Society believes that obesity is a choice. The media dedicate their time to telling us we shouldn’t be any bigger than a size six. And we believe them.
Blah, blah, blah.
It’s January, and with the start of a new year comes the mindset of a “new me”. More often than not, this means losing substantial amounts of weight to get “beach body ready” for the summer. As gross as this is, sadly it’s nothing new. It happens every year, without fail. But this year, there’s been an interesting story that’s caught my attention…
Over the last two nights, I’ve seen the same story crop up on ITV. The article looks at the dangers of Fitbits, how dangerous counting calories is and how it can kick start anorexia. ITV shared that a special programme would be aired about this, to help spread this knowledge far and wide. I thought it was great that rather than just push weight loss in January, a media outlet was also sharing the dangers of losing weight in unhealthy ways.
On the same day, however, I saw this story on ITV, the one that caught my eye. The one that claimed that obesity – another eating disorder – is a choice, and not a disease.
Obesity is not a choice – here’s why
If obesity is a choice, why isn’t anorexia considered in the same light? If you’re choosing to eat, surely you’re choosing to starve too?
Wrong.
As someone who has struggled with disordered eating in a bid to be ‘skinny’, I can tell you now that it’s not a choice. I’m sure many other people suffering with any kind of eating disorder would agree and would tell you the same.
Obesity is a disease because it’s not just about eating more food than is good for you. It’s about the fact you are failing to eat intuitively and listen to your body. Something has happened to make your brain tell you that you want/need to eat that food. People eat in response to loneliness, bullying, grief – all sorts of reasons! Similarly, anorexia is more than just “not eating”. It’s about that voice in your head telling you not to eat because you’ll get fat if you do, not to eat because there’ll be repercussions if you do. So on, and so on.
Anorexia and obesity are more than just how much or how little is being eaten. It’s about the frame of mind that took that person to that place. Why is it happening? It’s about more than just getting slimmer or getting fatter. There are all sorts of complications alongside it – because eating disorders are very complex!
Why is anorexia considered a disease, not a choice, but obesity is a choice, not a disease?
People are willing to ‘accept’ anorexia as a disease because it’s about being slimmer. It’s about losing weight. It’s about doing what many of us feel we have to do on a daily basis because the media tell us that’s how we will achieve the perfect body. We are somewhat softened towards those who are anorexic, because we sympathise. You know – we are all on a journey to be slimmer, and they just took it too far. But it could so easily have been us. Poor them. Etc, etc.
People don’t want to accept obesity as a disease because it’s about being fat. It’s about being what society says you should not be. People see someone fat and they stop caring.
Both anorexia and obesity are eating disorders and both of them are medically defined as diseases. They are the same, they are both illnesses, diseases.
Keep your energy consistent and just admit you have a problem with fat people.
People need to remember that obesity is a disease.
By definition, a disease is:
Which means that yes, obesity – and anorexia – are both diseases by definition.
Furthermore, eating disorders are considered to be mental health problems, and actually have the highest mortality rate of all mental health problems. People with eating disorders need help. Do you really think someone would choose to put themselves through that? Do you think people choose to be depressed or anxious? No. It’s the same for every mental health problem; none of it is a choice. It’s the same with all diseases, they’re not a choice.
Obesity is not a choice.
Just say you hate fat people and go.
The real issue lies with fat people, it’s as simple as that. People will use any given opportunity to criticise fat people. To deny fat people a right to just live their life, to condemn fat people rather than sympathise with them or support them. If people really felt this strongly about obesity being a choice, for whatever reason, they would have to use that same energy when speaking about anorexia, along with other mental health problems and diseases – because by definition, they are all the same!
Starving yourself to the point of being actually anorexic is not a choice. Gorging on food to the point of actually suffering from obesity is not a choice. Eating disorders are not choices.
Why are we seeing a rise in cases of obesity?
Obesity is no more of a choice than anorexia. No one chooses to have their mind completely taken over and destroyed by an eating disorder. No one in their right mind would choose that kind of life. To suggest that any kind of mental health problem, eating disorder or disease is a choice is incredibly naive.
Obesity is a growing epidemic, we keep being told that… but is anyone actually taking the time to consider why?
Could it be that because almost all diets result in people actually gaining weight, rather than losing?
Maybe it’s that, in a world that puts so much pressure on us to look and be a certain way, actually it’s making people feel worse?
Could it be because people rely on food for comfort? That in a world that is full of so much hardship, eating makes so many people feel better?
You know what – there’s a whole host of reasons. But rather than find out why, we’re sitting here telling people who are suffering from a mental illness that what they’re going through is a choice.
It’s 2019. Time to wake up and open your eyes to what’s really going on.
Love from,
Florence Grace
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