Possible interview about obesity and WLS

[morph]

been asked if I will speak to a radio journo about obesity, how it has affected my life, and whether obesity should be reclassified as an illness. I know being overweight has been an issue for me since childhood, more so in recent years, so I have said I will do it.
So what should I say? Should obesity be reclassified as a medical condition?

 

[dreamofbeingslim]

I think so. It is a form of addiction as I have seen many people post for other addicts you can live without alcohol, drugs, cigarettes but you can't live without food. It is difficult for those of us with an addiction to food to get the balance right hence the reason we are having surgery.

 

[morph]

yes, good point, my problems with food definitely go down the addiction line. I have used food as a crutch so often.

 

[tray]

we turn to food like a drunk turns to drink, it is all an addiction .. that normally comes from a child for eg. wheni was young if i got hurt my mum would say here have a biscuit or something nice to make you feel better, if that way of eating is installed in you as a child, thern you turn to food to make you feel better whenever your hurt. so as the years go by and you get hurt you turn more to food. and it is a very hard habit to break.. an alcoholic doesnt need drink to survive nor does a drug addict. but we all need for to survive. and that where it gets hard for some people. we get hurt we eat we feel bad for eating so get depress so we eat and the cycle goes on .....

 

[Miss Tickle]

Yes-an illness I think. Definately an addiction- even a compulsion. If annorexia and bulimia are illnesses then I think my over (eating) disorder is an illness too!

 

[jaxx]

I definitely think it's an addiction but whether it's a learned one or a genetic one I don't know. I do think the vast amount of high fat and high sugar foods that is so cheaply available is largely to blame. Plus unlike other addictive substances, food is everywhere. You can smell it when you walk down the street, there's adverts on tv, in magazines and papers, billboards in almost every building you go in, there is food. Programmes are dedicated to making meals on tv, recipes are in books and magazines, food is just everywhere reminding you of your addiction. Plus I think being on a diet is like giving a drug addict a small amount of their drug every day and asking them to be satisfied with it.

 

[donza]

I definitely think its an illness, whether its an addictive one or genetic is besides the point. The thing that stops it being classified as an illness is the NHS inability to deal with, facilitate and fund it as an illness i'm sure the NHS would save millions in the long term if they funded bariatric surgery more, especially in Wales where it's ni on impossible to get funding unless your BMI is >60 or something and surely the complication rate and costs are higher in these people. If only the country as a whole was as supportive of overweight people as they are for smokers, drug and alcohol addict maybe the problem would reduce.
Glad you got the discussion with journo and not me lol
good luck xx

 

[Postop]

I vote illness. If alcoholism is classified as such, I believe some forms of obesity should be, too.

 

[morph]

that's a good point about alcoholism being classed as an illness, will make that comparison.

 

[Priesty]

HI,

Yes it is a medical problem. If drug addicts and alcoholics can be described as medical then I feel it's very wrong that overweight problems aren't.

If the drug addict or alcoholic stop using and drinking they don't die, if we stopped eating we would this in itself makes it a medical problem much more so than drug and alcohol addiction in my oppinion.

I feel that because we don't commit murders, robberies or commit other crimes due to our addiction and it effects no one other than ourselves it is just a conditiont that is left to ridicule and somthing for society to poke fun at. Overweight people are always good for a laugh!! Even smokers are accused of 'passive' smoking but overeaters the only thing we do is upset some that don't like looking at us because we disgust them.

I believe that gym membership should be reduced in cost or free with council ones.

All supermarkets should be made to stop bogof deals on unhealthy food. Only on fruit and healthy stuff.

All PCT's should unify there dealing with weight issues and kids bmi's should not be used to classify there weight (my son who is 5 has been classified as obese yet he is not fat, not even chubby but solid and short) this really is wrong as it makes people paranoid, especially if they don't understand weight issues.

Anyway that's how I feel and it's about time somthing was done.

Take care

Paula

 

[thinnerangela]

I agree that obesity is an illness.

Not always caused by an addiction though - I most definitely wasn't addicted to food - I ate too much and was unable to exercise enough but was never addicted to food.

I have become very interested in whether there is a genetic link to obesity in some people and a news item only yesterday seems to confirm this may be possible.

I think some of the comments about alcoholism are out of order - when such comments are directed at the obese you would be up in arms as a result.

Try living with a seriously ill alcoholic and you'd realise whilst both conditions may have an addictive origin the effects of end stage alcoholic liver disease are horrendous

Its also worth noting that obese people can develop fatty liver and cirrhosis - definitely an illness

Rant over - sorry but such bigotry got my goat

Angela

 

[dreamofbeingslim]

I do have non alcoholic fatty liver desease. Which is why I want this op before it becomes cirrhosis.

