[nekokami]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

It seems a lot of people who make that kind of joke just can't grasp the concept that it's not funny.

I was thinking about the nature of humor earlier today after overhearing a not-so-funny "comedy" routine someone else in the family was watching on the internet. Humor depends on surprise-- we laugh as a way of reacting to the unexpected. However, for some people, that surprise seems to be restricted to "shock," often at someone else's expense. I don't find this kind of "humor" funny at all.

Originally Posted by acidzebra

There are a small number of people who have glandular or other problems which cause their obesity, however, unless the genes causing these problems have magically spread like wildfire through specific parts of the western world like the US and the UK and to a lesser degree other prosperous countries, I can't really see obesity as anything else than poor lifestyle choices with regards to eating and exercise over a long period of time (and sometimes even over generations) for the vast majority of obese people. You can't change your skin color or sexual orientation, but you do have control over what you eat and the amount of exercise your body get.

If it were entirely a matter of choice, the problem would be evenly distributed across all prosperous countries. It's not. That suggests to me that there are some other issues at work here. Your remark about "over generations" bears closer examination. I don't believe we are entirely a product of our heredity or environment, but I don't believe we are ever truly free from influence by it, either.

I heard about a very interesting study recently that examined the way foods interact with brain chemistry. The author of the study claimed that eating foods high in sugar, fat, or salt triggers a reaction in the brain that prompts the person to crave more of the same. I suppose at one point these foods were rare enough that this was a reasonable way for bodies to work -- grab the rare nutrients while you can. Not such a good reaction in a prosperous environment, but again, obesity is not equally common in all populations.

Originally Posted by Amalthia

hate to say it but in America the food poor people can afford is VERY fattening, to buy fresh fruit and vegetables (which I've never seen coupons for) costs an arm and a leg.

On the other hand, I don't think this is really the issue, either. I've been poor. (Really, really poor. Eating on significantly less than a US dollar a day poor.) Healthy food can be had at a low cost, even ready-to-eat food. But it's not what is marketed in the US, and I presume not in the UK either. It doesn't have a "name brand" or a fancy label. It doesn't carry any prestige.

I suspect that most of the truly poor don't buy fried snacks and sugary colas. It's the "working poor" who get these for themselves as a "treat," because they've come to believe that they "deserve" these desirable things. How did that happen? (Let's look again at the marketing campaigns. Fresh vegetables don't get high-production ads on TV.)

Originally Posted by nomesque

Here's my oddball take on why everyone is nasty to obese people...

Because it's a visual reminder of the lack of control almost everyone has over some area of their life, be it eating, alcohol, drugs, anger, gambling, spending...

And it's hard to ignore. And something inside us feels the guilt when we see evidence of someone else's lack of control, and we snark.

I think this is very insightful. People react to this kind of unpleasant reminder in different ways. I know I tend to avoid these sorts of hints of human frailty myself, and I have to watch that. There are several people I work with who are very obese. One, at least, I know has numerous health issues that contribute. I don't know about the others. But it's hard to believe that anyone would want to live that way, so I presume there are factors that are making it very difficult for these people to achieve and maintain a more healthy weight.

My husband is obese now. He wasn't when we married. I'm not overweight, but I'm not in very good physical condition, either. I gave him a Wii Fit for our anniversary this year, and it's helping both of us pay a lot more attention to our physical conditions. I'm not saying it's the right answer for everyone. But I think most people with health issues like this need some kind of constructive help, not ridicule.