Are fat people (generally) to blame for being fat?

[memphis]

Next to being a child molester, there's no greater taboo than being fat. Plus, everybody knows how bad it is for you, so I think it's clear that nobody wants to be fat. And just about everybody who loses a large amount of weight (for reasons other than terminal illness) gains it right back. And yet lots of people are staggeringly fat. Why do you guys think that is if we are in the driver's seat? I was put on a prescription a few years back that I knew tended to cause weight gain, a side effect I very much did want. And it caused my desire for foods, especially sweet and fatty foods, to increase, and I gained about 25 lbs. And fortunately, I'm no longer on that damn pill and my weight is back to where it was.  We need to face facts that we have very limited control over our appetite. You can fetishize personal responsibility all you want. It's not having a positive effect on the nation's scales.

[Mechaman]

Next to being a child molester, there's no greater taboo than being fat.

Really?!
So having sex with your cousin isn't as taboo as being fat?  Thank god!

[dead0man]

Or raping coeds, or burning crosses, or burning Korans, or burning American Flags, or.....we could go on all day...obviously being fat isn't THAT big of a deal.  Being fat isn't taboo.  To stop being fat you have to burn more calories than you take in.  I'm not saying it's the same for everyone, some people have to work a lot harder than others and for some people, it's not worth the trouble....and that's ok.  But it's still under their control even if they think they are a victim of a conspiracy.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

No- but that is far more to do with genetics then food items that people can choose to consume or not

[Miles]

I think its partially their fault, but it can be attributed moreso to sheer convince and socioeconomic factors. For example, the McDonald's near my house has 59¢ cheeseburgers every Wednesday and my local grocery usually has two-liter Pepsi's for 99¢...its hard beat those things in terms of value.  

Another factor here is personal will power. That's something I lack myself when it comes to food; even after losing over 30 lbs since last year, I still haven't been able to scrap the junk food and diet soda (well, I still eat mostly junk, just in lesser quantities). Virtually all my weight loss is because of intense exercise; who knows how much I could have lost if I ate healthy...

Its also especially hard to stay in shape in a state like Louisiana where (fatty and fried) food is such a core part of the culture.

[Maxwell]

Tough luck fatties.

[afleitch]

When certain obese people say 'it's my genetics!' yet claim gay people 'choose' it makes me think about lacing their ice cream.

[Phony Moderate]

It is in many ways a class issue. A Big Mac (for example) is generally cheaper than a salad.

[John Dibble]

It is in many ways a class issue. A Big Mac (for example) is generally cheaper than a salad.

McDonald's sells salads now. They aren't that much more expensive. (it's $1 to $2 difference, depending on where you are) However, $1 double cheeseburgers are definitely cheaper and the only thing that might qualify as a vegetable on it are pickles.

However, I think that even if the salads were sold for $1 most people would rather have the double cheeseburger.

[opebo]

It is in many ways a class issue. A Big Mac (for example) is generally cheaper than a salad.

McDonald's sells salads now. They aren't that much more expensive. (it's $1 to $2 difference, depending on where you are) However, $1 double cheeseburgers are definitely cheaper and the only thing that might qualify as a vegetable on it are pickles.

However, I think that even if the salads were sold for $1 most people would rather have the double cheeseburger.

People can't live on salads alone, there is very little food value in a salad.

[John Dibble]

It is in many ways a class issue. A Big Mac (for example) is generally cheaper than a salad.

McDonald's sells salads now. They aren't that much more expensive. (it's $1 to $2 difference, depending on where you are) However, $1 double cheeseburgers are definitely cheaper and the only thing that might qualify as a vegetable on it are pickles.

However, I think that even if the salads were sold for $1 most people would rather have the double cheeseburger.

People can't live on salads alone, there is very little food value in a salad.

I'm not implying the can or should. (though McDonald's salads usually have chicken or some other protein thrown in) I'm simply pointing out what people generally prefer. We're wired to like high-calorie foods.

[opebo]

I'm not implying the can or should. (though McDonald's salads usually have chicken or some other protein thrown in) I'm simply pointing out what people generally prefer. We're wired to like high-calorie foods.

Right, and I didn't mean to imply that was your position.  In fact a balanced diet with a good deal of high-calorie food is fine, along with vegetables, salads, etc., if the food is very high quality, served with red wine, and along with a moderately physically active and low-stress lifestyle (long lunches, no fear of being fired, adequate income).  Alas, none of these will ever be forthcoming for the american worker.

[courts]

It is in many ways a class issue. A Big Mac (for example) is generally cheaper than a salad.

McDonald's sells salads now. They aren't that much more expensive. (it's $1 to $2 difference, depending on where you are) However, $1 double cheeseburgers are definitely cheaper and the only thing that might qualify as a vegetable on it are pickles.

However, I think that even if the salads were sold for $1 most people would rather have the double cheeseburger.

those salads can be as calorie laden as one of their burgers if you use salad. the issue here is really several things.

