Is obesity a choice or a lifestyle?

[Anonymous]

I think obese people are wasting their lives. They're always just sitting on the couch anyway, so it wouldn't make much difference if they were in a grave

[Purpleronnie]

Your question is oversimplified & ignorant and your description stating your own opinion i actually find contemptuous & repulsive.



I realize my efforts in trying to educate and reason with you are likely redundant but assuming you can understand , I will give it a shot.



Is obesity a choice or a lifestyle
Obesity is influenced by many factors. Diet , physical activity level , genetics , medications , health conditions , environment, income , stress , sleep , etc etc


It’s neither


‘Obese people are wasting their lives , it wouldn’t make much difference if they were in a grave’

This is not a factual statement , it’s an insulting and dehumanizing statement


Many obese people work , raise families , build business , contribute to their communities etc etc living meaningful lives. Their body weight doesn’t determine whether their life has value any more than your apparent lack of intellect and respect


It could reasonable be argued that obesity is often linked to unhealthy habits or that personal responsibility plays a role but there is no cause for you or anyone to make sweeping & derogatory generalizations


My only hope is that hateful little trolls like you will one day reap what you sow

[Asker]

You're entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to mine.
I never said that obese people have no value as human beings. My point was about the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle, not about denying anyone's humanity. Yes, genetics and medical conditions play a role, but they don't explain every case of obesity, and for many people, personal responsibility is still a factor.
You disagree with my opinion, and that's perfectly fine. But calling me ignorant or insulting me doesn't make your argument any stronger. We simply have different views on the issue.

[HawkPerception]

This question is incorrectly phrased. A better way to ask it would have been "Is obesity simply a lifestyle choice?" because your lifestyle is generally a choice unless you have circumstances which prevent you from living a certain way, like a health condition or extreme poverty. And there is no health condition that makes you fat... not even thyroid issues. With enough effort, anyone can lose weight. The only people who can't are those who have trouble even moving... like paralyzed people.

Ask all the starving people in the world. They cannot be obese because they don't eat inordinate amounts of food like people in the West. They don't have the option to eat because they're "craving" something. And they are generally much more physically active. Look at places like Vietnam, where the obesity rate is around 2.49% of the population. Or Japan with an obesity rate of 5.19%. Then you have America with a whopping 41.83% obesity rate.

It is simply a lifestyle choice. If you want to lose weight, you can. I'm sick of people who make excuses. There are many cheap, healthy foods, but Americans want sugary foods and processed foods. They want to eat whenever they crave something. They don't want to workout or be healthy.

[Screenwriter]

I think you need more compassion. It is very difficult to attack a problem that someone might have had for a lifetime. We need food to exist and some people USE food as emotional crutches instead of getting the help they need medically and psychologically.

There are some genetic factors, lifestyle factors and people get into emotional and p hysical ruts and give up.

It is miserable to be extremely obese. But changing is very hard.

[Asker]

I understand that obesity is a complex issue and that changing long-term habits can be incredibly difficult. I don't deny that genetics, mental health, and other factors play a role.

My point is simply that recognizing those challenges shouldn't mean we stop encouraging personal responsibility or healthier lifestyles. We can have compassion for people while also acknowledging the serious consequences of obesity.

[Screenwriter]

But some people don't or can't change. It's a personal responsibility issue. And some folk just don't have it due to those complex factors.

[nastyb]

@Asker

do you realize how many fat people try over and over again to lose weight BUT CAN'T?

its fucked up how some people think being fat is a choice.

[Nikki1989]

So I guess you have never heard of genetics, the hypothalamus, hormones or medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, to name just one.

Perhaps do some research first before posting about a topic you are clearly out of your depth on.

[Massageman]

In some cases it might be a choice. And lifestyles are often choices. In some cases, obesity is a genetic anomaly that must simply be handled as best as we can.

