There are so many different factors that go into it for every overweight person. Combination of stress, mental well being, job (type, number of hours, stress level), length of commute, on and on.

But I'd say on the whole, it's damn hard to stay thin right now. We are all tired, stressed, and crappy food is relatively cheap and everywhere. We don't get enough sleep. Our jobs, our commutes, everything about our lives is geared towards sitting down. 50 years ago gyms didn't even exist. Humans take the path of least resistance. We only have so much willpower. We all need help.

To all the PP's talking about fit overwieght people: I once had a physician friend point out to me that you rarely see morbidly obese old people, because they don't live long enough. The problem is that people who are oveweight generally keep gaining weight, and eventually they aren't so healthy anymore. Even a seemingly innocuous gain like 5 pounds per year can really add up quick.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was a college athlete from a family of athletes with a dietician mother. I was never really around overweight people until I began my career and my job is to help people lose weight and get in shape. I understand that once you're at a certain point it is difficult to lose the weight and I also understand how much the extra weight can inhibit your life. That is my greatest motivation to keep myself lean and healthy. I don't want to lose my breath walking up stairs or chasing the kids. I don't want to stress about my dress for my sisters wedding. I don't want to stress about heart attacks, heart disease, or anything else that would take me away from my kids early. By the time I begin interacting with overweight and obese people we have a huge journey ahead of us. I'm just wondering how it gets that far before someone tries to catch it. It's truly not a judgement thing. It's about understanding so I can help my clients better.

You and your family value athletics. The first thing I would keep in mind is that many people don't. It is not the case that spending a day riding your bike is more valuable, objectively, than spending it reading a book or playing the guitar. It is entirely possible that you are just as lacking in perspective as your obese patients, because you were raised in an environment that placed significant value on physical fitness and diet. I'm not saying that morbid obesity doesn't contribute to heart disease as you say, but it sounds like you are saying that overweight=death, which is really just the perspective of a college athlete with a dietician mother.

OP where are you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was there not some point you looked in the mirror and realized something was horribly wrong with your body?

Looking at people at the beach in their suits makes it so clear the way the human body was meant to be shaped and the way the majority of people actually are. Do you really miss the early stages when you can just scale back and drop 5 pounds? Do you just reach a point where you don't care? I don't mean this in a snarky, judgemental way. I am truly curious.

You are pathetic.

I'm in my fifties and let myself go...by that I mean about 20 + pounds overweight and fat gut. It happened gradually when the kids were in middle -high school. Also stress related binge eating. Hay-you have to have an element of binge eating to get this fat. I wonder what DD's friends who are heavy will look like at my age. I noticed that the girls were heavier than when I was young.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, did you know that typing "medically proven" in parentheses does not mean an assertion actually is medically proven?

Evidently not. And it's just one of the many things you don't know! Wheee!

Google is your friend if you find out ... and I put there for people like you who would say there is no "proof".

Google does not distinguish between good research and bad, such as studies that conflate correspondence and causation or those that display clear confirmation bias.

Did you base your college papers on what you found on Wikipedia?

No but my college education helps me to distinguish between good resources and junk resources.

Again, there is no such thing as "healthy overweight". This is a myth that fat people tell themselves and it is a dangerous one. Being fit does not equal being healthy. Feel free to verify with your own medical doctor.

Swhat about those who have eating disorders you can see a mile away? Are we bashing them too? Because really OP, you've started a sh*tstorm and you should be mentioning both groups.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been obese my entire life, literally since toddlerhood, so it's not like I just gained 40 lbs with every pregnancy and was too lazy to do anything about it. It's been my entire life. But, I don't think my body is "horribly wrong." If being obese was "horribly wrong," like some kind of deformity, there would be far, far fewer obese people.

I'm not the OP, but this is not a good mindset. Being obese is "horribly wrong". Pls don't let the bad habits of others convince you that being obese is normal. It is not.

You know, living paycheck to paycheck is not normal. I have no problems whatsoever being frugal and prudent with my money. What's up with all those people who lack financial discipline?

Lacking financial responsibility will not give you clogged arteries. Please stop making excuses. I, too, am overweight, but the excuses some give are just ridiculous. Either start moving your ass or stop being so defensive!

So being physically fit is more important than being fiscally fit to you?

