I have a neice who would be considered morbidly obese. She is so overweight that she finds walking difficult and it has severely affected her general health. She cannot stop over eating however. She tries to diet and has done so for years but cannot get control of her need to eat.
Obviously this is an addiction and needs to be treated on an emotional/psychological level. All she ever gets from her doctor however is a diet sheet! By the same token anyone going to the doctors who is underweight (anorexic) and is equally suffering ill health as a result of food or the lack of it, is treated sympathetically and given emotional and psychological support. To a slightly lesser degree bulimics are treated sensitively and it is generally understood that they need help.
People who drastically and consistently over eat themselves to enormous proportions clearly have an eating disorder - as much so as anorexics and bulimics. Why are very overweight people treated as just greedy people and seldom offered appropriate care and support (in the UK at least) and just fobbed off with a diet sheet? My neice knows what it is to eat healthy. Its the lack of control and compulsive aspect that she needs help to address
Obviously this is an addiction and needs to be treated on an emotional/psychological level. All she ever gets from her doctor however is a diet sheet! By the same token anyone going to the doctors who is underweight (anorexic) and is equally suffering ill health as a result of food or the lack of it, is treated sympathetically and given emotional and psychological support. To a slightly lesser degree bulimics are treated sensitively and it is generally understood that they need help.
People who drastically and consistently over eat themselves to enormous proportions clearly have an eating disorder - as much so as anorexics and bulimics. Why are very overweight people treated as just greedy people and seldom offered appropriate care and support (in the UK at least) and just fobbed off with a diet sheet? My neice knows what it is to eat healthy. Its the lack of control and compulsive aspect that she needs help to address
