# How do people get so fat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 14, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763 "2009-10-14T08:22:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 10
### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/181 "2009-10-18T00:58:49Z")
> [@billfish678](#):
>
> quiting or die trying.
That’s right. If you are addicted to alcohol, you quit drinking; you don’t cut back on your drinking, or switch to beer only. You quit drinking.
So how does that apply to a food addiction?
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/182 "2009-10-18T01:03:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> That’s right. If you are addicted to alcohol, you quit drinking; you don’t cut back on your drinking, or switch to beer only. You quit drinking.
>
> So how does that apply to a food addiction?
Reformed alchoholics can drive by a liquor store without stopping in.
Same should go for McDonalds or buffets.
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### Author:  [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/183 "2009-10-18T01:12:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> That’s right. If you are addicted to alcohol, you quit drinking; you don’t cut back on your drinking, or switch to beer only. You quit drinking.
>
> So how does that apply to a food addiction?
Now we’re starting to get into repeat points. This is exactly what I was talking about before. An alcoholic should stop drinking alcoholic liquids. She can’t stop drinking liquids.
Food addicts do not have problems because they’re addicted to healthy foods. They’re addicted to crap foods that they think make them feel better.
An alcoholic should switch from drinking rum and coke to drinking coke.
A food addict should switch from eating Big Macs to eating grilled chicken. Yes, it’s hard to give up that crap food and it’s uncomfortable for a few days to a few weeks. It’s kind of like detox. But it can be done. Saying that it’s impossible to control a food addiction because it’s impossible to stop eating food is just rationalization.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/184 "2009-10-18T01:13:49Z")
> [@billfish678](#):
>
> Reformed alchoholics can drive by a liquor store without stopping in.
>
> Same should go for McDonalds or buffets.
Recovering alcoholics quit drinking. They don’t just drink less, they quit drinking.
What do you suggest for those addicted to food? Quit eating?
Food addiction is unique in that respect. Alcohol addiction, drug addiction, sex addiction, gambling addiction; you can go cold turkey from all of those, and you won’t die. But if you quit eating, you will die, so you have to keep using your drug of choice. Ask 100 recovering alcoholics if they were ever successful in cutting back on alcohol indefinitely; I doubt you will find more than one or two that will say they can do it, and they probably weren’t alcoholics to begin with.
So your comparison to ADDICTION has a really big hole in it.
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### Author:  [@Discipline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Discipline)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/185 "2009-10-18T01:16:26Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> So how does that apply to a food addiction?
I have a hard time believing that people could be so incredibly infatuated with food that absolutely every morsel, from the most delectably rich to the most disgustingly bland, is equally cherished by so-called “food addicts”. Nobody is addicted to cauliflower.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/186 "2009-10-18T01:18:27Z")
> [@Haunted](#):
>
> An alcoholic should switch from drinking rum and coke to drinking coke.
This is a bogus argument. The alcoholic is not addicted to beverages; he is addicted to alcohol. The food addict is addicted to food; you can get really fat eating all the right, nutritious foods. You cannot tell a food addict to quit eating the same way you tell an alcoholic to quit drinking. They still get the same reinforcement to their bad habit, even when they are eating healthy foods.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/187 "2009-10-18T01:20:23Z")
> [@Discipline](#):
>
> I have a hard time believing that people could be so incredibly infatuated with food that absolutely every morsel, from the most delectably rich to the most disgustingly bland, is equally cherished by so-called “food addicts”. Nobody is addicted to cauliflower.
Then you simply don’t understand addiction. Nobody should be addicted to NyQuil, but I have seen drunks who drank a large bottle a night and rationalized it by saying it wasn’t booze.
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### Author:  [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/188 "2009-10-18T01:39:16Z")
A quick internet search reveals that many people think that the main culprits in food addiction are refined sugar, flour, and fats. Not ALL foods.
> [@](#):
>
> Very often for a food addict, refined sugar, flour and fats become what alcohol is to the alcoholic, or cocaine to the cocaine addict. When eating food in this group, the addict sets the phenomenon of “craving” into motion. Like the drug addict, the food addict experiences withdrawal when attempting to cut down on foods that trigger cravings. They can experience both physical and emotional withdrawal such as tremors, cramps, depression, teary periods and self-hatred which leads to self abuse.
From: [Food Addiction Available Help | PsychologistAnywhereAnytime.com](http://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/addiction_psychologist/psychologist_addiction_food.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> The FAA program is based on the belief that food addiction is a bio-chemical disease. By following a food plan devoid of all addictive substances, we can recover. These substances include sugar, flour, and wheat in all their forms. They also include fats and any other high-carbohydrate, refined, processed foods that cause us problems individually.
From: [http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/about.htm](http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/about.htm)
I also read that, by seeking professional help, approximately 80% of all sufferers can recover.
