How do people allow themselves to become so obese?

Question

After gaining 10 or 20 pounds, why not just make the effort to lose it then instead of continuing to gain weight?

Actually, I am well informed about thyroid disorders and various medications that cause weight gain. Ultimately, the amount of people with actual medical problems that cause them to be obese is very small compared to the amount of people that just eat and laze their way into obesity. My question is more about the latter group.

I didn't say anything about being healthy or thin? No one is really answering my question. I am more curious about why they wouldn't take care of their weight problem in the early stages (like a 20 pound weight gain which would cause one to buy new clothing in a different size) rather than just continuing to get fatter and a larger size.

Answer 1

People gain weight for different reasons. Some may simply be lazy and not care about their health or physical appearance. Others may be depressed and use food as a comfort zone. Others again may intentionally put on weight to make themselves unattractive to others so they are not hurt by a relationship going wrong(usually as a response to being hurt in the past)

It really depends on what their priorities and motivations are. If they don't make their health and appearance a primary priority ultimately it will suffer. Also note that it's one thing to be thin, it's entirely another to be healthy and fit. You shouldn't link the two of them together.

Edit/Addition: Actually numerous people here have answered your question. It's not easy to just flick a switch in your head and reverse or change the things that are causing you to overeat or not exercise. If it is a deeply traumatic issue that you have trouble dealing with usually it takes a LOT of work and a lot of motivation to break out of it. The answer to your question is threefold:

1. Some people are too emotionally depressed to make a change for the better and hence continue along the same self-destructive path OR
2. They're medically ill and cannot help it (quite a rare case compared to the other 2 OR
3. They're too lazy

Hope that clears it up

Answer 2

There are many different reasons why people gain weight. Sometimes it is not that simple. A lot of people are emotional eaters which is as bad as anorexia. Some people have thyroid disease or other ailments that can lead to obesity. It always seems so easy to think people but it's not. I lost a lot of weight recently but the only way I could seem to lose it was to starve myself. I tried walking three miles a day for over a year and lost only 10 lbs, even though I was eating healthy at the same time. I finally gave up and lost 60 lbs in 2 1/2 months by eating one salad a day. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and it takes a lot of willpower to not gain it back. Maybe you should educate yourself more on problems or conditions that cause obesity instead of assuming that everyone was born to be thin.

Answer 3

I personally was overweight from 12 to about 19 or 20. I lost weight with out even realizing it and it took walking around at work one day and my pants actually fell down to my ankles, before i realized i had lost more than 50 lbs. because i really didn't know i had lost it i didn't know what to do. within 3 yrs i was married and gained every bit back. the more stress the more i ate. i do also have thyroid disease but that is not an excuse. i have been very lazy at times and even though i knew my clothes were to small again I still didn't get how big I had gotten. Until one day it just snapped inside of me and I knew i had to make a change in my whole life. Not just the food there are so many things other than that, I never even realized how much the outside world effected my weight. I have completely changed my lifestyle and I feel bunches better. The better you feel inside the easier it is to change the outside. Hope this answered your question but if not i'm sorry. It did make me feel better just to get that out, thank you.

Answer 4

Weight gain or loss is usually associated with an emotional disorder or a physical impairment. Things like depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder are often to blame. As well as physical disabilities that lessen or totally inhibit exercise. Also, there is a definite genetic link that determines how well our bodies metabolize fat.

Many factors play into obesity. So, people really shouldn't judge....in fact, they should show some compassion.

For example, that big lady leaving the buffet with her plate piled high......most likely, went hungry at some point in her early life.

Yes, some folks are lazy and don't care.....but, most have legitimate inner battles that they are struggling against.

Hope this helps! God bless.

Answer 5

Food can act like a drug for some people. Probelm is, this is one drug you can't quit withiout dying. There are many reasons why some people have weight issues. Most can not stop themselves in what they are doing. It does not mean they are lazy. It means they have a real problem. For some people , they do not see it as a problem to be overweight..and are quite happy with themselves. Just becasue a person is over weight it does not make them unhealthy!..
maybe you should stop being so judgemental of people ..

Answer 6

because you can get depressed and eat and look in the mirror and not see the weght you gained. You only will notice if you take a picture or see yourself on video. People don't wish to be that way but life is hard and it happens. Some people have medical problems that they cannot help also

Answer 7

It's usually a mental addiction to food and/or compulsive overeating. Compulsive overeating is an eating disorder. A compulsive overeater has just as much difficulty not eating as an anorexic has eating.

Answer 8

There are some people who cannot help this. But it is a hard question to answer. I do not understand either. Maybe some people cannot get into an active routine.

Answer 9

many people feel lethargic by just eating more junk food(or, just "food")obeseity is one thing that people don't TRY to make themselves, they just eat. some people do not like to excercise, thinking it as a waste of time. other people just try, but not do enough. all in all, if you are obese, time is the only way.(and more, harder excercise.)as a korean, i know how it actually feels..wtih my older sister herself obese.

Answer 10

Some have emotional issues and some have medical conditions, others just don't care.