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I've never heard of things like alcoholism pride, for instance (maybe I'm wrong). What makes obesity so different that it gets these defenders, despite the indi

I've never heard of things like alcoholism pride, for instance (maybe I'm wrong). What makes obesity so different that it gets these defenders, despite the indisputable link with a wide array of health issues?

skywhopper 4y ago
If you think obesity and alcoholism have remotely the same level of risk, you are woefully misinformed. The people you call “defenders” are simply asking to be treated like humans. The biggest health issue for obese individuals isn’t their obesity, but the fact that most doctors refuse to treat their health issues directly, and instead blame every problem on the patient’s weight, without providing any solution.
- caminante 4y ago
  > without providing any solution False dichotomy. If the stats show that being overweight increases your risk "X-fold", I promise the doctor is suggesting weight loss, which is at least a partial solution.
Jensson 4y ago
Its a gender thing. When men have problems we tell them to fix it, when women have problems we are told to sympathize with them. Alcoholism is mostly a male issue while obesity is gender neutral and hence includes a lot of women.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
People with alcohol problems will often say "yeah, but I'm not an alcoholic", as if there's some magic line that you can cross that suddenly means it's bad for you, and if you have one drink less you're fine, when really that line starts at the first drink. This is one of the reasons, people are moving away from the term, and using "unhealthy alcohol use" as a term for the condition, and also “a person with an alcohol use disorder” or “a person with a drug use disorder" rather than alcoholic or addict.
- t_mann 4y ago
  fyi, there is a difference between 'problematic consumption' and 'addiction', and there are separate tests for each. of course they're correlated and there is a path that leads from one to the other, but there are important differences - especially since addiction is pretty much considered to be sticky. so once you are addicted, you'll stay that way, even if your consumption ceases completely (at which point you're an addict who doesn't exhibit problematic consumption). that's why clean alcoholics (or any clean drug addicts) are usually advised to stay teetotal indefinitely: they'll usually bounce back to their old patterns very quickly if they have a fallback.
smileysteve 4y ago
> I've never heard of things like alcoholism pride Alcohol is substantially engrained in culture, country music or top 40 playlists. Today listening to a country playlist, about 70% of songs mention beer, whisky, or tequila. And you could say, they're talking about a cool beverage every few days; and then you'll see the Social posts normalizing that a bottle or 2 of wine a night is normal, or that "it's 5 o'clock somewhere" as if alcohol every day at 5 is healthy. But then you'll meet a reformed alcoholic who started from these references. And then you'll hang out with "normals" with a person who is sober or even a moderate drinker and realize that the majority of American adults do have a problem with alcohol (they even feel uncomfortable if someone is asks for a water), it's just normalized

skywhopper 4y ago

If you think obesity and alcoholism have remotely the same level of risk, you are woefully misinformed. The people you call “defenders” are simply asking to be treated like humans. The biggest health issue for obese individuals isn’t their obesity, but the fact that most doctors refuse to treat their health issues directly, and instead blame every problem on the patient’s weight, without providing any solution.

caminante 4y ago
> without providing any solution False dichotomy. If the stats show that being overweight increases your risk "X-fold", I promise the doctor is suggesting weight loss, which is at least a partial solution.

Jensson 4y ago

Its a gender thing. When men have problems we tell them to fix it, when women have problems we are told to sympathize with them. Alcoholism is mostly a male issue while obesity is gender neutral and hence includes a lot of women.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

People with alcohol problems will often say "yeah, but I'm not an alcoholic", as if there's some magic line that you can cross that suddenly means it's bad for you, and if you have one drink less you're fine, when really that line starts at the first drink. This is one of the reasons, people are moving away from the term, and using "unhealthy alcohol use" as a term for the condition, and also “a person with an alcohol use disorder” or “a person with a drug use disorder" rather than alcoholic or addict.

t_mann 4y ago
fyi, there is a difference between 'problematic consumption' and 'addiction', and there are separate tests for each. of course they're correlated and there is a path that leads from one to the other, but there are important differences - especially since addiction is pretty much considered to be sticky. so once you are addicted, you'll stay that way, even if your consumption ceases completely (at which point you're an addict who doesn't exhibit problematic consumption). that's why clean alcoholics (or any clean drug addicts) are usually advised to stay teetotal indefinitely: they'll usually bounce back to their old patterns very quickly if they have a fallback.

smileysteve 4y ago

> I've never heard of things like alcoholism pride Alcohol is substantially engrained in culture, country music or top 40 playlists. Today listening to a country playlist, about 70% of songs mention beer, whisky, or tequila. And you could say, they're talking about a cool beverage every few days; and then you'll see the Social posts normalizing that a bottle or 2 of wine a night is normal, or that "it's 5 o'clock somewhere" as if alcohol every day at 5 is healthy. But then you'll meet a reformed alcoholic who started from these references. And then you'll hang out with "normals" with a person who is sober or even a moderate drinker and realize that the majority of American adults do have a problem with alcohol (they even feel uncomfortable if someone is asks for a water), it's just normalized