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Another problem I see is that there is already a shortage of mental health facilities and doctors. Sending obese people for counselling is putting more pressure on an institution that is already bursting at the seams with other mental issues.
We need FAR MORE mental health care practitioners, trained in specific fields of mental problems.
And there's a lot of unhealthy attitudes about food, kids being raised with bad habits, junk food, a bad understanding about what is a proper diet, appropriate servings, etc. My own diet is by no means stellar, but I have been shocked at seeing other people slather on multiple tablespoons of butter onto one bagel and they honestly think, "What? What am I doing wrong?" They think it's normal to eat that much butter. They truly have no idea. In their case perhaps some proper education one what is a "serving" would be helpful. Maybe they're not being bullied at all, they just don't know what to eat. But now that they're used to eating that way, it's hard to break the habit.
In vast majority of cases, I don't believe it is addiction. The obesity epidemic is fairly recent and access to junk food in US is not. There still has to be some personal accountability. If you can figure out how to use a smart phone you can figure out what is making you fat.
I do agree about education, I don't know if nutrition is being taught in schools beyond the Michelle Obama kid-starving cafeteria meal failure. If kids think THAT is the way to eat to not be fat then who can blame them for choosing to eat junk food and saying the heck with that. They need to know good alternatives, nutrition that tastes good and portion control. They need to learn about control in general, boundaries and overindulgence in anything has a price. They need to be held accountable for eating too much and its effects. But obesity is accepted in many places so there is no stigma and if a kid is fat, other kids are fat, the teacher and parents are fat, and the kid is not going to have the foresight about health issues down the line. It starts with the adults being role models and taking responsibility themselves. That does not seem to be happening.
"But my impression of American society is that most obese people just go to the doctor, and the doctor tells them they need to eat better. A doctor telling them to eat healthy is the same as a doctor telling an alcoholic to replace their vodka with water, IMO. Yeah, OK."
When the above words are part of the first paragraph in a post about weight loss, my opinion is that any conclusion isn't going to solve anything. The OP's impression of American society is such a broad generality it doesn't really make much sense. If that is someone's impression of what all doctors tell their patients, then very little research occurred.
I think obesity is absolutely an addiction. For the most part, popping Vicodin and engorging in food have the same effects on the brain, they make you happy and relieve tension. I have had few drugs effect me as powerfully as food does when you eat it after an extended period without it. It wakes me up, makes me happy, stimulates my brain, improves my mood, feels good... A common problem in both drug addiction and food addiction is lack of self control, although peoples metabolisms will make some who overeat much more pronounced than those who don't.
And I think food addictions are a lot more harmful physically than many drug addictions as well, at least the addictions where normal body functioning is allowed (not the stay up for 29 day meth addictions).
In vast majority of cases, I don't believe it is addiction. The obesity epidemic is fairly recent and access to junk food in US is not. There still has to be some personal accountability. If you can figure out how to use a smart phone you can figure out what is making you fat.
So, based on the above, do you believe that human nature has greatly changed in the last 30 years? Do you think that people had significantly more self control 30 years ago? Were children different 30 years ago?
Or
Could it be that something about our food is different? Could it be something else in the environment is different? Could it be a combination of many factors that has led to obesity?
I don't personally believe that human nature has changed. I don't think people are more lazy now. I think there have been a lot of changes to our environment though. Now it's much more common/likely that both parents work full time and as a result have less time to prepare foods from scratch (so they rely on pre-packaged foods more). Our food has been genetically modified. We have food scientists working to make sure foods taste good but never fill you up so you will continue to eat/buy them. IMO, a lot has changed, but human nature really hasn't.
Another example is that our government issued food recommendations that changed the way many families cooked: instead of using lard they switched to vegetable oil, instead of butter they used margarine, instead of whole milk we switched to skim, etc. Maybe we were better off before? I don't know because I wasn't alive back then, but I know that when I look at old photos almost no one was overweight.
