Blog Post #1: Obesity and Eating Disorder

“I’m dissatisfied with my body… my arms and thighs are so big… I have a flabby stomach… I’m very fat… why can’t I have a body like those slim girls... what should I do to lose weight?”

Those are the phrases that people might say if they are having dissatisfaction with their bodies. Commonly, people who keep on uttering those kinds of words are those who are obese, overweight, or fat. Well, it’s normal for them to feel dissatisfied because being overweight can increase their risk of major health problems. 

From the site helpguide.org, an article of Harvard Health Publications- How Excess Weight Affects Your Health showed results of major studies about the health problems that overweight or obese people might have. One of these studies is a Harvard study that combined data from more than 50,000 men and more than 120,000 women and it revealed some sobering statistics about weight and health.

Harvard Study found out that:“Obesity increased the risk of diabetes 20 times and substantially boosted the risk of developing high blood pressure heart disease, stroke, and gallstones. Among people who were overweight or obese, there was a direct relationship between BMI and risk: the higher the BMI, the higher the likelihood of disease.”

Obesity is not just being overweight or fat; it can develop diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and gallstones which is truly a bad problem for their health. I wonder what other health problems obese people might have.

According to a 2010 study Overweight, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies by Floriana S. Luppino, MD; Leonore M. de Wit, MS et. al, the researchers concluded that, "obese people have a 55% higher risk of developing depression over time compared with people of normal weight". 

One of the reason why obesity may risk depression is because of our culture, people think that thins are beautiful, and being overweight can lower self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a known trigger for depression. Odd eating patterns and physical discomfort of being obese can also foster depression.

The study also found that, "depressed people have a 58% higher risk of becoming obese". 

       Some reasons of that are: elevated  levels of stress hormone cortisol which is common in people with depression may alter substances in fat cells that make fat accumulation, and also people who feel depressed often feel too blue to eat properly and exercise regularly, making them more prone to gain weight. 

Have you felt depressed because of love? Most teenagers do. But how about depressed because you are fat? Obese people do. It’s too bad again for obese people to have a risk of another health problem like depression. Depression is not a simple health problem because it is a serious mental illness that can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being. If a person is depressed, he/she have a risk of becoming obese. According to the study, people who feel depressed often feel too blue to eat properly and exercise regularly that can make them prone to gain weight. So if you are depressed because you are fat, I don’t acknowledge you to feel depressed about it again because it will just make you put more weight in your body.

Being overweight or obese is a challenge. Comparing them with normal weight people can make them feel insecure and jealous. Aside from comparing, obese people are prone in bullying. People who don’t care about the way they feel, tend to always tease, judge, and criticize them. With negative comments and hurtful criticisms, obese people experience that they have lost their self-esteem and they have the urge to suicide. Oh no! Suicide is not a solution to any problem. But, I’m glad that there is no case for suicidal attempt among obese people. I wonder how an obese copes up with a very stressful life. Does he ignore people who tease him? I don’t think it is helpful because ignorance can still affect your body image and self-esteem. If a person ignores his/her problem, that person can still feel the burden and it will remain in his/her heart. What if he tries to fight for himself? Not literally fight where he will have a battle with his opponents using some deadly weapons. It’s like a fight to change your life. It is very difficult to change a person’s belief and personality because we don’t own that life. We have our own lives, and our own selves are what we need if we want change. So, if an obese person changes the way he feel, instead of becoming sad and depressed, he has a positive thinking that he can still lose weight and achieve the body that he wants, it will definitely make a big difference in his life.

Although having a positive thinking for an obese person is beneficial, there is still some dark side on it. In an article, Overweight but Anorexic Teens Are Often Overlooked by Doctors (STUDY) by Catherine Pearson from huffingtonpost.com, she wrote; a 12-year old girl named Kristin who was an obese, talked about her healthy eating and exercise. Kristin tried many diets but she failed, and when she was 14, her weight shot up to more than 180 pounds. Kristin’s mother became worried when Kristin lost more than 80 pounds in three years and thought if Kristin developed an eating disorder. By the time Kristin had an eating disorder assessment; she had significant fear of weight gain, restrictive eating, and bingeing and had experienced multiple stress fractures.

"Kristin's is one of two cases described in a new Pediatrics paper, published Monday, that says overweight and obese children and teens who lose weight are at significant risk for developing eating disorders, but their symptoms are often overlooked. It raises questions about the formal criteria used for diagnosing eating disorders, and suggests there may be a significant blind-spot among the doctors who treat children and teens." Pearson said. 

Having more than 180 pounds at the age of 12 is not normal but it is good to hear that Kristin changed her lifestyle. She did her best to lose weight by healthy eating and exercising. But why did Kristin developed an eating disorder? The fact that she has lost a lot of weight because of her hard work is not bad but developing an eating disorder is not good. In Kristin’s case, diagnosing a health problem like that must not be overlooked by the doctors. Doctors should know the symptoms of having eating disorders and should have more knowledge about it.

A person who is overweight then turns out to be having an eating disorder is surprising because we thought that obese people will have a hard time in losing weight, but it’s good to hear news and stories about fat people who successfully become fit and sexy. Becoming physically fit is everyone’s dream. People always want to look their best to become attractive to their opposite sex and to feel confident. And to be physically fit, people try different diets and exercises such as Zumba, yoga, Pilates and others. Engaging ourselves in a healthy lifestyle has a lot of benefits to our life especially in our health. But, why is there a health issue called “eating disorders”? What is an eating disorder? What are its causes, symptoms and effects in a human body? What kinds of people usually have eating disorders? And many other questions are being thought about this phenomenal health problem.