1. if you're used to eating junk you crave junk. this is why so many people think healthy food tastes bad but those of us with better diets think a lot of the stuff they eat tastes like garbage. we have conditioned ourselves to like what we like. if you cut yourself off from junk and start eating a lot of fruit instead a lot of the time it won't feel as appealing.
2. its been proven that once you get to a certain weight your brain frequently re-adjusts and starts compulsively craving food all the time. its kind of like having a broken car brake.
3. people just don't walk anywhere. so many suburbs and cities are not pedestrian or bike friendly at all. and even if they were people wouldn't take advantage. that definitely adds up. this is one of the main reasons i dropped about 30 pounds a year ago.
4. obviously that there's way, way too much sugar in most people's diets. it's extremely easy for your body to convert carbs to fat in the absence of massive amounts of exercise especially if its not complex carbs.  its extremely easy to become horrendously sick even if you're skinny if you adopt the typical american habit of several sodas a week/day.
5. ridiculous lobbyists from the corn industry and other parasites that purposely are pushing garbage on us. this is obviously why we have nonsense like hfcs and pizza as a vegetable.
6. americans are massively stressed, depressed and over medicated. obviously that has more to do with the complete and utter failure of our society than them individually.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

I tend to look down upon fats in a big way in my personal life and don't take their complaints about discrimination very seriously because they've had every opportunity to improve themselves and lose weight while the ugly, bald, short and so on cannot. That being said, I can't see how any remotely intelligent person could look at the state of this country's weight and pin it on our populace. It's mostly attributable to our country's agricultural policy. Fatty foods are dirt cheap in this country. Our nation's record low price of food due to mass subsidies and the promotion of factory farms has resulted in a topsy-turvy system where a balanced meal is far more expensive than a meal from a fast food joint or an unhealthy combination of cheap foods from Walmart. When such unhealthy foods are readily available, those with less means are bound to abuse them. Our dopamine system is wired for the consumption of fats, sugars and salts. We essentially become addicted to these tastes and crave them when we eat a stream of junk food. Expecting fats on their own accord to wean themselves off of a powerful psychological addiction that is the equivalent to hardcore porn or alcoholism is pretty futile.

Plus everything mint said.  I still encourage individual fats to loose weight so that they can earn respect for themselves and avoid discrimination but it won't happen on a mass scale without a change of governmental policy.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

The issue is multi-pronged and the blame rests on many people. It rests on our government for the corn subsidies that make our meat so cheap and corn-derived products so plentiful. It rests on corporations for cramming sugar and salt, two "reward" compounds that were for most of human history were hard to come by and are now in most junk food. Corporations have corn-fed our livestock and erected acres upon acres of monoculture, striving for efficiency and quantity instead of quality. The corporate/government issues have created junk food that is so cheap, that for those of lower socioeconomic classes, it is cheaper than the healthy stuff found at the store. Of course, it's more expertise in the long run: the medical costs that result from an unhealthy diet and obesity will see to that.

Ultimately, the bulk of the blame rests on the people themselves. Some are victims of ignorance. Parents feed their kids junk, and they become addicted and many fall under the spell of bland loyalty. Others who are well aware that healthier options are available, and that they are not to far away (the Bushies of America, and there are millions, if not tens of millions of them), have no excuse. I understand that for those who are addicted or have a slow metabolism that it isn't easy, but there is no excuse for laziness. There is time in the day to go on a short walk/run. The vast majority can afford a healthier diet; cutting out food and alcohol will generally do the trick. I really don't buy the "it's genetic argument." Being born fat is not genetic.  However, the driving cause behind obesity is rooted in genetics: the human body is hardwired to store food whenever available. It makes sense, considering that for millions of years, our species and our ancestors were generally short on food.

IMO, the obesity crises doesn't get enough attention and receives unwarranted criticism. The obese are less productive, more prone to disability and disease, and hell: an eyesore. Remember when Republicans were criticizing Michele Obama for promoting a healthier lifestyle?  Maybe someone should tell them that obesity is a principle driver of medical costs which are driving up the deficit.

[Dr. Cynic]

As a big old fat man myself, I like fast food (they wouldn't need to advertise it), I don't like vegetables and I enjoy a sedentary lifestyle and I only have to work a few hours a month.

So, maybe I am to blame, but I really don't care.

I'm not asking for anything extra though. I would like to get that second seat they charge me for on airplanes though.

[stegosaurus]

Barring a physical disorder that prevents one from maintaining a healthy weight, then yes. Fat people should be held responsible for their own condition. To pin the blame for obesity on corporations, marketing, capitalism, and fashion culture is to say that people are too stupid to think for themselves - which is a bad premise to base public policy on. I would imagine a majority of fat people agree with this notion as well.

The solution to the obesity crisis?

[opebo]

...I only have to work a few hours a month.

I don't care about your diet, your fat, or any of that, but how do you swing this?

[patrick1]

...I only have to work a few hours a month.

I don't care about your diet, your fat, or any of that, but how do you swing this?

IIRC, he is a stand up comic.

[opebo]

...I only have to work a few hours a month.

I don't care about your diet, your fat, or any of that, but how do you swing this?

IIRC, he is a stand up comic.

And one that makes money at it?  Bizarre.  Can't be more than a few dozen of those in the entire country.

But what I can never fathom is this (and I speak as a man who just ate fast food - McDonalds) - how can anyone like it?  Its like eating cardboard.

I eat it once in a while on my 'farang food' weekends at the beach, as part of my 3-4 days a month when I don't eat spicy Thai food.  But I can't imagine anyone eating it regularly for any reason other than dire poverty.