 

[thinnerangela]

You will get there.

At least you are aware you have non alcoholic fatty liver - as though we don't have enough to put up with - must have been like a kick in the teeth for you to find out.

That's why obesity must be treated as an illness - other conditions have side-effects and obesity is no different

Hope you get your op soon - can't check your previous posts cos I've not been on here long enough or posted enough or something

Keep positive - it will be a positive thing for you

Best wishes Angela

 

[Priesty]

Hi

Sorry but can I ask Angela what comments she was referring to getting her goat? I have re read all the comments and can't see anything aimed at alcoholics or comments about them only comparisons, or am I misunderstanding something.

My step brother is an alcoholic, he has drunk heavily for years everyone has tried to help him but he doesn't want to know or admit he has a problem. The doctors have told him he will be dead within 5 years if he keeps on because his liver is packing in, but he won't stop. He like many alcoholics has been in trouble with police has also stolen from my Dad and at 48 (15 years older than me) and a father of 4 has every reason to stop but he wont.

Take Care

Paula XX

 

[Lady_in_London]

Yes, bad eating should be up there with the eating disorders and alcoholism.
A lot of people think morbidly obese people are stupid and ignorant. They think they are unaware of the dangers they are putting themselves in.

They know too well the dangers but simply can't help overeating and/or eating bad foods, and that is the main point. They carry on, knowing they are on a self-destruct journey storing up problems of diabetes and high bp onset. Or if they already have those illnesses, they carry on with the bad diet simply out of habit/need etc.

I have posted many times that I believe people should be given psychological counselling or psychiatric treatment for their eating habits or disorders, and it really annoys me that people either yo-yo diet, or go through surgery, when all it takes is having a go at counselling.

Of course psychiatric counselling does not help everyone, but so many people just have never been referred.

People need to get their brain reconditioned.

Rant over - now off for a cuppa!!!

 

[thinnerangela]

I read most of the comments as obesity should be classed as an illness because drug and alcohol addictions are classed as illnesses - as though all the conditions are related.

Not all obesity is an addiction to food - I most certainly wasn't addicted to food or used it as a crutch or to mask negative feelings.

I ate more than my body needed for it's own metabolism and was unable to get enough exercise - and hence became extremely obese - BMI 63 at my heaviest!

I started to put weight on at 25 when I was retired from the NHS as a nurse. I may have comfort ate then but definitely not as my weight increased - we didn't have the money to start with

We have to eat to survive - alcoholics and drug addicts do not need their addictions to survive - but do need them to exist!

As you may have guessed I have first hand experience of the effects of alcoholism.

My husband is a recovering alcoholic - he wouldn't admit he had a problem - and I've been through the money going missing bit too - and ended up in ICU for 9 days after a (second) bleed.

In much the same way we have to jump through massive hoops for WLS - he was eventually accepted on the transplant programme - he waited 18 months getting more sick as the time went on - he had his transplant last April - he hasn't had a drink since Oct 06 - and had to have random alcohol tests while waiting - one strike and you are off the list. There are rights and wrongs with this too - and boy oh boy I've had this debate with myself too - many will disagree with this and feel he didn't deserve another chance

I'm sorry if anybody feels I was wrong with my views - I am perhaps "fortunate" that I can see both sides of the debate regarding addictive illnesses and obesity being regarded as illnesses

The whole point of these forums is so that opinions can be expressed - we won't always agree with one another - what a boring world it would be if we did!!

I do get wound up with the "eat less exercise more" comments too -- grr

Lively debate is good for the cause !!

Best wishes everyone
Angela x

 

[Priesty]

Hi,

Yes I get wound up with 'those' comments too. I have been overweight since I was 5, I wasn't huge as a child but was made to feel like a freak by my Dad's family as all I got was "eat less, exercise more and don't eat bread, potatoes etc". Then in the next breath they'd be telling me too finish everything on my plate!!

My Mum was a single Mum so everything we got to eat I was taught to savour needless to say I hate waste, I only got exercise at school and wasn't aloud out to play on my own.

I begun to use food as a crutch when I went to secondary school, it became my best friend and by the time I left I weighed about 16 stones. I was bullied badly and food helped.

I do understand what it is to be addicted I smoked until 5 years ago when I put on even more weight.

The point I was trying to make was not that alcohol or drug addicts or smokers are less entitled to help but I feel that we are treated differently because of the 'humour' factor. The problem is, it's not funny any more, now it's become a serious problem and overweight and obese people now really need help and no one seems to know what to do.

I do think that as I said it is taken less seriously because it's unheard of for us too commit a crime to feed our addiction where drug addicts especially are more likely too.

Anyway as you said were all entitled too an oppinion I just didn't want to be accused of being a biggott because I'm not.

Take Care

Paula XX