How can obesity Not be the fault of the indiviual?

[Loosehead]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7047244.stm
Ok there are a few cases where certain conditions exacerbate the problem but Perlease 99.99% of cases are self inflicted, eat too much, move too little you get fat! Why is this equation so difficult to grasp? Why do people seek to shift blame when the answer is clear? I know as well as anyone that you have to manage weight by diet and exercise, I'm not exactly svelte but I don' t blame anyone but myself if I put some weight on!

[Pippa68]

I'm afraid I am having one of those strange days when the only website which seems to be working is AB..so unfortunately I cannot open the link.

Please could you give me a condensed version as to what the BBC are saying? thank you, Loosehead.

[Reverandfunk]

Its my metabolism

I dont really eat lard with a ladle....

[Loosehead]

This is the Openning bit:
Obesity 'not individuals' fault'

It is said we live in an 'obesogenic' environment
Individuals can no longer be held responsible for obesity so government must act to stop Britain "sleepwalking" into a crisis, a report has concluded.

[4GS]

Here Pippa, I've cut and paste this:

Obesity 'not individuals' fault'

It is said we live in an 'obesogenic' environment
Individuals can no longer be held responsible for obesity so government must act to stop Britain "sleepwalking" into a crisis, a report has concluded.
The largest ever UK study into obesity, backed by government and compiled by 250 experts, said excess weight was now the norm in our "obesogenic" society.

Dramatic and comprehensive action was required to stop the majority of us becoming obese by 2050, they said.

But the authors admitted proof that any anti-obesity policy works "was scant".

TOP RECOMMENDATIONS:
Early life interventions
Targeting those at increased risk
Controlling high calorie foods
Making towns more physically demanding
Increasing employer responsibility


Not that naughty but still nice

Nonetheless every level of society, from individual to the upper echelons of government, must become involved in the campaign against a condition which carries such great social and economic consequences, they said.

[4GS]

Cont.........

In 2002, those who were overweight or obese cost nearly �7bn in treatment and state benefits and in indirect costs such as loss of earnings and reduced productivity.

HAVE YOUR SAY
The no blame culture is reaching into our stomachs. It does us no good to expect the government to help

Iain, Dundee


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In 40 years time, that figure could reach nearly �46bn, as health services struggle to cope with the ill health such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and stroke which can be associated with excess weight.

"There is a danger that the moment to act radically and dramatically will be missed," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific advisor and head of the Foresight Programme which drew up the report.

"It is a problem that is getting worse every year."



Obesity, the authors concluded, was an inevitable consequence of a society in which energy-dense, cheap foods, labour-saving devices, motorised transport and sedentary work were rife.



In this environment it was surprising that anyone was able to remain thin, Dr Susan Jebb of the Medical Research Council said, and so the notion of obesity simply being a product of personal over-indulgence had to be abandoned for good.

"The stress has been on the individual choosing a healthier lifestyle, but that simply isn't enough," she said.

From planning our towns to encourage more physical activity to placing more pressure on mothers to breast feed - believed to slow down infant weight gain - the report highlighted a range of policy options without making any concrete recommendations.

Industry was already working to put healthier products on the shelf, the report noted, while work was advanced in transforming the very make-up of food so it was digested more

[whiffey]

Long article on the Today programme about it this morning. Staggering !

It's Nature's fault, human biology cannot adapt to modern society - er ?

It's calories in versus calories out. If you see the waistline expanding a bit, cut down on the chocolate and walk more briskly. Eat less, exercise more, it really works, despite a defective physiology.

[China Doll]

I tend to agree in most cases.

There is some pyschological stuff with obesity where food becomes a source of comfort to replace something or being obese becomes a way to hide from the world or cry out for attention but in these cases I'd say obesity is a sympton of a much larger problem.

[daffy654]

What are us disabled people supposed to do if they make towns more demanding? I refuse to be penalised because some people don't understand that eating too much fatty food and getting no exercise is bad for you. Of course they should be held personally responsible! This is not an issue the government can really legislate on fairly.

[Pippa68]

Thanks guys :o)

I blame myself for being fat. I also blame my metabolism, as I have an underactive thyroid. To many people I am a right fatty..to others I am merely a 'big gal' and to a few I am 'nicely rounded'.

In medical opinion I am obese. I don't think it takes much to be classed as obese nowadays ~ and to be honest even though I don't look at myself with rose tinted glasses I would never have said I was obese.

Essentially I believe you are right, Loosehead. However I do get fed up with people offering me advice when I haven't asked for it..''Oh, just get up and do some exercise'' when they have no idea how tired and lethargic you can get with an underactive thyroid. Maybe if my GP wouold get my meds dose to the correct level I will start to feel better, and finally lose a few pounds!

