Michael Buerk. Is obesity a disease?

I’m with Pinkquartz. There are many contributing factors in obesity. Genetics is a big one, medications another and there are others, including eating too much. If it was as simply as eat a bit less and exercise, very few people would be fat in a society where it’s the last legitimate prejudice!

Here's a look at my daily weight fluctuations, eating roughly the same kind of foods in the same amounts and having the same exercise routine. I have b'fast about 10-11am and evening meal before 6.30pm. Only walnuts and almonds mid morning and afternoon. Plenty of water. Weights were recorded after waking, between 6-7am.
Green line show what the app decides I should be losing and orange line shows my trajectory.
I'm not trying to lose weight, just track my weight but the graph just shows how much it alters even when you do broadly the same stuff every day.
Incidentally, it's in pounds and the app decided that my weight should be 144lbs, 10st 4lbs for my height of 5-6.5.
I actually weigh 11st 2lbs and my adult weight for 40 odd years was 11-7
I would look skeletal being under 11st.
I'm happy with my build as it's mostly muscle due to exercise.
Be healthy, eat well, don't stress and be positive. That's a good way to live.

Oops! Forgot chart.

Are we talking about a stereotypical senior, 'dumpy' person? The round kind with a propensity for ice cream and double helpings of dessert? The kind who doesn't exercise as much as she/he should? If that's who we're talking about, I tend to agree.....a hefty dose of self control and discipline wouldn't be a bad thing .. I know, because I am one of the walking guilty!

Having said that, I do think that certain types of obesity are a disease and in many cases, hereditary. I'm talking about the ones who are so large, they can't find clothes in regular or even plus size stores. The ones who become bedridden because they can't fit through their own front door. People who actually eat less than most of us, yet must resort to having their stomachs stapled in order to lose weight.

Many are unemployed because they can't get hired due to weight bias. Others can't work due to their own physical limitations They are often judged or ridiculed in stores, parking lots and other public places.

The reality is that they suffer from a metabolic illness through no fault of their own. If you asked them about the daily struggles of the morbidly obese, you would soon realize than instead of casting blame or condemnation, what they really need from the rest of us is more kindness and support.

Well lucky old you Gabriella! What a shame it isn’t possible for you thin people to just try being overweight.

If it was as simply as eat a bit less and exercise, very few people would be fat in a society

Yet society as a whole is getting fatter in line with a change in how we live and eat....

The "mediterranian diet" was hailed as one of the healthiest with lowest cardiovascular risk, yet in areas where it originated, obesity has shot up with the adoption of more "western" foods and lifestyles!

I do get a bit annoyed when I see overweight people with overweight children... They are passing their bad habits onto the next generation...

"Be healthy, eat well, don't stress and be positive. That's a good way to live."

It is, Gabriella. And I'm sure people with disabilities think the same. However life is somewhat of a lottery and doing what you suggest just isn't going to work for everyone.

You can't force someone with cancer, kidney disease, RA, PR, birth deformities, the list is endless to 'be healthy' And many conditions are through no fault of the people who have ended up stuck with them.

We try to eat well but not everyone can/wants to for a variety of reasons.

Don't stress? Impossible. You can't just tell yourself not to stress when you're knee deep in debt, nappies and unsure whether you've got enough to pay the gas bill. And stress isn't just a poverty illness either. We all stress to a degree. Some more than others.

I am a very positive person . And I'm positive that while we'd all love to be fit and healthy and stress free it just isn't real life.

Theoddbird, why not try sympathetic rather than annoyed.?

There are many autoimmune diseases that can lead to weight gain. As others have mentioned, an underactive thyroid is one of them and for most of us the weight gain that generally goes with it is very difficult to lose. Hereditary disposition is certainly a part and wouldn't it be lovely if calories in/calories out actually worked. In addition to an underactive thyroid l also have a hereditary condition called lipoedema, one where a diagnosis is very difficult to get even though the condition has been recognised for over seventy years, hmm... wonder if this is because it is almost exclusively a women's disease. It generally starts at puberty with thunder thighs and can progress to the calves leaving the ankles normal. Each hormonal change can make it worse. Shelves on the hips then the arms become affected. The skin feels cold to the touch and large bruises appear out of nowhere. Underneath the affected skin it feels like there are beads. Diet and exercise have absolutely no effect on these areas; the only treatment is compression garments or, if one can ever afford it, specialised liposuction. It can cause a lot of pain and problems with mobility for many ladies. Of course, ridding oneself of any non-lipoedema fat can help your health in general and l have done this leaving me two dress sizes smaller at the top than the bottom. I am giving my thoughts as some people, usually the lucky ones who, seemingly like Michael Buerk have never had a weight problem in their lives, appear to think that those of us who struggle with this issue are somehow weak-willed lesser individuals who are undeserving of sympathy or help because we have brought all our problems on ourselves. Strange how those who participate in dangerous sports and injure themselves are not treated in this way.