[Finchie40]

Unfortunately it can be both , obesity can stem down from genetics or an internal medical problem that they are unaware about. Just because someone is overweight , it doesn’t necessarily mean they are lazy and unhealthy , everyone is built different and has different genetics and health problems. So people that have high metabolism can pretty much eat whatever they want and not work out without gaining a pound , lucky for them , where some people can exercise. And eat a few slices of pizza and gain pounds from it. The bottom line society and social media labeled being overweight to be unhealthy and being thin and fit to be healthy , when it really means shit , just because someone is thin, it doesn’t mean they are healthy , social media wants you to think that, so they can continue make money off of people that struggle to lose weight , I know a few people that exercised daily and watched what they ate and they still ended up dead at a young age , and I know overweight people that are still living til this day that barely work out and eat junk food that have slow metabolisms. So it has nothing to do with health it mainly stems down from genetics and internal medical conditions and metabolism

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I was a world-class athlete when I was 20 years old. But for no apparent reason, Type 2 diabetes sat in by the time I was 24 years old*, and I've had trouble with uncontrolled weight gain ever since then. I eat less than the RDA of total daily calories, don't drink sodas anymore, and never eat sweats, yet I'm 35lbs overweight. If I wasn't sick, I'd exercise more, but I got sick while I was working out 20 hours per week, so figure that shit out. By the time I was 33 I had two strokes and I've had two strokes since then too.

*Nobody in my family was ever diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic, though it's possible my father had it and was undiagnosed his entire life. He died of brain cancer at the age of 50.

[molonski2]

Just wasting their lives , looking for approval and excuses , it is absolutely disgusting that some give them an out , so much damage , disease , heart attack , stroke , 15 years off life.


But people ( some ) simply cannot self regulate , all this needs to be pushed much harder.. NO MCDONALDS is NEVER okey , not once , not ever and all that other shite
.
It's never- ever stuff... disgusting how this has progressed , shameful on all involved.

[Asker]

I agree that obesity has serious health consequences and that we shouldn't normalize it. However, I don't think eating fast food once in a while is the issue. The real problem is making unhealthy habits a long-term lifestyle.

[molonski2]

It is , people just can't self regulate , fast shite is NOT food , it's processed crp , whether you agree or otherwise , it's tomorrow's tobacco , cancer causing , never ever stuff..
As is the person that says " Go on just have one , one can't hurt " YES IF CAN , and does..
We used to hand 8 year old children a Durrie.. we don't give them " just one " for good reason.
Processed sugars and carbs ( processed ) are absolute killers , and having " just one " must never be considered Ok..
You really think these death franchises survive on " just one " , they thrive on addiction..
A neat shot of whiskey would do less harm than this Western shite , that's a fact.

[jshm2]

You clearly can't think for shit, then, hence have no value or opinion.

Some people are more prone to obesity than others. But medication and health issues can cause obesity in some people as well.

Main thing is, unless that person was planning to become a sports personality, their weight will have little issue on their ability to work.

I know plenty of CEO's and professionals who would be classed as obese. They make more in a month, than you do in a year.

[Asker]

you're confusing success with health being a successful CEO doesn't mean obesity isn't unhealthy

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I'm someone regularly accusing choices or lifestyles to be tales told to ourselves. Because I believe that environment's influence is much stronger than the individual would like it to be.

So I think of obesity, or its opposite, as a result of social conditioning. Primarily.

[Zack-Bann]

Metabolism speed is not a choice.
If you’re screwed you’re screwed.
But that doesn’t mean it’s ok to sit around and do nothing.


Still it’s important to know that we won’t all reach single digit body fat, some of us will kill ourselves in diet and exercise and still be stuck with some residual fat.


I wouldn’t point a finger at an obese person but I do not condone promoting it or giving up in the face of it

[DishLady]

For some it's a choice. You choose to overeat and lack a healthy level of movement... and so you have to face that consequence.

For others it's a medical thing -- low metabolism, hormonal, accident-related, etc. There are therapeutics to help regulate some of these cases but again it's up to the individual to WANT to have a change in their lives.

[sawno]

Its a health issue, sometimes only physical sometimes also mental.
But its a health issue that can be very hard to solve, so some would rather life under the false idea that its normal and there is nothing wrong which created that "lifestyle".

[XXblack88]

some people have hypothyroid which means even if you eat normal portions of food they still gain weight. others use food to cope with their emotions/ trauma. and then you have those that don't have any of those issues just likes to eat without exercise etc.

