Is Obesity A Choice? Is It Just About Willpower?

[@w-james9277]

Im very jealous of people who can eat what they want, how much they want, never exercise and are still in great shape. I have to exercise allot and be very conscious of what I eat in order to stay in shape.

[@emilyblakekirk]

for my heath i've been trying to lose weight and build good habits and it's been super hard, this video was really informative on explaining why, thank you!

[@azulsimmons1040]

It is hard, especially once you let it get past a certain point. It's easy to get off 20 lbs. When you're trying to get off 40, 50, 100 or more, it's tough. I've been trying to fight consistently through 240 for years. My body just doesn't want to get much below 240. You seem to get these comfortable weight ranges after a while your body likes to be at and then you have to fight to change them and keep them.

[@maximilianmaier3950]

Have you been trying to lose weight with weight loss diets or with an overall change of your lifestyle? Weight loss diets usually don't work, because they are not sustainable. I've tried many of them and at the beginning I usually had great results, but I always ended up at a point where I was mentally completely down and was simply not able to keep dieting, fell back into my own habits and gained all the weight back plus some extra immediately. One year ago, I changed my diet to a healthier and more balanced and most importantly sustainable diet and now I'm wearing clothes again that I haven't worn for over a decade.

[@azulsimmons1040]

@@maximilianmaier3950 Change in lifestyle. I was well on my way there before COVID hit. Really messed everything up for me as I had to work 56 hours plus a week for months if not a year or more and then fell back into old habits. Gained a lot of weight back and am just now starting to get moving back in the right direction.

[@visible4850]

I love this Video Ben! Amazing stuff as always, and I am naturally lean, someone that gets full very fast, and when stressed or sad I could care less about food. We all need to have more compassion for those with less fortune genetically and instead direct our energy towards helping them any way we can.

[@brindmusicnerd]

I love everything about your videos - the data, the holistic approach, the analogies, the swearing 👌🙌

[@left-handedstan4506]

“Hi is that America. yea yea… England here… we’re thinking of just giving up now, what do you reckon?” LMAO 😆

[@rachellerum7568]

I literally had a doctor tell me after I gained weight over the course of one of the worst years of my life that "we all face hard times and you have to learn to manage your weight anyway" Yes, thank you, I was almost committed to a mental health facility for a complete breakdown while my world crumbled around me but yeah, my weight should have been my first focus. Thanks.

[@endlesszynkroendlesszynkro6384]

But what to do if you have an increased appetite? Just invest more willpower to execute the rules (nutrition, exercice, ...) ?

[@deanowatching23]

So many nuances to this. Once you lift the lid, it’s a KZbin channel on its own. The real take home message in this video is the final remark at the end. But that final remark shouldn’t be limited to a particular set of circumstances, it should be how we behave all the time. I wish I wasn’t so damn perfect that I didn’t need reminding of this stuff from time to time.

[@dezy53]

Love your videos. You deserve more subs! Keep up the great content, and I’ll support as much as possible🙌

[@DennisNowland]

Evolution, evolution, evolution. Its only quite recently that there has been an abundance of highly processed delicious calorie dence foods available for very little effort to get them. The natural state is to get as many calories for the least expenditure in order to survive in times of low food availability. Yes there are nuances to this, but that is the overall natural state of affairs.

[@BenCarpenter]

I think that is a very big factor to this, yeah. Kind of like, some people are more susceptible to weight gain but now the environment amplifies the results of this. It would have been a lot more difficult to gain a lot of weight 100 years ago than it would be today, food choices, sedentary lifestyles etc

[@Bobo-ye7dq]

I lose a lot of appetite for many weeks when under high stress (breakups, loss of family, etc.) Though mild stressors like sitting in traffic for an hour make me want to eat more.

[@BenCarpenter]

I plan to do a more detailed video on that at some point. Typically the research includes imposing a small stimulus, like getting subjects to watch a sad video, and then seeing how much food they eat. Obviously, this isn't similar to really serious ongoing life stress, which is never going to be something easy to study. I tend to avoid food with almost all stressful periods. My body fat analysis video on here coincided with one of the most stressful periods of my life and I weigh approximately 5-7kg less than my normal weight lol

[@PROGAMER-bt8od]

Agreed, under stress my appetite goes, when I'm happy I want to eat everything around me

[@idan7989]

It's hard for me to maintain body weight. If I don't consciously try to eat a lot of food, I might lose weight. I will just skip meals because eating is so boring and preparing food takes so much time. Also, when I am sad or stressed, I am more likely to under-eat than overeat.

