Thursday, 12 November 2009
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Obesity and "Excuses"
There's a common attitude that things like genetics, environmental factors, hormones, etc. are not legitimate concerns when it comes to obesity; that these are just examples of obese individuals trying to "shift the blame" or the media "making excuses" for the obese. However, humans are biological creatures -- all of our thoughts and behaviors are accomplished via some bodily correlate; and conversely, every bodily correlate exerts some influence on our actions/thoughts. Mind and body are inextricably intertwined, so it makes no sense to dismiss these factors so casually.When I - with all my 61 inches of height - consistently fail to dunk a basketball, you wouldn't say "Geez, you're so lazy! Stop blaming it on your height/gender and trying to avoid personal responsibility!" That'd be fairly ridiculous to completely discount any physical/biological disadvantages I had in this area. So why are we so bent on ignoring the biological factors that affect obesity? Just because they're less visible doesn't make them less relevant.
The more research we do into obesity, the more we find that it's really quite complicated. There's evidence that some obese individuals might not experience the same satiety signals that normally tell us to stop eating; that some show different brain activity in response to food consumption or anticipated consumption of food; that prolonged exposure to a high-fat, high-sugar diet might change dopamine receptor expression and thus create difficulties with inhibiting feeding behavior. Our bodies are not static --environmental factors produce biological changes! They change gene expression, rewire brain circuitry, alter hormone release, and these biological changes can bring about behavioral and cognitive changes.I want to emphasize this point, because people often assume the only biological factors at hand are those that affect metabolism and rate of weight gain/loss. There are many physical or chemical factors that can change the way you think and act.
Now, does this mean obese individuals are just doomed to be fat and should give up now? No, of course not! To return to the basketball analogy --I may not be able to dunk a basketball by running and jumping, but if I climb up on a stepladder beneath the hoop, I can certainly still get that ball in. I'm not arguing with the idea that we need to accept responsibility for our own health; however, my point is that this sort of "Well, this works for me so why wouldn't it work for them?" mindset is not helpful or fair.
So no, don't gloss over the health risks associated with obesity or pretend obesity isn't a real problem. But understand that for some people, losing weight is just not that simple. Genes, hormones, environment, etc. are very real factors. They're definitely not excuses to be obese, but they can create additional obstacles to losing weight that you might not have had to deal with. Don't be in such a rush to condemn people as "lazy" or "not trying hard enough"!
What do you think? Do you find yourself blaming obesity on one cause or another?
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Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 4 Views: 0 13086 Comments: 0 266 View all posts by just_the_average_jane@xanga
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Comments (66)
I'm not obese.
But I blame any excess weight on my own inability to maintain a diet.
Very true.
OMG i sooo agreee with this post.
If you are a person with less self control than most ppl, than that is caused by genetics. Study biology . Study psychology, specifically how temperaments are related to behavior. You could try verryyy hard to contol food cravings (like me) and still not be able to stick to a diet. I am not obese but that still does not mean that I have a lot of self control. Because I don't naturally have a lot of self-control. I'm a flight person and I feel like I am addicted to food most of the times.
Yeah, we're Humans, and capable of whatever we want to do, until it comes to something we don't want to do, and then we point fingers at whatever we can to shift the blame.
Biological and Genetic factors affecting obesity might be true and valid, but when it comes down to it, you can help if you actually try. Giving people mentalities that allow them to blame their problems on something else, even if it does contribute to the problem, is nothing but infantilization.
Even if you don't intend for genetics to be used as an excuse for obesity, people will jump at the chance to use it as an excuse because of the other reason why they're obese: laziness.
Now, I Totally Agree with this!
@An_iLL_Dispositi0n@xanga - well spoken.
overall, this blog post is just idiotic.
i feel like i keep saying this:
genetic frequencies have not changed in centuries; yet obesity rates have. whatever biological hindrances people have now (aside from drug effects) are the same obstacles that individuals faced 200 years ago. if people now are fatter, it's not freaking because of their genes.
You make a good point. I have never been obese, but I do think we shouldn't be so quick to judge others. Whether or not people can help the way they look really is none of our business. Obese people know they are obese. They don't need someone else to point it out to them. Their health professionals can give them advice, because that's their job. But it is not our job to look at other people, decide if they are healthy or not, and decide if it's their fault or not. Most of the time, we do not have enough information to make that judgment, and even if we did, it's none of our business.
My job is to make sure I am healthy, make sure my children are healthy if I ever have them, and not do things that compromise other people's health (as in, I am not going to serve peanut butter cookies to someone with a peanut allergy.) It is not my job to tell other people how to live their lives.