I don't think obesity even can be treated as an addition in many cases (though food definitely is an addiction for some). But, we definitely need to change something. I personally think that getting back to eating whole foods is probably the best thing we can do. Stop allowing companies that produce packaged foods and drinks to dictate what is considered healthy. Obviously, they have a conflict of interest.
I get angry every time I re-enroll for insurance at work. Question: Do you smoke? If so, you pay $50 more a month in premiums!
Never the question: How much do you weigh?
I work in a LTC/Rehab facility, and we, occasionally, get these 400-500-600 pounders into the rooms, who require an extra large bed, and an extra large wheelchair, and to lift them into the wheelchair, a Hoyer lift is needed, and to change their diaper it can require 2 Aides for the job! And God forbid, if any of them should fall out of bed, onto the floor! How to get them off the floor!!! When this happened, we used to call the Fire Department personnel to help, but they won't come anymore if someone like this falls out of bed. Not their jurisdiction!
Obese people eat more and eat stuff from the big junk food companies... Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Hershey, Frito-Lay, etc. Food companies make money.
Then they outgrow their cloths and have to shop for more. Shoes don't last as long supporting that extra weight. Their feet hurt and they blame it on the shoes buying pair after pair trying to find some that don't hurt their feet, never considering it could be the extra pounds their feet need to support. Clothing companies make money.
They get depressed because they have trouble finding a mate or that they can't seem to lose weight so they go to see a counselor/therapist. Psychologist/psychiatrist make money.
They get prescribed antidepressants, diet pills, sleep aids, etc. Drug companies make money.
They buy dozens of diet books, healthy cooking books and magazines. Exercise books and magazines, etc. Publishers make money.
Then they have health problem... heart disease, knees feet, and hips ache or fail. Healthcare makes money.
Fixing obesity might crash the whole system, better to just keep it going.
That's what I always say about killer diseases--despite the annual "pinking" of America in October, little has changed. Or, as a doctor said in our paper's editorial section, people walking to raise money might as well be walking in place.
I believe obesity is largely due to lifestyle. When a child, teen, (even adults) spends all their free time playing computer games and snack on junk for hours, obesity gets a foot hold on their bodies. The young people find themselves getting fat and are too embarrassed to play sports or other activities. They prefer to sit and watch
school ballgames and eat some chips. So begins a life of obesity.
There is a program in some cities, like AA called Obesity Anonymous, but you can not make a person go to meetings. And goading them just makes it worse.
Speaking of diet, my parents were raised on lard, butter, salt pork, beans and food they gardened and canned. Both born in the 20's, they worked in cotton fields and farms. That generation generally lived into their 80's. I can't believe how many of my school mates have died in their early 50s. I'm not saying they were all obese, but I know some were obese.
I think if there was a clinic that treated obesity with a buddy plan, more people would go to treatment. It seems to me that motivation to lose weight is a key. Having a common goal with another person to lose weight, eat less and walk with several days a week just has to be easier than going it alone.
Obese people eat more and eat stuff from the big junk food companies... Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Hershey, Frito-Lay, etc. Food companies make money.
Then they outgrow their cloths and have to shop for more. Shoes don't last as long supporting that extra weight. Their feet hurt and they blame it on the shoes buying pair after pair trying to find some that don't hurt their feet, never considering it could be the extra pounds their feet need to support. Clothing companies make money.
They get depressed because they have trouble finding a mate or that they can't seem to lose weight so they go to see a counselor/therapist. Psychologist/psychiatrist make money.
They get prescribed antidepressants, diet pills, sleep aids, etc. Drug companies make money.
They buy dozens of diet books, healthy cooking books and magazines. Exercise books and magazines, etc. Publishers make money.
Then they have health problem... heart disease, knees feet, and hips ache or fail. Healthcare makes money.
Fixing obesity might crash the whole system, better to just keep it going.
I think you're so very right! As you state-- obesity and related industries that spring from it--are a "Growth" industry....with nowhere to go but "Up" as more of us become obese and diseased.
Wonder what the fix could be??
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When this happened, we used to call the Fire Department personnel to help, but they won't come anymore if someone like this falls out of bed. Not their jurisdiction!