[Closed] Obesity to be made a disability says EU

We haven't had a fatty thread for a while. It's clearly time to up the smug factor.

Stop eating so much you fat f*******!

[i]The council cited an incident where Mr Kaltoft asked a colleague to help him tie up his shoelaces.[/i]

pft he's clearly not even a proper fatty, I thought they all wore sandals or flip flops.

Well, obesity of itself is not a disability, but in any particular case, obesity can be - and often is - a feature of a mental health condition

Obesity = eats too much (Oi, fatty, put down the pie!) is rather over simplistic - If 'food addiction' is not a disability, then why should any other psychiatric or emotional condition be a disability?

Manic depression? pull yourself together!
OCD? Stop doing it!
Panic attacks? Calm down dear!

Nobody would think for a second about not classifying them as psychiatric conditions serious enough to qualify as disabilities, so why should overeating be different?

If 'food addiction' is not a disability, then why should any other psychiatric or emotional condition be a disability?

An extremely good point, but does anyone care.....surely "Oi, fatty, put down the pie!" is more fun?

Obesity? Oi, fatty, put down the pie!
Manic depression? pull yourself together!
OCD? Stop doing it!
Panic attacks? Calm down dear!

The council cited an incident where Mr Kaltoft asked a colleague to help him tie up his shoelaces.

In the[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27809242 ] other BBC coverage of the story[/url] the issue was he that couldn't tie up the children's shoes for them (which is part of his job as a childminder).

The interesting aspect is that Mr Kaltoft said himself [i]"[b]I don't see myself as disabled[/b]. We hope the outcome is that it's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, if they're doing their job properly."[/i]

Which seems quite reasonable really (but not such a headline grabber)

says EU

Nothing in that article to suggest the EU has said anything, or is going to do anything.

Well, obesity of itself is not a disability, but in any particular case, obesity can be - and often is - a feature of a mental health condition

Exactly- they are ruling whether obesity in itself is a disability as opposed to the mental health condition, which would be covered by current legislation.

It could have interesting consequences, such as making drug addiction and alcoholism disabilities, rather than the underlying mental factors, as currently.

Urghh I find myself agreeing with ninfan. I feel dirty.

[i]Nobody would think for a second about not classifying them as psychiatric conditions serious enough to qualify as disabilities, so why should overeating be different?[/i]

But... Obesity is often the result of ignorance ( in the context of being ill or not educated, not pejorative) about the health outcomes if certain food choices, so in that case....not a disability

He needs to loose weight. 🙄

Claiming discrimination is like saying a person with heart condition wanting to join the full course of SAS selection/training.

👿

He needs to loose weight

He's 25 stone - I suspect his weight is already pretty loose. 😉

Claiming discrimination is like saying a person with heart condition wanting to join the full course of SAS selection/training.

Not really - he said in his quote: [i]"it's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, [b]if they're doing their job properly[/b]"[/i]

If someone had a heart condition that prevented them from completing SAS selection then their health would be preventing them from doing their job properly.

He argues he did do his job properly and was sacked purely because he is fat.

Top Daily Wail stuff this.

What, a click-bait headline which is a complete fabrication? Certainly is.

GrahamS - Member
Not really - he said in his quote: "it's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, if they're doing their job properly"

He argues he did do his job properly and was sacked purely because he is fat.

Well, his words against the employer here. Yes, if he can do his job I don't see why he cannot work there but then if he cannot then he should go or lose weight fast. 🙂

[i]Well, obesity of itself is not a disability, but in any particular case, obesity can be - and often is - a feature of a mental health condition[/i]

I do not agree with this diagnosis. There can be several physiological causes for over eating, ranging from issues in the Hypothalamic-pituitary axis to hyperinsulinemia. Which can result in over eating.
Its the satiety signal which will stop a person feeding, ie, when they feel full.