[Just_Ken]

Some not in the numbers we are seeing. The big thing is eating two to three times or more what a person is meant to.

[Asker]

@Just_Ken Finally, someone who gets what I'm saying.

[Just_Ken]

Its pure gluttony

[XXblack88]

@Just_Ken I mentioned that on the bottom. Unless you know the individual personally and watch them eat all day you wouldn't know why they're 200+ pounds

[Just_Ken]

100 million people in the US are obese, 45% of the population. Thats not a thyroid problem, thats gluttony

[XXblack88]

@Just_Ken I'm aware it's not all thyroid problem The American diet has sugar in almost everything even thing like fruit juice, bread etc sugar makes a person fat especially if your a person who enjoys eating just because.

[Just_Ken]

I watched a woman in KFC sit down and eat two full buckets of chicken washed down by a bucket of cola

[XXblack88]

@Just_Ken Yeah that's a lot I would definitely loose my appetite after watching someone eat like that.

[jennifer_bloom]

I think most obese people crave food or they hunger for food, if you kill their craving and their hunger they will lose weight. When I was sick from an unknown illness 3 years ago, I had to eat 6,000 calories an hour to avoid feeling hungry. I was not lazy, I just had hunger that made me overeat. My family was on vacation, because they would never let me eat that much food if they knew about it.

[Dargil]

Other than a few instances, it is a choice reflecting a mental issue. Four years ago, I weighed 285 pounds. It came from eating lots of chips and dips and sweets and desserts and stuff like that. It did not feel like mental illness. I just denied that I was fat. Now I weigh 203 pounds as of yesterday.

[Anonymous]

How are they wasting their life? There are power lifters who are fat and they don't care about how they look or the aesthetic.

If you're talking about people like Amberlyn reed then okay I understand that.

But what if that fat person is a doctor or engineer and using their abstract thoughts?

Oh, nvm, I didn't see you're early 20s that makes sense why you think so black and white. Sorry I didn't know you were a kid. My bad.

[Asker]

Health and success aren't the same thing. Someone can be an excellent doctor or engineer and still have unhealthy habits. My point was about health, not intelligence or worth.
And if your best argument is my age, then you probably don't have a stronger argument.

[RingOfFire]

It's clearly a choice. Physiology is physiology. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight. It is in your control. Either eat less or move more. It's that simple. People who are overweight often have mental issues that go with it and all kinds of excuses to delude themselves into thinking they can't control their weight. Unless you are physically disabled and unable to move on your own it is a choice.

[Iron_Man]

It’s a choice because they don’t care. They love eating food so much and it’s so tasty to them and they can’t get enough of it and they don’t care about weight any longer. it’s a lot of work to be on a diet and to maintain a healthy eating life style

[Just_Ken]

Its an immoral choice and bad for the environment. Cut obesity and you will cut carbon emissions by 75%.

[DonaldDarko]

Id say it's a choice. Lots of candy and ice cream. Larger portions than they need. Some ate dogged all their life by a slow metabolism though. I'm not naturally thin but I'm lucky I wasn't born with that trait either.

[WhitneySnow]

This is a terrible question and I’m really mad at GAG for not giving me the option to report it as offensive and thereby deleting it from my feed

[Still-alive]

100%

[Just_Ken]

There's no way to sugar coat it but obesity is immoral and bad for the environment.

[Still-alive]

here we go. the moralizing over this is just outrageous...

[Just_Ken]

Just considering how it raises the cost of everyone else's health insurance.

[Just_Ken]

Obesity contributes to an estimated 20% higher greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint compared to normal-weight individuals. This excess footprint—amounting to roughly an extra 700 megatons of CO₂ equivalents annually (about 1.6% of global emissions)—is driven by the increased metabolic energy demands of larger body weights, higher agricultural/food consumption, and greater fuel use for transportation.
Food Consumption: Diets associated with obesity generally require up to 20-30% more calories to maintain the body mass. Overconsumption drives up the emissions tied to agricultural production, processing, and distribution.
Metabolism: A larger body mass requires more energy just to exist, resulting in higher oxidative metabolism and increased exhalation of CO₂.
Transportation: Transporting heavier body weights in cars and airplanes requires more fuel, creating a notable bump in transport-related GHG emissions.
In the United States, for instance, regions with the highest saturation of central air conditioning also experience the highest rates of adult obesity.

