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Is it right to make any sort of judgement based on obesity?

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I don't judge anyone based on their appearance, but once you get into that topic with an obese person, the one thing that puzzles me is how they convince themselves it is right or o.k. to be obese.

Though also depends on your definition of obese. You can be Obese and 100% healthy.

Of course the morbidly obese are another issue entirely.
 
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The gif is overused and yet I just can't get enough of it.
 
......hmm

how?

Ummm by being that way. I won't lie.....I lost weight mostly for vanity reasons. I was significantly overweight and had no health problems to speak of. (that is not to say I wouldn't have developed some if I had kept gaining weight or later in life)

I think you don't really understand how easily someone can be considered "Obese". Anyone who looks overweight enough for the average joe to notice it is probably considered obese.

Having too much fat is not healthy. Fat cells are hormone cells, throws off the body's natural balance.

Lots of words that don't mean much. There are plenty of people who are overweight (not morbid) who are completely active and healthy and would lead full lives.
 
Even though I am obese I don't eat as much as people assume.

I do try to eat healthy but being poor doesn't help.

At least during the winter I go for walks and during the summer I use wiifit boxing
 
To answer the op's question, I believe the answer is no. However it's nearly impossible to practice what I preach. America's obsession with obesity is ridiculous, just look at how many reality TV shows there are centering around weight loss. The real issue is self worth and accepting who you are. I am physically fit and healthy, but I realize at age 34, I'm never going to have a six pack, and I'm totally fine with that. Regardless, if you are over weight it really should be a priority in your life, especially the older you get. Exercise is as important as nutrition, and sleeping, it's as inevitable as paying your taxes. Even small changes like going for a daily walk can have a huge impact.
 
Ummm by being that way. I won't lie.....I lost weight mostly for vanity reasons. I was significantly overweight and had no health problems to speak of. (that is not to say I wouldn't have developed some if I had kept gaining weight or later in life)

I think you don't really understand how easily someone can be considered "Obese". Anyone who looks overweight enough for the average joe to notice it is probably considered obese.



Lots of words that don't mean much. There are plenty of people who are overweight (not morbid) who are completely active and healthy and would lead full lives.
On what grounds do my words not mean much? Being obese is unhealthy, which is a unanimous scientific consensus.

Don't take my word for it. Read what the CDC has to say about it.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html
 
Ummm ok......

You do realize that there are a million varying degrees of "medical reasons"? Facts are facts...there are a ton of people who can be dumbfucks about diet and exercise and never gain a pound. These same dirtbags are many of the people who come in these threads and complain about people making "excuses" about their weight when many obese people struggle day in and day out with diet and exercise with minimal results. I consider that a "medical reason" because it is something that they really cannot control. People have NO right to judge because they are clueless about the personal circumstances of each individual. This is NOT like smoking where virtually every smoker CHOSE to start at some point.

Few people are genetically "fat" but sometimes the amount of time and effort that would be required to lose the weight is NOT worth it. They should not be judged for it. I personally was very overweight and lost 85 lbs......however, I don't say a word to others who choose not to do so.


There is a MASSIVE difference between slightly overweight/chubby/out of shape and morbidly obese/so fat you can't move.

It is ALWAYS worth the time and effort to save your own life unless you are literally trying eat yourself to death.
 
I don't judge overweight people - most people are, and I'm a bit overweight myself.

I do (privately) judge people who weigh 500 pounds. There is zero excuse for that. In my thus far brief medical career I've had the opportunity to work with a number of people of that size who were motivated to become healthy, and I was thrilled to help them. I've also encountered people in their twenties with BMIs in the 60s, and who had no interest in any real attempt to lose weight. The fact that they'll probably be dead at 40 years old didn't really seem to register.
 
