Obesity To Be Classed As A Disabiity

[Deleted User]

Better_Days wrote: »

It is interesting how some people seem to be in denial about diet.

This is what makes Secret Eaters so funny to watch:

The ones who insist they're eating about 1000kcal/day, seemingly unaware that they would be anorexic if they really were eating that little.

The postwoman who insisted that she eats only one meal a day, and was then filmed coming out of the village shop with an armful of cakes & pies, and scoffing the lot. Her face was a picture when they showed her the film.

The woman who put 2000kcal of cheese in a sauce.

The ones who think their diet is healthy if they veg as well as cakes rather than instead of.

The best of all was the man who was furtively looking round to see if anyone was watching him raiding the fridge after he'd just signed a contract with Channel 4 to screw a camera on the kitchen wall and film him. :rotfl:

Richie, I think that people who are really overweight are probably getting enough exercise just from lugging all the weight around, but for people who are more moderately fat I think they'll get further quicker by exercising, if they can.

Cloudydaze

I agree that employers should have a duty of care to any obese employees. I would suggest:
- rather than giving them the parking nearest the front door, I'd suggest they'd get the space FURTHEST away. (Or no parking space at all if they live less than 2 miles away)
- extended lunch breaks to either go to the gym or for an hours walk if no gym nearby.
- only healthy foods to be served in the canteen (if there is one).
- no cakes, crisps or sweets at desks

As people have said they are unable to loose weight by themselves, so maybe a bit of tough love is needed.

FBaby

I don't have this option which makes excersising almost impossible! Rant over.

Just want to comment on that as it is often posted. Exercise is not a miracle remedy to losing weight as many seem to think. Exercise will help only as a side line. Exercise but continue to eat as you do and you will only be left with frustration as to why the pounds are not shredding.

Similarly, you can lose weight, and do so much more efficiently by focussing on your diet. A mistake that people make is comparing their intake with others. It doesn't work like that. A 20 year old active lady will be able to eat significantly more calories than a 50 year old going through the menopause. You have to adapt your intake to your situation, which might very well mean having to eat what seem like rabbit portions compare to the rest of the family.

The problem with obesity is that whether it is a disability in its own right often lead to disability as an outcome. Knee problems, heart problems, diabetes... Many people claim disability benefits for these which are the result of obesity in the first place.

racon

Any illness/disability is what it says it is. The question of why or how it arose is of no concern to anyone else. All illnesses and disabilities should weigh out just the same when it comes to employment, benefits, social needs etc.

System

There's no doubt cutting calories (as approved by a nutritionist in my case) and increasing exercise (in my case gym 3x a week, zumba 2x a week and swimming x2 a week) can help, but when you do both of those and still don't get results it's easy to get disheartened. It also doesn't help taking medicaton which has been proven in trials and studies to increase your weight (i was a size 12 before i started taking it, i'm now a size 18/20). I'd happily come off it if i knew i'd lose weight in doing so, sadly the last time we tried this although i lost weight my mood was severly affected and i had to go back up to my original dosage.

Whilst i don't think obesity should be classes as a disability, the illness i have which is classed as one does affect my weight. And its not through lack of trying on my part that i' still struggle with my weight. (Oh and everyone else in my family is slim, i'm the only porker, for someone else earlier who said you always get fat families)

Not to mention the psychological problems i have relating to my weight. I did use my fitness pal, but found myself getting unheathily obsessed with calorie counting and weighing myself, to the point it was having a further detrimental effect on my MH.

KxMx

I agree with both views.

Yes you do have to adapt to your own situation and yes you can be fighting against factors which won't make losing weight easy.

But unless you are fortunate losing weight is hard and for some it is very hard. Doesn't mean though that you should give up, you should acknowledge how hard and unfair it is, while still doing the right things to help your weight, in the hope one day you might finally lose some!

I've been very up and down this year, as mentioned on another thread while very unhappy to do so I gave up the one thing I decided wasn't helping my weight. It's hard and tough and I would much rather eat what I want but that's not the right thing to do.

After a series of crisis with my health (many years undiagnosed problems but more recently nearly died in June) I have no idea what is helping with my weight and have told myself sternly to focus on the other problems rather than my weight- but I haven't reverted to my bad habit in the meantime.

I went right down before emergency Hospital admission (dangerous iron defiecieny aneamia and low B12), put it on when I came back out and IDA treated successfully, then went down again, B12 deficency got worse so being treated for that now, working I think, so will probably go up again!

Also fighting against very long term high cortisol which is proven to make weight loss harder, and there is currently no remedy for me on that one.

For now I know I am down on what I was because my cosy socks although generous in length now go up much further (to my knees), and a previously tight top is gaping on the sleeves.

So while I know all about health/medication affecting weight and being disheartened, I do advocate staying on the right track to at least try. Mentally it is hard but I do get some positive feeling for the attempts, even if sometimes I seem to get nowhere while trying really hard. Or I pat myself on the back for my efforts and feel really pleased to go down, then discover it was probably due to a vitamin deficiency caused by the undiagnosed illness :rotfl:

bluelass

If everyone other person in the UK was severly overweight the NHS would go bankrupt.

Murphybear

Someone told me the other day that the biggest reason for emergency medical treatment in young children is tooth decay.

The reason for this is fairly straightforward, too many sweets and sugary drinks. I imagine that a lot of these kids have weight issues as well and will probably face a lifetime of these problems.

In spite of not having a sweet tooth (my dentist wished that all people of my age, 62, had teeth half as good as mine;)) I am overweight and have diabetes. I try to follow a healthy diet and the last time I ate a McDonalds or similar was 10 years ago. I have mobility issues so walking for exercise is a non starter and although I like swimming and aquaerobics I can't go as often as I would like due to cost.

It really upsets me when people make sweeping statements about overweight people, they are all fat and lazy and all they have to do is exercise more and eat less, it's just not that simple. I have a friend whose weight ballooned horribly when she was on steroids for months, nothing to do with overeating.

Morglin

Morbid obesity can cause illness/disability, and some dusabilities/illnesses can result in morbid obesity.

But, I watched that programme, and I was gobsmacked at their behaviour, and to be honest, I could see come logic in either restricting or altering their benefits to at least try and ensure a healthier lifestyle (perhaps food vouchers only to be used for certain products could be introduced, in these extreme cases?)

Seems a bit daft to pay people to kill themselves, or cost the NHS money, from gluttony and greed!

However, as none if them realistically, were either employable, or fit for work, then they have met the criteria for claiming sickness benefit, and are entitled to what they get.

Lin

margaretclare

I didn't watch the TV documentary, but I read about one of the case-studies. A couple who weigh something like 54 stones between them and who had had an expensive wedding. He weighs more than she does to the extent that he has carers come in daily to wash him.

The mind boggles at this. Words fail me.