I totally agree. And there are a lot of skinny people who eat terrible and are actually really unhealthy, but get away with it because they have an amazing metabolism. It's possible for people to lose some weight, but sometimes there are other factors standing in the way that are not visible or obvious. And the arguments people have for why they are so disgusted with obesity always assume that overweight people WANT to change. "Well if they wanted to, they could lose the weight. It's not that hard"... well have you every thought that maybe they DON'T want to? Maybe someone doesn't want to try to live up to society's ridiculous beauty standards, because we have media images telling us to feel bad about ourselves literally everywhere we turn, regardless of what we look like. There is a just a certain way our bodies are meant to be, and not everyone can be a size 4 no matter how hard they try. It just comes down to the fact that we need to start accepting ALL body types, small, medium, and big.
@Coke0@xanga -
Lol. Never heard the "our bodies were meant to be overweight" argument before.
Probably because it makes no sense. Ever heard of mutations? Genetic anomalies? Disorders? You know, all the reasons people try to use to justify obesity? Hint: they're not normal, normal in this case defined as "how your body is supposed to work".
Natural selection and micro-evolution would've finished the obese off forever ago if it weren't for technology and we were left to the wild.
And stop blaming beauty standards as the only reason as to why people feel they should be at a healthy weight. It's old hat, and it's hardly accurate. Perhaps you should stop to consider just why people view 'skinny' as attractive in the first place. It's not because of magazines and tabloids. Skinny was popular way before then.
People look at this as if it's some kind of moral issue, like it's our job to make everyone feel good. It's not. Healthy is healthy. Not saying that being skinny automatically makes you healthy, but being obese is definitely not healthy. Why shouldn't people feel bad about it? Why do we have to be so damn nice all the time?
While far too many people pass the blame for the weight problem to anything at all that makes it not their fault, and for some they honestly can't help it. The fact is most people with extra weight is their own fault due to lack of exercise and poor eating habits. Those same people may also have things like slow metabolism and other health factors, and genetics that lend a helping hand in their weight. Just as many thin people can do whatever they want and not gain weight. Thin people aren't all super healthy eaters and way into exercise, some are just "lucky."
It's they way each person is made, I believe that everyone's weight is a combination of lifestyle choices and health/genetics, plain and simple.
@anorexique_xo@xanga - ironic, coming from someone with a username like that. Go starve yourself into fucking oblivion dumbass.
@MissPixieGlitter@xanga - Maybe a little different obstacles. We had a lot more physical activity, no computers, video games, tv, etc. For entertainment people did physical activities. On top of that all of the additives and high caloric food that is cheap. The cheap food is now the most fattening and with the economy food is a cheap luxury...
So our genes give us a disposition and then our environment is of no help.
Scientists are actually predicting a biological change within our future to more of a pear shape because of our current life styles. (strange but true)
@An_iLL_Dispositi0n@xanga - um, I definitely didn't say that our bodies are meant to be overweight. Thanks for completely missing the point. I'm just saying that some people are bigger than others naturally, and that's how it is, and not everyone can fit into a size 4 even if they "try". And, someone could be considered "overweight" by BMI standards and actually be totally healthy.
Sure, thin is what is attractive NOW, but it wasn't always that way, and it certainly isn't in other cultures. And we are the culture with the weight problem. We have beauty standards that are extremely unaccepting of anything outside a certain image, and this breeds self hate and low self esteem. WHY would someone be motivated to lose weight if they hate themselves anyway? I don't think that's just a coincidence that our media is this way AND we are the fattest.
Right, its not your job to make everyone feel good, but its also not your job to judge every single overweight person and make fun of them for being lazy when you have no idea what reasons they might have for being that way. They could also be perfectly healthy despite being overweight. Why do you care what other people do with their bodies, anyway? Why do you feel the need to scream "but its not healthy, its not healthy"? What does it matter to you?
@An_iLL_Dispositi0n@xanga - Thank you! That is something I was trying to say in my other post. Sure, there are people with legit problems out there. But it's not nearly the amount thats claiming it. We're just giving them another excuse to continue being lazy.
@MissPixieGlitter@xanga - Another point I tried to make. People will say it's genetic simply because their whole family is fat. They have to take into consideration that maybe it isn't genetics, it's habits. You learn and share habits from your family. If your family tends to be inactive and watch TV a lot then you will too. If your family tends to eat unhealthy or eat big meals then you will too. We were a lot more active in the past. We're just lazy nowadays.