[There_Is_Rehab]

GaG only featured the question because i made an esoteric answer minutes after it was asked. Then the sick anon deleted my opinion:

Everyone's glandular systems will be broken as long as they are enslaved to desires.

When you're dominated by the dragon you are going to have a wide variety of physical illnesses that you cannot solve because all you have as a weapon is the dragon's own claws: the intellect.

And the intellect is a lapdog for the subconscious mind, for the dragon. It is not a weapon.

Don't you think you are the ridiculous one when you think we are talking about a literal fire breathing caricature? The dragon is symbolic.

The dragon underneath saint george (your christ-enlivened spirit ego).

Saint george came across a weeping princess (nervous system) about to be sacrificed to the dragon. Your desires are about to gratify your intellect's hunger for power. Don't forget, your nervous system has to weep for the knight to come to rescue.

Then you use your spear (desire for objective truth) to pin down your dragon. Your intellect. Your intellect is a dragon because like i said it is a lapdog to the subconscious shadows. The road to hell is paved with... a racing intellect.

Then the girl (your nervous system) ties and instantly tames the dragon with her girdle (purified desires that arise when you are courageous enough to weep at what is sad).

That's enough. The story can as well end here.

People use their intellect to justify perpetuating their own illness, whether "accidentally" getting a sedentary job or finding science that supports stuffing their throats with kilojoules. Not knowing that the dragon both creates the problem and offers the fake solutions. Yes, our own subconscious mind whacks our hormones out of place because it wants to be sick. It destroys the glands and then squeezes unproductive thoughts into the conscious mind because it WANTS to be obese, all fears want to keep existing, fear is literally fear's own survival.

[Lliam]

I would say that is based on lifestyle. But lifestyle is a choice.

Of course, hereditary issues or physical ailments can play a part with some people.

[PolarPoint]

I dont think no obese want to be obese. I think this issue about their families. And what they had been throuht. No one wants that.

[Asker]

I get what you're saying, but I don't think it's just about family. At some point, personal choices and habits play a big role too. Environment can influence people, but it doesn't completely remove personal responsibility.

[OneViewpoint]

I tend to agree that obese people are wasting their lives. But it's their life to waste, not mine. I don't get a vote. Neither do you.

[Asker]

I'm allowed to share my opinion.

[OneViewpoint]

Sure you are. Your opinion on the way someone else live their life is meaningless but feel free to waste your time all you want.

[Just_Ken]

What about the burden obese people place on soceity and the damage they do to the environment?

[OneViewpoint]

@Just_Ken ,

You're stretching like a mofo to agree with a young girl. Not a good look dude.

[Just_Ken]

Look at how obesity effects your health insurance.
Look at the carbon footprint an obese person has. Obesity causes 20-30% more carbon emissions in the us

[OneViewpoint]

@Just_Ken ,

So a fat guy who sits on the couch gobbling 10 pounds of food per day vs a skinny guy with a 6,000 lb V8 pickup truck towing his 5,000lb ski boat with a 350 HP V8. Who has the larger carbon footprint?

I'll give you the health insurance thing. Insurance companies and employers should be allowed to tailor the premiums and the cost sharing to the risk to some extent for... smokers, alcoholics, drug addicts, motorcyclists who refuse to wear helmets, and yeah, obese people.

[Just_Ken]

Absolutely.
Which guy has air con all year burning energy?
Which guy eats extra food that has to be farmed and transported?
Which guy requires two seats on an aircraft, train or bus?
Which guy burns more fuel driving?
Which guy requires more clothing material which has to be produced and transported?

[OneViewpoint]

@Just_Ken

You're stretching again.

[Just_Ken]

Unfortunately not.

[Anonymous]

you sound very uneducated about obesity.

there is a whole science about weight loss / gain that you have no idea about.

if losing weight was easy, nobody would be fat.

human bodies are designed to prevent fat loss.