In my experience what works it's not telling people that they're fat, is showing them how to get in better shape. For instance I can talk about myself a bit here, I've never been fat, however I wanted to get even more fit so I switched to a healthier lifestyle and started going to the gym, once others saw what can happen if they do that, others around me started to do the same, I also encouraged them to participate and even provided assistance working out together with them, eating together healthier foods, etc. That's better than just telling them things, talk is cheap, if you're concerned about them actions are more significant. You want to promote healthier lifestyles? become a bearer of them but also don't be an obnoxious person in the process, invite your friends to join you in these activities.

This is why whenever I see someone super duper crazy fat that frequents my gym I go out of my way to either help them out or encourage them in some small subtle way. I know when I was losing all my football weight a few comments from girls at the gym was a massive encouragement/motivational boost.

I'm not going to check and see if they leave the gym and eat 3000cal of McD's but if I see them wandering the weights after some cardio looking nervous/confused I'm more than happy to introduce myself and show them a few easy/beginner things to get going.
 
Ummm by being that way. I won't lie.....I lost weight mostly for vanity reasons. I was significantly overweight and had no health problems to speak of. (that is not to say I wouldn't have developed some if I had kept gaining weight or later in life)

I think you don't really understand how easily someone can be considered "Obese". Anyone who looks overweight enough for the average joe to notice it is probably considered obese.



Lots of words that don't mean much. There are plenty of people who are overweight (not morbid) who are completely active and healthy and would lead full lives.


You're mixing up Obese and Overweight to start with.

I can see an overweight or maybe slightly obese person who exercises might be relatively healthy, but they will not by any means remain perfectly as healthy as someone who is in a good weight category and also exercises.

Obesity is one of the biggest health risk factors for a huge number of different diseases. You would be hard pressed to find someone who had been Obese their entire lives and is free of any related illness in the latter stages of their lives.

Trying to normalise obesity is one of the most destructive things we can do as a society. That's not to say we should look down on people who are obese as a standard, but if they do nothing to make themselves healthy I feel it's a huge disservice to just say that that's ok.
 
I don't judge overweight people - most people are, and I'm a bit overweight myself.

I do (privately) judge people who weigh 500 pounds. There is zero excuse for that. In my thus far brief medical career I've had the opportunity to work with a number of people of that size who were motivated to become healthy, and I was thrilled to help them. I've also encountered people in their twenties with BMIs in the 60s, and who had no interest in any real attempt to lose weight. The fact that they'll probably be dead at 40 years old didn't really seem to register.

There's this thing called depression. Being a medical professional, I hope you've heard about it from somewhere. It's just one of the many factors that can cause someone to lose control of their weight. There's also stress (cortisol causes weight gain), lack of sleep, sleep apnea, hormonal abnormalities, brain damage, genetic factors, insulin resistance, and quite a few others. Some people just have poor executive function and simply can't control themselves very well.
 
Some people are obese because of medical condition.

Very few people are obese because of a medical condition.
- pregnancy
- bloating due to water retention IE heart failure/edema
- some kind of hormone imbalance IE Andre the Giant


I would say a lot of people are susceptible to eating disorders/diabetes, people like to eat shitty food, shitty foods are cheap, eating healthy is hard/expensive. Once you get fat it is very easy to stay fat.

When I see an obese person all I see is a huge burden to the health care system/society. That person is probably going to get diabetes and die a horriible, horrible death for which thousands if not hundreds and thousands of dollars are going to be spent keeping this person alive.
 
There's this thing called depression. Being a medical professional, I hope you've heard about it from somewhere. It's just one of the many factors that can cause someone to lose control of their weight. There's also stress (cortisol causes weight gain), lack of sleep, sleep apnea, hormonal abnormalities, brain damage, genetic factors, insulin resistance, and quite a few others. Some people just have poor executive function and simply can't control themselves very well.

None of which are, speaking informally, an actual excuse for weighing five hundred pounds or more. Do not mix up my conversational discussion and private opinions with the way I practice medicine. Also, no need to be condescending.

I recognize the ways that all the above factors play into obesity. I also recognize that the root cause of a good deal of them is lack of true self-control. This does not invalidate them overall as a person, nor does it negate my desire as a medical practitioner to help them in any way I can. But it's still a very negative trait.
 
