Category: Let's talk
From the Daily Mail, 6 May 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1384026/The-women-blind-fat.html
"One in six women say they would rather be blind than obese, a survey has found.
"Others would prefer alcoholism or catching herpes to being massively overweight.
"Researchers in the U.S. interviewed 100 women and asked whether they would rather be obese or have one of 12 other socially stigmatised conditions, including depression, which was chosen by one in four.
"Experts said it was astonishing that people would opt – even in theory – for afflictions that were difficult or impossible to treat in favour of obesity."
it's the daily mail.
Yeah, consider the source. Also, consider the fact that most likely, none of those people have ever experienced what they're choosing. That is to say, most likely none of those people who said they'd rather be blind, has ever been blind. I can't really take them seriously when they don't actually know what they're choosing.
This is kind of a fascinatingly scary question. OK, yeah, I know it's hypothetical, which is probably why I dislike hypotheticals. Somebody who thinks up a question asking which affliction you'd choose over another one with no option for none at all must have a really bleak view of life, and I call myself a cynic? Maybe I'll turn in my cynic's card and call myself a reluctant idealist now. LOL!
I too would say consider the source. Blindness is, as far as I know, the most feared disability, so I can't imagine that to be true. Also, depression and obesity often go hand in hand, which lessens this article's credibility even more.
I'd rather be blind than obese, of course they are not mutually exclusive, so not only am I blind, but I also must watch what I eat and work out, it's a bloody unfair world.
I'm guessing the women who said they'd rather be blind than obese have never encountered a blind person or considered what being blind really means. In addition, I bet these women are all extremely weight conscious, perhaps to the point of having an eating disorder to keep themselves looking like skeletons.
Would you rather questions are always difficult, because most people haven't experienced either cinario, and, as Libra lady said, they're probably extremely afraid of both, or in this case, all.
'Would you rather' questions, whose options are not mutually excuusive, simply make no sense: no matter how good or inspiring it may feel.
Well, sure, we can say obese people have never tried being blind, but the same applies to us (mostof us), we don't know what it is like being grossly overweight. May be the inconvenience, aches and pains, the inability to take care of yourself, the shame and all of the emotional issues are such that it is much worse (of course obesity is not a state, it depends on the level of obesity we are discussing). I believe if you way 600 og 700 pounds, that is probably a lot more debilitating than blindness, in which case this result is actually very understandable, and probably a fairly good estimate of the pros and cons of each ocndition.
Of course it is a nonsensical survey from start to finish in any case.
I got up to 231 pounds, and it was a real struggle for me to put my socks on. I decided right then that I was going to do something about it, while I still could. No, I wasn't grosely overweight, but it was enough for me to know that I didn't want to be any heavier or bulkier.
A lot of people's weight issues have nothing whatsoever to do with their own life choices. Therefore, I can imagine it must be quite a struggle for such people. they eat right, exercise, get on that scale, and when their weight hasn't made any changes for the better, they feel like they need to do more work. so they end up drastically overworking themselves with no positive results. Not to mention the fact that many people who don't know these people's life stories will assume they're lazy, and/or don't care about their health. I definitely agree with the poster that says depression and obesity go hand in hand, in a lot of cases.
I must remain skeptical about that fact. If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. I have a very hard time believing that all of a sudden people's body types have changed drastically and they are overweight even if they do everything else right. Was not the case 40 years ago, or even 10 years ago when obesity was may be around 10 to 20% but now it is something like 40% (of course it all depends on people's definition). I find that those who claim to do things right and eat right, often eat the occasional secret cheese cake, are constantly snacking rather than eating proper meals etc.
Sure, it may be the case in rare instances, that there really is just an obese body type, but in general I think it is just an excuse and the real reason lies elsewhere.
Losing weight is hard, eating right is hard, when you are depressed or unmotivated, it may be nearly unobtainable, and being overweight leads to depression etc, so there are plenty of actual reasons and major issues being overweight, so I am not saying they should just shut up and slim down, or that people do not have actual issues. But I simply don't buy that the body types of people have naturally changed and now that is the reason they are overweight, it doesn't add up.
I agree. I'm only talking about the people that seem to struggle with their weight their whole lives, and/or about the people who are 10 to 20 pounds overweight; not those who are two or three hundred pounds overweight.
For that, I agree, body type or genetics can play a part, but obesity is much more of a mental illenss than about body shape or body type. Again, I am not belittling those who deal withit, and I fully understand it is difficult and painful and there can be a lot of reasons why people struggle with a lot of excessive weight, but I won't buy the body type explanation, it is not just natural and genetic body shape, otherwise it would've been true decades and ages ago as well.
well, true the source is pretty important but the statistics in general are pretty scary too with how many people go through issues with how thin they are. that's what is up for shoing and that's what a ton of people subscribe to. So, it's kind of reflective though most also hate blindness as much as they do being overweight so.