I’ve just had a look at that site and my first reaction was “holy fuck - people actually EAT stuff like that?!??!”.
I think it could be a male versus female thing. I get the feeling that if you’re a guy, it’s not the end of the world to gain weight, whereas for women, it’s considered this fate worse than death. And I think most women tend to scrutinize their bodies really critically even when they look great, whereas guys who look heavy and pretty out of shape will often look in the mirror and think, “Hey I look all right.” Whereas a woman with maybe five extra pounds will really stress over being “fat.”
According to ‘‘The End of Overeating,’’ you’d be right. One study cited by Kessler that has always stuck with me revealed something quite telling. Rats in a laboratory study were willing to work almost as hard to obtain a high-fat, high-sugar substance as they were willing to work for cocaine.
The statement proposed by the fat acceptance crowd, that obese people are just victims of bad genes is misleading, and easily falsifiable. The vast increase in the U.S. obesity rate over even the last 20 years is evidence enough that there is more at work than genetics.
But to say that obesity is just a matter of willpower oversimplifies the matter. We are neurologically hard-wired to gorge on sweets because they were a scarce resource back when we were hunters and gatherers. Food manufacturers have learned how to exploit this natural predisposition and make liberal use of it. Foods are routinely marketed as healthy when they aren’t. A recent study shows that calorie counts at restaurants are underestimated by as much as 40%. People think McDonalds is the culprit, but the truth is that nowadays McDonalds is one of the healthiest places you can eat. A salad at Applebees is more likely to cause damage than a Big Mac. Even something as simple as a baked chicken breast has been processed beyond belief.
Current research has identified 3 addictive behaviors that appear extremely resistant to change despite all manner of attempted intervention:
- Smoking
- Anorexia
- Overeating
It is about more than willpower. It is about living in a society that is environmentally designed to make you fail. We live in a culture that revolves around food – food at morning work meetings, food sitting in the office kitchen, food in your car, food in your freezer, food on television reminding you that you want food. Food at the movies. Food everywhere. And I of course use the term ‘‘food’’ loosely. Very little of what the average American eats nowadays is actually food.
That doesn’t mean we get up, roll over and die fat. But it does mean we begin to have more intelligent and rational conversations about obesity. Fat is not healthy. We have countless studies to tell us this. There is no reason to ‘‘accept’’ obesity any more than there is reason to ‘‘accept’’ alcoholism. But it is also downright idiotic to attribute obesity to a flawed character. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have such a massive rise in obesity rates – it may also be worth noting as well that people now work more hours than they ever have. I have no doubt that the recent changes in our economic structure (longer work hours, increase in number of white-collar desk jobs) have also contributed to the problem.
I have just started reading Kessler’s book and I think that what olivesmarch4th has posted is a pretty good summary of what Kessler is saying. I have past experience working with abusers of various substances but until I started reading The End of Overeating I didn’t realize how modern life is conspiring to make people fat. Or that the impulses to overeat are mundanely biological once ubiquitous food is available. It is terrifying reading.
I was talking to my son about the book yesterday. He is 20. He can’t recall a time when every shopping mall didn’t have a food court. He couldn’t count the number of fat people who went to high school with him, I can remember a couple of kids we teased that by modern standards were barely overweight. When I was young if I went out with friends we only ever ate if it was a mealtime, you wouldn’t be eating during the morning or afternoon or after dinner. We basically ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and an after pub snack when we started drinking. Of course this was all pretty much pre-US fast food culture - no McDonalds or KFC or pizza chains, in fact pizza was a novelty food only available in certain parts of the city. It was an adventure to go and get a slice.
I’m also a former “fatty” that bristles whenever anyone tells me “oh have a cookie, you look FINE!”
I recently lost over 30 lbs. Not much to someone who’s morbidly obese, but a very noticable amount on my 5’4" frame. I worked damn hard to lose that weight. I don’t have a good metabolism. Most everyone in my family is obese, if not morbidly obese. One might consider me “genetically predisposed” to be overweight. And that is why I know I have to work harder than those blessed with a better metabolism to maintain my weight for the rest of my life. I have to keep track of every calorie that goes in my mouth. I have to force myself to exercise at least 3 times a week even when I don’t feel like it. I can’t help that I was born with a crappy metabolism no more than my SO can help that he was born with an insane metabolism that allows him to eat whatever he wants, not exercise at all and still remain underweight. Life isn’t fair. We all have our individual crosses to bear.
I used to just resolve myself to the fact that I am naturally bigger than others and that I will never really be “thin” by societies standards. Then I’d go eat a big mac. It wasn’t until I accepted the fact that my weight is firmly within my control and that, while difficult, it isn’t impossible to maintain a healthy weight, that I was able to do it.