[Asker]

I never said losing weight was easy. I said that, for many people, personal choices still play a role alongside genetics, medical conditions, and other factors.
Acknowledging that obesity is complex doesn't mean personal responsibility disappears. Both things can be true at the same time.

[Opinion Owner]

@Asker

human bodies are designed to prevent fat loss.

thousands of years ago, humans who didn't know how to preserve fat tend to die during winter months where there is no food

when you go too low on calories, your body can sense it and it will trigger you to eat more food.

when you exercise hard... you get hungrier because your body senses that it has lost calories... so now you have to make up for it...

if someone is used to eating large portion sizes, giving them small amounts of food will cause them to be hungry all day long. Sure, they can go hungry for a few weeks... but can they do this long term? NO

this is why weight loss is so hard...

[Opinion Owner]

Things like depression can also make people gravitate towards junk food because junk food makes them feel better.

Some other people have depression and anxiety and can't sleep well at night. When you can't sleep at night, you will lack the energy to exercise during the day time.

Especially if you are a parent with a lot of responsibilities or a job that drains you by the end of the day... its very hard to stick to an everyday workout routine.

Some other people are just fat because they eat out due to lack of time to cook.

[Opinion Owner]

@Asker

[Badtobad]

For some people obesity is a serious issue. They can't help it.

[Just_Ken]

They can help it by putting down the fork.

[Badtobad]

@Just_Ken no it can be a medical problem

[Just_Ken]

Medical problem related to the fork

[Alex-Snow]

Some people have some genetic challenges but staying slender takes a true lifestyle change. Not a fad diet or weird stuff, just a commitment to take care of your body by eating well and movement/exercise as much as ones schedule permits

[LiamJHayden]

I have the opposite issue, hypermetabolism, so I suppose there could be some genetic component for some people. But for most I think they are just lazy and/or eat too much, especially junk food.

[BadApple69]

You are basically correct. Couch or grave there is a difference to the people who love them.

[DryGermanGuy]

With the information and help available today, it's to a very large degree a choice.

[Just_Ken]

Look at that we agree on something.

[exitseven]

It is a lifestyle. Being a couch potato is a lifestyle. People watch TV and eat snack food and wonder why they are fat.

[MrChinaski]

Obesity rates have tripled from about 14% to 42% in the USA in the past 50 years.

It's clearly choice.

[AviatorTom]

It's most often a choice, though some people's genetics cause them to be larger than average.

[brutalreality]

If it's a lifestyle, wouldn't that still fall under choice? It can be a lifestyle choice or due to uncontrollable factors. Like, people who gain weight from medications they need to survive (not a choice), or depression (not a choice).

[genericname85]

Is a lifestyle not a choice? I mean it's both isn't it?

[AngryCarl3]

Not necessarily. It's a choice to eat junk food and take zero exercise.

[ASKNETTEERM99]

Genetics are genetics. Tough times are tough times. However, there is always a reality of self accountability and most people can affect their diet & exercise.

[blackeagle007]

It’s a lot of things. There’s no generalization there

[Amy1990]

The party and what’s added to the food. Plus, many people, especially the older generation, are not well-educated. And the portion size.

[kitty91996]

Both you have to change your diet completely to lose the weight.

[lilBigPotato]

It's mostly a choice.

[usernameobvious]

Latest commercials claims it a disease

[usernameobvious]

Some health commercials on tv

[fonduegirl]

It could be a medical problem

[_Jenny_]

It’s unhealthy

[Anonymous]

Some people have medical conditions

[Malwi93]

that is a funny way to look at it

[888theGreat]

Choice and they just love to eat food

[MemeSupreme]

nice rage bait

[DirtyOldMan777]

your life style is your choice. so both.

[Anonymous]

It can be either.

[Mark_Est]

Choice

[beenherebefore]

It's a disease.

[TonyMetal___1986]

It's a lifestyle...

[Gavin_Rowe]

Choice

[RFC1872]

Choice.

[ThisSiteSux]

Both

[Anonymous]

A choice

[Amur8711]

99% of the time, yes