Sage

From the CDC:
An estimated 30% of Americans over age 20 are obese, and 65% of Americans over age 20 are either overweight or obese (obese being defined as having a BMI of 30 or over).

In walking around every day, just here in Asheville, I see people who are so overweight it's a wonder their knees don't just buckle when they try to walk around. All of my aunts on my Dad's side of the family are obese, and one of my aunts literally ate herself to death- she was 500lbs+ when she died of internal organ failure due to an inability to regulate her diabeties. What I have a hard time wrapping my head around is at what point do people stop caring? I don't mean this in a malicious way at all, I genuinely would like to learn the perspective of people who's body weight is hazardous to their health.

I am not skinny. I am 6'0" and weight 250lbs (113kilos), wearing a size 18-20 jean. This is a new development for me, it being my heaviest weight ever, and I realize that I must do something about it. The point where I realized that I need to get smaller was when I went shopping and had to buy a size 20 jean... definitely in the "plus size" category. It bothers me to no end that I have all kinds of chunks everywhere that you can grab a handful of. I found my "breaking" point... so why doesn't everyone have a point where they look in the mirror and say "I really need to be serious about losing weight?"

My first inclination is to say that a majority of seriously overweight people have underlying psychological issues that result in them trying to "out-eat" their problems. However, I know that this is probably a grossly unfair observation. Some people have medical conditions that affect their metabolism, like diseases of the thyroid. It just boggles my mind that there are people in the world who not only are so overweight, but so incapable of dealing with their own issues, that we have a surgery to STAPLE THE STOMACH so that they can't eat as much. That's just... seriously showing the twisted nature of our society. Some people would say that society's pressures cause people to eat more, but no one is holding a gun to your head and telling you to clean your plate.

With such an emphasis on eating right- it being taught in health class, information being freely available on the internet, hell... McDonalds has a food pyramid on the wall in their resturante- it seems that it would be easy for anyone who wants to to lose weight. So why aren't they? If anyone here at TFP has a more personal perspective on this matter, please let your opnion and your expierence be known, because this is something I've wondered about for most of my life- espically after my aunt died.

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