I do know that there are some people out there that have an exceptionally hard time losing weight due to thyroid issues or other medical reasons. However, for the vast majority of people who are overweight, it really is a matter of calories in vs. calories out. My basal rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1400 calories. That is not a lot. One supersized fast food meal can exceed that. I think a lot of people don’t realize just how many calories are in a lot of food items they eat on a regular basis, so they get frustrated and stop trying when they don’t see the results they want. There’s no magical cure for weight loss though. 1400 calories is the most I can eat without working out. Even with working out, I only get a couple hundred extra. Maybe a bag of chips if I’m really craving it. It’s hard to keep my daily intake that low, because I LOVE to eat. I’m also an emotional eater. But if I go over that, I gain weight shockingly fast, so I just have to take it day by day. For the rest of my life.
So to “poo poo” anyone who’s not obese assuning they don’t understand is ridiculous. I understand plenty because not only have I been through it, I continue to go through it every day to avoid becoming overweight again (I can still stand to lose another 10 pounds but I’m not pushing it right now, it’s hard enough just to maintain.)
Barring some legitimate medical issue, anyone can lose weight if they are willing to put in the work and the time. It’s not an easy task, but it’s not insurmountable, either. I think a lot of the “we’re fat and we like it and you just have to DEAL with it!” people are in denial to a certain extent. That kind of attitude does not motivate people to change.
Agreed, but at the same time, its important to acknowledge that any any solution willpower is a critical component. Almost any voluntary solution that is, I suppose you could loose weight in the face of famine or illness without willpower. Even if you have surgery, it won’t be successful without willpower. Even if we outlaw “non food food,” you still need willpower to stay away from butter laden cookies with ice cream and half a pound of bacon or potatoes as the only vegetable your plate sees.
As someone who has had thyroid issues for the past fifteen years, it’s my opinion that it’s just a matter of calories in vs. calories out for us, too.
I really don’t care if a fat person accepts their size or not, to be honest. The rant discussed in the OP is wrong about a lot of things, of course, and so I’m not saying I side with that mentality. But it’s clear to me that this attitude–as nonproductive it is–is simply a coping mechanism used by someone who feels hopeless. Why do they feel hopeless? Because they haven’t been able to pull off weight loss, but they really want to. A person who is truly fine with their size doesn’t cook up these types of defenses, so I doubt this person really is pro-fat acceptance as much as they are pro-fat resignation.
I’m never been overweight, so I can only imagine what it feels like to be obese and unhappy about it but unable to change due to X,Y, and Z factors that are hard for someone who hasn’t been fat to understand. After years and years of dieting and trying to do the gym thing and failing because it gets too hard and then gaining even more weight…well, I think after years of that, it’s probably natural that someone would resort to coping mechanisms just to get through the day. It’s a no-brainer that this attitude is counterproductive for weight loss; but I don’t think attitude would exist if weight loss wasn’t so hard for so many people.
And I try to have sympathy for them because that. Exercise and eating moderately is relatively easy for me, not because my metabolism is super fast and I don’t get hungry for junk food, but because the body that I see in the mirror is not a body that disgusts me or fills me self-loathing. If I were 300 lbs who knows if I’d feel empowered enough to change? I very well might not because of my poor self-image.
I find these discussions depressing at best. I’m a “skinny, little bitch” according to quite a few people. The disgust and nastiness shown towards me is far more than I have ever expressed internally or externally to someone overweight, but hey, it is ok, 'cause I’m skinny and I deserve it.
I’ve been overweight (briefly) and got a great view of how overweight people view skinny people, it isn’t nice, it is not attractive and frankly, it pisses me off.
My husband is overweight, always has been. He also has horrible eating habits. Several of his family members are overweight also, they have the same horrible eating habits. The two skinny ones? Well, they don’t eat like the others, nor do they weigh like the others.
If eating less didn’t work, then bariatric surgery would NOT work. Sure, some folks regain the weight by stretching their stomachs back out and doing exactly what they aren’t supposed to do.
I work with a girl that is about 5’2" who is probably close to 400lbs. She swears she never eats. I guess all the times I see her helping herself to the ice cream cooler don’t count. Or my friend who swore it was “genetics” and was a vegetarian who would eat cream cheese by the container, or the friend that was a “vegan” but would binge eat anything, once by eating about 4lbs of shepard’s pie (yes, there was meat in it).
Now, I have an unhealthy relationship with food, but I adore it. I also understand that it is impossible to create something out of nothing.
We, as a world, are fatter now than ever. Obesity is rampant. The food we eat has more calories per ounce than it needs to, our portion sizes are out of control, what we consider food is laughable. I’m perfectly fine accepting someone for who/how they are, just don’t sling bullshit at me.
The amount of people who have actual medical conditions that are responsible for their weight are in no way even close to the majority of obese people.
Indeed. I’ve never been overweight and I don’t know many people who are all that heavy but most people around me are heavier than me just because I’m really thin and there can really be an undercurrent of hostility from people who perceive themselves as less attractive than you. I’ve never had someone call me a “skinny little bitch” but I’ve definitely gotten a weird vibe.