First, I apologize for diverting the original thread. I was merely responding to hoagie55's assertions regarding the causes for obesity.
lofty1, I appreciate your willingness to weigh in (no pun intended) on the issue, as it is a sensitive one, and no doubt most people prefer to hold their tongues.
hoagie55,
Given the topic of this discussion, I find your screen name rather ironic and amusing. Thank you for the mature and rational personal attacks against me in your response.
I agree that being rude to someone due to their appearance is ignorant, and in poor taste. No need to lecture me on the indignities obese people endure on a daily basis.
I once again strongly disagree with your original statement, and subsequent defense. "The person that is that large is not that way by choice, usually there are circumstances that dictate their size. Sometimes it is a medical condition, sometimes it is a mental condition, and other times it is a physical limitation that prevents them from losing weight." Surely, most would not choose to be obese, but in most cases that obesity is a direct result of excessive eating and lack of physical activity, which are both, generally, a question of choice.
I made an effort to clearly state that there are exceptions, and the situations your statement refers to(medical or mental problems) certainly fall into that exceptions category. I have sincere sympathy for those who fall into this small segment of the obese population.
I will not question your assertion that your rapid weight gain after your injury occurred despite your efforts to change your eating habits while you were unable to work out. I do not know any more about your personal situation than you expounded in the post.
The facts are that more than half of the adult population in America are clinically obese, and that percentage is rising steadily. Again, in the vast majority of cases(including those people who are morbidly obese), this is a direct result of a population wide increase in sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. It is ludicrous to assert that this trend is the result of circumstances beyond everyone's control.
With respect to your personal experiences, and those people you are familiar with from your surgery support group, perhaps they all fall into the exception category. Perhaps they grew to be morbidly obese due to no fault of their own, all the while eating no more than the "average Joe". The statistics show that the average Joe in America is obese, so perhaps that isn't the best benchmark to be using, unless a person is happy with their current weight. That is an extremely self-serving assertion and I cannot help but note that it is very convenient for many obese people to use the same crutch you refer to (that the cause of their weight gain is out of their control.) It's also a very self-serving notion on the part of your surgeon. What explanation sounds better to an obese person in desperate need of gastric bypass surgery; 1)you're fat due to no fault of your own, no one is to blame, and I want to help you, or 2) you could just try to eat healthy foods and more reasonable portions and workout, rather than paying me thousands of dollars for surgery?
In any case, I still don't buy your argument, but thanks for sharing your opinion with me.
-elrico