Well said Musicbird

Well Nannytopsy
Your criticism just shows that you didn't read my comment properly.
I clearly say that my weight for my height should be 10st 4lbs, as per the app which uses charts by Health England to show what healthy weight a female of my age and height should be.
I also say that my actual weight is 11st 2lbs, 12lbs more than the recommended weight and that means I am overweight.
I do not disagree with those figures but everyone's fat, bone and muscle make-upgrade different, thus, I may look heavier than someone who weighs more or I could weigh less than someone who looks skinnier.
No two people are the same in that respect.
Most people would think that women who weigh 11st must be fat but it doesn't work like that.
I'm 11st 2lbs and not fat but certainly I weigh more than charts and apps decide are appropriate weight/height/age ratios.
I don't diet and don't want to lose weight.
You just chose not to remember what I wrote before posting your response.

I suppose there can be medical reasons for it in some cases.But a lot of people just overeat and don't mind being overweight.It annoys me though when they claim benefits because they're" disabled " .And why do overweight women have to wear leggings and scimpy vest tops,not a good look.

Musicgirl I too have lipoedema which really kicked into action with the menopause. It's now progressed into lymphedema and I also have osteoarthritis. I can't exercise much but I've been eating low carb which helps.
However I still look dreadfully obese from the waist downwards and on my arms. I genuinely can do nothing about it.
However I have only been in hospital for childbirth and a nosebleed so Michael Buerk (well named!) has totally disgusted me with this article.
I don't drink, smoke or drive so very little that I do encroaches on anyone else's welfare.
Lot of nasty judgemental people about today on social media all brought out by this stupid man

All this talk of food reminds me, it's time to start to prepare dinner to feed my slim wife and me, her obese husband.

People need an excuse will always find one...for anything.
Those who really want to change will do all they can and know they did their best, taking into account their limitations but they won't moan and carry on piling on the pounds just because it's the easier option.
They are two different types.

Maybe your slim wife could cook and be more likely to plate up smaller portions, that said, it's probably why you do the cooking...cook's perks and all that...eh? ??

It’s a very simple equation..... if you put in more calories than you use, you eventually will become fat! No excuses, no “it’s my glands”, no , “all my family are fat”.... it won’t wash ..... obesity is self abuse.... and when you inflict it on your children it’s tantamount to child abuse!

It's not just about food consumption or even the type or quality of food. I was a child in the 60's and early 70's and most of what i ate at home (not at my grans' houses) came out of a tin or packet and was often in colours not known to nature. HOWEVER (you know what's coming) we were never in the house. We were not trained by ridiculous amounts of homework - at least at primary school - to be in at home in the evenings. At school - which started at 8/30 and finished at 4 we had three playtimes and at the weekends you were only indoors if there was a Armageddon weather and I knew ONE fat child. Just ONE. Today, even the non-obese children you see look anaemic and as if walking more than 6 ft would wear them out.
My eating habits are now healthy but as a child I ate a lot of crap and was skinny as a rake until hormones hit. Even then I wasn't fat.
Microwaves and instant food and processed food are all disastrous yes - but as folk move less and less, humans will just become wheezing blobs. Oh - no - that's wrong cos after Brexit no one will be able to afford to run their cars and there will be precious little in the way of luxury goods. There - I knew something good would eventually come out of the jingoism and xenophobia...

Gabriella. I am not overweight. In fact I am slightly underweight.

But I am sticking up for people who are overweight due to an illness and/or medication. These are not excuses, they are legitimate reasons.

People are very judgmental. They look at an overweight person and decide they eat too much.

Very difficult to differentiate between those who eat too much and those with genuine illnesses.

Anyone on medication for type 2 diabetes the meds make you lay down fat . It is tough when you were OK when diagnosed but put on weight afterwards . I am now on insulin so really having to battle to keep the weight off despite a modest food intake .

Of course obesity is a disease, in that it causes harm and can even kill. And as with any disease, that doesn't mean that the person who suffers from it is powerless to get healthy.

There are lots of causes of obesity, but probably the main causes are comfort eating and too many additives in our food.

There are medical conditions that cause you to carry weight and I have one of them PBC, an autoimmune condition with no cure, just a live transplant. With this condition you carry excessive amounts of fluid and at times need to go into hospital to have it drained. It makes you look fat and has weight. Also you are excessively tired and to exercise or just walk to the shops is b....y hard work.

I am one of the lucky ones who despite having PBC has not had the fluid retention problem and my tiredness is not as bad as others so I weigh in at 68kgs at 5.5 (and a half) . We have to stop judging EVERYONE and be a bit more compassionate.

yeah must kick this overeating lark it's 5pm and today I've eaten two apples and only drunk water. I have to eat to live but have no real interest in it at all. I take supplements for my vitamins etc but food doesn't interest my lardy arse. Oh except there's nothing lardy about me I'm very firm and muscular but still overweight. So of course I must be lying about my food intake except I'm not. The world is full of judgmental people the key is to ignore them.

Of course unfortunately we all make a judgement on why people are obese, but as has been previously observed some people are on medication. I am currently taking steroids for Polymyalgia rheumatica which is a double whammy as steroids increase your appetite and you do feel constantly hungry and the PMR makes you less mobile. I eat a healthy diet and we cook all our food from scratch. I do think however that take aways and fast food encourages obesity as I believe that some people/families eat these quite regularly. Even school meals encourage ‘bad’ choices with, pizza and chips regularly on menus.