[@RhiannaBarr]

Ben, can you please talk about Alan Roberts from "Every Damn Day Fitness" please? He has so much hate for overweight people...he is also a victim blamer and and has some obsession with attacking Tess Holliday

[@exidrial431]

I totally agree with you. The problem here, as always, lies in the extreme. There's many people that assume just because they can easily lose weight it's the same for others irrespective of others' mental health problems (depression, anxiety and so on). Likewise there are also many people that use their problems as an excuse to not try. They believe they can't do anything about their weight because 'genetics' or their mental health will come kick their butt anyway. That last one is a mental health problem in itself but you get what I mean. There is only a very very tiny minority that genuinely can not lose weight due to reasons outside of their control. These people usually tend to have much larger problems to worry about than their weight however. The solution isn't always to just have more willoower. More often than not the solution is to reduce the amount of willpower required. If you can't follow a keto diet because you feel sluggish without the carbs then don't try to power through it again. You will fail again. Instead try a different diet that is easier to adhere to due to including carbs.

[@Timjacks01]

Ben, can you post more on KZbin? Please & Thank you 🙏🏻

[@Strongguy94]

Yes. Next question.

[@slactionhero3060]

Great video. And don't mind me, I just want to push your KZbin algorithm

[@boxerfencer]

Well put

[@Enoch-Root]

I definitely think it's lacking will power, but I think that this is a human universal. We'll pick the path of least resistance again and again. In order to lose weight I've had to consciously make the choice to do what I don't want to do, to choose the harder path in life. At a minimum I'm running 50km a week, I hate running, I hate doing push-ups, lifting weights, but I know it's good for me and that the investment will get a good return. I honestly think that you're using studies here to provide excuses.

[@workingtowardit9298]

Couldn't agree with you more.

[@lordoftheninth786]

I'm one of the unlucky ones. But it still sounds like a choice the way you framed it. And a matter of willpower but with the twist of life isn't fair. Which we knew already. I'm 6'2" on an 1800 calorie a day diet and still gaining weight at 230lbs while tracking macros with the help of a nutritionist, and exercising 4 days a week.

[@Benjamin-to2zq]

This is a Why I think its stupid to say obesity is a choice; which some people claim. 1.) We cannot choose end results. We can only choose behaviors that lead to end results. 2.) Most obese people do not choose behaviors so they will become obese. Most obese choose behaviors for Other reasons such as to feel good, food addiction, alleviation of emotional distress, loneliness, depression and anger etc. Which has the effect of obesity, but those individual choices that are made, are made for other reasons other than obesity. 3.) Obese peole can choose to become thin or lose weight; because a smaller body with fewer health complications is the end goal. Wheras obesity is rarely if ever the end goal of behaviors made for other reasons. To me this is so simple and logical. I do not see how any rational person can dispute this three part statement. Thoughts?

[@ETBrooD]

For me, maintaining my weight is almost too easy. Could be genetics, but upbringing is also a likely cause, because my parents were always normal weight. I must add that I used to have an ED where I would overeat until I felt sick. I think it was a symptom of my depression. Both my depression and my ED are gone now, so I think they're probably linked. However, my ED never caused me to gain weight. It only made me sick. tl;dr humans are complicated

[@anonymouse9360]

Scientists now know that to a large degree obesity is controlled by messages sent to our brain from our fat cells and our brain may direct us to weigh more than is healthy. Often it comes down to DNA and happenstance. I have been significantly or very overweight for about 45 years, I have also had a severe avoidant anxiety disorder for 57 years - since I was 5 years old, In 1986 when I tried to get help I was told there was no treatment for my disorder - so they had nothing to offer me, I was also told [quite oddly] that I needed to Buck Up and move on with [my] life. I had just had my diagnosis confirmed 5 minutes before - did it make sense to tell me to Man U[p and move on? I was supposed to be contacted when a treatment was found but it never happened, When I tried to tell people i wasnt receiving treated it was met with disbelief and/or ridicule. In 1986 and from 1986 - 2024 [other than maybe blood tests] not one actual medical test was done on me.Not even neurological when I first became ill. I'm shocked but apparently the only treatment phychiatrists have for my illness is talk or exposure therapy, But 3.5 decades ago there was no treatment?

