Current Events > Prominent studies are showing that Obesity is NOT caused by lack of Willpower .

(+) Yeah! (+)

scar the 1 posted...

Actively losing weight requires a lot of energy

eat less. that is literally, literally all it takes

i swear, fatties are willing to jump through so many hoops to avoid blaming themselves for being fat, it's unreal. "it's everyone elses fault, i'm just an unfortunate, overweight victim of society and delicious food! "

Esrac posted...

IShall_Run_Amok posted...

"I know better than a fucking study. Its just common sense! Eat more green beans and we can solve world obesity." - Bipples, the Amazing Counting and Spelling Wonder Horse, who read the article

I mean, if I think a study is bullshit, I'm gonna say I think its bullshit.

Not all studies are worth the paper they're printed on.

Cool beans.

You're still wrong.
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RebelElite791 posted...

Stress makes me overeat is still a lack of willpower. None of this changes CICO.

Plenty of formerly fat or obese people have made the *choice* to stop and improve their life.

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Sounds like this article is just trying to redefine what willpower is.

I certainly get that people are stressed, overworked, and poor, and that this somehow makes it a lot more likely to just eat cheap/shitty food and not exercise. But that's precisely where the willpower comes in. Just because some people have it harder does not support that statement that obesity is not caused by a lack of willpower.

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TheGreatGeno6 posted...

@16-BITTER posted...

TheGreatGeno6 posted...

And no, i'm not even fat. I'm 135 lbs and 6'0 and still think fat shamers are assholes

You post excerpts from the LTG rant all the time

So? I have nothing against Boogie due to his weight, I dislike boogie because he's a dumbfuck

That and he's a fucking slob.
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The Admiral posted...

Sounds like this article is just trying to redefine what willpower is.

Can you give the proper definition then?
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scar the 1 posted...

Can you give the proper definition then?

Being able to do what's difficult and best for you even when faced with adversities like poverty, lack of free time, and stress.

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The Admiral posted...

scar the 1 posted...

Can you give the proper definition then?

Being able to do what's difficult and best for you even when faced with adversities like poverty, lack of free time, and stress.

That's a pretty vague definition if I ever saw one. What is "difficult", and what is "adversities"?
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nemu posted...

Fat shaming is bad, but we don't want it to go in the opposite direction of the fat acceptance wackos either. Nobody should be mocked on the streets for it, but it should be seen as a negative trait all the same.

Essentially, they should be encouraged to lose weight, and making fun of them/insulting them is not encouragement.
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Its all about will power. No matter how big or small you are, you are eating to maintain that size. If you are obese than you are eating too much for your level of physical activity.

Leave your feelings out of this, the facts dont care about your feelings.

looked posted...

Leave your feelings out of this, the facts dont care about your feelings.

He says, after spewing a viewpoint driven by his own intuitions rather than actual science.

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Fat people are one of the last refuges for people who want to hate somebody.
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COVxy posted...

looked posted...

Leave your feelings out of this, the facts dont care about your feelings.

He says, after spewing a viewpoint driven by his own intuitions rather than actual science.

Calories in calories out is science, and it works as long as stop making excuses and do it.

looked posted...

Calories in calories out is science, and it works as long as stop making excuses and do it.

I think you'd be amazing to find out that there are thousands of scientists working on obesity, hundreds of millions of dollars of grant funding towards tbe issue.

Surprising if the answer werd so simple, no?

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COVxy posted...

looked posted...

Calories in calories out is science, and it works as long as stop making excuses and do it.

I think you'd be amazing to find out that there are thousands of scientists working on obesity, hundreds of millions of dollars of grant funding towards tbe issue.

Surprising if the answer werd so simple, no?

The answer IS simple. Following it is the hard part, most people just arent willing to follow a diet and exercise. And its at the point now where instead of accepting that they are the problem they push back against it.

Do you think behavior is something that is separate from biology?

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Can you elaborate on that?

looked posted...

Following it is the hard part, most people just arent willing to follow a diet and exercise.

And as soon as anyone tries to explore why this is difficult, people start shouting and covering their ears because they're not interested in reasons to not hate fat people
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scar the 1 posted...

looked posted...

Following it is the hard part, most people just arent willing to follow a diet and exercise.

And as soon as anyone tries to explore why this is difficult, people start shouting and covering their ears because they're not interested in reasons to not hate fat people

The problem that I have with this is that its attempting to remove accountability. If someone wants to discuss why they have trouble losing weight than that is something that can be discussed, but they still need to accept that they are they way they are through their own actions. This article makes it seem like you can do everything right and not lose weight, and it really doesnt work like that. You have to take responsibility for your own situation.

looked posted...

The problem that I have with this is that its attempting to remove accountability. If someone wants to discuss why they have trouble losing weight than that is something that can be discussed, but they still need to accept that they are they way they are through their own actions. This article makes it seem like you can do everything right and not lose weight, and it really doesnt work like that. You have to take responsibility for your own situation.

