Redefining Obesity?

Yes, I realize there are those who only have themselves to blame but people shouldn't make assumptions.
This is not directed at anyone here. I'm referring to the general public.

I resent those that talk about us fatties as 'stuffing themselves' with bad food. 'I' 'don't' I don't even 'like' chocolate.

I'm sure you do ninathenana - there will be a lot of people who end up being overweight due to comfort eating as well; it isn't as simple as it seems is it.

I don't buy processed food either.

I have been overweight all my life. Twice I have lost quiet a bit then got pregnant and put it back on. As a child I spent my life outside, often going on long cycle rides and swimming nearly every day in summer. Mum couldn't afford to over feed me ! Yet still I was the biggest child in class until senior school. Mum was big to, dad and my brother were 'rakes'
I resent those that talk about us fatties as 'stuffing themselves' with bad food. 'I' 'don't' I don't even 'like' chocolate. I will confess to 2-3 biscuits now and then but that's it.
I think they were right to dismiss him. As he simply wasn't capable of doing his job. Had it been a different work environment maybe I would feel differently.

I was just peering into the fridge and my hand [of it's own volition] came back out of there clutching a pork pie!I was rather surprised, smacked the hand, and returned the pie to it's shelf, where it will sit, waiting for DH to rescue it and eat it with mustard pickle. Sigh.

My DH is positively thin. He eats virtually what he wants to eat and has not gained an ounce since we married 45 years ago (Grrrrr). He is, however, diabetic (type 2) so perhaps eating what he likes has had an effect on something other than his weight. His mother was diabetic too (type 1) although she was a very large lady.

I think that some most food companies try to promote a lack of exercise as the cause of obesity rather than eating too much high calorie food. Do not be fooled.

A lot of people eat so many calories that doing enough exercise to compensate is nigh on impossible. Reducing portion size and sugar and fat intake would help a lot

Unfortunately the supermarkets do nothing to help with this issue. They have shelves full of products designed to encourage snacking.

It's all down to gut flora apparently...but that's not a cop out for the obese. Seemingly unhealthy sugar and fat laden diets destroy 'good' gut flora.

at least in mice

For those who prefer a more 'scholarly article' just google Obesity and gut flora. Now where did I put my Yakult?

There is little medical help for obesity from GPs as they are not incentivised to do it as they are with heart disease and diabetes etc (they receive additional payments for patients with these and other disorders) so apart from the odd nagging few practices have a weight clinic or similar support to offer although some may pay for the occasional patient at slimming club. The problem has literally to become HUGE before something is done and then it all seems to be bariatric surgery of various types. These depts. are growing(1) in hospitals. There was a programme recently on Channel 4 abut the largest unit of its kind just outside Newcastle who have 5 full time bariatric surgeons and say they need 7.

It certainly does provide plenty of thoughts on the matter - I remember a work colleague losing her job because she was continually off sick with smoking-related illnesses yet refused to give up after her doctor told her to. Bronchitis every year which used to take her three months to recover from, laryngitis, the main office sounded dreadful when she was in it always hacking away. Of course we felt sorry for her - until we saw her sneak outside for a crafty fag yet again. I doubt very much that she is still alive. When she left I missed her because she was such a character, but people were always having to do her work as well as their own and it just wasn't fair.

Would a wheelchair-bound person be given a job as a childminder in the first place?

I was attempting devil's advocate and failed dismally with that suggestion; my apologies.

Gagagran

Very few people went to gyms and did all the visible exercise we see every day around us in the fifties and sixties yet most had little trouble keeping slim. I am sure it's something to do with what is in our food - trans-fats, sweeteners etc. but also with the huge increase in car ownership. We walked everywhere when we were young as we had no cars and little money for fares. That must have helped.

I'm inclined to agree with you. I don't remember people being particularly overweight when I was younger and I can't remember one friend of mine that was. I do think we have become much more sedentary but I have also heard people say that the chemicals used in our food and in modern farming practices also doesn't help.

I have just been reading about everyday things that can make us fat - and I'm a bit surprised!

Flouridated tap water can increase your weight: Fluoride can cause individuals to gain weight because it makes it difficult for the body to absorb iodine. Iodine supports thyroid function and when we're not able to get enough of it, our metabolism is slowed down.