Here: [Google](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=80%25+of+all+food+addicts+can+recover&aq=f&aqi=&oq=&fp=2755c6b3e9b2e9)
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/189 "2009-10-18T01:51:27Z")
In order for me to maintain a reasonable weight, I have to eat child-sized portions of food with few-to-no-carbs, and usually only 2 meals a day. Last year, I walked (briskly) 6 miles, 3 days a week, and lost no weight, though I didn’t gain any. It sucks. I’m sure there are people who would lose weight at this level of eating, and some who would gain. Having the experience of living with my daughter, born with an overwhelming compulsion to eat, I certainly understand why some people get to the weight level they do.
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### Author:  [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/190 "2009-10-18T02:08:40Z")
> [@billfish678](#):
>
> There is NOTHING fracking illogical about those statements.
Joe is an alcoholic BECAUSE his father was an alcoholic and he grew up thinking it was the way you should be an he hates himself anyway. BECAUSE Joe is an alcoholic, he drinks too much.
Jane is a junkie BECAUSE her boyfriend told her he wouldn’t love her if she didn’t do drugs with him all the time and she was just a stupid kid and climbed on board and did drugs with him and became a junkie. BECAUSE Jane is a junkie, she shoots heroin.
The word “because” answers the question “Why?”, not “What?”. A person can be addicted to food/compulsively eat BECAUSE of a lot of different reasons, in combination or alone. BECAUSE the person is addicted, they cannot control their eating. Not controlling one’s consumption of food is a description of the situation, not an explanation for why the situation exists.
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### Author:  [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/191 "2009-10-18T02:13:55Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> I think we are confusing the \*reason \*for being fat, and the \*fix \*for being fat. The reasons are obviously complex. The fix is not. The fix is simple.
>
> When it comes down to it, we really shouldn’t care _ **why** _ people are fat. It’s complicated subject and full of debate. Why talk about the reasons, when the fix is obvious and simple?
Oh man, for a second there I thought you were finally getting it.
The fix for obesity is “obvious and simple” in the same way becoming an Olympic athlete is obvious and simple: train for hours and hours daily for years on end. Obvious. Simple. So why aren’t you an Olympic athlete?
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### Author:  [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/192 "2009-10-18T02:30:08Z")
There is probably a difference between food addiction and compulsive eating, too. Both of these would be very difficult to deal with but not impossible for most people. The best thing to do is probably to seek professional help to find out what’s going on exactly and then take it from there.
I still find it interesting that people keep saying that food addiction/compulsive overeating is unique because one cannot simply give up food. For one thing, even if you could give up food without dying, it’s not like it would be easy to do. You’d still have a hell of a struggle to face.
Also, there are lots of addictions or compulsive behaviors (I am no expert on these terms and sometimes I think nobody really is) that must be controlled rather than wholly abandoned.
Can an exercise addict give up all movement? Can a compulsive shopper give up all shopping? Can a compulsive liar give up all communication? Can workaholics give up earning a living? Food addicts/compulsive overeaters need to seek help and learn to control their addiction/compulsion. Just like a lot of other people, they need to find out the causes of their particular problem and how best to address them.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/193 "2009-10-18T03:02:09Z")
> [@Stoid](#):
>
> Joe is an alcoholic BECAUSE his father was an alcoholic and he grew up thinking it was the way you should be an he hates himself anyway. BECAUSE Joe is an alcoholic, he drinks too much.
>
> Jane is a junkie BECAUSE her boyfriend told her he wouldn’t love her if she didn’t do drugs with him all the time and she was just a stupid kid and climbed on board and did drugs with him and became a junkie. BECAUSE Jane is a junkie, she shoots heroin.
>
> The word “because” answers the question “Why?”, not “What?”. A person can be addicted to food/compulsively eat BECAUSE of a lot of different reasons, in combination or alone. BECAUSE the person is addicted, they cannot control their eating. Not controlling one’s consumption of food is a description of the situation, not an explanation for why the situation exists.
To the person with the problem, those might be insights into how to fix the problem.
To nature and me and everyone else, those are excuses.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/194 "2009-10-18T03:06:00Z")
> [@Stoid](#):
>
> Oh man, for a second there I thought you were finally getting it.
>
> The fix for obesity is “obvious and simple” in the same way becoming an Olympic athlete is obvious and simple: train for hours and hours daily for years on end. Obvious. Simple. So why aren’t you an Olympic athlete?
