Is Obesity a disability?

[Lursa]

I heard recently that the airline in Samoa was charging passengers by the pound.
Sounds alright.

Interesting, since Samoans are genetically and culturally predisposed for obesity.

 

[Lursa]

Not impossible but requiring more effort. I'm assuming that people would rather be healthy but maybe it's not a priority for many.
I live in a rural area and this isn't an issue here so maybe it's a 'lifestyle choice'. I don't trust simple solutions, though.

It does require more effort to prepare the foods but there are some that arent that difficult.

I fall into that trap sometimes...I grow lots of vegetables and love them but it's light here until almost 10 pm in the summer and I'll come in and be too tired and hungry to start chopping and cooking.

But parents can prepare food ahead. Also, from the time I was about 9 yrs old I was (had to) helping my mother in the kitchen. I was also a latch key kid at 13 and had to start dinner myself, with instructions from my mom. It doesnt all have to fall on the parents.

 

[Lursa]

I don't think people care about health anymore. I live in the outskirts of Houston, where people can't bother to be inconvenienced for a modicum of a second unless it involves something being in it for them. There isn't a simple solution, except to let it happen. Eventually the weak will be weeded out by their own vices. It just takes more time in human society.

I disagree....most people breed before dying of obesity or anything else. What other disabilities or even diseases have you seen 'weeded out of society?' And I dont mean by vaccination.

And it costs society a fortune $$$$$$$$$.

 

[GottaGo]

Can you provide any sources that say the greater part of obesity in America is caused by that? It is the opposite of what I've read...which is about diet and inactivity.

I don't believe I said 'the greater part'.

Here's a quickie read on it. Obesity Causes - Diseases and Conditions - Mayo Clinic

 

[Lursa]

I don't believe I said 'the greater part'.

Here's a quickie read on it. Obesity Causes - Diseases and Conditions - Mayo Clinic

You didnt qualify it at all. You made it sound like it was all obesity. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and asked you to support that much of it is. I didnt even ask for the 'majority.'

Obesity is actually a symptom of other conditions (mental and/or physical) which may be considered a disability, but in and of itself, no.

 

[GottaGo]

You didnt qualify it at all. You made it sound like it was all obesity. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and asked you to support that much of it is. I didnt even ask for the 'majority.'

What drives people to over eat? Usually a psychological state that causes them to crave food (there are a multitude of reasons that can cause that state of mind). And it can be a vicious circle... the more you weigh, the more tired you feel, the less active you will be.

The state of mind is the primary cause. The obesity is a symptom of that state of mind.

 

[Lursa]

What drives people to over eat? Usually a psychological state that causes them to crave food (there are a multitude of reasons that can cause that state of mind). And it can be a vicious circle... the more you weigh, the more tired you feel, the less active you will be.

The state of mind is the primary cause. The obesity is a symptom of that state of mind.

Sources?

 

[GottaGo]

Sources?

A quick search brought up this....

http://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/food-addiction/causes-food-cravings-food-addiction/

 

[Lursa]

A quick search brought up this....

What Causes Food Cravings (Food Addiction)? - HealthyPlace

All obese people are not addicted to food. Overeating and poor nutrition (eating the wrong things) is not necessarily an addiction at all.

 

[GottaGo]

All obese people are not addicted to food. Overeating and poor nutrition (eating the wrong things) is not necessarily an addiction at all.

Has anybody said 'all'?

You've yet to make your point. There are many causes to obesity, but obesity is mainly a symptom of other underlying issues.

 

[Lursa]

Has anybody said 'all'?

You've yet to make your point. There are many causes to obesity, but obesity is mainly a symptom of other underlying issues.

You have yet to support this statement which you have made twice now.

 

[GottaGo]

You have yet to support this statement which you have made twice now.

Then try reading the links.

And you still haven't made your point.

 

[Gaius46]

if it is then it is a self imposed disability in most cases, and shouldn't be given the same protection and special consideration as one that is not

Where do you draw the line? Someone's who wheelchair bound because of a recreational skydiving accident is there because he did something something a lot of people would consider unnecessarily risky. Should he also not get special consideration?

In my view "disability" is a functional categorization that is independent of how one became disabled.

 

[Lursa]

Then try reading the links.

And you still haven't made your point.

I cant make any point yet because you refuse to clarify or support your statement.

I do object to "Obesity is caused by underlying mental or health issues' which you orignally posted.

I asked you to provide a foundation for that statement. You refuse to quantify 'obesity' for one thing.

Because my initial objection is that overeating and poor nutrition (eating too much of the wrong things like artificial sweeteners, transfats, etc) are the primary causes. If those are 'mental or physical issues,' I'd want to see that supported as well. And for the majority, not "some people cant control blah blah blah.' Esp since you have not quantified 'obesity.'

