Thread: obesity epidemic / Eating Disorders?

Good afternoon everybody

I was reading a good few posts today and had a wee thought. Please be kind in your replies.

Do any of you think that being fat and obese could or should be classed more as an eating disorder?

I think that sometimes people will see a fat person and think look at that state of that how could you let your self get so big. That person must be stupid / thick. I was reading the post "what skinny people say" and one of the things was it's really very simple eat less move more. WE KNOW THAT!!!! but yet something in our brain does't compute.

As much as we hate it people do judge.

I have done a little bit of research on Anorexia online and what I have come across is people who suffer from the illness are fixated on food it is what they think about a LOT of the time. When your bigger and trying to lose weight are we not fixated on food????
The difference is we don't come under the heading of eating disorder or illness I feel like it's an ED snobbery

Also we hear in the media all the time about the obesity epidemic but to be honest I don't think enough support is available.

What do you Guys think?

Originally Posted by takemedrunkimhome

"what skinny people say" and one of the things was it's really very simple eat less move more. WE KNOW THAT!!!!

I want to pick up on this as I hate reading it and hearing it.

It is not as simple as 'eat less move more' for some of us it's what we eat that make and keeps us big.

I use to eat 'healthy',had an active job,cycled,swam,walked for miles but still carried a lot of weight.It wasn't until I cut out certain foods that I started losing weight.

There is lots of support out there it's just that a lot of people don't want it or can't be bothered to look for it.

And yes doesn't matter what diet you follow you are fixated with food.

Actually, Binge Eating Disorder is an acknowledged mental health issue, and you can get help with it, such as cognitive behaviour therapy. So whilst I agree completely that in some cases obesity can be caused by an eating disorder, it is actually recognised to be the case. Of course, it's also true that in many other cases it is just a case of loving the wrong sorts of food, being addicted to them and eating too much (and I do include myself in that category, lol). Eating less and moving more, cliched as it is, will certainly be the solution in a lot of instances (or in my case, eating less and still not moving at all!). xx

Most of the time it is habit, greed, boredom eating, emotional eating, convenience, laziness, disability, etc.

Only a small % of obese people do have Binge Eating Disorder. BED is not the same as the above, but it's almost akin to Bulimia without the purging.

It's an incredibly distressful disorder (as all ED are), it's not just about being fixated on food at all, especially if you're just thinking about it while dieting (pretty normal for anyone). It essentially, like all ED, ruins your life beyond belief.

Being simply obese & thinking about food (whether dieting or not) itself is not an ED. You can get support from your doctor if you need it, too.

Originally Posted by Birthday Dress

Most of the time it is habit, greed, boredom eating, emotional eating, convenience, laziness, disability, etc.

Only a small % of obese people do have Binge Eating Disorder. BED is not the same as the above, but it's almost akin to Bulimia without the purging.

It's an incredibly distressful disorder (as all ED are), it's not just about being fixated on food at all, especially if you're just thinking about it while dieting (pretty normal for anyone). It essentially, like all ED, ruins your life beyond belief.

Being simply obese & thinking about food (whether dieting or not) itself is not an ED. You can get support from your doctor if you need it, too.

Absolutely, most obese people won't have an ED, I was just pointing out that there are recognised EDs which can lead to obesity, it's not true to say that it isn't recognised. xx

Originally Posted by TracyGWill

Absolutely, most obese people won't have an ED, I was just pointing out that there are recognised EDs which can lead to obesity, it's not true to say that it isn't recognised. xx

Oops, sorry Tracy! I wasn't meaning that in reply to you. I just blabbed on without reading the replies, lol. I need to stop doing that.

Originally Posted by Birthday Dress

Oops, sorry Tracy! I wasn't meaning that in reply to you. I just blabbed on without reading the replies, lol. I need to stop doing that.

Lol, that's ok, hon - was worried I'd offended someone, when I'm no expert on the subject. xx