# Why do obese women all dress the same? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 3, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162 "2008-07-03T07:18:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Completely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Completely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Completely)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/181 "2008-07-05T21:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] Overeating only exasperates the disadvantage [/QUOTE] **exasperates?** šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/182 "2008-07-05T21:26:21Z")
[QUOTE=Completely] **exasperates?** šŸ˜• [/QUOTE] Iā€™m pretty sure he meant exacerbates. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/183 "2008-07-05T21:29:06Z")
yepp, sorry, brain fart. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/184 "2008-07-06T00:57:35Z")
I feel compelled to mention a colleague who is a skinny little thing, probably a size two and kinda bony. She eats normally, doesnā€™t put on weight, and doesnā€™t work out as far as I know, but she does have an out-of-whack thyroid. Just offhand, Iā€™d guess that a wacky thyroid could also function in the opposite way and make a person more likely to gain weight than to keep it off. Couldnā€™t a malfunctioning thyroid be a factor in at least some cases? ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/185 "2008-07-06T03:36:24Z")
[QUOTE=Completely] There is no such thing as ā€œnaturally thinā€. [/QUOTE] Yeah, there is. My mom told us many time of her dad, who regularly ate ice cream a half-gallon carton at a time. Thin as a rail all of his life. My brother inherited these genes (the skinny jerk šŸ˜‰ ) and ate more than me and one of our sisters combined each day. He TRIED to gain weight because he was so thinā€“no dice. Unfortunately, I did NOT inherit those genes! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/186 "2008-07-06T15:23:23Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I feel compelled to mention a colleague who is a skinny little thing, probably a size two and kinda bony. She eats normally, doesnā€™t put on weight, and doesnā€™t work out as far as I know, but she does have an out-of-whack thyroid. Just offhand, Iā€™d guess that a wacky thyroid could also function in the opposite way and make a person more likely to gain weight than to keep it off. Couldnā€™t a malfunctioning thyroid be a factor in at least some cases? [/QUOTE] Yes, though its a more rare occurrence than people think. Hypothyroidism can lead to weight gain, hyperthyroidism can lead to weight loss, among a host of other problems. Sorry, no link, easy enough to look up if you are curious enough. IANAD ---
**Author:** ![Completely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Completely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Completely)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/187 "2008-07-06T15:25:24Z")
[QUOTE=Risha] Then youā€™ve met very few fat people. Sneaking food? Please. If I wanted to eat something, I would, [/QUOTE] So because **you** donā€™t sneak food, no other fat person does either? ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/188 "2008-07-06T17:18:10Z")
[QUOTE=Completely] So because **you** donā€™t sneak food, no other fat person does either? [/QUOTE] So because **you** know some fat people who sneak food, all fat people do too? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/189 "2008-07-06T17:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=Jamaika a jamaikaiakƩ] So because **you** know some fat people who sneak food, all fat people do too? [/QUOTE] I can honestly say that I do not know any obese person who actually sneaks food. ---
**Author:** ![Completely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Completely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Completely)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/190 "2008-07-06T18:38:51Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I can honestly say that I do not know any obese person who actually sneaks food. [/QUOTE] Thatā€™s the whole point of sneaking the food, doing it without othersā€™ knowledge. :smack: Several of the obese people Iā€™ve known in the past admitted to hiding junk food/candy in the house and sneaking around to binge on it behind their spousesā€™s backs. Of course not every fat person sneaks food. My point was that the food-sneaking, along with eating huge portions, going back for multiple helpings, etc is typical of the obese people I have known. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/191 "2008-07-06T18:55:00Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I feel compelled to mention a colleague who is a skinny little thing, probably a size two and kinda bony. She eats normally, doesnā€™t put on weight, and doesnā€™t work out as far as I know, but she does have an out-of-whack thyroid. Just offhand, Iā€™d guess that a wacky thyroid could also function in the opposite way and make a person more likely to gain weight than to keep it off. Couldnā€™t a malfunctioning thyroid be a factor in at least some cases? [/QUOTE] Yes, but hypothyroidism shouldnā€™t be used as an excuse to be fat. Iā€™m hypothyroid, and Iā€™ve worked really hard to be a healthy weight. I donā€™t starve myself, and never deny myself any kind of food. I do go to the gym 5-6 days a week, and (mostly) stay at or below 2,000 calories a day, with a ā€œfree dayā€ about once a week. Iā€™ve managed to lose 25 pounds very, very slowly. It is a commitment and it is hard (and probably harder for me than it is for someone who isnā€™t hypothyroid), but I finally decided that just because I had a thyroid disorder didnā€™t mean I had to be fat, and it certainly didnā€™t mean I should just keep on getting fatter. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/192 "2008-07-06T19:02:35Z")
I donā€™t know if itā€™s nature or nurture. But I do know that my mom has been slim all her life and my dad has been increasingly fat all of his adult life. My brother, although he eats incessantly, is so skinny that he never wears short sleeves or shorts. I am, shall we say, not (5ā€™4" and about 155lbs.). I am a compulsive eater. When Iā€™m not eating, Iā€™m thinking about it, at least in the back of my mind. Iā€™m thinking about it right now. I have a sweet tooth. I have a fat tooth. I have a starch tooth. The only calories I ever met that I didnā€™t like are alcohol and avocados. I have lost weight several times. But it has been in an anorexic sort of way; I was still obsessed with food. My father too is obsessed with food - shopping for it (heā€™s also obsessed with bargains, having grown up in the Depression and put himself through school on the GI Bill), cooking it, and eating it. One of his two living sisters is obsessed with it. My mom enjoys her meals, but really just doesnā€™t care all that much. It