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| healthproper.com |
How often is it that we find ourselves turning to comfort foods such as brownies, potato chips or our favorite fast food joint when we are highly stressed? After doing some searching in Google Scholar, I found very interesting information. According to the American Psychological Association, obesity is frequently accompanied by depression. "Depression can both cause and result in stress". When they [obese patients] become stressed, or any person for that matter, we tend to overeat and turn to food to deal with our emotions. Another important point the APA brings up, is that "[Feelings of sadness, anxiety or stress often lead people to eat more than usual". It is a repeating cycle; Being obese=stress which leads to more eating, which contributes to the existing obesity issue. But add a certain medication, a metabolic health problem or some bad genetics, and you have an even bigger problem. The APA also states that "the causes of obesity are rarely limited to genetic factors and prolonged eating . . .". People who aren't obese fail to see other potential existing problems that factor into obesity like medications or physical illness. According to the MentalHelp website, ["Consequences of being overweight or obese include lowered self-esteem and anxiety,. . . depression and eating disorders such as binge eating . . .". MentalHelp also states that not everyone who indulges in food is overweight. Food is associated with almost all emotions. Happiness, sadness and as stated, stress. Why is it okay for a "thin" person to indulge, but it's not okay for a heavier person to? Why are people and doctors more concerned with the issues of overweight people rather that people who aren't overweight, but also aren't in the best health?
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| wikimedia.org |
Society and its ignorance towards obesity has affected the body image of people ranging from being average size to being obese. I myself have struggled with body image, so who better to ask then yourself when you want to get some insight on how it feels to have a body image issue. Although I haven't been obese, I have struggled with my weight and appearance. It doesn't feel so great when we live in a world where we are expected to have the perfect body, and when we don't, we are seen as lazy and unhealthy. I myself would be embarrassed to eat in public because of fear of judgement. All these negative emotions would cause me a great deal of stress which made for a roller coaster of different weights.
It is clear to me that after researching my sources, both the American Psychological Association and the MentalHealth website believe that stress plays a major role in obese people. Not only does the stress cause us to eat more, it also can cause a negative impact on the speed of our metabolism and how our bodies store more fat rather than rid it.
I would like to know more about how obese people can sometimes be considered healthy and a thin person with minimal body fat can be unhealthy. What about a person struggling with obesity, actually makes them unhealthy? What about a thin person makes them healthy?
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| onlyhealthynews.com |
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I really love that you are talking about this . It is so important that people are aware of this growing issue . I agree that a lot of people turn to food when they are stressed out . Obesity is an epidemic ! Maybe on your next post you could talk about what other health issues are connected to obesity and the risk factors. Such as diabetes and high blood pressure . The world needs to know that this is a growing issue . Are you going to talk about what a person can do to relieve this stress and make healthier choices , instead of eating when they get emotionally unstable ?I am so excited to read more of your blog because I can really relate to your point about being insecure with your body image and self esteem.
ReplyDeleteI really love that you are talking about this . It is so important that people are aware of this growing issue . I agree that a lot of people turn to food when they are stressed out . Obesity is an epidemic ! Maybe on your next post you could talk about what other health issues are connected to obesity and the risk factors. Such as diabetes and high blood pressure . The world needs to know that this is a growing issue . Are you going to talk about what a person can do to relieve this stress and make healthier choices , instead of eating when they get emotionally unstable ?I am so excited to read more of your blog because I can really relate to your point about being insecure with your body image and self esteem.
ReplyDeleteVictoria,
DeleteI do plan to write about how obesity negatively affects you physically like you said diabetes, high blood pressure etc. I do also wanna talk about what things people can do to relieve stress and having healthier choices of foods when people eat more during stressful times. I think my next post is going to be about how a person with minimal fat is not necessarily always healthy and vice versa and also talk about ways of changing bad habits.
I know for a fact that obesity does not always have to do with poor eating habits and lack of exercising. When someones thyroid is messed up, it can cause one to loss the ability to have control of their weigh. Unless they get blood work done and get on the right medication to help control the hormone level, then this can be very frustrating and discouraging. I myself have a thyroid issue and I exercise religiously, try to eat right and am even on the latest programs such as Thrive and/or shakeology including the workouts beach body challenge and insanity max and yet I struggle to lose weight. Now I will say this; I do not gain weight anymore because I am on my medication and very conscientious of this. Before my diagnosis although, I was very over weight despite my efforts to lose weight.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteStress can cause overeating in some people and in others it can do the exact opposite. When I am stressed I tend to eat less and when I'm happy I eat a whole lot more. I never knew how much medications and medical problems affect weight until my wife went through it. She had to do these mouth swab tests to check for stress hormones, she eventually was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, PCOS and insulin resistance. I wonder how many people who are obese have medical problems? Stress can put a toll on the body and affect people in so many different ways.
I found it interesting that stress and emotions can affect weight and eating habits.
This post generates some questions such as what is the percent of obese people who have a medical condition linked to obesity?
Is obesity linked to depression because people are depressed about their image or does depression lead to obesity?
I agree with the post because I think many people have the wrong perception of obese people. I also think stress, depression and medical problems are linked to obesity.
Jeremy,
Deleteyeah, I think people fail to see that there are many other factors that go into weight gain aside from eating and exercising. Also, like you said, stress can affect people differently as well. I myself get stressed very often and when I do, I tend to eat less. I want to find out more on what is so different in every person and how i plays into weight management or gain.