Why do people get fat?

This is something I find fascinating, so really wanted to do a post on it. I had some information already, but went to trusted Google for some back-up. What started as an idea after reading an article has now turned into what I think could turn out to be a three-post essay! I had planned to cover two topics in one go, but I have now uncovered a labyrinth of extensive information and scientific discovery with a trip to the book shop planned for the weekend. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I do believe that there is a lot going on that we don't know about. Thanks to the internet (and the small matter of scientific research!) - that is all changing.

So, back to the matters at hand - fat and why people get fat. This is one of those things that everyone has an opinion on, from the dog in the street to the experts in obesity clinics worldwide. I'm not talking about putting on a few pounds over Christmas here, I am talking about people becomming obese and morbidly obese. Obviously there is just the calories-in exceeds calories-out theory - simple enough. But I think there is very often a lot more to it than that. In this post I'm going to look at how people get fat and why they eat too much.

An article by Andy from Andy Kenny Fitness really got me thinking about this. And, I have to admit, television shows like MTV's 'I Used to Be Fat' and Channel 4's 'Supersize Vs Superskinny' as well. The amounts of food some people can put away simply astounds me. How don't they feel sick? Feel very full? Feel bloated? Feel disgusting? Baffling! Andy outlines five types of eating habits\ fat people:

1. Overeaters;
2. Emotional eaters;
3. Binge eaters;
4. Unknowingly overweight; and
5. Don't care overweight.

Overeaters in general just cannot get full from food. Often overeaters don't even enjoy food and are just thinking about their next meal. Overeaters, unlike those with bullimia, don't purge their food though they often eat when alone and when they aren't hungry. This condition is more common than anorexia or bulimia and unlike those disorders, it is very common in men. Emotional eaters, on the other hand, use food as a personal reward system and are the kind of people who will eat a high-fat snack after a work-out or that clichéd tub of ice-cream after breaking up with someone. They often don't know how they feel and can't successfully identify feelings, or feel they deserve to have those feelings. Their hunger is an emotional one (starts in head or mouth) as opposed to a physical one (starts in stomach). According to BodyWhys, binge eaters overeat, eat quickly and very often, from guilt, try to diet. They also periodically consume huge amounts of food and feel out of control. Theirs is a psychological addiction to food, coupled with frequent dieting to ease the anxiety they will usually feel.  

People who are unknowingly overweight (or who greatly underestimate their weight and size) don't realise the scale of the problem they're facing. Something like an ugly photo or a break-up can trigger a realisation, but more often than not they don't know much about nutrition or good versus bad foods. Don't care overweight is exactly what is says it is - people who are fat and are happy to be so. Or at least say they're happy to be so. Andy says he doesn't understand it and I have to say, I don't either. How could you be happy if you couldn't go up and down the stairs at home without being massively out of breath? Or with knowing that you're more likely to die prematurely, get diabetes and other debilitating diseases and illnesses, find difficulty buying the clothes you want, not be able to run around after your kids, etc? Maybe I'm being too judgemental, am I? I will admit that I would love to be able to not care. I would love to eat whatever I want, and more importantly - whenever I like - and have no interest in the consequences, but I just can't.

But there is another side to all of this. What if you do everything right and still don't lose weight, or sometimes gain weight? Read my next post...