[@stargazerbird]

So does the tendency to stress and comfort eat still apply if ultra processed foods are not available? We don’t stress eat cabbage. Or even steak and mangos. I think that particular avenue to weight gain is our being hooked on artificial foods. Not so much a food problem as a drug problem. My husband is a stress eater and he downs an entire block of chocolate in one go. Got to be milk chocolate too.

[@Lucas_0913]

Yes it’s a choice

[@thomassmith4903]

Good video though showing a different angle. Not sure I agree with you on this one. I think tt does boil down to willpower at the end of the day, whether you're stressed, sad, busy, whatever, you still have a choice to make to eat a doughnut or some veggies. In that moment, if you pick the former, you're lacking the willpower to reach your goal if it's fat loss or you just don't have fat loss as a high priority in your life at that moment. Doughnut > fat loss. That's just facts, it's not an insult. I'd say grieving probably SHOULD be a higher priority and screw the fat loss for a while until you're feeling up to it and there's no shame in that. Also, you're almost implying that the poor people on the left of the chart shouldn't bother trying? Because their genetics aren't quite as good...nah they just have to try harder and have MORE willpower than the lucky person on the right. It's harder, but still achievable and ONLY achievable if you really put your mind to it, therefore you should keep grinding, instead of making excuses that you have poor genetics. A gambling addict has genetic tendencies for addictions, higher dopamine levels, more dopamine receptors in the brain etc, but they still need more willpower to quit, and saying that they should need to over ride their genetics isn't an insult. Of course it's multi faceted and willpower isn't the only thing they need and simply saying 'just try harder' isn't hugely helpful on it's own. But genuinely trying harder and prioritizing it will probably do more for their addiction than anything else.

[@samfinchify]

It isn't "just" willpower though is it. That's the point he is trying to make there are many factors that cause obesity and we need to address this cause for the individual. If they are depressed and eating all the wrong stuff maybe they need medication, psychological help or something else. There are also many other factors which weren't covered that I know Ben has spoken about before such as economic factors, those that have to work two jobs and have no time for exercise or even people with health issues which means they cannot do anything strenuous. Ultimately it is harder for them to get there and they will need more help than willpower alone. I have personally struggled with my weight for years. I am an emotional eater and it makes me happy in the moment to indulge and then later I am filled with regret and hate myself for what I have done. My intentions and actions don't always tally up and it is a vicious circle. Yes I could do with more willpower but I have also found getting help for my emotional problems and addressing that helps much more than just telling myself to eat the bloody salad. I am now 4 stone down 2 to go but in the end it wasn't willpower that fixed it for me and I definitely never wanted to be obese!

[@thomassmith4903]

@@samfinchify give yourself more credit. It clearly sounds like it was willpower that's helping you. You kept trying, got help and now are losing weight. Well done!

[@samfinchify]

Thank you that's kind of you to say and I acknowledge that it does take willpower as well but personally I needed more help from experts to deal with the emotional issues and I was lucky enough to be able to fund that but without that I think I would still be stuck because I couldn't see a way out. It's definitely a complex issue and if we had all the answers then I think there would be far less people suffering from obesity.

[@ClarifyEht]

I think the issue is that it’s harder for others than some. Not that it’s *impossible* to lose weight, but that some have to work harder unfortunately. But when we see a larger person, we instinctively believe they are lazy when we don’t really know the full story. The other day I asked my friend what her boyfriend did to get his six pack and she said he does absolutely *nothing*, it’s just his genes. Some people are just lucky, but some have to work harder and it’s sad bc we don’t see the effort, we only assume that they didn’t want to do it. But I don’t think that doesn’t mean some people don’t choose to be fat. That definitely happens and is real.

