Should obesity be treated as an eating disorder?

Question

I saw on the news this morning a woman who weighs 42 stone, is bedridden and feels as though the NHS have given up on her. Although she made a few dodgy excuses, I can't help but think her main point was a valid one.

You wouldn't tell an anorexic person to just eat, its not as simple as that as there are underlying psychological problems. So why do we tell obese people to just stop eating? there are clearly underlying psychological causes to that as well.

So should obesity be classed as an eating disorder and treated in the same way with specialist care?

What do you think?

Answer 1

This is a hard question to answer!

I think it is very difficult to judge on this as her weight is so high and I think many factors contribute to this.

I am sure lots of people will think that it is just down to over-eating- which I am sure is the main factor in Obesity, but Clinical Morbid Obesity I think have many factors to cause it.

I think the body malfunctioning and mental illness all help to play in Morbid Obesity and so I do think it should be treated as an eating disorder and so Specialised care should be given.

It is very sad isn't it. I remember watching a programme about an American man who was put into a special hospital for this but his wife kept sneaking in McDonalds for him.... because his craving for food was greater than his will to live. He died very shortly after that.......it's a horrible illness.

Answer 2

For many people I believe it is. When all other medical reasons have been ruled out and the person is very obese and unable to respond to regular counseling about diet, calories and excercise then yes I believe special intervention (not just surgery) should be given. In those cases it is an intervention. These people are literally killing themselves the same way anorexic people or bulumics are damaging their bodies. One of the people above made mention of them being lazy for sitting on their butt all day but how is that different from anorexics or bulimics who excercise to the point they are reaking havoc on their bodies. It's basically the same kind of behavior that might respond to eating disorder treatment just like they do for anorexics and bulimics. Why don't the obese get behavioral therapy for it? It's just a sad situation.

Hopefully in the future we will do a better job at helping these people. This was a great question, it's not often you can say that here these days.

Answer 3

Nobody tells them to stop eating, they tell them to change their diet, I am sure all help has been given to this poor lady that is possible, the choice lies with her, she has to change and nobody else can do that for her, the NHS don't tell her to eat fry ups or chicken buckets, they look at all options from healthy eating to operating and psychological help is paramount. They would also suggest mild excersise to get her system running again and allow the body to start using the fat as energy. The NHS haven't let her down, she has let herself down and is trying to blame everybody but herself . Obesity can't be classed as an eating disorder as there are medical conditions that make people obese.

This lady needs to stop passing the buck and take responsibility for her own actions. The big mac isn't put there by anybody else but her. The NHS can only give a person so much treatment that even they have to give up sometime and say that there is nothing left they can do. They would not have "deserted her" as she is making out.

Answer 4

At Last!!!! I have had this opinion for some time now. I feel as though overweight people have been treat as idiots, thickos and smelly etc and have had to put up with the "eat less" form of medical treatments when the cause of the over eating has not been investigated. Overeating is a disorder with underlying problems and being told to stop stuffing your face, or to get off your fat backside isn't helpful, it causes anxiety and depression. This in turn causes overeating...I should know, I've been this way all my life and not once has anyone looked at why i over eat. The NHS needs to learn that people are complex and yes, some fat people are that way because of alcohol and fast food. Others are overweight because of medical conditions etc, or trauma. Do not judge everyone with the same "eat less" attitude Its only common sense to look at why.

Answer 5

Yes it should be treated on the NHS and having read one or two replies I can see there is much discrimination against over weight people - saying they are just greedy. Anorexic have a condition that is opposite to obesity so why differentiate between the two. Surely in this day and age of freedom and help for everyone - everyone regardless of weight, shape, size, colour, religion or whatever should be treated equally?

Would you say a someone who caused a car crash has no right to receive life saving medical treatment? Maybe a baby with health problems should be denied because they have actually contributed to the NHS? Maybe the disabled (of which I'm one) should be destroyed because they're too much of a burden on society? And maybe we should only treat anyone who is absolutely perfect...And who is admitting to being perfect (apart from the odd few people posting here)

Answer 6

There is two issues here....one is that the NHS say that they are willing to help people who have obesity problems BUT only when they are willing to help themselves, and the woman on the television gets family and friends to feed her what she wants.

On the other hand you are right there is probably an underlying phsychological reason, and in this case it was post natal depression I think....which did make me wonder where the child was in all this as the lady in question could not move.

The NHS spends millions every year fighting obesity, the problem with obesity is that people who are obese complain the NHS do not help them...but they dont see that they need to help themselves in the first place.

You will probably find the NHS sends nutritionists and physiotherapists to see her so they can teach her about healthy eating, and exercising safely in her condition, but the TV wont tell you this.

Answer 7

I think that overeating is an eating disorder. Is an eating disorder a problem with the way someone views food. I dont know what they do with anorexics but I would imagine they would give them psychological help & force feed via IV if neccessary? As for someone to be dying from malnutrition, a intervening law will allow them to force care if required to prevent death?
For obese people they cannot, unless they force hospitilisation, stop them from eating. I dont imagine they are allowed to insist on surgery such as a gastric band/stomach stapling without consent either? If the person doesn't consent to psychological help what can the NHS do?

Answer 8

I thought it already was treated as an eating disorder. Besides, how many teenagers with anorexia and other such eating disorders do you hear saying that they've been let down by the health service? Loads. The NHS is already pretty rubbish at dealing with eating disorders, so I don't think adding obesity to that list (or if it's on there already) is really going to help. I think better education and help is needed to stop people getting into that state and better mental health care would help, I think.

Answer 9

Baby cakes is right! Call a spade a 'spade'. I know when I'm being greedy and lazy.
Most people who are fat were not born fat. A few have endrocrine diseases. But the majority are just stuffing themselves and do not exercise enough. There's only one way to stop getting fat - eat less and move more. Start as you mean to go one, they used to say. And if you start eating a lot, then that's how you'll end up.
Erh... we're not discussing an affliction that is unavoidable or due to accident, e.g. congenital disability or paralysis from car accident, are we? Are people implying that the large numbers of fat people in UK and USA from the last few decades have resulted from some terrible cystic or hormonal disease?

Answer 10

i asked a similar question to this this morning after seeing GM TV. i think these people need to help themselves before anyone else can help them. half of them ARE just fat because they are greedy and then when people slag them they say 'oohh but it's not my fault, I've had a hard life' but in reality most of them are just plain greedy. anorexics on the other hand, this is an illness, and I'm sorry but this is just my opinion. and in answer to your question - no it shouldn't be treated as an eating disorder because that would leave the NHS open to scams from the greedy pigs out there who will stuff their faces until they weigh 42 stone and then say they have an eating disorder and expect the NHS to sort it out for them.