Crash dieting and fasting

Stress (because it releases a hormone called cortisol which is responsible for storing fat, especially abdominal fat)

Sleep deprivation slows down the body's metabolism the next morning – meaning less calories are burnt off.

Smoothies and fruit juices (hidden sugars and ingerdients)

Many allergy sufferers find that the use of antihistamines increases their appetite. Some antihistamines are so effective at increasing hunger that they're prescribed to anorexic patients as an appetite stimulant.

Hidden dangers everywhere in the fight against flab!

I am far from slim myself, and it is a battle to stay within limits [ie not going up another size!]Genetics does play a big part in it as well,] but we have to be on the alert not to reach gigantic proportions.

my above message was in answer to Holly about disabled parking.

If this is linked to being obese then helping them to walk less will be counter productive.If an already disabled person has simply become fat[ maybe through being disabled] then that is a different matter.Simply saying, I am fat, so cannot walk far, will not do.

I struggle with my weight, but I know that being overweight is down to me and only I can do something about it. This chap can't do his job so after the relevant warnings which I am sure he will have had, his employers are right to sack him. Maybe he can do another job, but he cannot look after children while in that physical state. It is interesting to just stop and look around you sometimes, or just at groups of people on the tv, in a crowd. You will see that the majority are noticeably overweight. It has become normal to be overweight, if not obese, and this cannot be right. This man chose to eat, nobody held him down and poured fat down his throat, so he should take responsibility and stop crying about being a victim.

^ I have been in the company of thin people who would work their way through a buffet like a locust and still remain thin whilst others would pile on the weight with a vol au vent!^

I once mentioned that to my GP (I have to watch what I eat but a friend of mine could eat the entire contents of Cadbury's and I doubt she would gain and ounce!) and my GP said that everyone is born with a given number of fat cells and it is that number that will determine if you are prone to easy weight gain or not.

Yes petallus it would, so then they need walk even less!They could stop right outside the door of the supermarket or takeaway.

What if the obese person has mobility problems?

There are some temporary disabilities that prevent people from doing things like this childminding job, so he could have been suspended until he lost sufficient weight to be able to fulfil that role (perhaps he was - I haven't read about him). I don't go along with the idea of colluding with claims that obesity IS a disability - it can certainly contribute to becoming disabled because of the conditions that can arise from being morbidly obese, but in itself - no.

My mother was born 9th of 10 children in 1917. She lived through all of the austerity and wars of the 20th century and had 5 children of her own. She was fat, not obese but fat. We were a relatively poor family who did not have sweets, buns or treats and this has carried through to my life.
I eat sensibly, physically cannot gorge can leave sweets and chocolates until they go off, was a fanatical exerciser in my 40s, but then the weight started creeping on and now I am fat. My daughter also eats sensibly, is just into her 40's and I can see the tell-tale signs appearing on her.

Over the centuries humanity has been patting itself on the back for increases in height due to better nutrition. Probably the increase in girth is part of the same phenomenon and is more down to genetic or hormonal issues than food addictions or overeating. I have been in the company of thin people who would work their way through a buffet like a locust and still remain thin whilst others would pile on the weight with a vol au vent!
Obese people should not be discriminated against within the workplace, but they should understand their limitations when applying for work.

It's true there are many reasons that people allow themselves to become horribly overweight, but they still have to take charge of their own lives and bodies. If you stuff yourself with takeaways, chips and crisps etc it's not rocket science to work out what will happen.Booze is full of calories as well.I know one man who became almost 30 stone by living in this way, but lost half of that by eating sensibly and taking a walk every day.It can be done.

Yes petallus it would, so then they need walk even less!They could stop right outside the door of the supermarket or takeaway.

If obesity was seen as a disability in its own right, would that mean obese people could claim disability allowance, have special parking privileges etc?

I agree with roses. Food is lovely. I love crisps, cakes and chocolate as most people do. I also know that if I stuff my face with these things, I will become fat. I eat them in moderation and I am not overweight (maybe a pound or two). I realise that there are some medical conditions that cause a person to become overweight but in the main it is a case of eating too much and not moving enough. I also realise that some folks have horrible lives and they use food as a comfort. I have had a pretty horrible life myself but I still manage to exercise restraint. If a person is obese due to over eating and lack of exercise it is nobody's fault but their own. It can't be compared to someone with a disability or an illness. I know it's not easy, but Mr Kaltoft should sort himself out.