"Dear Fat People"

[Gravekeeper]

And with it being my day job, I want people to have correct information.

Well, no one is going to die if Greenday makes a typo is all. At least, I hope not. -.-

And you also can't tell just by looking at someone whether or not they are one of the rarities with a legit diagnosed disorder.

True, but if there's only a 4.6% chance its worth taking such claims with a grain of salt as well. Plus as BK just pointed out, massive weight gain isn't generally associated with hypothyroidism. Which makes actual conditions that lead to obesity even more rare.

As for genetics, yes, its true that genetics can make one predisposed to obesity but it still requires environmental factors. Such as poor diet and lack of exercise. Genetic disorders that cause actual uncontrollable obesity are extremely rare ( and if you have one, you have a hell of a lot more severe problems on your hands than obesity ).

Lacking something like a severe genetic disorder there's nothing that just magically makes one obese in a neutral environment. The human body can't violate the laws of physics after all.

[jedimaster91]

Lacking something like a severe genetic disorder there's nothing that just magically makes one obese in a neutral environment.

And herein lies our problem. This "neutral environment" of yours doesn't seem to exist in most places where obesity is a problem. A cheeseburger is $1 while a salad costs $4 (and likely has just as many calories and fat as the burger depending on what you get). Fresh produce is expensive in many areas while junk food is cheap, so lower income people are at a disadvantage already. Even growing it yourself costs more than you would think. Canning the excess is majorly expensive and unless you're growing a lot of produce isn't exactly worth it. We have desk jobs and long commutes via car or public transit because walking or biking to work is either too far, too dangerous, or both. We're working long hours and I don't know about you, but I don't have the energy to hit the gym after a long day at work. And while studies have shown hobbies like gaming have some benefits for our mental function, they don't do much for our physical fitness.

Metabolic disorders, genetics, thyroid problems, and such aren't the only health problems that make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight either. There's a reason people are encouraged to see a doctor and have a complete physical before starting an exercise program, especially if they've been living an unhealthy lifestyle already. I've done a fair amount of cardiac stress tests on patients that had to get dangerously high blood pressure under control before it would have been safe for them to exercise. If your BP is 200/150, I want you laying on a stretcher before you stroke out. That person does not need to be jogging on a treadmill. That's not even getting into the lung problems (COPD is rampant here), joint issues, prior back injuries, and a host of other problems people have.

Don't get me wrong. In America and many other developed nations, there is a serious problem with obesity that we didn't have 20-30 years ago. And a lot of it is caused by the shift in lifestyle and crappy food we eat. In theory, eat right and exercise is simple. But reality is unfortunately a lot more complicated.

[Racket_Man]

As a few have already stated there are many more reasons for being "fat"/obese/overweight.

Take the case of my Ex. When we met she was slightly overweight. nothing really of note and it really did not bother either of us

Then the problems began after our daughter was born via C-section. The surgery exhaserbated and brought to light a nasty underlying weakness in her abdominal region even though she completely healed after said C-section.

She started to have multiple abdominal wall/muscle problems leading to what is called Verntral Hernias. She developed multiple small hernias. Multiple surgeries occurred over multiple years as detailed below

1. 2 minor "repairs" in 1 year in the late 1980's
2. 3 "repairs" (one minor one moderate one MAJOR) in 11 months in the early 1990's (this set was the worst)
3. 2 "repairs" (moderate) in 6 months in the mid 1990's
4. 2 minor "repairs" in the early 2000's
5. 1 MAJOR repair in the early 2000's

10 surgeries (there may have been more) \
NOW for #2, 3 and 5 she literally was flat on her back for months at a time healing from all the cutting and stitching and repairing. During those times she could NOT do ANYTHING physical, had trouble walking and moving, could not do most of what the rest of us would consider "normal" daily activities, and yes I did have LOADS of bandage changes to perform. Even after she had "healed" from the surgeries, she was still very limited in what physical activities she could do (even intimate relations we had to get, shall we say, "creative" in order to accommodate her physical restrictions and limitations)

Now given the above situation and the lack of the ability to perform physical activity she gained weight (on the order say 150 pounds) even though we did have a proper diet in place.

Even to this day she still has bad weight problem. still the same person just limited by her body.

[Sleepwalker]

There are more ways that health can affect weight than just thyroid issues. Bum knee from a bad fall? Non pathological intolerance of low blood sugar? Taste buds that make your pleasure receptors go off more than most people? It all has an effect.

Everyone likes the quote the physics thing. Noone thinks that all fuels have the same energy efficiency, but somehow they assume all humans in all situations convert their biomass in the same way. Le sigh.