There's this thing called depression. Being a medical professional, I hope you've heard about it from somewhere. It's just one of the many factors that can cause someone to lose control of their weight. There's also stress (cortisol causes weight gain), lack of sleep, sleep apnea, hormonal abnormalities, brain damage, genetic factors, insulin resistance, and quite a few others. Some people just have poor executive function and simply can't control themselves very well.

Yes there is such a thing as depression, however weight loss is more typical of depression. Even still, atypical depression can and should be treated with medication. The problem is not the weight, its the depression.

The evidence with cortisol)stress induced) weight gain is equivocal. Sleep apnea does not cause weight gain. There is a strong correlation of apnea with obesity however (obesity preceded OSA). insulin resistance developed over time as a result of unhealthy lifestyle, obesity being the most objective risk factor.

You should do your research before questioning someone's expertise.

Got your back Emerson


Apologizes for grammatical errors. On a new tablet.

Edit

Also your rant reminds me of the ps3 has no games comic with the user that said "false it has plenty of games"
 
Epidemic obesity is the inevitable result of the abundance of cheap processed garbage with little to no nutritional value, a shift from physical labor to sedentary office jobs, an educational system that has become so focused on college prep and passing standardized tests that teaching proper nutrition and cooking has fallen by the wayside, and ignorant parents that don't possess these skills and fail to pass them on to their children. Change the environment and obesity rates will go down.
 
As a former fatty, I do judge people. Illness and genetics are an excuse for the majority of fat people. Less butter, more vegetable.
 
Yes there is such a thing as depression, however weight loss is more typical of depression. Even still, atypical depression can and should be treated with medication. The problem is not the weight, its the depression.

The evidence with cortisol)stress induced) weight gain is equivocal. Sleep apnea does not cause weight gain. There is a strong correlation of apnea with obesity however (obesity preceded OSA). insulin resistance developed over time as a result of unhealthy lifestyle, obesity being the most objective risk factor.

You should do your research before questioning someone's expertise.

Got your back Emerson


Apologizes for grammatical errors. On a new tablet.


There's these things called feedback loops that tend to go awry that lead to people becoming massively obese.

Sleep apnea does cause weight gain. It increases levels of ghrelin (increases appetite) and decreases levels of leptin (decreases appetite and increases energy output by acting on the POMC neuron). Sleep apnea also causes/worsens insulin resistance, which causes further weight gain through a variety of mechanisms (an increase in circulating triglycerides decreases leptin sensitivity so even as someone is getting fatter and their fat cells are producing more leptin, they're becoming less sensitive to leptin). It's a vicious.

Atypical depression actually accounts for 30-40% of the cases of depression. And it's not like depression is very easy to treat; usually treatment take a while and is often unsuccessful.

Insulin resistance can actually develop quite rapidly ...i.e. in pregnant women or people who develop a sleeping disorder or people who get injured and are suddenly relegated to inactivity or people who enter adulthood and suddenly have to spend several hours sedentary at a desk. Sitting around for long periods of time isn't healthy even with exercise.
 
I am morbidly obese. I deal with cunts judging me every day.

I won't go into the things that lead to this. Suffice it to say that it's not nearly as simple as "Herp I just loves to eat!"

Every day I deal with the whispers and the looks from people who themselves are very obviously out of shape but who feel free to mock me.

I'm happily married to a normal-weight pretty wife, have three skinny beautiful children, coach lacrosse and practice sports all year round with my kids, and have an undergrad in electrical engineering and a masters in education. And yet I'm constantly judged by other people as some fat stupid loner loser. Yeah OK.

So for those of you judging obese people - yes, we know we're fat, and yes, we know that you're judging us, and yes, it hurts. So fuck off cunts.

Have you tried to lose the weight?
 
Have you tried to lose the weight?

Of course he has. Pretty much every obese person has tried to lose weight at some point. There are many obese people who are hard working and successful people in every other facet of their lives who simply can't control their weight. This should be ample evidence that obesity is a biological disorder, not merely a lack of self control as judgmental, morally righteous assholes would like to believe as it makes them feel better about themselves.
 
