by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: July 12, 2011   Last Updated: July 22, 2011

No one wants to be obese or become heavier than what is good for their good health, so one might ask; why so many allow the pounds to pile on when they know it is not healthy. Obesity for some results from food addiction, which is not unlike smoking cigarettes or imbibing alcohol to excess.

As with most addicts, there is something that’s missing in their lives and food serves to compensate. Many food addicts find themselves in a vortex of needful emotions and do not have the will power to extricate themselves. However, a common misconception about obesity is it is caused by a lack of discipline or a failure to control impulses: neither may be the underline cause for the illness. There may be other factors that may be beyond a person’s control.  

What is obesity? Scientists have determined anyone who is 20 percent over their ideal or natural weight or has a body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese.  In 2010, there was an article written by a contributor to the a Mayo Clinic  who reported on an eye-opening discovery that as many as 72 percent of doctors report not having been trained to help obese patients or those with weight-related issues. Of that 72 percent, the doctors only told 39 percent of this universe of patients they were obese. Obesity is a problem no one wants to confront because it is so personal and may come across as accusatory, however, obesity carries with it own limitations on many aspects of one’s life.

Obesity and limited productivity and social interactions

Socially, obese individuals are often not thought to be among the movers and shakers of society as they are considered less likely to be in high office or areas of influence. Too often, society equates obesity with a lack of intelligence, which of course has no basis in reality, but nevertheless, this bias notion often robs the populace of input from many in this group of individuals. These are also inherent, internal conflicts that impact many obese people and usually, because they lack self esteem, they offer little to society, because they believe society may see them as gluttonous, social misfits.

Obesity not traceable to gluttony

Menopausal women tend to lose muscle mass as they age and fat accumulates, which may cause an unexplained weight gain or commonly known as the middle-age spread. Many believe the belly fat that creeps around the waist of menopausal women is a part of the aging process and is

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