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Where do you stand? Is obesity a disease or is it not a disease? Why or why not?
PRO
"Overweight and obesity are chronic diseases with behavioral origins that can be traced back to childhood."
CON
"Doctors should be required to tell patients a blunt truth: if you're fat, eat less, exercise more, or both. And if you keep guzzling the tasty treats, you will die earlier. It's not a disease, it's a mindset — and that means it can be changed. We doctors need to be a little less understanding, a little more judgmental, and realise [sic] that our oath — 'do no harm' — must come before our desire to save the feelings of our patients. The truth can be the hardest drug to administer."
PRO
"Overweight and obesity are chronic diseases with behavioral origins that can be traced back to childhood."
CON
"Doctors should be required to tell patients a blunt truth: if you're fat, eat less, exercise more, or both. And if you keep guzzling the tasty treats, you will die earlier. It's not a disease, it's a mindset — and that means it can be changed. We doctors need to be a little less understanding, a little more judgmental, and realise [sic] that our oath — 'do no harm' — must come before our desire to save the feelings of our patients. The truth can be the hardest drug to administer."
Medical
Health
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 15
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I say yes, as someone big. Even with restricted calories, workouts, I was always big. And I am judged that way. Some causes are medical, as with me. Some are psychological, some sociological. But, from the statistical point of view, it has to be seen as a disease as it is now a cause of death an other serious illness such as diabetes. With kids, I'd ask, where are the parents?
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Obesity is a disease. It is both genetic and mental. Certain foods trigger the same feel good centers in the brain as other drugs. Personally, I started putting on weight right around my tenth birthday. I have had a fight with my weight ever since. In order for me to get into the Navy, I had to drop twenty five pounds, and lose serious inches off of my waist in order to meet the body fat standard to go into the service. When I enlisted they told me at 6'2" I needed to weigh in at 195. I used a combination of crash dieting and exercise to make the loss I needed to make. Once I got in to the Navy, I was able to get down to 219 pounds at my best wieght. This was at the ASW Training Center in San Diego. That was a good weight for me. Unfortunatley, once I got to my ship I started putting the weight back on. I have to conciously think about food, or I will overeat the wrong types of foods.
Food can be as addictive as alcohol or other drugs. It is a constant battle with doing what I know I need to do versus what I want to do. Overeating is worse in the respect that if a person says that they need help with Drugs or Alcohol, people take it as something serious that needs to be addressed. If a person says they need help avoiding chocolate cake, it becomes the butt of a joke. I know that I make jokes about being overweight. The issue with overeating is compounded by the fact that your body requires food to survive. Alcohol and other drugs can kill you by over-indulging in them. Food can do the same, but food can also kill you from under-indulging.
I am not going to sit here and say that any one addiction is worse than another, I will instead say that all are illnesses that should be treated as such. Sometimes it is just a kick in the ass that the addicted person needs to get on the right track. Sometimes it is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed, and professional medical assistance is required to break the addiction.
One more part of the issue with obesity is that fatty unhealthy foods are cheaper and easier than healthier choices. A buck for a cheeseburger at the drive through is cheaper than a salad at the same drive through. Buying the ingredients to cook at home requires going through the groccery store (where most of them have fatty snacks assaulting the senses at the entrance and exit), then preparing the food. Hitting a drive through is faster. There was a time where for my family of four, it was cheaper by about ten dollars a meal to go to the drive through than going to the groccery store. Until people demand changes in the business practices of these establishments (demand with their wallets), nothing is going to change.
Using myself as an example, I went from 219 up to 320 by the time I left the Navy. My weight continued going up until I hit 435. While I was at 435, a friend of mine (that I regarded as a brother) died because he was too big. His heart just couldn't handle his mass (he was 6'8", 375 pounds, and overwieght), I started trying to lose weight. I went from 435 down to 368. I then had some life issues pop up that I dealt with by eating. I went back up to 410. Then I decided instead of going on a diet that was doomed to fail, I was going to simply change the way I buy grocceries and eat. I started buying grocceries based on meals, cooking every meal at home, and not eating a lot of processed foods. The other change that is going to help is that I am not looking at having a bad food day as breaking my diet, I am simply looking on it as another day. This has helped enormously. I am back down to 380, and that was without going on a diet. I am doing this because I am tired of the side effects of bad food. The lack of energy, the bloated feeling, the lack of endurance. I know that I have to be careful with food. I cannot buy extra food because it will disappear quickly. I have to buy exactly what portions are needed for the week. It is because I have started to conciously think about food that I no longer think about food.
Sorry for the rant.
Food can be as addictive as alcohol or other drugs. It is a constant battle with doing what I know I need to do versus what I want to do. Overeating is worse in the respect that if a person says that they need help with Drugs or Alcohol, people take it as something serious that needs to be addressed. If a person says they need help avoiding chocolate cake, it becomes the butt of a joke. I know that I make jokes about being overweight. The issue with overeating is compounded by the fact that your body requires food to survive. Alcohol and other drugs can kill you by over-indulging in them. Food can do the same, but food can also kill you from under-indulging.
I am not going to sit here and say that any one addiction is worse than another, I will instead say that all are illnesses that should be treated as such. Sometimes it is just a kick in the ass that the addicted person needs to get on the right track. Sometimes it is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed, and professional medical assistance is required to break the addiction.
One more part of the issue with obesity is that fatty unhealthy foods are cheaper and easier than healthier choices. A buck for a cheeseburger at the drive through is cheaper than a salad at the same drive through. Buying the ingredients to cook at home requires going through the groccery store (where most of them have fatty snacks assaulting the senses at the entrance and exit), then preparing the food. Hitting a drive through is faster. There was a time where for my family of four, it was cheaper by about ten dollars a meal to go to the drive through than going to the groccery store. Until people demand changes in the business practices of these establishments (demand with their wallets), nothing is going to change.
Using myself as an example, I went from 219 up to 320 by the time I left the Navy. My weight continued going up until I hit 435. While I was at 435, a friend of mine (that I regarded as a brother) died because he was too big. His heart just couldn't handle his mass (he was 6'8", 375 pounds, and overwieght), I started trying to lose weight. I went from 435 down to 368. I then had some life issues pop up that I dealt with by eating. I went back up to 410. Then I decided instead of going on a diet that was doomed to fail, I was going to simply change the way I buy grocceries and eat. I started buying grocceries based on meals, cooking every meal at home, and not eating a lot of processed foods. The other change that is going to help is that I am not looking at having a bad food day as breaking my diet, I am simply looking on it as another day. This has helped enormously. I am back down to 380, and that was without going on a diet. I am doing this because I am tired of the side effects of bad food. The lack of energy, the bloated feeling, the lack of endurance. I know that I have to be careful with food. I cannot buy extra food because it will disappear quickly. I have to buy exactly what portions are needed for the week. It is because I have started to conciously think about food that I no longer think about food.
Sorry for the rant.
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It is not a disease, it is a behavior driven condition. You can eliminate it if you have the will power to do so. It is the simple outcome of too many calories, fat etc in and not enough calories fat etc burned off.
Everyone want to be a victim these days. So let's make overweight people victims. I am sure that will serve some purpose like access to government benefits, handicapped stickers on cars etc and likely a new group to add to the non discrimination clause.
Everyone want to be a victim these days. So let's make overweight people victims. I am sure that will serve some purpose like access to government benefits, handicapped stickers on cars etc and likely a new group to add to the non discrimination clause.
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