It is unfair to judge a person simply because their faults can clearly be seen on the outside, unless you have first looked inside and considered whether you should also judge yourself.
 
Why wouldn`t you judge someone for decisions that they made?

I judge people everyday for every decision they make, hair style/colour, tattoos, clothes, their weight, makeup. whether you hold open a door for someone.

Everything choice you make reflects who you are, what's wrong with judging that?
 
Yep. Like I said, there are a number of reasons that have lead to where I am now. I don't want to get into it here, as it's not the point. The point is it's no one else's business. I don't judge other people for being stupid to the point where I'm amazed they remember to breathe, and yet those same people laugh at me for being fat.

Remove the beam from your own eye, and all that.

It sure sounds like you do, to be fair.
 
Yep. Like I said, there are a number of reasons that have lead to where I am now. I don't want to get into it here, as it's not the point. The point is it's no one else's business. I don't judge other people for being stupid to the point where I'm amazed they remember to breathe, and yet those same people laugh at me for being fat.

Remove the beam from your own eye, and all that.

Saying "I don't judge other people for being stupid to the point where I'm amazed they remember to breathe" certainly sounds like a judgement.
 
Yep. Like I said, there are a number of reasons that have lead to where I am now. I don't want to get into it here, as it's not the point. The point is it's no one else's business. I don't judge other people for being stupid to the point where I'm amazed they remember to breathe, and yet those same people laugh at me for being fat.

Remove the beam from your own eye, and all that.

I think that's a judgement.
 
I think just about anybody can get down to a normal size if they divorce themselves from the idea of deriving pleasure from food. I think a problem with many diets is everyone wants things that "taste good" but are still healthy. For someone that's naturally in their ideal weight range, this is fine, whatever taste in food you have hasn't lead you to become fat. For an obese person these "light" meals are likely to just make them long for even more flavorful meals that are even more unhealthy. Instead do something like make a raw veggie smoothie, something that is fibrous, filling, healthy, low calorie and most importantly doesn't have a strong sweet or savory taste.

I'll mix a banana, broccoli, kale, and spinach with some milk in the blender. It tastes like blended vegetables, but the milk and banana tone it down a bit til it almost doesn't have that much of a taste. After drinking a big cup I don't feel full, yet I don't feel like I need more food, and even though that taste wasn't amazing I feel contented in the experience that I just had eating. If I ate some savory low calorie bullshit I'd be hungry as fuck as well as kind of wishing I would have eaten something better tasting instead of something "light".

GirlGAF must be throwing their panties at KevinCow.

Dude, c'mon.
 
The only people I make character calls about are people like my roommate, whom I know. He's skinny (and he doesn't deserve to be) but has some of the worst, laziest habits ever, like he drinks a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper every day and doesn't care that he has a terrible diet. He has diabetes in his family and so he doesn't care and is just waiting for his health problems to show up. I think thats a terrible attitude toward your body and he clearly doesn't understand how health problems will compile as you get older and they end up limiting your life. On top of all that he has some gross habits so I'm just like, whatever, crap attitude but its your life to ruin.
 
I think just about anybody can get down to a normal size if they divorce themselves from the idea of deriving pleasure from food. I think a problem with many diets is everyone wants things that "taste good" but are still healthy. For someone that's naturally in their ideal weight range, this is fine, whatever taste in food you have hasn't lead you to become fat. For an obese person these "light" meals are likely to just make them long for even more flavorful meals that are even more unhealthy. Instead do something like make a raw veggie smoothie, something that is fibrous, filling, healthy, low calorie and most importantly doesn't have a strong sweet or savory taste.

I'll mix a banana, broccoli, kale, and spinach with some milk in the blender. It tastes like blended vegetables, but the milk and banana tone it down a bit til it almost doesn't have that much of a taste. After drinking a big cup I don't feel full, yet I don't feel like I need more food, and even though that taste wasn't amazing I feel contented in the experience that I just had eating. If I ate some savory low calorie bullshit I'd be hungry as fuck as well as kind of wishing I would have eaten something better tasting instead of something "light".