Yes. But, in my world, this is not an either/or question. You can do both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been obese my entire life, literally since toddlerhood, so it's not like I just gained 40 lbs with every pregnancy and was too lazy to do anything about it. It's been my entire life. But, I don't think my body is "horribly wrong." If being obese was "horribly wrong," like some kind of deformity, there would be far, far fewer obese people.

I'm not the OP, but this is not a good mindset. Being obese is "horribly wrong". Pls don't let the bad habits of others convince you that being obese is normal. It is not.

You know, living paycheck to paycheck is not normal. I have no problems whatsoever being frugal and prudent with my money. What's up with all those people who lack financial discipline?

Lacking financial responsibility will not give you clogged arteries. Please stop making excuses. I, too, am overweight, but the excuses some give are just ridiculous. Either start moving your ass or stop being so defensive!

So being physically fit is more important than being fiscally fit to you?

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I did give up.

So did I, but I'm starting to give a damn now. I wish others would be more honest.

Honestly, I did give up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been obese my entire life, literally since toddlerhood, so it's not like I just gained 40 lbs with every pregnancy and was too lazy to do anything about it. It's been my entire life. But, I don't think my body is "horribly wrong." If being obese was "horribly wrong," like some kind of deformity, there would be far, far fewer obese people.

I'm not the OP, but this is not a good mindset. Being obese is "horribly wrong". Pls don't let the bad habits of others convince you that being obese is normal. It is not.

You know, living paycheck to paycheck is not normal. I have no problems whatsoever being frugal and prudent with my money. What's up with all those people who lack financial discipline?

Lacking financial responsibility will not give you clogged arteries. Please stop making excuses. I, too, am overweight, but the excuses some give are just ridiculous. Either start moving your ass or stop being so defensive!

Anonymous wrote:Hey, did you know that typing "medically proven" in parentheses does not mean an assertion actually is medically proven?

Evidently not. And it's just one of the many things you don't know! Wheee!

Are you trying to suggest that being obese doesn't cause those complications?? I'm no fan of OP, and hopes to god she chooses another profession STAT, but really, you can't argue that being obese is perfectly healthy. It's not.

Anonymous wrote:So it's OK to bash fat people but complain about smokers is not accepted. riiiiiight.

Folks complain about smokers all the time. Where have you been?

OK, I'll give this a whirl, since I currently weigh more than I ever have in my life. I had a baby last year and just started to try to lose the baby weight. I don't consider myself obese or even overweight, although I am higher in weight than I would want to be.

It would be very easy for me with an infant and older child at home, nobody sleeping through the night and a husband who has no idea what nutrition is and who doesn't care that I have gained weight. I could just pull out the first trimester clothes and wear those and eat like I was still nursing. Frankly, I gained weight while nursing because I was enjoying eating whatever I wanted.

I have several friends who are overweight or obese, I have never asked why. I can tell you I have watched them try to lose weight. It is not easy and it does not get easier the more weight you have on your body. It takes effort to count every morsel you put into your mouth and to make sure you are active enough to work it all off and more. It's uncomfortable and gets harder as you get older. Losing weight after baby #2 and pregnancy #5 is much harder than any other time. I gained with each pregnancy, and wouldn't diet because I thought it would make it harder to get pregnant the next time.

Finally, the health issues of obesity are abstract until they reach a point they manifest in outward problems. Most of those outward problems prevent mobility or exercise, and make it harder to get the weight off.

I wish there were a magic way to lose the weigh, but even 5 lbs is hard (I tried in my 20s when I was an aerobic instructor, and had a hard time losing the weight then).

I am motivated because I had diabetes with my pregnancies, which puts me at a great risk for Type II diabetes within 5 years. The diabetes kept me from gaining too much when I was pregnant and motivates me now that I am not nursing. I am lucky in that I lead an active life for 20 years, and like exercise, but finding time to do it is another problem.

So OP, it's all complex. Each person probably has a reason why. Overweight and obesity has become so ubiquitous that it is accepted as being impossible. It may be for some people, but not matter what, it is damn hard to lose even a few pounds.

I'd suggest you work on your approach. I understand why you wanted to ask the question, because for some people it is reflexive to adjust. However, sometimes life just creeps up on you.