# Choose for your child: smoker or morbidly obese? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810 "2013-03-13T12:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/21 "2013-03-13T20:42:15Z")
I’d shoot the Great Gazoo. Both eventualities are bad - the smoker will stink up my house, and the morbidly obese child will empty the refrigerator. I’d have to kick the kid out and ban future visits. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/22 "2013-03-13T20:59:45Z")
I picked smoker. Honestly, I found smoking quite enjoyable back when I did it. I wish I could still do it. I’m mildly overweight now and I hate it. Well, not eating the yummy stuff part, but the actual being overweight part sucks. Being morbidly obese sounds like no fun at all plus, probably no less bad for your health than smoking. So…smoking it is. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/23 "2013-03-13T21:05:23Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Smoker. At least smokers can still get girls. This. Especially if he can blow smoke rings. Then he can switch to a pipe when he’s older. That’s distinguished! ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/24 "2013-03-13T21:16:38Z")
Smoking. I loved smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/25 "2013-03-13T21:21:21Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I picked smoker. Honestly, I found smoking quite enjoyable back when I did it. I wish I could still do it. > > I’m mildly overweight now and I hate it. Well, not eating the yummy stuff part, but the actual being overweight part sucks. Being morbidly obese sounds like no fun at all plus, probably no less bad for your health than smoking. > So…smoking it is. Its like you are talking about me. Except for the hippie part. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/26 "2013-03-13T22:52:23Z")
I wouldn’t have any reluctance about scolding a child of mine for smoking, especially if they are smoking around me. But if they are obese, I wouldn’t have the balls to say a word about it. In fact, I’d be so worried about their self-esteem that I would be extra gentle and compassionate towards them. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/27 "2013-03-14T07:37:03Z")
Damn you, Great Gazoo! [/shakes fist/] Smoker though. I smoked a little, I don’t know if I was ‘heavy’, but I gave it up and seem to be fine. I only ever gained 50 lbs. or so, but enjoy exercise and fitness too much for morbid obesity. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/28 "2013-03-14T10:49:08Z")
Smoking. Though smoking is more annoying to me, and far more inconsiderate to other people, obesity is a more complex problem. Giving up smoking is really hard, but eventually your lungs and overall health begin to heal. The research on obesity continues, but it is becoming clearer that losing weight once it’s on is virtually impossible. If you are obese for some time you will likely never be a really healthy weight again. Your body resets the base line and losing any weight seems like starvation. So far we know that this happens after just a few months of being overweight, while we don’t yet know how long you need to be back on a healthy weight for your body to reset that as “normal”. It is likely to be many years. So it seems to me, along with the problems mentioned by others up thread, that obesity is harder to deal with. If you quit smoking it may be difficult at first, and then years a later it is not that hard. To recover from obesity you will be on a strict diet for the rest of your life. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/29 "2013-03-14T11:43:18Z")
Smoking. Nobody likes a fatty. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/30 "2013-03-14T13:01:13Z")
Having been morbidly obese my whole life until just a couple of months ago … smoker, hands down. Smokers don’t get treated nearly as shitty as overweight people. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/31 "2013-03-14T13:12:34Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The Great Gazoo is a dick! I like imaging that in Barney Rubles voice. And like most everyone else for all the reasons given. Smoking. Oh and congrats to Pandabear77! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/32 "2013-03-14T13:32:51Z")
Smoker. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/33 "2013-03-14T13:56:18Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I like imaging that in Barney Rubles voice. > > And like most everyone else for all the reasons given. Smoking. Oh and congrats to Pandabear77! Thank you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810/34 "2013-03-14T20:31:51Z")
First I gave up smoking, then I gave up being fat. The smoking left much more damage in it’s wake than the obesity and now other peoples’ smoking makes me very ill whilst other people’s fat is just a bit annoying on public transport. Supersize the kid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-for-your-child-smoker-or-morbidly-obese/652810.md?page=1)