genuinegirly

The Dilemmas of America's Weight Problems - Obesity vs. Anorexia - Any thoughts?

Is Anorexia a response to obesity, or an unrelated disorder?

When you see someone who is obese, are you bothered?
When you see someone who is obese, are you motivated to exercise?
If you live with someone who is obese, do you encourage them to eat in moderation and to exercise regularly?
Have you ever had the urge to puke when you have observed an obese person scarfing down food in a restaurant, as though they're starving?
Do you believe obesity should be medically treated as a mental disorder?
What connection do you see between gluttony and obesity?

Conversely,

When you see someone who is underweight, are you bothered?
When you see someone who is underweight, are you motivated to exercise?
If you live with someone who is anorexic, do you encourage them to eat in moderation and exercise regularly?
Have you ever had the urge to feed someone who appears underweight a big meal?
Do you believe anorexia should be treated as a medical disorder?
What connection do you see between humility or vanity and Anorexia?


What trends do you see in your community?
Are gyms as popular as the all-you-can-eat buffets?
Does your city/town/hamlet treat obese residents any differently than their moderate or skinny counterparts?

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My opinion:

Anorexia is a disorder that should be treated seriously.

Obesity is a relfection of poor eating habits and lack of personal responsibility. Since it is a precursor to serious health concerns, doctors should treat it as they would a disease. Weight loss programs should be prescribed by physicians, then covered by health insurance under the umbrella of preventative medicine.

After living with an obese mother and now my obese father-in-law, I see that they feel their weight as a problem, one that they would like to address, but they either feel helpless in managing it, or they do not feel they have the time to deal with it appropriately. Even significant support and encouragement from family is not enough to counteract their weight problems. No matter how much a family member tries to plan their meals, they will find more food, they will still feel hungry. It is a problem that becomes a burden on their family, a burden that is often set aside and ignored.

When I see someone who is obese, I am bothered. I do not enjoy standing next to someone who is obese. I feel they are invariably invading my personal space with their extra mass. When I watch them scarfing food, I want to pick up the fork from their hand and set it on the other side of the table, just out of their reach after every bite, so they have to pause and think about what they're about to put into their body.

When I see someone who is obese, I am motivated to exercise and to eat right.

When I see someone who is underweight, my response is different. My response is based upon living with an apartment of 4 borderline anorexic women, and traveling (as a lighting tech, not a dancer) with a college dance company where half of the women were bulimic. After these experiences, I began to associate underweight women with poor self-image and misconceptions about diet.

When I see someone who is underweight, I consider their body and wonder what their diet must be. I wonder if I would be physically healthy, able to do all of the running and activities I enjoy, with that diet. I am more motivated to cook for them, but present them with smallish portions, then tell them there's more if they're interested. I do my best to set my table with a variety of vegetables and foods that they will not feel guilty eating a lot of. I encourage them to eat, to eat a significant portion, but not push food on them. I am motivated to exercise. I am motivated to eat right. I am motivated to show them they can live a healthy lifestyle and still eat moderate portions, rather than impairing their thought processes and physical mobility through starvation.

In my community, we have a couple of all-you-can eat Sushi places and one all-you-can eat mandarin kitchen. They do not seem to be popular. There are three local gyms, and several independent facilities for personal training. In this neighborhood, you pass nearly one person from every house walking or running with pets or with friends. When you walk by an elementary school, you don't see any obese children playing in the playground. High schools are a different story: obesity seems to have taken a hold on these children. Almost all are either a little chunky, athletic, or grossly underweight. There is no middle-ground. I wonder what they looked like when they were in elementary school, and if there is some transitional fat stage going on in junior high, so I walk by the junior high and see they're mainly scrawny things, getting used to their skin. It makes me wonder if the level of stress at the high school level of academics is contributing to unhealthy eating habits.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy