You have a child. One day the Great Gazoo appears and gives you a choice: when your child grows up, s/he will either be a heavy smoker, or morbidly obese. Whichever you choose will definitely happen, however it does not guarantee the other will not occur. If you refuse to make a choice, the Great Gazoo will ensure both.
I said the same thing, “How is this even a choice?”
But my answer is the opposite of yours. Stinking is no big deal compared to being unable to move without difficulty and unable to function in many parts of society. If you are too fat to move around a grocery store under your own power, that’s just a miserable lifestyle.
I don’t have a kid, but I’d probably say smoker, because at least he/she could do nicotine patches or something. Plus at least a smoker who quits can more easily avoid the object of temptation than someone who’s obese and manages to lose weight.
I Was both from the age of 16 on (obese probably from the age of 5). I was able to quit smoking after 18 years, but still struggle with the obese part and will for the rest of my life.
I never wanted nor do I have kids, but since The Great Gazoo is a dick I chose smoking.
I am morbidly obese an it isn’t fun. Beside the big heath concerns there are a myriad of everyday little thing that make life uncomfortable, from finding cloths that fit to using the toilet.
What ZipperJJ and jools said. I’ve never been in either category, but a sizable minority of onetime smokers have managed to quit and stay quit. The number of people who’ve managed to lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off for years seems to be pretty minuscule.
I’m a morbidly-obese ex-smoker. I pick smoking. Schlepping a lot of weight has a significantly more deleterious effect on one’s dating prospects and mental health. And it’s a lot easier to quit smoking than it is to quit being a fatty. Smokers are discriminated against when they’re smoking a cigarette or when they obviously smell like cigarette smoke. Obese people are discriminated against from the second they walk out their front door.
Obese. It stinks less, doesn’t endanger others, doesn’t lower property values, and generally doesn’t kill you as gruesomely. I also find smoking personally offensive to a far greater degree, due to choking on smoke constantly growing up and being sensitive to smoke.
I’ve lost multiple family members to cancer, and I wish they’d just been fat. Heart failure is a far more merciful way to go.