This is the kind of overstatement that really bugs me. Losing weight and maintaining it is _not_ like becoming an Olympic athlete and you _do not_ have to train for hours and hours daily years on end to maintain a healthy weight. Yes, it can be hard work. No, it is not easy. Yes, there are a lot of factors that can cause someone to become overweight, and no, they are not always easy to address. But to say that it is like becoming an Olympic athlete, or like climbing Mt. Everest, is patently absurd.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/195 "2009-10-18T03:06:28Z")
> [@Discipline](#):
>
> I have a hard time believing that people could be so incredibly infatuated with food that absolutely every morsel, from the most delectably rich to the most disgustingly bland, is equally cherished by so-called “food addicts”. Nobody is addicted to cauliflower.
Bingo.
You show me somebody eating nothing but crappy tasting food nobody really likes and they are still inching towards morbidly obese, I’ll give those folks a free pass.
I know a guy who maintained his weight by only eating things he didnt like.
Worked like a charm.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/196 "2009-10-18T03:07:18Z")
I have a work friend who lost several hundred pounds on Weight Watchers and has kept it off for almost ten years now. I would absolutely compare her to some of the recovering alcoholics I’ve met - I enjoy her company, but we used to go out for dinner the night we work together (I didn’t stop because of this, just got out of the habit) and she just cannot have a normal relationship with food. She talks incessantly (in a food-related context - not, like, all the time) about how many points this is and how many points that is, etc. I get the feeling she can’t let herself have what I’d call a normal relationship with food in the same way that the people I know in AA can’t have a normal and healthy relationship with alcohol. Which is sad to me, but I suppose it’s better than weighing 400 pounds, which is what she used to do.
But yeah, it can totally be done, and we’d eat at all of the normal places within walking distance and she’d eat perfectly well - just no variety and not a lot of pleasure in food.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/197 "2009-10-18T03:15:29Z")
> [@Stoid](#):
>
> The fix for obesity is “obvious and simple” in the same way becoming an Olympic athlete is obvious and simple: train for hours and hours daily for years on end. Obvious. Simple. So why aren’t you an Olympic athlete?
For one thing I dont run around bitching that I am NOT an Olympic athelete because of excuses x, y, and z.
Second, I don’t care that I am not an Olympic athelete.
Taking that analogy, interpreting it correctly, and running with it…I don’t care if you are fat…if you dont bitch about not being thin and don’t care about being fat.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/198 "2009-10-18T03:40:34Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> This is the kind of overstatement that really bugs me. Losing weight and maintaining it is _not_ like becoming an Olympic athlete and you _do not_ have to train for hours and hours daily years on end to maintain a healthy weight. Yes, it can be hard work. No, it is not easy. Yes, there are a lot of factors that can cause someone to become overweight, and no, they are not always easy to address. But to say that it is like becoming an Olympic athlete, or like climbing Mt. Everest, is patently absurd.
No kidding.
Its like someone coming into a “get off your ass and study and get an education thread” and asks why you arent a nobel prize winner or an astronaut if you are so damn smart and determined :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/199 "2009-10-18T04:18:19Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I have a work friend who lost several hundred pounds on Weight Watchers and has kept it off for almost ten years now. I would absolutely compare her to some of the recovering alcoholics I’ve met - I enjoy her company, but we used to go out for dinner the night we work together (I didn’t stop because of this, just got out of the habit) and she just cannot have a normal relationship with food. She talks incessantly (in a food-related context - not, like, all the time) about how many points this is and how many points that is, etc. I get the feeling she can’t let herself have what I’d call a normal relationship with food in the same way that the people I know in AA can’t have a normal and healthy relationship with alcohol. Which is sad to me, but I suppose it’s better than weighing 400 pounds, which is what she used to do.
>
> But yeah, it can totally be done, and we’d eat at all of the normal places within walking distance and she’d eat perfectly well - just no variety and not a lot of pleasure in food.
Why is food so special it requires no governance, the only way to be natural with food is just to eat willynilly? What if I tried that with money? Do I have an unnatural relationship with money because I make a budget and use my check register and keep track of my spending? Because I say “no, I can’t afford a corvette, I’m going to get a jetta” is that weird? Why is frugality with money seen as a good thing, but careful calorie management is “weird” and “unhealthy”?
I still love food and eating and take a lot of pleasure in meals. I cook nearly every night and pack healthy lunches for work - and I think they are great. I go out to lunch with friends, I can get a healthy lunch that’s in my plan nearly everywhere. If the restaurant doesn’t work for me, I suggest something else.
Just because I budget money, it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a cute blouse I got on sale. Just because I budget money, doesn’t mean I don’t have the occasional splurge.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/200 "2009-10-18T04:22:42Z")
> [@Stoid](#):
>
> The fix for obesity is “obvious and simple” in the same way becoming an Olympic athlete is obvious and simple: train for hours and hours daily for years on end. Obvious. Simple. So why aren’t you an Olympic athlete?
Because no matter how hard I try, I will never be an Olympic athlete. The same is not true for a fat person. Any fat person can lose weight.
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