Thanks for this post. My boyfriend is over-weight, bordering on technically obese. I am not. There are some lifestyle changes that he could make to be healthier but most people who eat like he does are not obese at all. He is a teacher, so his job requires him to be moving and on his feet all day and he eats a pretty balanced diet- some cereal for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and then we usually make dinner together. I'm a healthy pescetarian, so we make things like veggie fajitas, whole grain pasta with shrimp, veggie stir-fry to which he adds chicken. Living with him has made me realize that some people's weights are naturally set higher and those people have to work a lot harder than you or I do to maintain a healthy weight. For me, if I watch my portions and exercise just a little bit, I'm fine, but that's not true for my bf. I do wish that he would exercise more and put in that extra effort; his health really concerns me. Thanks again-people are very quick to judge others who are over-weight and just assume that these people sit around all day eating junk. Very often, that's not the case.
i'm not obese but i blame my genetics for my short height. that's okay right? because my family is short/average.
I don't like making excuses and I don't like when other fat people make excuses. I know I'm fat because of my own doing. Even as a little kid I could have opted to move more and play more. I didn't. I know a lot of my struggles have to do with other things as well, (like PCOS) but I also know that I am stronger than that and I can change even if it's slowly.
I agree with your post BUT i still feel that the majority of obese people are still LAZY! Unlike some, they refuse to whip out that step ladder to help them make that goal,.. they just sit and say I can't. Or they try a million things, a million fads, fail, and then blame it on genetics.
Second thought,.. please don't mix up (and this is sorta directed to a commentator) genetics with behavior. Although linked in some ways behavior in humans isn't hardwired. Its learned and can be unlearned with conditioning. There is however studies that suggest that genetics might predispose a person to certain behaviors but its not concrete and not insurmountable.
As for the pleasure centers in the brain, feeling full, etc,... its just like any other addiction. We must be understanding of this and never belittle their struggle but not be accepting of it like you said.
I have struggled with weight all my life. Personality wise I am VERY IMPULSIVE, I have a very labile mood, and thus can tell myself I'll never eat that again and be pushing it past my lips in seconds. And this goes for every aspect of my life. I know this and therefore everyday I have to remind myself of what I really want. Actually almost every second. Sometimes it works, sometimes i fail, sometimes i lose, and sometimes i gain. But overall I've lost over 50lbs over the years(and I am at a healthy weight) and as long as I never quit in time i'll get to goal and know that I am healthier.
I actually know something about this. I've been obese. I'm not anymore. Obese is not just plump or "healthy" looking...it's obese, it's a sign something is off kilter. The something may be any number of physical issues, many of which you mentioned, or it may be the individuals poor choices, or a mix.
I admitted I was obese. Read a lot of literature and changed my behaviors to move towards a healthy weight.
I've had to do the same with other health related issues. If a person with ANY serious health disorder, be it caused by their behavior or their genetics, ignores it, makes excuses and goes on as before, nothing is going to get better. Ignoring obesity is NO different than ignoring breast cancer, diabetes, or a sprained ankle.
Yeah, losing IS harder for some, that is a sad fact of life. Everyone has hurdles in life that give them a disadvantage in one area or another.
It may not be a person's fault that they have a propensity toward obesity, but ignoring it and not addressing it IS something they are accountable for and may pay dearly for.
@MissPixieGlitter@xanga - I completely agree!! I guess now its just become easier to be fatter. They don't have to walk anywhere and burgerking is always 5 minutes away..tops!!
@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - You're awesome; I completely agree with you.
@An_iLL_Dispositi0n@xanga - Thank you thank you thank you. Loved the last paragraph! :D
I think those are not excuses they are reasons. Yes, maintaining a healthy weight will be harder for some than it is for others but as you seemed to point out knowing why it is harder is a good step toward fixing the problem, not an excuse to ignore the problem.
If people just got off their ass and didn't eat until they can no longer move.
Food is an addiction for a lot of people.
Of course, junk food is cheap and readily available, but I'm pretty broke and find ways to eat healthy somehow. It's just more effort than people are willing to put in when they can just buy a bag of Lays for the same price as a few servings of veggies.
Now when I go to the store and buy snacks I buy a pomegranate or mango instead of ice cream, chips or chocolate.
And I bike, walk to work...
It's making little changes, but most people just are so lost and don't know where to start that they don't bother and continue to comfort themselves with food.
Plus, people don't like admitting their negligent behavior, they'd rather make excuses so they feel they're justified. There isn't an excuse, it's a defense mechanism.