Is Obesity In Adults An Illness?

[Lizruns]

I would like to hear opinions on whether obesity in Adults is an illness like an alcoholic or drug addiction?

[nailit]

How can obesity be an illness?
There were no fat people in Aushtwitz.
BUT the *causes* of obesity *has* to be food addiction surely?
And like any addiction needs to be tackled accordingly.
Whether addiction is seen as an illness is another question!
I have my own addictions and can empathise with anyone who feels compelled to indulge in harmful behaviours, whether its drink, drugs, smoking, gambling or food.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Can we reformulate the question and, like, divide it into two possible categories?

Are you suffering from hormonal, or other physical, or psychological disorders?

Are you stuck in front of the TV stuffing junk food down your mouth?

[EDDIE51]

A problem is that the cheapest foods are also the ones highest in fat and sugar ! So it is a problem for pensioners and those on a fixed restricted income !

[Sqad]

V.E lets cut to the chase here:
Hormonal causes of obesity are uncommon.....rare....whatever.
The vast majority of cases are exactly as you describe.....over eating..and the vast majority of these folks are anxious, bored, depressed or impaired mobility and the end result is obesity which they find difficult to control.
Is that addiction?.......you can argue either way......I think it is.

[Ryzen]

Eddie...the cheapest meals are those made from fresh ingredients..and you choose what goes in.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Mind you, Nailit has a point: tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner.

No agency or personal autonomy. The pawns of some external player. God? The laws of physics? Qui sait innit.

[nailit]

//Eddie...the cheapest meals are those made from fresh ingredients..and you choose what goes in//

Where I live, a large bowl of tomatoes costs a quid. A small cone of chips cost a quid.
A small cone of chips is more filling than a bowl of tomatoes.

[david small]

I think that all the additives put into our food, and growth hormones in chickens contribute to obesity, an eight week bird the size of a twelve week bird for example. The adulterated food the animals are fed, eventually, we consume.

[nailit]

V-E
//No agency or personal autonomy//
think that we have to recognise (not excuse) that for a section of society, addictions are very real problems. What may be a very real addiction for me, may be nothing to you. Real nevertheless!

[tamborine]

ime obesity is due to child rearing initially. Force feeding babies & children beyond their stomachs capacity. The stomach stretches & expands demanding more food to fill it.

Biafrans are stick thin due to food shortage whereas we are not short of food & can overindulge.

[vetuste_ennemi]

//The vast majority of cases are exactly as you describe.....over eating..and the vast majority of these folks are anxious, bored, depressed or impaired mobility and the end result is obesity which they find difficult to control.
Is that addiction?//

That's as reasonable question, Sqad.

Another reasonable question is should I be forced through taxation to fund their addiction and/or their rehabiliation.

What do you think?

[Prudie]

Wow Biafrans - haven't heard of them for years, probably because Biafra hasn't existed since 1970. Know what you mean though :-)
I'm not sure you can compare those deprived of food with those who eat too much of what's available. An obese person now sent to starving Africa or Auschwitz would also lose weight. That wouldn't 'cure' them though.

[tamborine]

Obesity becomes an illness/ailment via tissue/skeletal/mental degeneration. To change a lifestyle needs help.

[retrocop]

//Another reasonable question is should I be forced through taxation to fund their addiction and/or their rehabiliation. //

I don't think the NHS have much input in the treatment of morbid obesity. I believe they have bought larger beds and wheelchairs for those needing other treatments but appear to have washed their hands of treating obese patients.

[tamborine]

Some addicts have gone cold turkey & survived.

[woofgang]

I think it can be a symptom of an illness....or not.

[nailit]

//Some addicts have gone cold turkey & survived//
one of my friends did not.

[ToraToraTora]

obesity is not a disease, how can it be?

[Rockrose]

Yes it’s an illness, it’s an addiction and unlike other addiction you can withdraw from it

[ToraToraTora]

a disease is a virus/bacteria/mutation. Obesity is a result of struggling to balance energy in/out how can that possibly be a disease? Addiction is not a disease.