Obesity is actually a symptom of other conditions (mental and/or physical) which may be considered a disability, but in and of itself, no.

Has anybody said 'all'?

You've yet to make your point. There are many causes to obesity, but obesity is mainly a symptom of other underlying issues.

 

[GottaGo]

I cant make any point yet because you refuse to clarify or support your statement.

I do object to "Obesity is caused by underlying mental or health issues' which you orignally posted.

I asked you to provide a foundation for that statement. You refuse to quantify 'obesity' for one thing.

Because my initial objection is that overeating and poor nutrition (eating too much of the wrong things like artificial sweeteners, transfats, etc) are the primary causes. If those are 'mental or physical issues,' I'd want to see that supported as well. And for the majority, not "some people cant control blah blah blah.' Esp since you have not quantified 'obesity.'

Obesity by definition, varies according to the source. I am not a doctor, so I cannot claim to have a personal interpretation of the word. Some medical personnel say 50 pounds over weight, some say more.

The Mayo clinic begs to differ with you. There are reasons WHY people eat poorly. Not all of them have to do with being lazy or poor.

I tell you what, talk to a recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetic, and ask them what they gorged on prior to their diagnosis. Most will tell you extremely high carb junk food or candy... because their body craved the carbs.

 

[Lursa]

Obesity by definition, varies according to the source. I am not a doctor, so I cannot claim to have a personal interpretation of the word. Some medical personnel say 50 pounds over weight, some say more.

The Mayo clinic begs to differ with you. There are reasons WHY people eat poorly. Not all of them have to do with being lazy or poor.

I tell you what, talk to a recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetic, and ask them what they gorged on prior to their diagnosis. Most will tell you extremely high carb junk food or candy... because their body craved the carbs.

Our bodies naturally crave certain things, like fat and sugar. We evolved to do so and our modern diets and physiology have not continued to progress at the same rates. That is not an 'underlying mental or physical issue.' That is human physiology.

"Most" people do not have diabetes or other medical conditions that contribute heavily to their obesity. (pun intended)

As far as I'm concerned, your claims are more incorrect than correct.

Obesity is actually a symptom of other conditions (mental and/or physical) which may be considered a disability, but in and of itself, no.

Has anybody said 'all'?

You've yet to make your point. There are many causes to obesity, but obesity is mainly a symptom of other underlying issues.

I havent seen the claims supported.

 

[earthworm]

Of course it is , surprising that so many here know this not ... I thought the people here were smarter than that ..
I am, of course, speaking of true obesity, not runaway fatness , nor depression , yet another problem .

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Obesity is not "mainly" caused by some unpreventable condition or psychological problem. It is mainly caused by a lazy culture that makes it easy for people to eat badly, and for younger people, growing up being raised by people who fed them crap.

I don't like cooking. It would be easy for me to fall into the "lazy eating" trap if it weren't for the fact that I grew up on good food, and I feel ill eating crap, whereas most Americans today seem to think feeling that way is normal. So I have no microwave, and I have an intentionally small freezer, and I just generally make it really difficult for myself to rely on crap, and therefore I eat reasonably well. I like good food. I just don't like making it. So I make it nearly impossible for myself to make bad food, thus I eat better.

Personally, I have a demonic craving for sugar. This is very common in humans -- we need more sugar than a lot of critters do because of the energy demands of our brains, and it's hard to find in nature, so our drive for it is strong. I like to attribute my love of sugar to having an especially large brain. :mrgreen:

I have two ways I can address that. I can eat a lot of pastries and candy, or I can eat a lot of fruit. They both do the same thing. They both satisfy that craving.

I admit I'm weak for a good donut, but if I keep my place stocked like a monkey's horde, I will eat fruit, because it's there. So that's what I do. And some dark chocolate. It's good for you.

If I want my cookies, I'm gonna have to make them myself, and because I'm lazy, that doesn't happen terribly often. It's easier to eat the fruit. Even if the cookies do happen, at least I know they're made of actual food, not weird fillers and fake blueberries made to taste reminiscent of food.

People started eating crap because it's easy. Candy can be bought in great quantity, because it usually doesn't go bad. Greasy highly processed foods take less prep and are more instantly gratifying -- just throw it in the microwave. Corn syrup makes things cheap. They are getting worse because now they're born into families where people have always eaten that way.

Even people with medical problems are not simply relegated to ballooning out by 200 pounds, as someone else mentioned up-thread. I know a lot of people with such health issues. Over a dozen. An entire generation of my family got hit with metabolic problems and failures due to long-term toxin exposure, and I have several friends with various issues that can cause weight gain. None of them have gained more than 20 pounds. Most of them take their meds and they eat sensibly and many of them work out, and they have maintained a reasonable weight, with some staying within the normal range. Some have inched into the overweight category and can't get down lower than that, but being slightly overweight isn't a big deal as long as their lifestyle is good. The ones who don't do any of those things were already obese long before they had health problems.