is a very real psychological difference. In my brotherā€™s case, it seems to be a real physiological difference, because he eats enormous quantities (granted, he is a non-junk food vegetarian, but he has always eaten enormous quantities) and is only a step above a concentration camp victim. I guess what Iā€™m driving at is that you canā€™t lump everyone in together. Men lose weight easier than women; thatā€™s a known physiological difference. Some people just donā€™t seem to gain weight very readily, while others do - I think thatā€™s pretty undeniable. There appear to be genetic bases for being fat or thin. There also appear to be early childhood bases for being fat or thin. There are compulsions which may or may not be genetic. And then there are a few people who are simply idiots. But to argue an idea that all or even most heavy people are \*anything \* other than heavy is absurd. On preview, **yellowval** , why arenā€™t you on thyroid meds, in which case it shouldnā€™t make any difference? My thyroid has been dead for twenty years, but I take medicine for it. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/193 "2008-07-06T19:16:44Z")
I am on thyroid meds, and have been for about 13 years. It helps, most of the time. Itā€™s probably a good part of the reason that I didnā€™t get fatter than I did. But Iā€™ve found that thyroid meds donā€™t always correct all the symptoms completely (and that doctors donā€™t really seem to care that much as long as the blood test comes out okay, but thatā€™s a different thread). So no, Iā€™m not just one of those people who claims they have a thyroid disorder but doesnā€™t do anything about it, if thatā€™s what you were getting at. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/194 "2008-07-06T19:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=yellowval] Yes, but hypothyroidism shouldnā€™t be used as an excuse to be fat. [/QUOTE] One doesnā€™t need an excuse to be fat. It is not an ethical choice. You are making a [category mistake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_mistake). ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/195 "2008-07-06T19:29:09Z")
[QUOTE=yellowval] I am on thyroid meds, and have been for about 13 years. It helps, most of the time. Itā€™s probably a good part of the reason that I didnā€™t get fatter than I did. But Iā€™ve found that thyroid meds donā€™t always correct all the symptoms completely (and that doctors donā€™t really seem to care that much as long as the blood test comes out okay, but thatā€™s a different thread). So no, Iā€™m not just one of those people who claims they have a thyroid disorder but doesnā€™t do anything about it, if thatā€™s what you were getting at. [/QUOTE] Ah, to my knowledge I never had symptoms, so thatā€™s where my error lay. And no, my point was to recommend that you get on thyroid medicine if you werenā€™t. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/196 "2008-07-06T19:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I can honestly say that I do not know any obese person who actually sneaks food. [/QUOTE] Me neither šŸ˜‰ I was pointing out **Completely** ā€™s logical error, which he again displays (bolding added): [QUOTE=Completely] My point was that the food-sneaking, along with eating huge portions, going back for multiple helpings, etc is typical of the obese people **I have known.** [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/197 "2008-07-06T20:07:28Z")
[QUOTE=Jamaika a jamaikaiakĆ©] One doesnā€™t need an excuse to be fat. It is not an ethical choice. You are making a [category mistake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_mistake). [/QUOTE] A lot of people seem to do that. Itā€™s like thereā€™s some moral component to being overweight that ā€œnormal-sizedā€ people have some sort of outrage trigger about. Youā€™d think we killed and ate their puppy or something. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/198 "2008-07-06T20:17:23Z")
I think there is definitely a ā€œmoralā€ (for want of a better word) component to the way we (including me) look at hefty people (including me), which is the same way we look at drunks or druggies. That is, as people who are willing to let ourselves be ruined rather than exerting self-control. For the reasons I mentioned in my previous post, I donā€™t think the world is quite as simplistic as that, but letā€™s face it; people do tend to over-simplify things, and people absolutely LOVE to feel superior to other people. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/199 "2008-07-06T20:45:18Z")
[QUOTE=yellowval] I donā€™t starve myself, and never deny myself any kind of food. I do go to the gym 5-6 days a week, and (mostly) stay at or below 2,000 calories a day, with a ā€œfree dayā€ about once a week. [/QUOTE] I guess you mean you eat any kind of food you want? but just constrain the portion size? Because youā€™d have to deny something to stay below 2000 calories. Or, you donā€™t have the desire for more than 2000 calories and therefore donā€™t have to deny yourself anything? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162/200 "2008-07-06T20:58:12Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I can honestly say that I do not know any obese person who actually sneaks food. [/QUOTE] Now you do. Iā€™ve never been Captain Thin and am not even now, but Mrs M is worse than I ever was - _finally_ making some effort to shift it (but with the typical fattieā€™s out of ā€œOh well, Iā€™m not really tryingā€¦ā€, and Iā€™m casting no stones that I havenā€™t deserved myself a hundred times), and she most definitely does have a history there. Iā€™m talking about finding the empty wrappers from chocolate biscuit packets or chocolate bars in the bedside drawer, and I never saw her eat a mouthful of it. > [@some scientist guy](#): > > "The feeling of hunger is intense and, if not as potent as the drive to breathe, is probably no less powerful than the drive to drink when one is thirsty. > > This is the feeling the obese must resist after they have lost a significant amount of weight." Untrue, and having shed 80-odd pounds from a known high of 288 (possibly higher) I meet both qualifications for that last sentence. I have to resist the urge to overeat, especially after any alcohol intake, but I have _not_ been feeling physically hungry. Neither have I been experiencing a pathological aversion to food. Let me qualify that ā€œnot hungryā€ - when itā€™s been a while since the last meal, sure, itā€™s felt like it was time for the next one. But that has not in itself obliged me to overeat. Part of the battle has been to get into the routine of eating enough to stop feeling hungry _for now_ - not to insure me against future hunger or to feed myself as much as Iā€™m ā€œentitled toā€. Thatā€™s the habit thatā€™s needed breaking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-obese-women-all-dress-the-same/455162.md?page=11)