It seems to me that most people still do not grasp the concept that we can fall victim to our endocrine system which has the power to drive us to eat, even when we may not need to. In such situations, people will [b]subconsciously[/b], continue to eat beyond the amount normally required by their body, if there is a fault in the body's food intake regulation system, rooted in conditions such as hyperinsulinemia. That is, a person does not consciously decide to secrete too much insulin. The body will, under certain circumstances, do this, independently of any conscious decision taken by that person. However, because this condition persists, that person will feel hungry when they shouldn't and so over eat. This behaviour shouldn't, imo, be mistaken for and labelled as intentional and therefore, greed.

If 'food addiction' is not a disability, then why should any other psychiatric or emotional condition be a disability?

I could just as easily say most folk who drink too much [ over the recommended units] are not alcoholics.

IME people who drink too much or eat to much just like doing that activity and are well aware of the implications of this decision

Some are ill and dependent but most are not

I do not agree with this diagnosis. There can be several physiological causes for over eating, ranging from issues in the Hypothalamic-pituitary axis to hyperinsulinemia. Which can result in over eating.
Its the satiety signal which will stop a person feeding, ie, when they feel full.

It seems to me that most people still do not grasp the concept that we can fall victim to our endocrine system which has the power to drive us to eat, even when we may not need to. In such situations, people will subconsciously, continue to eat beyond the amount normally required by their body, if there is a fault in the body's food intake regulation system, rooted in conditions such as hyperinsulinemia. That is, a person does not consciously decide to secrete too much insulin. The body will, under certain circumstances, do this, independently of any conscious decision taken by that person. However, because this condition persists, that person will feel hungry when they shouldn't and so over eat. This behaviour shouldn't, imo, be mistaken for and labelled as intentional and therefore, greed.

There can be several physiological causes for over eating, ranging from issues in the Hypothalamic-pituitary axis to hyperinsulinemia.

I'd argue that those conditions are the "disability" (and obesity is one of the side effects), rather than trying to define all obesity as a disability.

However, because this condition persists, that person will feel hungry when they shouldn't and so over eat. This behaviour shouldn't, imo, be mistaken for and labelled as intentional and therefore, greed.

Hmmm. If you know you have this condition then you know you need to make a conscious effort to monitor what you eat rather than listening to what your broken endocrine system tell you.

If you don't do that then isn't that "intentional", even if it isn't greed?

If 'food addiction' is not a disability, then why should any other psychiatric or emotional condition be a disability?

Most obese people are not addicts .

Why don't you read what you are quoting from Z-11's post, since you appear to be challenging him? He's claiming that 'food addiction' is a disability, not that most obese people are food addicts.

Some are ill and dependent but most are not

Have you got any figures ?

Most obese people are not addicts .

No?

Have you got any figures ?

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25576400 ]64% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.[/url]

If that's all down to some mystery illness then we better find a cure quick!

[img] [/img]

Maybe South Asians are naturally immune?

If that's all down to some mystery illness then we better find a cure quick!

Sugar addiction, I reckon. You don't realise how much we are drowing in the stuff until you start trying to avoid it.

Look, depression rates worldwide differ, maybe thats not a diasbility either:

[img] http://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/11/depression-rates.jp g" target="_blank">http://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/11/depression-rates.jp g"/> &w=480[/img]

Maybe Arabs are naturally immune?

Have you got any figures ?

64% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.

I wasn't asking for figures with regards to how people are overweight or obese. It was with reference to this remark by JY :

Some are ill and dependent but most are not

I was asking for figures with regards to how many obese people are ill and dependent, and how many aren't.

What they need to do is form some kind of association.....

[img] [/img]

Maybe Arabs are naturally immune?

I think you've got that wrong - some Arab countries appear to be twice as depressed as the Chinese. Now I can understand why those in North Africa might be depressed but what have the Chinese got to be so happy about ? They're even happier than the Yanks ffs!

