Quote:
Originally Posted by Rage Against
Again, I disagree.
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I too disagree that lack of willpower, or indeed all obesity is due to "metal disorder". Yes, anorexia (as well as bulimia, which involves bouts of binge eating) are classified as such. But imo not all overweght is the result of binge eating. The current trend for increased obesity in developed countries owes much in my view to many other factors. We take less exercise, our lives are in many cases more sedentary. Food is not scarce, and there is an over-abundance of readily available luxury and convenience foods, all high in sugars and fats. Modern life means we tend to eat, not because we are hungry, but because it's there; because we have established patterns of eating our main meal in the evenings, after which we tend to relax rather than take exercise to use the calories we've consumed. We tend to use public transport or our own cars to get to places, rather than walk or cycle. We are assaulted by advertising, particularly for luxury and convenience foods. Typically we tend to use large dinner plates which encourage poorer portion control; dinner services from the 30s/40s have dinner plates which are the size of modern salad/"breakfast" plates. One thing I've changed is the size plate I use for most of my meals.
Anorexics have been found generally to have a skewed self image in terms of how they perceive their size; they will actually "see" their sillouette as larger (generally much larger) than it is when asked to match it to a variety of shaoes and sizes. Research into people who are overweight has found that sometimes they too perceive a different image, but mainly they don't. They are aware of their size.
People who are seriously overweight, ie clinically obese, are generally aware of it, frequently want to address the issue, but facing a prolonged period of dieting often give up, or put it off; the mountain they have created (in all senses of the word) seems just too large, too daunting to tackle. It is a question of willpower and commitment, but to not be able to harness that for a long haul does not imo mean one has a mental disorder. Foolish yes, and I speak as someone who was just that. But lack of willpower doesn't mean imo that one has a mental disorder, doesn't necessarily need counselling, and anyway to use counselling does not of itself mean one has what is medically termed a mental disorder. All of us are imperfect human beings, all carry some baggage, but that does not mean imo that we all have a "mental disorder" ..
I agree that to remain overweight and not tackle the problem is not helpful for one's long term health; you can argue that it's foolish and irresponsible. But to engage in regular bouts of heavy drinking isn't helpful or responsible either, because that too can have a long term effect on one's health, can get out of control. Some occupations are not (boxing springs to mind, where the objective is to render one's opponent unconscious .. ie deliver a level of brain damage); jockeys will often keep themselves seriously underweight. Smoking is an addiction, but even after successfully giving it up, many still miss the general experience of smoking.
People who are severely clinically obese may become depressed, at which point counselling may be a first step; and I think many overweight people do tend to use food as a "comfort" or "treat" when things go wrong or they're feeling a bit down but not clinically depressed. But mainly I think people who are overweight simply enjoy eating too much of the wrong things without taking sufficient exercise to burn off what they consume (it's a simple mathematical equation after all; if calories consumed exceed caloried burned your body will store the surplus as fat deposits.) And it isn't necessarily that they eat large amounts .. just indulging in the wrong things will do it. They have allowed themselves to pile on weight, often to the point where it becomes such a daunting task to deal with it that they find it difficult to summon up sufficient willpower. I'm not suggesting this is an excuse, simply a reason .. one which is not buried in the psyche .. just in the surplus pounds they carry
I do agree though that obesity has become a significant problem for the countries of plenty, and that the seeds are sown often in childhood .. "clear your plate", poor parenting and diet etc. But to tackle it requires a great deal of willpower, and to find it difficult to exercise the amount required does not imo mean one has a mental disorder, nor does choosing to be overweight to a degree which might not be considered particularly healthy or to fit into today's standards of what looks attractive. You can argue that choice is foolish, but it's not necessarily indicative of mental disorder and an indicator for counselling, which isn't anyway a "fix" .. to be successful it requires choice and commitment from the person being counselled. Imo most overweight people, if they can harness that choice and the level of commitment required can lose weight. Support and encouragement from those around them will help though; and support groups making the same journey can be helpful, so that should they lapse or fall on the journey they are encouraged to get back on the journey rather than abandon it.
Caryl