12-09-2010, 09:07 PM
(12-09-2010, 08:19 PM)bampton Wrote: I don't discriminate when it comes to fat people because I grew up with obese family members. I know how they got that way. For some people it is truly genetic and physiologic. For some it's because of their socioeconomic position....no money to buy healthy food, so they have to buy cheaper food which is nutritionally substandard. Obviously they're gonna pack on the pounds.
I think those are reasons for the tendency of a person to become obese, but not good reasons. Not all poor people are fat, even in families where the exact same food is served. Some people overeat and don't exercise or move around enough to burn off the calories. Some people buy unhealthy foods when healthier choices are just as cheap. Some people eat fast food every day.
I watched one of those TLC shows on obesity where they staple the stomachs of morbidly obese people. They lost weight because they couldn't cram the food in anymore. The doctors said people always have about a hundred reasons why they got so fat, but in reality, they eat 5 to 15 times more calories than a "normal" person eats in a day. Huge people, like the lady wearing the diaper, eat over 30,000 calories a day. THAT'S how you get that big. If you are only half that big, in the 300's, you eat between 7,000 to 15,000 calories a day when you really only need around 2000.
I've heard obese people say they don't eat any more than anyone else. Unless they just eating french fries, I don't see how that can be mathematically true. It doesn't add up. If you eat within the recommended daily guidelines for caloric intake, and exercise a little, you should be good. I give a pass to people on Prednisone, because that does seem to pack the pounds on normally thinner people, but I don't think it's helpful to encourage obesity by giving it the power of genetics. We all have a body weight set point, but I guarantee nobody has a natural one that is in the obesity category. As far as physiological reasons, being obese messes up your body's functioning for sure. Being that heavy really turns you into a ticking time bomb of disease. I don't know how people do that to themselves. I couldn't be obese because I would be worried I would die and not be around for my family. I don't love food that much.
I know several people who have lost over a hundred pounds each over the course of a year or so. They will all tell you a healthier diet and more exercise is the secret, even the ones who have been heavy since childhood. A few of them did have gastric bypass surgery because they didn't have the will power to stop eating extreme amounts.
Obesity doesn't really bother me, and I don't hate fat people. I just think they need to be honest about why they are overweight so they can fix it so they can live longer.