# Super morbid obesity and mental illness? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124 "2018-03-24T20:09:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/21 "2018-03-27T18:56:06Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > There was one woman on the show (I think she’s now a counselor for people who are in similiar situations), who said that she started gaining weight as a child after being molested. She said she felt if she made herself as unattractive as possible, she could ward off her abuser and he’d leave her alone. Are you thinking about Melissa who was on early Season One? She worked for Dr. Nowz after her weight loss – however, I haven’t seen her for several seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/22 "2018-03-27T18:59:41Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I just happened to be reading about this in a book my therapist recommended to me because it deals with childhood trauma. The book is _[The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748)_ by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. > > In the book, he discusses an internist, Dr. Vincent Felitti and what went on to become the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) test. From [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_Childhood_Experiences_Study#Background): > Continuing: My bolding. > > Yes, there is an established relationship between adverse childhood experiences and severe obesity. > > Obviously, not all obesity if caused by high ACE scores and not all high ACE scores lead to that particular problem, or even other problems. One hot topic for research now is seeing which factors lead to greater resilience in some people who have had severe trauma and yet have not had corresponding problems later in life. > > However, despite some people having greater resilience than others, many people with high ACE scores develop a wide range of problems. > > In _the Body Keeps Score_, Bessel van der Kolk lists several reasons why potential problems such as obesity can be a “solution” for some people. He relates some findings from Felitti, including one formerly obese woman who had undergone bariatric surgery, but then had become suicidal. > > van der Kolk shows how trauma causes changes in the brain which have been found by various brain scans and such. These changes include emotional regulation (or lack thereof). Fascinating research, thanks for sharing. So far as the women on the show go, I can only think of two or three who haven’t self-reported sexual abuse as one of the reasons they turned to food for comfort/weight as a means of defense. A few of the men report the same. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/23 "2018-03-27T19:26:26Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I just happened to be reading about this in a book my therapist recommended to me because it deals with childhood trauma. The book is _[The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748)_ by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. > > In the book, he discusses an internist, Dr. Vincent Felitti and what went on to become the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) test. From [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_Childhood_Experiences_Study#Background): > Continuing: My bolding. > > Yes, there is an established relationship between adverse childhood experiences and severe obesity. > > Obviously, not all obesity if caused by high ACE scores and not all high ACE scores lead to that particular problem, or even other problems. One hot topic for research now is seeing which factors lead to greater resilience in some people who have had severe trauma and yet have not had corresponding problems later in life. > > However, despite some people having greater resilience than others, many people with high ACE scores develop a wide range of problems. > > In _the Body Keeps Score_, Bessel van der Kolk lists several reasons why potential problems such as obesity can be a “solution” for some people. He relates some findings from Felitti, including one formerly obese woman who had undergone bariatric surgery, but then had become suicidal. > > van der Kolk shows how trauma causes changes in the brain which have been found by various brain scans and such. These changes include emotional regulation (or lack thereof). Interesting. I found a few other studies on this subject too. > **[The relationship between child abuse and adult obesity among california women...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17572308/)** > > Exposure to child abuse is associated with adult obesity among California women, even accounting for other relevant variables. This supports the notion that child abuse and its sequelae may be important targets for public health intervention,... > [@](#): > > RESULTS: > Obese (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher) women were significantly more likely to report exposure to child abuse (odds ratio [OR]=1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.23-1.42). In a multivariate model adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, food insecurity, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, physical inactivity, and perceived stress, women exposed to child abuse remained significantly more likely to be obese than unexposed women (adjusted OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.13-1.40). The population-attributable fraction of obesity associated with any type of abuse was 4.5% (95% CI=2.28-6.55). > **[Adverse childhood events are associated with obesity and disordered eating:...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748336/)** > > We investigated the relationship between childhood abuse and obesity in young adulthood (M age = 22) in a large, U.S., representative sample (N = 15,197). Controlling for demographics and depression, men with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA)... > [@](#): > > We investigated the relationship between childhood abuse and obesity in young adulthood (M age = 22) in a large, U.S., representative sample (N = 15,197). Controlling for demographics and depression, men with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) were at increased risk of overweight and obesity. No association between childhood abuse and obesity or overweight was observed for women in this sample. Higher percentages of skipping meals to loose weight and problematic eating were observed among women with a history of physical abuse. This is the first study to note an association between childhood abuse with obesity and problematic weight management behaviors in a sample of young adults. However one says it affects women, the other doesn’t. So I’m not sure. Either way, I guess I’m not surprised. ACEs result in a wide range of negative life outcomes. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/24 "2018-03-27T20:07:31Z")
I’ve watched the show a few times, enough to see their reality formula for it. I am dubious that the Doctor on there seems to wait so far into the process before he recommends therapy and does any kind of true intervention. I would think that needs to come first, and might go a long way towards getting at the root of the problem earlier. It appears they are just prolonging the freak show of it all by waiting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/25 "2018-03-27T20:13:22Z")
[Here’s an earlier thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=814938) I started about the show. I believe they do address the mental aspect of the weight loss, but for time constraints they don’t always show it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/26 "2018-03-28T01:51:52Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Are you thinking about Melissa who was on early Season One? She worked for Dr. Nowz after her weight loss – however, I haven’t seen her for several seasons. Yeah, that’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@MonkeyCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyCat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/27 "2018-03-28T18:41:59Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Lots of people have been abused, very few end up being 600 lbs. I’m not sure how much is just looking for a reason to blame the background. We used to do the same thing with illnesses like schizophrenia 80 years ago, try to figure out what childhood trauma directly caused it. But now that we know more, we know it is more complicated. > > I thought the long term success rates for bariatric surgery were halfway decent. Not great, but far better than diet and exercise alone. > > I don’t know if anyone truly knows why people end up that heavy. While you’re right, and probably onto something here, I do know that some people do try to fatten themselves up to hide. I’ve known a few rape victims and read some memoirs, at least. And really, psychology can do its best to categorize and explain why people get the way they get, but in the end, we’re all facing unique circumstances, perspectives, and abilities to cope. (We’re all the same species, so it falls within certain parameters, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@MonkeyCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyCat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124/28 "2018-03-28T18:45:22Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > People need to remember that judging all morbidly obese people by the subsection of those appearing on “My 600lb Life” is like judging all married couples by those appearing on “Maury”. In other words; don’t go to a freak show and wonder why you see so many freaks. Bingo. But a lot more than that, actually. There’s always an understanding gap when we’re on the outside. Best to realize we can’t know what we’ve never experienced. (Judging, in and of itself, closes the gates to understanding.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-morbid-obesity-and-mental-illness/811124.md?page=1)