Reply #50: I thought there were just as many supportive words on that thread, as anything else.

[Gwendolyn]

The stats are not overblown. Books like Fast Food Nation and others explain why there is a chronic obesity issue in our country, and much of it does not have anything to do with glandular conditions or side effects of medication.

My best friend is chronically obese. Like someone else who posted, I hear his labored breathing when he sits watching teevee. He has trouble getting off the couch. He has medical issues stemming from his weight. He struggles with fascist diet regimes, falls apart eventually, and gains back more than before. He cannot eat a meal without wanting more. He'll never sit back and say "wow, I'm stuffed" if there is one crumb left on his plate. He's addicted.

My neighbor is chronically obese and can barely get around. Her knees are shot, and she can't climb more than three stairs before stopping to wheeze. I help her out around the garden, and luckily she has family to shop for her. I don't she'll walk in a few years.

I used to work at a physio center, and many of the people I saw were there with medical problems stemming from their weight. Many had no clue about their bodies, or what was appropriate to put in them. No knowledge of nutrition... favoring the "if it tastes good, I'll eat it" method. It was heartbreaking to see so many people who will never enjoy a bike ride, or run for the hell of it, or do anything physical really, without it being an exercise in discomfort.

There really aren't many chronically obese people who are truly happy. Many, if not most, are addicted to food, and show all the symptoms people with other addictions do. And like many with other addictions, they just don't want to hear about it. But doesn't mean people should stop trying to help. And there will always be people who have no patience for it, as they wouldn't if the addicted person was an alcoholic, or drug abuser.