Metabolic issues are not a cause to simply throw up your hands and let your bum spread. We have treatments for these things, and most people can control their weight to an extent if they put in the effort.

 

[Glen Contrarian]

As the topic states: Do you think that obesity counts as a legitimate disability?

It's a pretty big deal in employment law according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and they count it as such under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. For all intents and purposes it would make sense that it does count as a disability, as they are technically disabled by definition (physical impairment or lack of physical functioning). But I just can't help but disagree with the notion. Especially considering how I know many people and I'm sure many of you might as well, who eat themselves into that situation. They're literally eating and drinking themselves into being disabled, and they get counted among those who are actually medically obese. That's just wrong to me.

Here is a humorous article about the subject: Obesity: A Disability or a Lack of Responsibility? | We Are People 2

Thoughts?

There's too many factors,

from wheat (which is not as filled with nutrients as it once was)
to cars (which enables people to ride instead of walk - which is why city folk are generally skinnier than country folk)
to processed foods
to foods filled with sugar that our kids face so much pressure to eat
to soda machines in school
to junk food that's cheaper (and far quicker) to buy and eat than healthy food
to high fructose corn syrup

...the list goes on.

Come to think of it, I'd have to change my vote to say that obesity is more and more a disability...but one not of an individual's making, but a result of the society we ourselves have built.

 

[calamity]

As the topic states: Do you think that obesity counts as a legitimate disability?

It's a pretty big deal in employment law according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and they count it as such under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. For all intents and purposes it would make sense that it does count as a disability, as they are technically disabled by definition (physical impairment or lack of physical functioning). But I just can't help but disagree with the notion. Especially considering how I know many people and I'm sure many of you might as well, who eat themselves into that situation. They're literally eating and drinking themselves into being disabled, and they get counted among those who are actually medically obese. That's just wrong to me.

Here is a humorous article about the subject: Obesity: A Disability or a Lack of Responsibility? | We Are People 2

Thoughts?

Obesity is not always the obese person's fault. And, it can be quite disabling. However, not enough is known about it yet to draw definite conclusions.

 

[DA60]

disability

'dis·abil·i·ty noun \ˌdis-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē\
: a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities'

Disability - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary


According to the dictionary...obesity is a disability.

 

[Peter King]

Obesity itself may not always be a disability, but most obese people have more problems than just being overweight.

I am morbidly obese. I have always been overweight since childhood. I weigh approx. 400 pounds (LBS)

But I am not only obese, I have back problems (I am 45), problems with my knees, ankles, wrists, shoulders, hips. I am asthmatic and have skin problems of all kinds (which may or may not have to do with my weight). The most debilitating is (for unknown reasons but my doctors hope that it will get better after my surgery) several skin infections. They look and feel like boils, they fill up with blood and pus, grow to huge sizes at times making them extremely painful until they "blow" or burst. The most I have ever had was about 17 different places on my body. They can be found from the back of my neck all the way down to my knees. At the moment I only have 6 but some are on very "rotten" places.

Walking is difficult due to my weight problems and damaged knees, ankles, back, hips makes walking very painful. I also have sleep apnea making me often tired. My sleep has gotten better but due to pain, I still have problems sleeping.

The only problem I have that is not linked (as far as I know) is my trigeminal neuralgia, a condition that causes sharp pains in my facial area.

The only option is to undergo surgery which will happen hopefully later this year. But until them pain killing pills is all I have, twice a day I have a 100mg pill (time released) of Tramadol and I can take another smaller dose if the pain is too bad during the day but try to limit that as much as possible. On top of that I am allowed to take 8 extra strength tylenols (or as we call them 500mg paracetamol).

So as you can see extreme obesity can lead to disability. I am not ashamed of being like I am now even though I am trying to do something to combat it but if I will ever be able to walk pain free and for long distances is unknown. Also unknown is whether I will stop having most of my other health issues.

There is one stupid/lucky thing though, most morbidly obese people have sugar disease problems but so far (knock on wood) I have not had them. My cholesterol and LDH levels are normal, just like my blood pressure.

 

[Mason66]

As the topic states: Do you think that obesity counts as a legitimate disability?

It's a pretty big deal in employment law according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and they count it as such under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. For all intents and purposes it would make sense that it does count as a disability, as they are technically disabled by definition (physical impairment or lack of physical functioning). But I just can't help but disagree with the notion. Especially considering how I know many people and I'm sure many of you might as well, who eat themselves into that situation. They're literally eating and drinking themselves into being disabled, and they get counted among those who are actually medically obese. That's just wrong to me.

Here is a humorous article about the subject: http://wearepeople2.com/obesity-a-disability-or-a-lack-of-responsibility/

Thoughts?

