# Why do obese people do this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006 "2008-11-10T06:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/41 "2008-11-11T01:54:47Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > OP here. > > Look I have a small sample. Small nearly isolated town. I now feel confidant this is not common. > > Obesity is a disease I though there could have been some reaction going on did not know about. Maybe a hint as to why people overeat or put more food on the plate than would be considered normal. I know that during my drug days my body would react differently at different times. I at times would feel drunk or sometimes high just at the handling of my drugs, before even using. Something was going on. The receptors were already firing off. > I now know I was just merely being annoyed for some other reason. Hey, we all got our things. I am sure many people have problems with my short, balding, egocentric, dumb ass. I kinda like this idea. I can now blame my weight on my breathing disorder. Take THAT, all you skinny people who don’t have my breathing disorder 🙂 As for your balding dumb ass, I’m not sure, but have you looked into Rogaine? ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/42 "2008-11-11T02:05:32Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > And everyone has a “food = good/exciting” reaction. To the point of becoming aroused? Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong. :dubious: Look, that was my problem with what **Freejooky** said. There are plenty of obese people who overeat, and plenty who do not. But it’s a vanishingly small number of people in either group that _pant with excitement_ at the thought of a buffet. As in, I suppose they exist. Somewhere. Maybe. **Freejooky** , if your father and sister actually had a disordered enough relationship to food to do that, then they were sick, sick people, and that’s a shame and I’m very sorry about that. But that’s in no way a typical reaction of any group of people, thin, normal weight, or obese. Your projection of that to obese people in general is an offensive one. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/43 "2008-11-11T02:21:59Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > While picking out my food and getting my plate full I am suddenly disturbed by a god awful sound. The sound of high BMI individuals heavily breathing. Sure it wasn’t an [NAAFP meeting](http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/LollyHedderman/?action=view¤t=FAT.flv)? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/44 "2008-11-11T02:41:01Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Their hearts pound, their chests heave, the adrenaline surges…plus when they breathe hard it gets you the hell outta their way! > [@Freejooky](#): > > I have absolutely noticed this trend, and just always assumed it was some sort of subconscious excitement about preparing to eat. Clearly there’s a “food = good/exciting” reaction in people who are obese. > [@Risha](#): > > Just… just please don’t think with your prejudices, OK? And we’ll all be good. > [@Risha](#): > > To the point of becoming aroused? Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong. :dubious: > > Look, that was my problem with what **Freejooky** said. There are plenty of obese people who overeat, and plenty who do not. But it’s a vanishingly small number of people in either group that _pant with excitement_ at the thought of a buffet. As in, I suppose they exist. Somewhere. Maybe. I don’t think it’s any secret that some obese people suffer from food **addiction** , as opposed to being plain old overeaters. I spent a few years living in a homeless shelter with many other long-term residents, and a number of these men were obese. In some cases the obesity was the result of eating as much as possible when ample food was available as a hedge against those times when food was scarce. One particular man, though, seemed to most of us to have an honest-to-goodness addiction to eating. He was not technically “homeless”, as in “lived on the street”; he came to the shelter under other circumstances, and already obese. Under normal circumstances — walking, sitting, or standing — this man did not noticeably breathe heavily. Unless it was meal time. At meal time he loaded up his plate and sat down at a table, and that’s when the heavy, audible breathing would start. His eyes would bug out and his face would get flushed as he crammed as much as possible into his mouth at one time. Frankly, he always looked like he was having an orgasm while he ate … complete with loud, heavy breathing. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/45 "2008-11-11T03:52:30Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I’ve never noticed this to be true, but as a **plus sized** [my emphasis] woman I can tell you that people are a lot more likely to attribute things to your weight if you are heavy than they are with smaller people. You misspelled ‘attractive’. ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/46 "2008-11-11T04:22:16Z")
Dopamine regulates the excitability of the respiratory network. Possibly the sight of food in in people prone to become obese excites dopamine production more than in those with more normal eating behaviors, causing more rapid breathing. I would not be surprised by this in the slightest, as dopamine is a critical player in the appetitive system. The question isn’t as stupid as fellow dopers would have you believe. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/47 "2008-11-11T04:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Captian Carrot** > > _You misspelled ‘attractive’_. Oh, there is no doubt that I am incredibly sexy (my cite is in the doper picture thread in MPSIMS) but I am also not small. I have a few extra pounds on my frame to be sure but that doesn’t mean I’m not super hot! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/48 "2008-11-11T04:46:58Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > And everyone has a “food = good/exciting” reaction. Not everybody, there’s folks to whom it’s just fuel. They tend to be lousy eaters, as they take no pleasure from the eating act itself. It’s like being frigid in the mouth… ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/49 "2008-11-11T07:28:04Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > **Freejooky** , if your father and sister actually had a disordered enough relationship to food to do that [pant with enthusiasm for food], then they were sick, sick people, and that’s a shame and I’m very sorry about that. But that’s in no way a typical reaction of any group of people, thin, normal weight, or obese. Your projection of that to obese people in general is an offensive one. Wow. It seems that we’ve had enough supporting testimony to say this might actually happen (I’ve certainly observed it). Yet, the offensiveness of asking about it keeps it in the hurtful, taboo, deny-deny-deny, how-dare-you category of inquiry. My weight goes up and down. When it’s up, I wheeze. I don’t know why, but I’m guessing that it’s the dislocation of my internal organs (that’s a polite way of saying my gut is limiting the movement of my diaphram and I have to exert extra effort to evacuate my lungs). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/50 "2008-11-11T13:41:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …It’s like being frigid in the mouth… This is pure gold. You’ve always been one of my favorite posters, you know that? ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/51 "2008-11-11T14:49:04Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > Wow. It seems that we’ve had enough supporting testimony to say this might actually happen (I’ve certainly observed it). Yet, the offensiveness of asking about it keeps it in the hurtful, taboo, deny-deny-deny, how-dare-you category of inquiry. Way to misinterpret what I said. I said that it was possible for some people, no matter what their weight, but not typical. He was implying that it was _common_ among obese people, i.e. that they all have a disordered relationship with food, which is an offensive statement. It’s not taboo to say that there might be people becoming aroused at the thought of eating, though I don’t personally know any. It also isn’t, unfortunately, taboo to say that most fat people become aroused at the thought of eating. I’m sure you can see the difference. We are, however, entering into Pit territory, so I’m going to stop here. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/52 "2008-11-11T15:36:56Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > Way to misinterpret what I said. […]He was implying that it was _common_ among obese people, i.e. that they all have a disordered relationship with food, which is an offensive statement. Way to misread the OP. [QUOTE=fifty-six] I can not say that all obese folks do this but I have only noticed obese ones doing it. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006/53 "2008-11-11T17:56:33Z")
My guess would be the exertion from getting up and walking to the buffet. If I have given myself permission to gorge on a buffet, I do get excited/high, but I don’t think it results in my breathing more heavily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-people-do-this/472006.md?page=2)