[Canarr]

Nobody claimed that there is never any kind of physiological reason for obesity; but for the very large minority, it is only a very minor contributor.

If, say, glandular problems can cause a man to gain 10, 20, 30 pounds that he can't really avoid, then that's still not the entire reason if he's 80, 90, 100 pounds overweight, right?

Me, I'm 6'2" tall and weigh in at 260 lbs. That's too much, however you want to look at it. Whether you want to call it overweigt, obese, or just fat: I weigh more than I should, and more than is healthy.

And why is that? For two main reasons: I love food, and I hate exercise. If I can find a balance between those two - do a little less of the thing I love, and a little more of the thing I hate - then I can lose weight. But I consistently find that a difficult thing to do, and I suspect I'm not the only one, there. Which, I suspect, is why the whole, "It's a glandular problem!" defense is so popular: if it's not my fault, if I can't do anything about it, then I don't need to do anything about it.

[s_stabeler]

I think it's more the idea that fat people should be mocked that is the issue. ( also, there's an element of "is is really your business?" involved as well- something that would be acceptable for someone's family to say is NOT necessarily acceptable for a random person in the street to say.)

in other words, yes, someone who is overweight is probably overweight due to simply eating too much. however that does not mean that telling them to eat less and excercise more will actually help them. 1. if you are overweight- or obese- it actually gets harder to lose the weight. (it's a combination of factors- one of them is that someone that overeast will actually get hungry if they don't overeat. It can be somewhat simplistically compared to an addiction to food- yes, this can be overcome, but it requires more effort than you'd think. Another factor is the obvious one- the heavier you are for your weight, the more effort it takes to move- therefore, the harder it is to exercise. Combine that with weaker muscles compared to someone who exercises, and you get tired quickly when you try to exercise- which makes it harder for them to lose weight.

Not to mention that you don't know a) if they are trying to lose weight b) if they are trying to lose weight, how much they have already lost- for all you know, they might be overweight now, but they used to be grossly obese, in which case, they should be congratulated, not mocked. (since if you have lost weight and still get mocked for your weight, it's going to kill your motivation.

That, and it's also easy to put weight back on- it's one reason why most weight-loss advice written by people who know what they're talking about say you shouldn't "go on a diet" since that implies you come off the diet when you've lost weight- which usually means you put the weight straight back on. Instead, they recommend eating a balanced diet, and enough of it for how active you are, and exercising to get rid of the built up fat. (and start slow on the exercise- the WORST thing you can do is immediately start doing a ton of exercise when you're just starting. You'll just tire yourself out, potentially injure yourself, and end up giving up. ( it's why I love the gym I joined- they employ fitness coaches who design a workout based on what you can do, and what you are trying to do- with periodic reviews to help you keep track. (and there are scales where you can check your weight to help you keep track- there's nothing quite like seeing your weight drop to motivate you to keep trying. (even if it's not much- the last time I checked, I had lost about 0.4 kilos in a week- seeing that it is working can help a LOT.)

again, though, it isn't about why someone is fat- the issue in the OP is a) is it some random person on the internet's business if someone else is fat? b) mocking is entirely the wrong response. ( calling someone lazy for being overweight sin't going to help- Indeed, it can actually discourage them from losing weight, since it makes them feel as if there is something wrong with them, not just their weight) c) there could be a medical reason why they cannot lose the weight. ( regardless of why the weight was gained in the first place- if they are trying to lose weight, but can't, then the best possible thing you can do is- if you are close enough to them- is either help them to stick to any diet changes ( for example, don't tease them by cooking large amounts of their favourite foods) or help them with exercising ( for example, if they need help getting to the gym- or, indeed, see if you joining the gym and coming with them would help.)

[Hyena Dandy]

On the note of the thyroid issue, I think it is also worth noting that part of why you hear it so much (Aside from the fact that it is fairly common) is that it's the one people know, and some days, you just don't feel up to explaining all the specifics about what's actually going on. If you're on a bad medication, you're recovering from an injury, you've got some other thing going on, whatever it is... You might not feel like telling exactly what's going on to some random stranger, so you go with what they know. I know I've said 'I have migraines' (which I don't) because I don't feel like explaining 'I have an anxiety disorder exacerbated by sensory processing problems which leads to disorientation.' Because people 'get' that 'I have migraines,' can mean 'I need sunglasses/darkness,' while if I try to explain my normal issues (particularly difficult when I'm disoriented) I end up having to get in a long conversation about what an anxiety disorder is when all I want to do is just turn off the light that's in my eyes.