Obesity as Defense

Obesity as Defense

Oct 02

Fox news makes me vomit. But, he’s a link from an article I read on eggfaces blog It’s interesting but not fascinating and the statistics about molestation seem like they could use a bit of a fact check. Never the less it poses a very intriguing question. What does being obese give you? For me (and I’ve been thinking about this a lot) it’s given me a shield and an excuse. Not from men (or possibly it is from men) but just from the world. I believe food is my weapon of choice for many different battles because I was afraid to fight them with anything else. So possibly this surgery gave me the birth of a backbone.

Morbid Obesity as Defense Mechanism?
by Mary Jo Rapini

The recent statistics from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported that about one-third (33.8 percent) of U.S. adults are obese. That number rises every day, and keeping up with it is more difficult than keeping up with your stocks. I work with the finest bariatric surgeons in the U.S. They are dedicated to helping their patients lose weight in an effort to thwart diseases, and minimize current disease progression. I also run several 12-step food addiction groups in the city of Houston and online in many cities. I talk to morbidly obese patients everyday. I teach them, counsel them, eat with them, and spend endless hours reading their journals. These patients have a story to tell, but we aren’t listening and we continue asking the wrong questions.
To be sure, obesity is genetic and many times the social milieu of obese patients I work with is chaotic with issues of abuse, abandonment, shame, ridicule, and anger. The genetic role helps explain the body type; the way food may be processed, stored, and proportioned. It cannot explain what keeps the person from changing the behavior that contributes to obesity. In my work, during step 4 of the 12-step addiction group, the group members begin making amends. They look at how their behavior got them where they are. They quit thinking about how they were abused, and begin to consider how they hurt/abused others. The step is painful, gut wrenching and overwhelming for all of these patients. It is also the step I ask them, How do you benefit from being obese? At first they look at me as if I am crazy.

Read the remaining article here