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I don’t think blaming overweight people for being overweight is any different or worse than blaming anyone for doing anything else that has a bad outcome. The
by joegibbs 3y ago
I don’t think blaming overweight people for being overweight is any different or worse than blaming anyone for doing anything else that has a bad outcome.
The fact of the matter is that consuming less calories will make you lose weight (unless you’ve got a serious condition which makes you retain a ton of water or something). Counting your calories works, in cases where it doesn’t people are either:
a) Counting wrong, not including oils, small snacks etc
Or b) Wrongly estimating the amount of energy they’re expending.
There seems to be a stigma about saying that being overweight is because of the person that there doesn’t seem to be for most other things. If someone smokes cigarettes, loses their money gambling or gets fined for doing 120 in a 50 zone they will be held entirely responsible for their own bad choices, despite smoking, gambling and risk-taking all being often more addictive than overeating.
I think this is because there are a lot more overweight people than smokers, problem gamblers or compulsive thrill-seekers. Thus there are a lot more people who can read and agree with an article that says overeating isn't their fault, but someone who writes an article about how there shouldn't be speed limits because they're unfair to street racers would be ridiculed by the 98% of people who don't do that.
- sokoloff 3y agoOne difference that makes overeating very challenging is that abstention isn’t viable. As addictive as heroin, coke, gambling, or alcohol is, it’s possible to decide “you know what? I’m not partaking in any of it for the rest of the week/month/year/life” Outside of a hunger strike, everyone has to eat food every week.
- paulpauper 3y agobut one can abstain from some food, right. It's not like you have to eat the entire pizza.
- sokoloff 3y agoMaking an analog decision correctly day after day for the rest of your life is more difficult for many than making a binary decision once. I know I have some self-control limitations and abuse tendencies in my ancestry. I can decide (and have) to never try heroin. Problem avoided.