How many obese people are actually obese due to illness and how many due to laziness?

Master S
#1. September 18th, 2009, at 9:14 AM.

1% sick
1457484% fat.

me
#2. September 19th, 2009, at 6:41 PM.

no, they were healthy people… then they got fat, then they got sick (from being fat)…. then they got obese because they got sick when they were fat.

helplessromatic2000
#3. September 20th, 2009, at 7:46 PM.

No one asks to be obese. While they may not be physically sick, there is a mental reason behind the weight accumulation.

Jason
#4. September 22nd, 2009, at 1:15 PM.

About 1 in 50 have a medical problem that makes them fat… Look back at photos of people from the 1970′s or earlier- hardly anyone is fat… As an elementary school student in the 70′s we had 1 or maybe 2 kids who were overweight in each class, and even those were being fed wrong a lot of the time. We all got our 3 square meals a day too.

waynebudd
#5. September 24th, 2009, at 3:10 PM.

ooohhh I don’t think ‘laziness’ is fair. A lot of obese people seem lazy because of their weight! I think a better angle is an eating problem…. wrong foods and difficulty controlling eating…
not unlike the difficulty a smoker has quitting.
Thoughts from a fat guy.

nickelrustler
#6. September 26th, 2009, at 11:07 AM.

I would say probably 70% due to laziness/bad eating habits/lack of exercize…and 30% due to disease/illness

mystery_me
#7. September 27th, 2009, at 7:55 PM.

Honestly, I have a weight problem and am probably considered obese medically speaking. And my problem is that I eat too much and I am very lazy. I have done this to myself. So, I don’t know why people all of a sudden have this “it’s not my fault I’m fat-it’s a disease” thing. I kind of think that people are trying to turn “fat” into a protected class like it is a disability or something. If anything I can see it being an addiction (like a food addiction) but not a disease.

Rada S
#8. September 30th, 2009, at 12:45 PM.

…I’ll put it this way, no one became fat over night…and anyone can get help if they think they have a medical reason causing it…
…so we all need to get over our over eating ****** if we want to remain healthy and happy!

TOMGAR
#9. October 1st, 2009, at 10:54 PM.

I agree with you on this matter I have a couple of friends that are huge and it in due to laziness, one of them even stopped breathing twice while in the hospital for a check up and they both blame it on being born with ultra slow metabolisms. It is ridiculous if you ask me, but it is job security for prescription doctors :-]

Chula
#10. October 4th, 2009, at 11:38 AM.

I agree. It’s no mystery why I’m fat. I eat too much. Period. I eat fast food & out of vending machines. When I stop eating all the junk, I lose weight fast. People make excuses but the truth is, it’s easier to be fat. You can eat what you want, when you want to. I don’t know how many people have said to me “I just can’t lose weight” just as they’re finishing off a Big Mac. I saw Minnie Driver once on the View and I guess she had gained then lost a bunch a weight for a role. One of the women asked her “Ohmigod, how did you lose the weight?” And she seemed really annoyed at the question. She said, “I ate less and moved more.” I think about that alot. It really is that simple. You don’t have to call Richard Simmons and cry or try the latest diet fad. Stop shoveling in the food, and get off the couch!

victory
#11. October 5th, 2009, at 8:08 PM.

Don’t forget weight gain from medications (some blood pressure meds can REALLY pile it on), or from menopause.

I hope it never happens to you.

kelstar
#12. October 9th, 2009, at 5:19 AM.

I cant speak for others but i know of someone who is obese and uses the excuse of not exercising due to back problems, too tired, cant sleep etc etc etc etc actually its amazing the amount of excuses one can come up with….lol however i believe it is due to laziness cause this person has been this way all their life and in other areas too. Blaming others for the weight is when i know she has really lost the plot. I know that this person also has had thyroid testing etc to see if there is a medical reason for the obese problem and all come up the same……normal. Just my experience with one person though, i don’t know of any others….

mompoo
#13. October 12th, 2009, at 5:10 PM.

I think you should walk a mile in their shoes before you judge them. And I weigh 100lbs. by the way.

mrsrackle2000
#14. October 13th, 2009, at 9:52 PM.

I agree with your comment regarding too many people giving themselves permission to be unhealthy. In my opinion it is a gross form of self abuse, and even a form a child neglect when a parent allows a child to become obese. I often wonder how taxing obesity is on the medical system and how heavy obesity related diseases hits the tax payers pocket?

Licca
#15. October 14th, 2009, at 9:03 PM.

