is obesity not a mental illness?

Question

surely it is like bulimia or anorexia? people damaging themselves for no inherent reason....?

but surely fat people sayin "i can do what i want, i'll eat more, its my choice." is the same.

Answer 1

It depends what people regard as a mental illness. Many people use food as a coping mechanism..they 'eat their emotions' so to speak..and this is usually the case with people who are obese. Its a vicious circle for them, they gain weight, feel depressed and eat more, feel worse about themselves as the weight piles on and then refuse to go out and get no exercise. I think it's unfair the way people with such an eating disorder are judged. Food for them is a coping mechanism and because it's affects are external people judge them on their looks. Therefore drugs, alchol etc are mental illnesses..however they arent judged so much cus we cant openly and obviously see the effects.

Sometimes people who use food to cope have a lot of pain inside, they are ashamed for what they do and their self esteem goes down the shoot!

Your question states.."people damaging themselves for no inherent reason"....who said there is no reason?? Bullying, physcical, sexual, phychological abuse, loosing of a loved one, rejection etc can all be good reasons for people to feel so low that they hurt themselves...usually by doing what comforts them most and in this case it's over eating!

I would say its a condition that has mental implications a lot of the time (unless it's a genetic condition) but i'm not sure if i see it as an illness.

Answer 2

Welll obesity is mainly caused by overeating or compulsive eating, which is along the same lines as what causes bulimia and anorexia, just at the other end of the scale. I think the causes of overeating and compulsive eating can be considered a mental illness.

Yeah some people who are obese can't help it (for example gland problems, illnesses like diabetes) but I don't think that really applies to that many people. The vast majority are overweight because they eat too much and do too little exercise. Simple as. And no, I'm not being judgmental...I'm a size 24-26 and know the reason I am that big is because I eat too much and sit on my *** all day lol, but some of the eating too much is down to lack of self esteem and using food as a crutch ie comfort eating.

Answer 3

I think that is pushing it a bit. There is an increasing tendency in the West to call everything an illness, almost as an excuse. Most recent figures put GB top of the European obesity league with nearly 25% of the population involved and an increasing tendency to call it an epidemic, a word usually and more correctly applied to infectious diseases!

We are jut becoming increasingly fat and lazy, we eat too much and probably even more importantly we expend to little energy. It really is a problem that western society has taken a wrong lifestyle turning somewhere and we can't seem to get back on track.

In terms of disease obesity has let to an 'epidemic' of a number of diseases. Diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, heart disease, fatty liver and arthritis have dramatically increased in response to increasing average weight.

Answer 4

Yes, some people compulsively eat. When stressed, some people don't eat (anorexics are the extreme), while others eat to cure the pain (obesity the extreme once again). So in that sense, it's a psychological problem, but it's not really a mental illness. When you call obesity a 'mental illness,' you're putting it on the same level as schizophrenia. Obese people shouldn't be put in padded rooms, is what I'm trying to say.

Answer 5

It depends. If a person feels bad about themselves and turns to food for comfort, then maybe its an anxiety disorder. Often its just people who like sweet food, have an unhealthy lifestyle, and find it hard to do anything about it. Some people eat, try to give up the junk food, crave it , and then eat more of it-almost as much as they tried to give up and it can become a vicious circle. But in a fast food, tv, video game,binge drinkinking society its hard to loose wieght and obesity is becoming more and more common. Or it could be a slow metabolism. I have a slow metabolism and i find it hard to loose weight.One chocolate bar and it goes straight to my bum and lives there for about a century. My freind on the other hand eats sweets in the quantity a horse would eat its food and is skinny, so is her mum, her , her brothers,her gran (mums mum) plus she is in the territorial army so she burns a lot there.
Anorexia and Bulimiea are the opposite of obesity. These people think they are fat, which is more than often not the case, and obsessivly try to loose weght, always convinced they are fat, even if they lie dying, organs shutting down and all the details of their bones can be seen they think they are fat.

Answer 6

they all know they are fat and saying anything like I can do what i want is basically form of defence and protection. I work with overweight people and they all admit that they don't like to go out or be in public but if somebody reminds them about how fat they are they rather answer back and be rude. But the same time, all that overweight who just don't wanna do nothing to lose weight --this is what amazes me badly. Bu the way, obesity is recognised a chronic decease in UK.

Answer 7

they say that people who are mortally obesse do not gat the same feeling of getting 'full up' like thay always feel hungry, so yes it is obviously connected to something mentally, but i don't think it more of a subconsious affair, people with bulimia and anorexia know that they are making themselves throw up, all though the same could be said that fat peple know that they are shovling copeus ammounts of food down themselves, tricky one.

Somebody said 'no, it's in the genes' maybe the mental problem is hereditary.

Answer 8

Can be, I was told i have an overeating disorder like bulimia without being sick just binging but also can be in genes can just be unaware of what it actually is doing to you. I binge but because i know the consequences i try to maintain my weight and although Im overweight it keeps at the same weight even if i overeat ,

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Ya but the people who are like that think their fat and it becomes a mental thing when u say over and over in your head that i need to lose weight i look ugly or something so it becomes some mental thing that makes u lose weight and think it looks better. Just like if i watch tv and see all the male actors all skiney and stuff. also ushily im physicaligocaly hungry and my stumic isent