[natalie_1982]

A man in my office weighs almost 30 stone, he suffers with diabetes and due to the diabetes he now has open boils on his legs that seep through his trousers. He was discharged from the police force for being unfir to work 10 years ago. He blames hi genes, and says he doesn't really eat that much, yet Monday he had 9 biscuits in an hour (I am beginning to get obsessed), yesterday he had 12 between 1:30pm and 4pm., so far this morning since 8:30am he has had 7. Surely if it was his genes and he had a history of extreme obesity then he would never have been able to join to police force? My point is that he must have been a healthy weight at some point, and so has put on the weight through greed.

It makes me angry that in order to stay fit and healthy I have to exercise and watch what I eat, yet he will be a drain on the NHS because he can't stop eating. I understand it is an addiction, but so is smoking and as a very recent ex-smoker (only quit because I found out I was pregnant!) I get heartily sick of hearing what a drain smokers are on the NHS when we pay enough flipping tax on ciggarettes in the first place. This goes for alcoholics and alcohol too. Slightly different subject, so sorry about that, but you get my drift.

[daffy654]

Pippa,you are the exception to the rule though,metabolism and thyroid problems account for a very small percentage of obesity. It is the people you see who weigh at least 30stones walking round tesco with a trolley full of cakes and other fattening stuff that this report is targetting. I have absolutely no problem in anyone being what size they want as long as is doesn't negatively affect me. I have enough trouble getting around as it is (through no fault of my own-genetic condition) so if town planners are ordered to make towns more physically demanding I will have to stay at home and never leave the house.

[Pippa68]

What I worry about are the figures the government use to chart 'obesity'.

They aren't looking at really huge people..as I said, it doesn't take much to be considered obese!

[Pippa68]

Sorry daffy, your reply wasn't there when I posted :o)

Are they really looking at the 30 stone people, though? surely if I have been considered obese, and it is in my medical records, I could be in that percentage?

Makes me wonder.

[China Doll]

Well I have to say when I say the word obese I tend to think over 20 stone and not a rugby player, heavy weight boxer or other form of sporting brick S***house.

Why? What do other people consider obese? Interesting point Pippykins.

[Loosehead]

Good point Pippa, I mean if you use the chart the docs use then every player in the Rugby world cup is Obese and most of the Forwards are "Clinically obese". It's body composition that counts rather than weight so I can see why the figures may be wrong if they are basing what is Obese on the old BMI system that GP's use.

[beryllium]

ooooh goody!!!

Another government warning for the thick. (waisted)

Let's see how much money we can waste by talking AGAIN.

What shall we do??? close Mcdonalds? yeah right!!! nah, they're part of our revenue.

Fill the shelves with good food!!!
Nah... we're selling off as much land as possible to build houses.... so we can't grow it... and we've just given the animal farmers diseases again. (re:sell the land!!!)

OOOH.... I know!!! I know!!! lets start at primary level. Make the kids eat healthy....
Nah... Jamies tried that one...
Did we back him???
Well, we raised the money available per brat to 50p.....

Let's make towns more challenging!!!
Gosh... good idea. We'll stop public transport and they can walk!!! or cycle....
Nah... that won't work....
OK. We'll close down car parks too... Then they can't drive either.... More double yellows and red lines....

Hurrah!!! we've concluded.

Boy we're goooooooooodddddd.....

[4GS]

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weig ht/healthy_weight/chart.htm

[daffy654]

Sorry I read the report wrong,it doesn't say 30 stones,it says a BMI of 30 or over.My mistake :-) My BMI is 19 but my doc is always telling me i'm underweight,it says in that report that between 18.5 and 24.9 is normal. If even doctors and the government can't agree what constitutes obesity then how are we supposed to know???

[monty0703]

I'm fed up hearing about this issue in the news. Unless you have a genuine medical condition the answer really is as simple as eat less and exercise more. Even small changes make a big difference. And I'm fed up hearing that 'we need to educate people...' If people don't know by now that they need to exercise and not eat a lot of crap then they never will. I work with an overweight bloke who is 'trying' to lose weight. As I type, he is tucking into a fried egg and sausage roll.... People just can't be a*sed!

[Im a BusyBee]

i am in my mid forties and went from being the smallest baby born in my mums group to being the biggest by my 6 wk check. i have had a weight problem all my life and believe me it does get you down. it is def in my genes, i am exactly the same shape as my mum, both sets grandparents and great grandparents (not to mention other relatives). i was first put on a diet by my doctor when i was at primary school and have pretty much been on one ever since. Ironically my husband has completely the opposite problem and weight just falls off him for no apparant reason (he eats much more than me and far more unhealthily too). I have suffered from depression and other mental illnesses iam sure all stemming from this problem. I am now around a size 20, eat 3 healthy meals a day and never weigh myself anymore. I have come to the conclusion life is too short to constantly worry about this.