I think its more than that. There are too many fat children for that to be true. They’re not giving themselves permission, they are born with an illness or overfed by their parents, creating an illness.

gardensallday
#16. October 15th, 2009, at 9:08 PM.

WEll, I will say that the people who usually can’t understand why folks get obese are usually young folks who haven’t been around long enough to get obese (the rates of obesity go way up the older you are).

That said, people say they are obese due to illness because society is so judgmental of obesity, and so they try to give themselves a break with a sorta subconscious little white lie so they can feel better. In my opinion. I think there is a significant subset of people who are taking medication that screws up their metabolism/increases appetite, and I’d say that’s more like 5% of people (anyone with bipolar or schizophrenia, and many with depression or epilepsy, too).

There was always a lot of evolutionary pressure on people (and animals too) to eat as much as possible, because you never know when you will get another meal, pressure to eat the most fatty, starchy stuff as possible, because it has the most calories, and pressure to conserve energy (minimize exercise) because it burns calories that are so hard to get. Now that we have office jobs/TV remotes/cars/all the food we could ever want, for cheap!!! our brains and bodies just cannot deal with it. To stay slim now, you either have to overcome your evolutionary programming, which is very hard, or be lucky to have the genes to be more hyper/have lower appetite.

Oh, and on the judgmental “lazy” thing, do you really think there are more lazy people now than there were 30 years ago? Then how come more people are obese? How come people’s dogs and cats are fat? They want kibble just like we do and like to lay around too, because they are products of evolution just like we are.

starting over
#17. October 18th, 2009, at 12:22 AM.

And how many people maybe obese not due to an illness directly but due to the side effects of medication from an illness.

I take 4 different medications, which have a side effect of weight gain.

bostnteabagparty01
#18. October 20th, 2009, at 6:03 PM.

Im fat, always have been all of my life. I have called being fat an illness, I could simply change my lifestyle, just dont feel like it. So Yes, to answer your question it is due to laziness. It is true though a lot of my people need a scapegoat when it comes to they’re weight problems… What bothers me is that most people like to call it laziness, as if you are’nt supposed or allowed to be fat, When limited mobilty or inability to see one’s feet come into play then it can be called ‘obesity’. Besides you should try being fat one day, listening to the bullshit spewed out by our health-wise nation.. my opinion is that this country isnt getting fatter its getting better at using its own people as a target for economic gain weight loss medication, healthy foods (not fruits/vegetables),cosmetic applications, plastic surgery. Why make a fat person, skinny quickly when you can lure away money by make them feel bad about themselves. Obesity isnt a problem, its only a problem because its easy to use us as a scapegoat for America’s unhealthy habits.

Chris
#19. October 23rd, 2009, at 2:55 PM.

u r right!
less than 1% of obese people are actually overweight.
Well, if you were obese, would you like everyone to call you lazy?
it is like smokers, they say they are trying to quit, but they aren’t making an effort.
the obese people just want others to think they are at least trying because in todays society, if someone doing something harmful to themselves says they’re trying to get better, it makes the listener feel better about that person.
The obese people most of the time were to lazy to get up and stop getting fatter, and they’re not going to get up now to get skinnier… especially when they give others and excuse which makes them look good.

the fact is, america is getting lazier, america is getting fatter, and there isn’t anyone who can make these obese people get healthy.
my friend died of a heart attack and he was obese.
his children were starting to get obese and as soon as their father died, they totally turned their life around.
As soon as an obese person has a heart attack or knows someone who has health problems due to obesedy, we can only hope they’ll turn their life around and keep themselves away from snack foods 24/7, and hopefully, away from death.

hopefully this answered your question.

cristy p
#20. October 24th, 2009, at 7:12 PM.

It really depends on what the illness is, and Id bet that an illness is more true than what you would like to think. Of course there are those who dont live a healthy life style, that can cause weight gain, genetics, child bearing and raising,diabetes, Kidney disease,depression,then there are also medications that cause weight gain, and once its on, its harder than you can imagine to get it off and keep it off.My question for you is Why is it your problem or your business and why should it bother you for someone else to be obese?You dont have to deal with there problems, and with the looks stares, difficulty walking breathing ,or just plain living and coments people make it only makes it more difficult for that person.It seems to me I should give you the same advice my 9 and 10 year olds get Start focusing yourself, your body, and your health, because #1 you cant change anyone else but you can change youreself!#2 Stop worrying about what other people are doing and tend to your own business because all your doing is having negative thoughts about something you cant change.

Snow on Cedar
#21. October 28th, 2009, at 2:36 AM.

You’re right, too many people make excuses!