Is being fat a choice?

[coachTanthony]

Telling a dangerously overweight person not to lose weight because they're "beautiful" is like telling an alcoholic not to stop drinking because they're "fun" what say you?

[HawkPerception]

I would say it's a choice throughout your life, but less so as a kid as you're not really as conscious of appearance up until a certain age (which always depends on the person).

Being fat is always within your control. You just have to eat less food, and workout more.

I have a very strong belief and that is... "You look like what you can do." If you can do 200 pushups straight, you'll look like a guy that can do 200 pushups straight. If you can swim 15km, you'll look like someone that can swim 15km. If you can do parkour, you'll look like someone that can do parkour. If you practice high level yoga, you'll look like someone that does high level yoga. And so on...

The key is consistency. You can't just do it once and then think well I can do it now so I should look like this. Your body adapts over time and I would say the time it takes for the body to adapt to the shape of what you can do is around 6 months (just ballparking it).

Yes genetics plays a factor and some people have naturally bigger frames, but if you try hard enough you can definitely lose weight. Being fat is a direct correlation of your life choices. Are you the type of person to say yes to junk food whenever you get a chance? Are you the type of person to decline going for a hike or doing any kind of physical activity? If you said yes... well go figure you're overweight.

Stop making excuses and hit the gym, eat healthy, don't indulge in food whenever you feel like it and rather... eat when you feel hungry, and stay consistent.

It's all within your power.

[deus_ex_sisyphus]

here's my hot take - brace yourself

People get big by eating away their emotions. We all face events that require us to take action or make a decision. When that event occurs and a decision is differed for whatever reason; it creates stress, specifically from the choice of choosing not to make a choice. Most people resolve that stress through time and food - eventually they get fat.

Since people are on average getting fatter with each generation, its unlikely that indecision is driven by personality leaving the alternative: choice. Up and coming generations are faced with more life choices and a greater depth of perspective than previous generations. Personally, I would attribute this mostly to social media and dating apps. Pair that with our food getting more processed with unnecessary additives like sugar, food coloring, and preservatives. Bing-botta-boom, you got the perfect fat boy recipe.

[Changiis07]

I think it can be a choice when you are older and know that eating better will help you get healthy and lose weight. I don't think it's a choice when you're a kid because you basically eat what your parents cook for you and if they have bad habits then it passes on

[coachTanthony]

True because decades ago kids would play outside.. ride their bikes for miles a day... play sports... now they eat hot dogs and cereal then plop down and play video games all day.

[Changiis07]

plus back then the population wasn't as much as now and the quality of food was better too. I agree before social media, phone, ipads, there wasn't much to do but play outside and get creative. Now all everyone does is sit on their phone watching others eat, put makeup, this and that which then makes us want to eat what they are eating or spend money on make up etc I agree kids just watch tiktok all day and then get sick more often too. I know because both of my nieces are very overweight but then their parents buy them junk food all the time or when they ask

[coachTanthony]

It's unfortunate. Thankfully soccer is very popular amongst both boys and girls and at least gets them exercising a couple times a week.

[TightLipps]

Ask yourself "1" question, does the food that enters your mouth happen by "magic" or does it happen "manually"?

[coachTanthony]

I would say it’s magic how some feel the food they shove in manually makes them fat lol

[jennifer_bloom]

I would say it is often a choice but an unconscious choice.

An example is that Dr. Oz showed on t. v. that the low calorie vegetarian soup dieters were buying to lose weight contained 5 times more sugar than a Starbucks drink.

A lot of people are hard working and prudent but they have no clue how to lose weight or how to stop weight gain.

For example, my dad tried to make me lose weight by putting me on low dairy and low meat and low calorie diet which made me gain 8 pounds.

Before he intervened I was losing 18 pounds a month but my dad made me fat by trying to help me lose weight cause he did not read or watch videos about fat burning and his methods led to weight gain and not weight loss.

[AviatorTom]

Some people have medical issues that cause the body to be larger than it should be. Most overweight or obese people, though, have gotten that way by choice... eating too many calories without enough physical activity.

[molonski2]

Its a VERY obvious choice and its called personal responsibility , if you think processed food , with high carbohydrate , sugar , and good knows what else is somehow a " staple " it will kill you , its not an IF its just a matter of when.

If you have type 2 Diabetes , the same applies , all sorts of other problems are created , you need to have a serious " never , ever , ever " list , and sadly most of what the USA considers acceptable we be on this list , the acceptance of these actions has now created a bigger killer than tobacco.

Of course its a choice , and its absolutely VITAL to be the correct weight , no excuses , its all up to you.

[Unit1]

Tell me all about it. I've only been in California for 2 weeks and 1 week in Florida and while it's easy to find stuff to put in our orifice it's quite hard to snipe for meals, that aren't contaminated with excess fats, sugars and salts. In Germany we fortunately don't have that problem. We can go to some diner or street food vendor and have a good home cooked meal for relatively cheap without sugar and with little to no fat/salt. In Thailand I reckon it's probably similar like here but so much cheaper.

[molonski2]

@Unit1
Yeah , pretty easy in Thai because they will make to order.
Going all the way back to 1998 , I went to USA for 2 months , quick arse tour to numerous states , now was not as careful back then , but I put on 5kg , eating sht , plus they dont WALK , like ever !

