How do you get obese?

[Anonymous]

I just don't understand how people let their body get out of control like that. I mean its not like it happens overnight (right?) so wouldn't you start doing something about it when you notice that you are getting fatter. This is a serious question because it just makes no sense to me.

Updates

+1 y

And I'm talking about people that are like 50+ pounds overweight, not just a little thick.

[Ichron]

Not everyone is made alike. Sure, there are some people who just simply let themselves go, but others have nature and their own bodies working against them.

Everyone has natural flora in their gut, but it is different in every person. It has been shown that people who are overweight often have different bacteria in their natural flora than those who are fit. This bacteria helps in digestion such, which will affect the absorption of the individual.

People also have different metabolic rates. Overweight people actually have more efficient metabolisms. That sounds counter-intuitive, but when you explain it that people with high metabolic rates burn more calories doing menial tasks, it makes more sense that their metabolisms are less efficient (i.e. they burn more energy doing the same thing someone else does, or they absorb less from what they eat compared to someone else).

Some people get slightly overweight and it just snowballs from there, and before they know it they are obese. It can be from many different reasons - injury, reduction in physical activity due to age, career (do they work outside doing construction compared to sitting in an office all day staring at a computer), etc.

Weight is not simply based on what or how much you eat. It's the caloric balance between intake and expense. In order to gain wait, obviously you take in more calories than you burn. In order to lose weight, it's the reverse.

Then there are medical reasons, such as medication, or a high/low level of ghrelin/leptin, etc.

[Juker]

Im noticing that I've been putting on weight ever since I had to stop playing sports. I just don't have the energy or motivation to get out there and tone up, I'm still pretty cut, but no where near as I used to be. Its not as easy as it sounds to just get up and knock off 50 pounds.

Losing wieght requires a LIFESTYLE change. Its not something you can switch on and off every 2 weeks. I can't imagine how hard it may be for someone who is obese though, I can barely work up the motivation/energy to power walk up a hill.

[Ada-Fae]

Depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, self hatred, bad habits.

Honestly, there's a lot more to it than you think.

I'm not obese, but I'm definitely overweight. And it's because I became severely depressed at a young age, I began self harm, over eating, locking myself away for a couple of days at a time. If I wasn't constantly surrounded by people, watched out for because everyone was worried, I'd have killed myself several times over. I never went on medication for it, because while they were worried and thought my behavior was strange, nobody realized that I was actually suicidal, and had written my suicide not several times over, until my 16th birthday. And by then, I was doing better.

Honestly, it's not fair to judge, or even ask questions of why people in general become obese. Just because you don't understand how it could happen without people stopping it before they get that far, doesn't mean that there aren't valid reasons for it.

[kirstentaylorc]

There are a lot of reasons that people end up overweight but it doesn't really give you any right to judge them on their reasons or how/why it happened. Eating disorders, health issues, depression, stress, sleeping habits, bad habits in general. There are a number of things and some people don't realize how bad it is until they are 20 and 30 lbs overweight. Wanting to do something about your weight is a lot different than actually being able to. Especially when some overweight people don't have knowledge or the tools at hand to help them lose weight. Diet is a big deal but some form of exercise is always beneficial when it comes to losing weight.

Every single person in this world deals with their own problems but who are we to judge them in how they handle them. Including thier weight gain.

[ImperfectDVM]

I can say this from experience. I was once 45 to 50+ over weight. It's not something that happens over night. It's a series of choices that are made, that led to that.

It's something that takes time. It could be caused by stress, lack of self-esteem, drugs, depression, basically it's a bad habit that turned into an obsession, to me.

But the thing is, I got tired of being that way, so I changed it. I went from 220 to 166 in a few months.

But where I drew the line and said "Enough is enough!'

Others, seemed to keep going down the same road. For whatever reason, I'm unsure. I can only tell you my side of it.

And Yeah, laziness can play a part in it, hun. I'm not going to lie to you. I just couldn't afford to stay that way. I would be a hypocrite to my own profession, kind of.

But, that's just me.

[thedirtypineapple]

When I was in school I was a football player. I played offensive line so it was my job to be a big and strong guy. At that time I didn't see myself as unhealthy even though I was. My mistake was keeping my same eating habits once I graduated. I honestly didn't notice how much bigger I was until I saw a picture of myself. I found myself obese and uneducated on how to drop the weight. Through a hard moment or reflection I realized that I was also unmotivated, lazy, and lacking discipline. That is when I decided to change.

The picture gave me the motivation to educate myself on the subject of health and nutrition. I'm happy to say that I am down 80 pounds and I'm currently lighter than I was in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Health problems such as being bed ridden for a long time after surgery is understandable.

From all the obese people I know, none of whom can use any health problems as an excuse, it's a refusal to take responsibility for their health. I love these people, most have then been in my life for a long time and I worry about their health and how much longer they will be in my life. I don't want to lose them too young but they all have health issues that most if not all can be traced back to their unhealthy lifestyle. But what can I do. If they decide to change I will be there for them but that is about it.

We shouldn't make them feel bad about it because many of them are probably emotional eaters and it would do only harm but we shouldn't normalize it either leading people to think they are healthy.

[Mickey28]

I've wondered about this time and time again, the scenario is different for everyone. My mom is a bit on the hefty side but her medication causes her to gain weight. I knew girl that has been heavy all her life, even when she went on a diet she gained weight and she was very active (a life guard/ dancer). It's how your body uses and stores the fat. Myself, I eat all day whatever I want and barely gain anything. It's just the person's biological make up/ genetics I'd say.

[LexiNinja]

It doesn't need to 'make sense' to you. Let people do whatever the hell they want, fat, skinny. Who gives a sh*t. Oh wait, apparently you do. Maybe you should walk up to a 'fat/obese' person and ask them. o.o tell me what answer you get.

[Anonymous]

idk either. I've seen it first hand & have seen 2 people related to me get gastric bypass and one worked off a lot of weight before & is continuing to be healthy the other lost some before but after 2 years is close to the same weight as presurgery from not living healthy or eating healthy

[martyfellow]

People think it's normal to be obese so it doesn't bother them, at any point, until the MD tells them the health consequences.

[Anonymous]

I agree. for some reason I think that they let it get so out of control is because if they actually get up and try to be healthy, then they might fail and the effort would be for nothing.