Weight Is As A Symptom, Not A Character Flaw

Having extra weight on our bodies should be viewed as a symptom of something larger happening to our bodies, not a character flaw.

Since the dawn of the whole health and fitness industry, those who are overweight or classified as obese (having a BMI of 30+) have been characterized as being lazy, lacking willpower, unwilling to change, or not caring about their health.

But, look at how many people have gym memberships or go on multiple diets looking for that one that will finally work. There are countless books written about it, companies selling weight loss programs, hundreds of various diets promising the moon, and celebrity personal trainers with the latest and greatest exercise plans. If there wasn't such a demand, these things wouldn't exist and it's a $100 billion dollar industry.

The problem is that the industry continues to send the same message that your weight gain is a problem with you. It's somehow your inability to maintain some self-control or lack of willingness to participate in exercise that has gotten you here in the first place. 

I see this message in advertising, in social media posts by fitness professionals, by the medical industry too. I mean, how many doctors have made you feel that you're the reason you're fat. Making you feel that somehow you have that food craving character flaw that got you into this whole mess in the first place.

I mean, it's ridiculous when you think about it. Wouldn't you agree?

As if those who have extra weight have no desires or dreams to have things be different, to feel better, to lose the weight and live a more vibrant life. I just don't believe this to be true.

What I want to see shift in the health and fitness industry, is the perspective that being overweight or obese is a symptom of something larger going on within the body - a signal that something isn't working, an alarm bell so to speak.  That it's a physical symptom as much as a rash is when you're exposed to something you're allergic to. It's the body telling you that what you are eating or exposing yourself to is causing you to not only gain weight, but also hold onto it.

When we shift our perspective on how we view extra weight, there's less shame, less perceived limitation, and less self-loathing, and more normalization of weight simply being a symptom that the body is telling you that something is off. This allows women to stop the battle in their heads, the beating themselves up believing in the shitty character narrative, that you've failed yet again. It gives space to allow women to fully explore without shame the reasons behind the weight so they can start to find answers. It's one of the top reasons women don't go to gyms - the fear of being shamed or ridiculed for their weight.

I believe the shift is starting to happen, but slowly. But, we continue to solve the problem with the same outdated and frankly, incorrect solutions - targeting ways to simply get the fat reduced, rather than taking a closer look to see what's behind the weight resistance. In order to help people get healthier and lose the weight, we have to use different tools, and apply a better, more in depth solution to the problem.

And it will be different for everyone, because we are all unique in our DNA. 

We're one of the most obese countries on the planet

On average roughly 40% of Americans are considered to be obese. This is a HUGE number. You can't tell me that that many people are just simply unwilling to stop eating so much food, refuse to exercise, or simply just don't care.

Over the last 5 decades obesity has slowly increased, but particularly between 1980 to 2014 there was a significant increase for both men and women (1) and continues to rise.(2)(3). So if we compare those numbers to the last 60 years of how the food industry has changed, you can see a correlation with the rise in obesity as well.

What has slowly gained traction over the decades are processed quick foods with 80% of it containing GMO's, chemicals, preservatives, and pesticides most of which is packaged in plastics. It's also important to mention that gone are the days when our grandparents or great grand parents bought their milk, meat and poultry from a local farmer or butcher. Now it's become predominantly industrial with animals grown in factories where they are fed growth hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified feed. We also consume more sugar as most of our processed, packaged foods contain some form of sugar - even your "healthy" whole wheat bread - seriously, check the label!

Also, lets not forget that our labor industry has changed as well. As you know as a society we're no longer working at jobs requiring us to move and stand as in previous decades. We have become increasingly senditary due to the rise in the technological age. 

So it stands to reason that if we have slowly gained weight over the last 60 decades along with the rise in processed food and having more sedentary jobs, it's not due to a character flaw, nor a behavior problem, it's a major flaw in our food system that needs to change, like, yesterday.

The reason this is so hugely important is because in addition to the increase risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and fatty liver disease, there is also causal links to obesity affecting the brain. This cognitive impairment is seen far beyond what is due to normal aging in older adults (4).  It's causing poor cognitive function, poor mental health, productivity, and the ability of people to live their fullest lives, living up to their potential, and living their soul purpose. You simply cannot be all you can be if you're sick, and cannot fully function.

And it's my job.....it's our job to disrupt this old way and demand that companies are held responsible for the junk that's in our food, stop selling sugary bad foods to children, stop the manipulation, and stop subsidizing processed foods. There needs to be more accountability of food companies to ensure our food is safe without additives, chemicals, or GMO's and subsidize organic fruits and vegetables so they are affordable to everyone. One of the best ways to do this is with our dollar. If we stop buying processed foods, this creates less demand.

And it's our job to begin to shift this perspective that those with extra weight didn't get that way due to some character flaw, but rather because of an underlying condition that is in need of attention like any other symptom. It's also important to shift our concept of what a normal healthy weight actually is. This is critical as you can also be skinny fat - which is where muscle mass is lost and replaced with fat. 

I believe that deep down we all want to be healthy and are willing to do what it takes to be healthy. As a collective we are not lazy, nor unwilling to do what it takes to be healthier. We have been mislead into believing that the food that is sold to us is safe and won't cause us harm simply because the FDA approved it.

It's our job to take our health back and demanded better food for our children in our schools, in our hospitals, and that when we're overweight, we are treated with dignity and that our weight gain is a symptom of something larger so we can begin to solve the problem and finally heal.

And if that is you, it's time that you believed in yourself and shifted this faulty thinking that you're the problem and instead see your weight as a symptom so you can finally seek help to get to the root of the problem so you can live life on your terms.

References:

1-https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

2-https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/obesity-rates-continue-to-rise-among-adults-in-the-us.html

3-https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

4-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410624/