This would likely help a lot of people, unfortunately nobody (the public, that is, and probably most medical professionals) realizes how much of a factor food reward is in obesity. Some people are a lot more sensitive to rewarding foods than others and this, of course, is driven by genetics. So many foods are hyperpalatable; even stuff like bread has been tinkered with to have just the right amount of salt, sugar and artificial flavors to make it extra rewarding. Eat your whole grains!

It's difficult to lose weight when the first thing you think about every day upon waking is McDonald's. Yes, I've been there.
 
As a former fatty I get how somebody can get like that.
But I was only fat briefly and I did something about it, so I want to help these people.

I won't lie, it does bother me when people say they either can't help being fat or they like being fat. I don't buy it.
 
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Are there any conditions which can cause weight gain via a lowering of basal metabolic rate, as opposed to decreasing or blocking sensations satiety? Perhaps by reserving energy intake to storage before it can be expended, or in some way favouring the preference for weight increase/retention ahead of fuelling the body? Are they in any way common?

Lowering of the BMr can play a strong role, I know of few conditions that might be effected by low satiety.

Hypothyroidism is associated with decreased BMr, weight gain.
Hyperthyroidism, meanwhile, is usually associated with the opposite, however the symptom of polyphagia can sometimes overcome the patient's elevated BMR and result in weight gain.
Cushing's disease (and the iatrogenic syndrome) are strongly associated with central obesity due to hypercortisolism
Acromegaly is associated with weight gain, insulin resistance.

ANY condition requiring insulin administration (such as type II diabetes, which remember, is also the result of genetic predisposition to beta cell dysfunction and insulin resistance, not merely the product of being fat) treated with insulin can result in significant weight gain, as insulin functions as a storage hormone.

Many medications for nonmetabolic syndromes may also be associated with substantial weight gain (steroids, antidepressants, birth control).
 
Though also depends on your definition of obese. You can be Obese and 100% healthy.

Of course the morbidly obese are another issue entirely.

This is a misnomer. Obesity is associated with a host of health risks, increased disposition toward heart disease, stroke, diabetes, renal dysfunction, arthritis, etc. In fact, it is a major risk factor in over 65 major illnesses. A person may not be keeling over when they are 25 and their organs are still healthy, but given time, the quality and/or duration of their life will certainly be shorter than a non obese individual.
 
Lowering of the BMr can play a strong role, I know of few conditions that might be effected by low satiety.

Hypothyroidism is associated with decreased BMr, weight gain.
Hyperthyroidism, meanwhile, is usually associated with the opposite, however the symptom of polyphagia can sometimes overcome the patient's elevated BMR and result in weight gain.
Cushing's disease (and the iatrogenic syndrome) are strongly associated with central obesity due to hypercortisolism
Acromegaly is associated with weight gain, insulin resistance.

ANY condition requiring insulin administration (such as type II diabetes, which remember, is also the result of genetic predisposition to beta cell dysfunction and insulin resistance, not merely the product of being fat) treated with insulin can result in significant weight gain, as insulin functions as a storage hormone.

Many medications for nonmetabolic syndromes may also be associated with substantial weight gain (steroids, antidepressants, birth control).

I totally forgot about SSRIs causing weight gain. So yeah, overweight/obese depressed people often end up getting fatter when being treated, and it's often something they're supposed to be treated with for life.

Don't get me started on Seroquel. That drug will turn people into blimps in no time.
 
Actually, seroquel isn't so bad. Paxil, now, that'll get ya fat. And remember, overheating can be a function of depression itself.

I'm not saying environment doesn't play a major role- in many cases it does. It's just not the only factor to consider. This is a complex problem in our society that cannot be remedied by simply "putting down the fork"
 
I think we can all agree though that just because you judge someone, you should still treat them with respect and kindness. Hold the double wide door open for them, move the empty shopping cart so the scooter can get through. If you see the last box of fudgeos way in the back of the shelf pull it forward.
 
