Surgeon General says that fifteen percent of children between the ages of six and 19 are overweight. This means that 15% of our teens are at risk for arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, stroke, high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes. Additionally, obese teens have a very high probability of being obese adults....According to federal statistics the rate of overweight among American children aged 6 to 19 has been increasing rapidly in recent years - from 11 percent in 1994 to 16 percent in 2002.

obesity.ygoy.com...


As seen by this example, obesity should be considered a far more deadly medical disorder than anorexia, but instead it is increasingly viewed as an acceptible underculture.

Do you think this is an intentional conspiracy, ATS, or merely reflects an underlying laziness?

reply to post by asmeone2


Excellent post. I think the stats and info you provide paint the picture that the US itself is getting fat, and perhaps that is the simplistic answer to why it is getting to be more acceptable? People want others to sympathize with them and being the funny fat guy is a badge of honor.

Here is a great interactive obesity trends map of the US: I'd like to point out COLORADO is the only state not to trend past 20%.

www.cdc.gov...

Thanks again.
ColoradoJens

you have a point....


....but i likes a woman with meat on her bones.

BTW...look at my user name. I are one. But i have also worked dilligently with my children to make sure that they get a healthy start. I did, and only put on weight after "retiring" from football (i played through college).

I cannot stand fat, and i never understand, society thinking that us being fat and dumb being a good combination.

reply to post by asmeone2


While I understand your points here, I might add that there is evidence (please don't ask me to go looking for it... [grin]) that a great deal of the health issues with obesity have to do with the mental state of the person.

If a person is active, happy both in their lives and with themselves, and don't choose depressiveness often, their health tends to be astonishingly good.

And since the stigma often leads the obese to have less than happy thoughts about themselves, a removal of such negative perspectives as we are now removing can only promise to enhance the lives of those who struggle with their weight.

It's a frightening story that those statistics paint, but one that I've seen my entire life. I'm happy to see it being put out in the public eye like this.

In my own experience - I used to be wafer thin for cheering/ dancing. The pressures to maintain weight aside, I quickly gained some weight after college. Now, a few years later, while I am not obese, I am definitely a good 15-20 pounds overweight. I am eating better and trying to lose weight to be a healthier person. The reaction when it comes up in conversation (I don't advertise, but I like a lot of "strange" healthy food like chia, pomegranate, etc) is "Why don't you like yourself the way you are?" Or my favorite from a woman larger than myself - "You should just accept yourself the way you are - look at me, I love myself!"

I won't get on my soap box about nutrition and health, but this developing extreme of Fat Acceptance is, in my opinion, one of the worst things to come out of the political correctness movement EVER. In some circles, it has virtually gotten to the point where doing anything to advocate a healthy lifestyle can, and is seen as an attack on other people's lifestyles.

This increase of obesity is in deed happening all across the US. I cannot be sure which other countries have been mentioned in reports, but I do remember there being at least three others that were also seeing this increase. Just a thought to ponder- If there was another ice age, the fat would have the advantage!!
Possible causes of ice age: nuclear war, comet, planet x, global changes.
Could there be a connection?? Is the human race being prepared for another ice age?? Like I said, just a thought.

There are many more food additives...MSG, Soy, etc...that were not used 20 years ago. This could be one of the reasons for weight gain in younger and younger people.

As was stated earlier, STRESS is also a huge factor. Most of our country is dealing with stress in one way or another, kids in school these days are becoming more and more stressed out, much more so than 20 years ago.

Being overweight (obese) can have many causes, and the medical field, most times is not equipped to deal with what they are presented.

One way to loose the pounds is to go organic, eat less meat, more veggies and fruit, DO NOT EAT SOY, or other processed food....get your protein from nuts and beans, and your sweetening from honey/stevia. Take vitamins and get at least an hour exercise a couple times a week.

One problem with eating the way I described above...most Americans can not afford to eat like that....it costs money, unless you can grow the food yourself...soooo, the "rich" get thinner, and the "poor" get bigger, in theory...but if one does even a few of those things I suggested, the pounds do come off.

~Holly

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
you have a point....


....but i likes a woman with meat on her bones.

BTW...look at my user name. I are one. But i have also worked dilligently with my children to make sure that they get a healthy start. I did, and only put on weight after "retiring" from football (i played through college).