For me it is important to know why they are obese.

If it is a medical condition I could go along with it.

if it is a choice, or they can't control what they put in their mouth, then no.

 

[Andalublue]

Obesity is not "mainly" caused by some unpreventable condition or psychological problem. It is mainly caused by a lazy culture that makes it easy for people to eat badly, and for younger people, growing up being raised by people who fed them crap.

I don't like cooking. It would be easy for me to fall into the "lazy eating" trap if it weren't for the fact that I grew up on good food, and I feel ill eating crap, whereas most Americans today seem to think feeling that way is normal. So I have no microwave, and I have an intentionally small freezer, and I just generally make it really difficult for myself to rely on crap, and therefore I eat reasonably well. I like good food. I just don't like making it. So I make it nearly impossible for myself to make bad food, thus I eat better.

Personally, I have a demonic craving for sugar. This is very common in humans -- we need more sugar than a lot of critters do because of the energy demands of our brains, and it's hard to find in nature, so our drive for it is strong. I like to attribute my love of sugar to having an especially large brain. :mrgreen:

I have two ways I can address that. I can eat a lot of pastries and candy, or I can eat a lot of fruit. They both do the same thing. They both satisfy that craving.

I admit I'm weak for a good donut, but if I keep my place stocked like a monkey's horde, I will eat fruit, because it's there. So that's what I do. And some dark chocolate. It's good for you.

If I want my cookies, I'm gonna have to make them myself, and because I'm lazy, that doesn't happen terribly often. It's easier to eat the fruit. Even if the cookies do happen, at least I know they're made of actual food, not weird fillers and fake blueberries made to taste reminiscent of food.

People started eating crap because it's easy. Candy can be bought in great quantity, because it usually doesn't go bad. Greasy highly processed foods take less prep and are more instantly gratifying -- just throw it in the microwave. Corn syrup makes things cheap. They are getting worse because now they're born into families where people have always eaten that way.

Even people with medical problems are not simply relegated to ballooning out by 200 pounds, as someone else mentioned up-thread. I know a lot of people with such health issues. Over a dozen. An entire generation of my family got hit with metabolic problems and failures due to long-term toxin exposure, and I have several friends with various issues that can cause weight gain. None of them have gained more than 20 pounds. Most of them take their meds and they eat sensibly and many of them work out, and they have maintained a reasonable weight, with some staying within the normal range. Some have inched into the overweight category and can't get down lower than that, but being slightly overweight isn't a big deal as long as their lifestyle is good. The ones who don't do any of those things were already obese long before they had health problems.

Metabolic issues are not a cause to simply throw up your hands and let your bum spread. We have treatments for these things, and most people can control their weight to an extent if they put in the effort.

I think culture has a lot to do with obesity. It's a growing problem here in Spain, especially amongst kids who do very little exercise. Sports don't feature much in the schools' curriculum and the popularity of computer games and online social networking means that they don't do enough physical activity. The growing marketing of fast foods is also a part of the problem. Fortunately, that's not such a big deal here in the sticks where there isn't a McDonalds within 60km, but store-bought, highly processed foods are an issue, as are deadly, sugar-laden fizzy drinks.

Personally, I don't know any friends or neighbours who are morbidly obese although many, like me, could do to lose 20lbs or so.

What I see from the States (and parts of northern Europe) is that poor eating choices and unhealthy leisure activities are almost fetishised. The number of US sitcoms that show people arriving to work with huge trays of frosted and chocolatey doughnuts to share around has always struck me as weird. Do people really do that? Also, and someone will correct me if I'm wrong, people in the States seem to eat out at fast food diners and restaurants incredibly often and the kind of foods they eat in those places are all high-fat, high-sugar content fayre. I've nothing against fat-food joints as a very occasional treat, but Americans (and Brits, Germans, Dutch, Canadians etc) seem to do so far more than just 'occasionally'.

I'm probably about 12kg (25lbs) over my ideal weight for my age and height and I need to do something about that. I cook for a living and that always runs the risk of over-eating and drinking too much alcohol, but in my experience, the key is exercise. A lot of people get into a vicious cycle of over-eating, putting on weight and then feeling that exercise it too hard, so they don't, and the weight carries on increasing, leading to exercise seeming even harder. Everyone needs to be taught and encouraged to see how it is possible to break that cycle, start enjoying exercise again, and stop using comfort food as, well a comfort to forget about feeling unfit.

 

[Kreton]

I have seen many posts on here basically saying that obesity should not be a disability because it is, in many cases, self imposed. If we are drawing that line I would question quite a few other disabilities under that same premise. Accidents at work that could have prevented? People who smoked? Have an accident doing a recreational activity? My point is many disabilities are caused by choices an individual makes. Obesity isnt really that different. If a person is unable to work due to physical or mental limitations, regardless of the cause then they are disabled.