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Is Obesity a disability?

Is Obesity a Disability

  • Yes, it is a disability.

    Votes: 14 19.7%

  • No, it isn't a disability.

    Votes: 42 59.2%

  • Maybe? Too much going on to say definitively.

    Votes: 15 21.1%
  • Total voters
    71
Lursa said:
IMO the act of eating also needs to be replaced, not just the calories reduced.

Just like smoking while drinking....people that quit dont know what to do with themselves in some social situations without smoking. Or drinking. Or both!
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yes I was one of those...I loved my cigarette with my drink...when I quit smoking I missed it

Lursa said:
Just go to the Canadian National Parks like Banff and Jasper: there are Europeans all over and they are thinner, ALL wear walking shoes, and walk & bike everywhere while many Americans go looking for shuttles and parking spots.
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yes, lean and walkers...us, fat and drivers...lol
 
Rhiannon said:
I know a girl who was gang raped by four men, tortured, and also passed around to a dozen people at a party at the age of eleven. She is not overweight.

Is obesity a disability? Technically, it fits the definition. It interferes with the ability to earn income and to support one's self, and it creates or exacerbates health problems. The real question is: is obesity a preventable disability? (Yes, for the most part). And if so, how should people with this disability be treated?
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Glad that the girl you know does not have an eating disorder on top of or caused by her horrendous trauma... Poor girl...how terrible.
 
Lursa said:
Yes but those endorphins can be addicting.

They say that chocolate releases endorphins.
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Lots of things are addictive, and several different activities can stimulate the release of endorphins, but it doesn't mean we have no control over them. Sex can release endorphins, exercise, yoga and meditation, alcohol, and even stress can set the chain of events in motion. Just because something feels great doesn't mean you can't control it. I love love love great food, but I have to control my impulse to eat as much as I want. Otherwise, I'd weigh 300 pounds. I love to smoke, but I have to control that urge because I don't want to end up with copd. I love love, and I love good sex, but I won't indulge that impulse because I take relationships so seriously, and I am willing to do without until someone may (or may not) come along who really lights my fire, and for whom it is mutual.
 
lizzie said:
Lots of things are addictive, and several different activities can stimulate the release of endorphins, but it doesn't mean we have no control over them. Sex can release endorphins, exercise, yoga and meditation, alcohol, and even stress can set the chain of events in motion. Just because something feels great doesn't mean you can't control it. I love love love great food, but I have to control my impulse to eat as much as I want. Otherwise, I'd weigh 300 pounds. I love to smoke, but I have to control that urge because I don't want to end up with copd. I love love, and I love good sex, but I won't indulge that impulse because I take relationships so seriously, and I am willing to do without until someone may (or may not) come along who really lights my fire, and for whom it is mutual.
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Totally agree.
 
Obesity is NOT A disability. To think otherwise is ridiculous.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Obesity is NOT A disability. To think otherwise is ridiculous.
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Well as I understand it, some medical issues can make it very difficult/impossible to maintain a lower weight.

I suppose in that case the obesity is more of a symptom though....
 
The Mark said:
Well as I understand it, some medical issues can make it very difficult/impossible to maintain a lower weight.

I suppose in that case the obesity is more of a symptom though....
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That is pretty rare. A metabolic disorder which makes it near impossible to lose weight is also going to be evident in some other traits and system failures. When you hear of people having a "glandular" problem which accounts for their obesity, it's usually a bs excuse.
 
Unless I've missed something (I didn't read the entire thread):

Disability:
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

The question should be "How is Obesity NOT a disability?"
 
The Mark said:
Well as I understand it, some medical issues can make it very difficult/impossible to maintain a lower weight.

I suppose in that case the obesity is more of a symptom though....
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That could be. My statement was more a general one about people that are simply out of shape, do not exercise and are obese and then claim it is a disability
 
Jryan said:
Unless I've missed something (I didn't read the entire thread):

Disability:
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

The question should be "How is Obesity NOT a disability?"
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Then pretty much everybody has a disability... I dislocated my shoulder in the past and it limits my A-Grade tennis game. I am disabled...
 
Jryan said:
Unless I've missed something (I didn't read the entire thread):

Disability:
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

The question should be "How is Obesity NOT a disability?"
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It's self-induced and can be rectified. The more they move, the less fat they will have and the more they will be able to move. Disabilities are not due to personal habits, but physical limitations. Obesity is the result of habit.
 
DVSentinel said:
It's self-induced and can be rectified. The more they move, the less fat they will have and the more they will be able to move. Disabilities are not due to personal habits, but physical limitations. Obesity is the result of habit.
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Where did you see that part about habits in the definition?
 
Jryan said:
Unless I've missed something (I didn't read the entire thread):

Disability:
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

The question should be "How is Obesity NOT a disability?"
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If a disability can result from actions within one's control, than obesity is a disability. Since that is the new politically correct answer in today's society of blame-shifting, it is technically considered a disability which is why many people receive a check from the government because of it.

Interesting question: Should fat people be excluded from receiving food stamps? (I mean, do they really need it?)
 
DVSentinel said:
It's self-induced and can be rectified. The more they move, the less fat they will have and the more they will be able to move. Disabilities are not due to personal habits, but physical limitations. Obesity is the result of habit.
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So is lung cancer due to smoking - should those people be denied disability?
 
Scrabaholic said:
So is lung cancer due to smoking - should those people be denied disability?
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No, lung cancer is not always due to smoking. Only about 1/3 of all smokers actually die from "smoking" related illnesses. Nicotine also has some beneficial properties, unlike obesity. Further, lung cancer is an illness, a medical condition. Obesity is not. It caused by overeating and laziness. By denying them disability and making them do something, you are actually helping them.
 
DVSentinel said:
No, lung cancer is not always due to smoking. Only about 1/3 of all smokers actually die from "smoking" related illnesses. Nicotine also has some beneficial properties, unlike obesity. Further, lung cancer is an illness, a medical condition. Obesity is not. It caused by overeating and laziness. By denying them disability and making them do something, you are actually helping them.
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About 90% of lung cancers are attributable to smoking. While only about 1/3 of smokers die from lung issues, smoking also greatly increases your risk of heart disease and various cancers. Statistically, smokers liive 10 years less than non-smokers. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/putting-a-number-to-smokings-toll/

Even the obese are not that high of a statistical risk as obesity takes about 7 years off your life. Although, the extreme obese live 14 years less than those at a healthy weight. NIH study finds extreme obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years
 
DVSentinel said:
No, lung cancer is not always due to smoking. Only about 1/3 of all smokers actually die from "smoking" related illnesses. Nicotine also has some beneficial properties, unlike obesity. Further, lung cancer is an illness, a medical condition. Obesity is not. It caused by overeating and laziness. By denying them disability and making them do something, you are actually helping them.
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I never said that lung cancer is always due to smoking - I said 'lung cancer due to smoking', meaning those cases where it is from smoking - approx. 90% of cases are. BTW, not all cases of obesity are due to over-eating.

Fat people are at lower risk for certain cancers, so it could be said it has some beneficial properties.
 
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It's not a disability. It's a cultural phenomena that people either see as acceptable or not.



To verify this sometime, go to what is deemed "A health progressive city or area". Fit young people are everywhere. Fit middle aged people are everywhere. Fit elderly people are everywhere.



Then go to what is deemed "Everyday Americana". Basically, walk into a walmart. Fat young people are everywhere. Fat middle aged people are everywhere. Very fat elderly people are everywhere.



= It's cultural and racial. In other words it's basically a mental decision induced early on by culture taught from a young age.
 
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