"Meat on her bones" is entirely different than unhealthily overweight.

I'm calling out the attitude that says, no matter how fat you are, it's okay, as long as you have a positive self-image.

reply to post by maria_stardust


Sure, those are real phenomena. But it's the personal responsibility of that person to lose the weight again, if they want to stay healthy.

Baby weight is another excuse I hear a lot.

reply to post by Amaterasu


I think that ties in to my point perfectly.

Society fully recognizes that there are mental ant emotional issues that cause anorexia, but is much more reticent to admit that fat comes from anything more than laziness.

Originally posted by CeltAngel
In my own experience - I used to be wafer thin for cheering/ dancing. The pressures to maintain weight aside, I quickly gained some weight after college. Now, a few years later, while I am not obese, I am definitely a good 15-20 pounds overweight. I am eating better and trying to lose weight to be a healthier person. The reaction when it comes up in conversation (I don't advertise, but I like a lot of "strange" healthy food like chia, pomegranate, etc) is "Why don't you like yourself the way you are?" Or my favorite from a woman larger than myself - "You should just accept yourself the way you are - look at me, I love myself!

First of all, thanks you for being candid.

I experienced something similar to this when I was working off my baby weight. I did not get overweight, but I definitely wanted to work off what I did gain and get back in shape.

WHen I bought an excercise bike, the person who helped me load it said, "You don't look like you need to buy this!"

I continue to excercise and eat healthfully I am naturally slender. What surprises me is how many people say things like that when I talk about working out or my food choices. Many people seem to hold the opinion that simple wanting to be healthy isn't a valid reason to excercise and eat healthy. It's like those things are reserved for people who are trying to loose weight.

reply to post by Holly N.R.A.


Thanks for your insights.

While I can attest to what you said--the quickest and best way to loose weight, IMO, is to cook everything possible from basic ingrediants--my main point was that the media seems to consider obesity less dangerous than a traditional eating disorder, when it is in fact just as deadly.

I think people are politically correct about it, but don't accept it.

I don't think 20- even 40 lbs is a big problem.but when it comes to real obesity where your activities get hindered, then I think it is a problem.

And there isn't just one reason for it, there are dozens if not hundreds.

So just like you can't categorize the cause, you can't categorize the problem and label people unhealthy or not. There are plenty of obese people who are healthy. Though there are limits to that.

I see the point of obesity becoming social acceptable, when you have a milking cow in our nation from obesity to diet aids you have to understand that is good business in America to promote obesity.

Pharmaceuticals spend billions of dollars in advertisement for obesity related diseases and complications they will never admit any wrong doing with been obese as the money keeps flowing.

reply to post by asmeone2


I think because we are bombarded with images of food and diet so much, people just can't help to associate food with dieting.

So if you watch what you eat, but your not wearing gym clothes, then you must be on a diet.

I have had people say weird things to me. I refused potatoe chips once and then got accussed of being anorexic.

If you are naturally slender, then baby weight is going to be easier for you to get off.

baby weight is often used to refer to the change in the body, because some people it changes drastically.

I know of women who get back to the same weight but end up wearing a size or two bigger.

Plus hormones are different, I have had a lot more change then shape when i had a baby. All sorts of weird things happened.

Originally posted by nixie_nox

So just like you can't categorize the cause, you can't categorize the problem and label people unhealthy or not. There are plenty of obese people who are healthy. Though there are limits to that.

I was talking about the generally unhealthy... not just a paunch or love handles.

I question the "fat but healthy" anyway. THese people might be "healthy" in that they can run or do push-ups or have low blood pressure, but down the line, that extra weight is probable going to catch up to them.

Originally posted by marg6043
I see the point of obesity becoming social acceptable, when you have a milking cow in our nation from obesity to diet aids you have to understand that is good business in America to promote obesity.

Pharmaceuticals spend billions of dollars in advertisement for obesity related diseases and complications they will never admit any wrong doing with been obese as the money keeps flowing.

Thats's the sad truth of it.

Care to bet on how much time passess before we have a fat vaccine?

reply to post by nixie_nox


Oh yes, definitely. I can't debate that at all because my body changed... mostly just sagged.

But some woman just use that as an excuse to remain in an unhealtly eating or living pattern.