[@christophersmith3341]

@@samfinchify Except that he makes one point to the essential exclusion of all other points. I get that he's targeting fat shamers, and I agree that's a great group to target (when did shaming help anyone?). I also get that it's just a five minute video and it can't go into exhaustive detail about everything and all situations. But things are, to my mind, really simplified here in a way that seems to imply the vast majority of people are helpless and cannot exercise control over their eating habits or body fitness. The part in which he notices the increases in obesity starting in the mid-sixties and starting to spike in 1970's and asks "Did everyone just decide to get together and decrease their willpower?" is an unfair bit of sarcasm, to which the honest answer to an honest phrasing of the question--did a large percentage of the Western world abandon healthy eating and exercise practices for unhealthy ones in this period?--is, largely, "Yes." There's tons of historical evidence to support it (first comes television, then fast food, then the elimination of sizable portions of the manual labor work force, and then all that spirals as more technology and increased production of unhealthy foods with big advertising budgets erodes the national health of multiple nations). That doesn't give anyone the right to shame anyone else, nor is there any way one can point to a stranger on the street and say with assurance "I know this person is just lazy, and it's all their fault." But whatever the biological differences among us, the vast majority of people are eating very badly and engaging in very little physical activity. That some people because of a genetic roll of the dice don't suffer from their bad choices and other people because of a genetic roll of the dice suffer outrageously no matter how healthy their choices doesn't really alter that.

[@Eman_Puedama]

I do agree that it's harder for some people than others. Being castigated for being overweight never really motivated me - the complete opposite in fact, and so that ties in with what I've heard you say. In fact, at one point when I was relatively light having fasted for months, I became demotivated by a KZbin fitness 'guru' who assumed I was fat just because I was asking about different Ayurvedic body-types. I can find the motivation if I want, but it's hard at times because I don't see any great payoff. I got the best job I've ever been offered (which isn't hard) when I was obese, and losing weight never seemed to help me much in that way. To be honest, I think there's a clearer motive for women because they're more judged by appearance (though maybe that's sexist). I'm feeling particularly demotivated now because of this 'pandemic', which I think is an obvious scam - and could well be even more sinister than I know of. I haven't really travelled, and I wanted to visit Germany. I'd been learning German, and was doing quite well, but gave up when it appeared that taking a jab would be required. I also have no great job prospects other than working in a warehouse which I found dire enough even when there was no obligation to wear a pointless mask, take pointless tests, and whatever else is coming down the pike. I can't see any great positive in being healthy, because I can't see much to look forward to. The only way I can see of motivating myself to get fitter is just through more shame at being pathetic for giving up on life so absolutely. Either that, or try and argue myself into it on the grounds that I might just as well. I think there's some evidence for reincarnation (though whether it always happens, I don't know), and I've thought of trying to convince myself that efforts to be more healthy might effect my next birth (assuming there is one). I don't think that's totally irrational because there does seem to be some evidence from birth-marks and deformities than such things can persist. I know it's a weird way of motivating oneself, but perhaps anything's legitimate. I do sometimes think there'll be some mystical pay-off just for the exercise of will in the face of despair. I'm not sure I've seen evidence for that, but I guess a leap of faith might be another valid last resort motivation technique. I realise it's dreary to whine anyway.. and I can see why it might understandably invite criticism. Perhaps when it's so hard to find any positive motivation, the desire to avoid hectoring advice and not feel like a whiner is better than nothing.

[@SSchithFoo]

I'm never even hungry, I just have the couch potato gene.

[@Blackandwhitecat-u9v]

Fat shaming helped me lose weight and care about my health. I was headed toward obesity! I’m glad I was fat shamed!

[@BenCarpenter]

I happily respect your experience, and simultaneously want to emphasise that the research suggests most people respond in the opposite direction. We know it can have negative effects on food behaviour and mental health

[@Blackandwhitecat-u9v]

@@BenCarpenter Your last sentence. But being obese doesn’t? I’m confused lol.

[@BenCarpenter]

@@Blackandwhitecat-u9v if you have a standardised group of subjects, you can control for variables like that. Independently of body weight, fat shaming has negative effects