Losing weight isn't easy for everyone and it isn't hard for everyone. Thank goodness we live in a world of shades of gray instead of black and white.
I used to be a porker. I was an athlete in HS, but I had to have serious heart surgery, which impaired my exercise for years. I went from 180ish to about 240ish in a few years. When I got the okay from my doc to begin exercising again, it was a pain in the ars. I had grown used to being somewhat lazy. My diet had also gone down the tubes (I blame no one but myself for that one). I found out later that I had a food addiction to deal with stress and depression, but I digress. I had to seriously change my lifestyle and it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I stopped eating red meat, I stopped eating complex and processed carbohydrates (think less doughnuts, more fruit), and I exercised for a few hours a day. Yes, it mucked up my schedule, but what's a schedule worth if you're fat and unhappy?
I could very well have been oen of the people who can't fit inside a cat scan or what have you. It would have been easy in the short run, but hard in the long run. Being fat really isn't too fun. You get out of breath tieing your shoes, you can't play with your kids in the way they want you to play with them, even wearing really nice clothes you still don't look your best, less engery for the luvin, and a plethora of other terrible things. Unfortunately, I have a few stretch marks that will always be there to remind me to do what I can to respect my body.
Do I think that building larger machines is enabling? Yeah. Do I think it's wrong? Not really. Are doctors responsible for the health of their patients? To a degree, yes. Doctors have to be part healer, and part motivator in order to help people overcome obesity. What if I had an ear infection, and my doctor said something like, "Well 1/3 of America has an ear infection, so take this medicine if you want to...", well what help would that be? Most people, in my humble opinion, are not usually self motivated. Maybe they should try this one, "You're sick, and the medicine is strict diet and exercise. Here's what you do..."
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