No, it's not attempting to remove anything, it's attempting to understand. It's not about "proving that it's not their fault", it's about understanding why it's difficult, no matter what the answer is. But again, people who hate fat people don't want to understand it, they want to keep hating.

Furthermore, understanding why your mind and body work the way they do is actually helpful in changing your behaviors. Learning (this is a hypothetical) that your mind biologically is trying to prevent you from losing weight will remove a lot of unnecessary pressure, and actually make it easier to grapple with the issue.
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scar the 1 posted...

your mind biologically is trying to prevent you from losing weight

looked posted...

Can you elaborate on that?

The way you talk about willpower suggests a dualism that isn't scientific. You act as if there's the biology, and then the "you", you being your ethereal self, decides and acts (in the case of "good willpower", despite the biology).

If we were to talk about 'willpower' in a more scientific way, grounded in both neuroscience and cognitive science, none of what you are saying makes sense. But because we keep things colloquial, these intuitive notions of the mind sneak themselves in.

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Hairistotle posted...

A lot of people really don't get how hard it is to lose weight. I'm not talking about the logic of it, obv cico is pretty straightforward. Like, I lost 140 lbs but I have no idea as to how and where my drive came from. One day I just had the ability to plan a diet and routine, and somehow I was able to stick to it. Lost all that weight, became attractive, felt really good.

A lot of people talk about how hard it is to lose weight, or how long it takes to get the weight off. Sure, but it also took a long time and a lot of effort to put the weight on as well. Nobody just woke up one day and was 100+ pounds overweight. That takes a long time (sometimes years) of total neglect when it comes to your health. Leading a sedentary lifestyle, eating whatever you want in large portions, etc. It doesn't just "sneak up on you" out of nowhere. How many times did you have to go out and buy new clothes because the old ones weren't fitting anymore? Stuff like that should be a wake-up call, not something you just ignore or accept as "normal."

If you don't care about being fat and just want to live your life however you want, all the power in the world to you. I think you should own it though, don't make excuses for yourself. Just say "I'm happy being fat because I can eat whatever I want and just chilll and not have to worry about breaking a sweat." That's honest and real.

If you're not happy being fat, you need to snap out of this delusion that you're somehow powerless to do anything about it and make some changes in your life. No one else is going to do it for you.
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It's not really different than a conversation about poverty. Even formerly poor people often don't like to admit the kinds of factors that were outside their control. I don't think it's the exact same thing but they both stem from the same kind of cultural biases about the individual. I think its related to our religiosity as a nation but that's purely speculation

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I just think our brand of Protestant Christianity really emphasizes individual efforts in a specific kind of way. I guess it's sort of a chicken/egg thing though

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COVxy posted...

looked posted...

Can you elaborate on that?

The way you talk about willpower suggests a dualism that isn't scientific. You act as if there's the biology, and then "you", you being your ethereal self, decides and acts (in the case of "good willpower", despite the biology).

Pretty much. Your body is burning calories, its up to you figure out how much you can consume to gain, maintain, or lose weight, and you control that through your will power. Im not sure what a scientific definition is, but that is text book.

Hairistotle posted...

People won't understand if they haven't been there themselves. They see that they're not fat so they think it's easy. They don't really care about environmental and psychological factors.

I have been through it, which is why I realize that most people just arent willing to do it.

In my experience, my weight has always been my choice. When I chose to stop exercising without changing my diet, I gained 60 pounds. When I chose to start carefully counting my calories, I lost 60 pounds.

The science isn't perfect. You can count calories meticulously and still hit temporary plateaus from week to week. But your lifestyle dictates your weight over the long run unless you have some kind of exceptional medical condition.

Mind-body problem aside, it's totally volitional.
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Balrog0 posted...

It's not really different than a conversation about poverty. Even formerly poor people often don't like to admit the kinds of factors that were outside their control. I don't think it's the exact same thing but they both stem from the same kind of cultural biases about the individual. I think its related to our religiosity as a nation but that's purely speculation

Not surprisingly, obesity and poverty are correlated
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Hairistotle posted...

Balrog0 posted...

I just think our brand of Protestant Christianity really emphasizes individual efforts in a specific kind of way. I guess it's sort of a chicken/egg thing though

that's what i thought but i wasnt sure if i was missing something. Yea, the sentiment goes way back. it's a p bad mentality imo since it yields ppl like looked, who don't care for empathy and just go for the low hanging fruit of "put down the fork"

looked posted...

Hairistotle posted...

People won't understand if they haven't been there themselves. They see that they're not fat so they think it's easy. They don't really care about environmental and psychological factors.

I have been through it, which is why I realize that most people just arent willing to do it.

if you've been thru it i'd think you'd have a bit more understanding for people but clearly i've been proven wrong in that regard

I understand that its hard, but that doesnt mean they arent at fault for their situation. Ive trained a few people that I have a lot of weight. A friend of mine has gone from 265 to 207. But Ive seen way more people that ask about it, but just dont follow through. They want the results, they just dont want them enough to put in the work.