Should the title of this topic not be "Denmark ask European Court of Justice to clarify employment law, which will probably result in a decision that will stop similar cases being raised in the future"?

Solo - Member

Well, obesity of itself is not a disability, but in any particular case, obesity can be - and often is - a feature of a mental health condition

I do not agree with this diagnosis. There can be several physiological causes for over eating, ranging from issues in the Hypothalamic-pituitary axis to hyperinsulinemia. Which can result in over eating.
Its the satiety signal which will stop a person feeding, ie, when they feel full.

It seems to me that most people still do not grasp the concept that we can fall victim to our endocrine system which has the power to drive us to eat, even when we may not need to. In such situations, people will subconsciously, continue to eat beyond the amount normally required by their body, if there is a fault in the body's food intake regulation system, rooted in conditions such as hyperinsulinemia. That is, a person does not consciously decide to secrete too much insulin. The body will, under certain circumstances, do this, independently of any conscious decision taken by that person. However, because this condition persists, that person will feel hungry when they shouldn't and so over eat. This behaviour shouldn't, imo, be mistaken for and labelled as intentional and therefore, greed.

what you've described there sounds like prader willi syndrome....

" and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity."

remember watching something at school about this. some poor fella was trying to eart soap to full himself up. very rare, mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prader%E2%80%93Willi_syndrome

the vast majority of fat people are fat because they eat too much and don't move enough. and my family is FAT.... my mum has type II diabetes becuase she ate too much and drove everywhere. she had seven sisters, (one topped herself) and only two of those were what you would call "normal weight". the rest are fat.

it really struck me the other month when i was over in the UK how many fat people there are.

here in Germany it's not unusual to see a fattie, but the number of fatties is much lower than the UK.

i have little sympathy for fat people, and i'm saying that as someone who has a fat mum (as much as i love her, it's true).

Being obese, esp morbid obesity, is disabling though isn't it?

Is how it occurs immaterial to this classification, and a separate issue?

That article is pure clickbait fwiw

I have a cure for obesity - Botox to the pie arm.

[quote=GrahamS ]64% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.

I'm contributing to that at the moment - with a 32" waist!

I wasn't asking for figures with regards to how people are overweight or obese. It was with reference to this remark by JY :
"Some are ill and dependent but most are not"

Those figures are [i]sort o[/i]f an answer to that too.

If 64% of the adult population are overweight or obese then to contradict Junkyard's statement more than half of them would be that way through illness or dependency.

I'm not convinced that 1 in 3 of the population are obese through illness or dependency. Certainly doesn't tally with my personal experience of overweight folk (including myself).

Ernie I am not sure what you r point is here

you dont think what I said / what graham has said is true or you want an exact figure

Which is it?

Causes of obesity

Obesity is generally caused by consuming more calories – particularly those in fatty and sugary foods – than you burn off through physical activity. The excess energy is then stored by the body as fat.
Obesity is an increasingly common problem, because many modern lifestyles often promote eating excessive amounts of cheap, high-calorie food and spending a lot of time sitting at desks, on sofas or in cars.
There are also some underlying health conditions that can occasionally contribute to weight gain, such as an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), although conditions such as this don’t usually cause weight problems if they are effectively controlled with medication.
Read more about the causes of obesity

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Causes.aspx

If you want a precise % i do not have it but I think most, but the terminally argumentative, would accept what i said is true

http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/why-are-low-income-and-food-insecure-people-vulnerable-to-obesity/

http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/race_class/othergirlsstuff.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130828131932.htm

Ernie I am not sure what you r point is here

You said : "Some are ill and dependent but most are not". I wondered how many were "ill and dependent". Apparently you don't know and your comment :

[i]If you want a precise % i do not have it but I think most, but the terminally argumentative, would accept what i said is true [/i]

Suggests that you don't much appreciate anyone daring to ask any questions.

I'm sure you're right of course 🙂

thanks for agreeing with me and the equally vague NHS