I do judge others when they make decisions that I wouldn't make myself. However, I feel like a lot of that is me projecting my own weight issues on others and feel terrible when I reflect on that judgement.

I'm currently at a healthy 160 lbs at 5'10", but have gone over 200 lbs twice in my life. I have not been over 175 in the last 7.5 years but I know that the glutton will always be inside me.
 
I guess it's just as right as assuming any girl that's skinny is anorexic.

I don't think that's fair at all. "Skinny" is a perception thing. Some people have low body fat. Some have high metabolism. Some who appear to be underweight may be in absolutely amazing shape.

Obesity... far too many people make excuses for their issues regarding weight. "I have a gland problem - even when I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes while playing my Vita, I don't lose weight"
 
This is a misnomer. Obesity is associated with a host of health risks, increased disposition toward heart disease, stroke, diabetes, renal dysfunction, arthritis, etc. In fact, it is a major risk factor in over 65 major illnesses. A person may not be keeling over when they are 25 and their organs are still healthy, but given time, the quality and/or duration of their life will certainly be shorter than a non obese individual.

I've seen studies that show that some people actually are perfectly healthy even though they're obese -- their lipids are fine, their glucose tolerance / insulin sensitivty is fine, they show no signs of inflammation or impaired kidney, liver or other organ function impairment. These people are a minority of obese people, but they do exist. There is the idea that some people are genetically suited to better handle extra weight.

The problems associated with people seem to be caused by an inability to deal with excess nutrients. In other words, people reach a point where their fat cells (adipocytes) lose insulin sensitivity and say, in non-technical terms "no more nutrients or I'll explode". The pancreas says "fuck you" to the stubborn cells and pumps out huge amounts of insulin. Eventually the beta cells of the pancreas get tired of saying "fuck you" and they simply lose their functionality. Or no matter how much insulin is produced, adipocytes simply won't accept any extra nutrients. Or, as is often the case, it's a combination of both scenarios. There's simply not enough insulin to store any excess nutrients and the nutrients (fat/glucose) start flooding the bloodstream. Diabetes. But some people can be obese and their cells remain perfectly sensitive to insulin.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have some people (asians in particular) who are much more susceptible to developing metabolic problems if they gain only a little weight. Sometimes these people don't even have to gain weight, but merely have poor body composition (skinny fat phenotype). Appearance doesn't tell you how a person is doing metabolically, although, as stated, there is a strong correlation with obesity and metabolic issues -- the majority of obese people will be unhealthy from a metabolic portion, a minority won't.
 
No it's not.

Why would you think lesser of someone simply because they're fat? Because they're gluttons, do little in the way of exercise and are unhealthy? There are a ton of skinny people with similarly awful eating and exercise habits, but due to the fact that their bodies handle food in such a way that a heavier persons does not, they're visually thinner despite being every bit as "overindulgent and lazy."

And how do you know that the person isn't in the middle of a weight loss transformation, such as the 170+ pound weight loss I experienced here:

680413_397646353638477_259675064_o.jpg


I received my fair share of negative words while I was in the middle of this 3 weight loss journey, despite the fact that I was likely eating significantly more healthy and working out a ton more than the people who levied them. Hating someone for something as trivial as outward appearance is so fucking stupid IMO.
Great work how long did it take you?
 
I've seen studies that show that some people actually are perfectly healthy even though they're obese -- their lipids are fine, their glucose tolerance / insulin sensitivty is fine, they show no signs of inflammation or impaired kidney, liver or other organ function impairment. These people are a minority of obese people, but they do exist. There is the idea that some people are genetically suited to better handle extra weight.

Yes, I remember seeing one patient who was in his sixties and weighed 350 pounds, and had no abnormalities on any of his labs and was on no medication.
 
Yes, I remember one patient who was in his sixties and weighed 350 pounds, and had no abnormalities on any of his labs and was on no medication.

It's still baffling why you would want to carry that much weight around, though.
it really just feels so much better to be lean.
 
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