So in 1998 , I weighed 5k MORE than I do now in 2024 ( and a little bit more ) , so that just shows there is something seriously wrong and it would be worse now. When you make " personal responsibility " so very very difficult.
Plus , encourage walking and riding ( I know they have in some states ) . Virtually every Yank you see here in Thailand 99% are well over weight.

[PeachyPie93]

Sort of but sort of not, It is usually psychological and you usually need help to change. I don't think it should really matter though. Like you shouldn't lie to people and tell them "eat girl, you look gorgeous" but like other peoples weight shouldn't bother you. I don't care how anyone looks unless I find them hot LOL. If someone is fat I don't care, the only time it should ever come up is with seating on a plane. Like yes if you are big buy 2 seats. Other then that if you aren't bothering me go ahead and live your best or worst life, idgaf lol.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

For most people it might not be as they can't control what their body does with the food & everything. Sometimes people might not be able to eat healthy meals because of financial struggle & living situations. So frozen meals, instant noodles, and fast-food are the only foods they can eat at the moment. But I've seen cases where it does seem to be a choice for people to be fat. Some people who make that choice though tend to be ones with body image issues and/or an eating disorder, which can be worrisome for their health. Fat influencers are also people who I've seen choosing to be fat.

[AmyHew1tt]

For the most part, it's a choice. Others, it's not. It also depends on what you consider 'fat.' I don't agree with promoting obesity, but I do think it would be good if we could normalize and accept normal, different bodies. I was bullied for being 'fat' as a kid and a young teenager, even though I was an average weight, and at worst, a bit overweight when I hit puberty. Never to a point where I was unhealthy, or had a double chin. But it really wrecked my self-esteem and has ingrained in me a narrative that unless I'm skinny I'm not worth anything, which I still haven't managed to uproot. I have been driven to borderline eating disorders many times since I was thirteen, and have developed a lot of neurosis around food, even now.

It really depends on the person and their circumstances.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Nope.

People have deseases causing them to be obese regardless what they do. Many people don't have alternative healthy food, only the sugary and fat foods. Many people have no other choice but to drive their car anywhere...

Also people can be overweight and still be beautifull, and yes obese people know they are obese and they also know its not healthy.

But its also not healthy suffering from mental health problems, so stop bullying fat people.

[coachTanthony]

Exactly if you are bullying fat people you should get some help that isn't cool.

[electromagnetic]

I mean if you’re not eating healthy or getting exercise and are watching the pounds grow, you sorta made that choice. But if you’re doing everything you can to improve yourself, that’s a bonus. But some folks like being in the bigger end and that’s for sure a choice.

[Unit1]

More often than not.

I'm selective about what goes in my mouth and it sure as hell ain't gonna be sugar contaminated "products" they're selling. Most of the time.

Hell, STARVING is a free and guaranteed way to lose weight. But nooooooo, they chose to be gluttonous fatasses.

[coachTanthony]

Lady boys? 😎

[Unit1]

What about them?

[coachTanthony]

You said you were selective about what goes in your mouth? lol

[Unit1]

And?

[coachTanthony]

Never mind man just making a joke lol

[TommyMountainFigure]

It's a really tough one to answer Coach, because if you're trying to help someone lose weight, you have to know what kind of encouragement they respond to best.
For example, it is no good telling someone who has low self esteem they look awful and unless they lose weight they will die next week. It's also no good telling someone who is full of it, they look good, because they probably think that anyway.
It's really hard to know how to advise someone sometimes.. Maybe he best way is to make them see for themselves how dangerously overweight they are, rather than telling them!

[Billlewis]

I'm not entirely sure, but if it is, it's a choice I wish a lot more women would make, because the term 'fat' is really just another way of saying, 'gorgeous', in my opinion;)

[coachTanthony]

You want women to be fat and unhealthy?

[Billlewis]

Not morbidly obese, but healthy and well fed, at the very least.

[coachTanthony]

Is the woman in the photo morbidly obese or well fed?

[Billlewis]

I'd say right in between.

[coachTanthony]

she's obese man lol

[KlinkyCoder]

By my own standards and a lot of other people's, the one in the photo would be too big.

[KlinkyCoder]

I agree with that statement. I think being fat is usually a choice or consequence of passively ignoring eating and exercising in a healthy way. Why can't people have more shame and accept that their serious overweight issue is not "beautiful". Just me, me, me. No wonder the dating and relationship climate is currently the way it is.

[Bricealan]

Every day we get out of bed, we make decisions and choices, about what we will do that day, and the same decisions every day, and that includes how we take care of and maintain out health and wellbeing

[NathanDavis]

many choices can lead to obesity... few other factors are not exactly under our direct control, nor always a possibility to do something substantial about it

[Mr_twoface]

Becoming fat is not a choice, eating unhealthy and not exercising is.

[JacobJordan]

Of course being overweight is a choice. It isn't that hard to have self control and not stuff your face with pounds of food

[LazerBean]

Of course, every time you put food in your mouth it's a choice.

[Pohjolan]

People don't get fatter by merely breathing air and drinking water.

However its a easier choice for some than others depending on things like cultural diet and infrastructure.

[OtterMan68]

for the most part. There are some serious ailments that may make it very hard to lose weight, but most obesity is the result of bad diet and lack of exercise.

[msc545]

Perhaps to a lesser extent its a choice, but true obesity is genetically mediated. That said, GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic are extremely effective for weight loss. The only real barrier to using them is the cost. With drugs like this choice is a not a factor.