Should obesity be considered a disability?

I read on a recent post:  "apparently obesity is not covered under the ADA." I don't think people that are obese should be discriminated against, however, I'm not convinced that it should be protected under the American's with Disabilities Act.  Any thoughts? 

Original Post by andie-joe:

PG I'm not very good at writing what I am trying to explain, let me try once more..

(excuse me writing things that are obvious but i need to to try and explain what i mean and i'll take it away from food for my example).

Obsession is a compulsion of preoccupying the mind with something, so someone who say is a drug addict has the absolute determination that against all the odds they are going to get lets say heroin, nothing will stop them from reaching their goal, they need it, want it and will get it, this strength of will is what will make it happen. 

So say this addict decides they want to go clean you treat this determination by channelling it in a different more healthy direction, say weight training, the strength of will which once got them their heroin is now being burned up in the gym they start to see the results of their efforts and this helps to feed the new direction. (They will probably be having counselling too to learn to keep compulsions in check but that's for another day).

The heroin is the weakness but the compulsion/determination to get it is a strength to be tapped.

Ya digging me :D

 

yeah...no, i'm not digging you.  i would say that the compulsion is the weakness; the heroin is just the way it's expressed.  being compulsive about weight training might be less destructive in terms of purely physical health (in that the person probably isn't going to drop dead by that alone), but the compulsion is still self-destructive and likely to interfere with normal functioning (work, relationships, etc.).

i understand that some compulsions are more socially acceptable than others, but that doesn't make them healthy. 

lol, yeah on going compulsion is destructive but first you use it to redirect then as i said you work with them to learn to control it after they are doing something less harmful.

If you just stopped whatever it was there is nothing to fill the gap that was made by the original obsession.

 anyway i can't explain it any better than that.......

this is a hard question for me to answer. My dad uses a wheelchair because he is paralyzed due to a tumor in his spinal cord. He works out all the time, plays wheelchair tennis and is a very healthy eater. He treats his body like a shrine even when it has failed him in many ways.

So on one hand, I am inclined to say "no."

However, I do believe that our culture and our government have contributed to the "obese society" we live in. One example: pulling funding from schools (thanks, GOP) has forced schools to open up their cafeterias to fast food establishments and helped create this obese generation. In that regard, I would say "yes."

Difficult question.

erin, that's so cool that you're dad does that.  my mom is in a wheelchair due to a stroke, and she's pretty much given up.  after stroke she was in hospital for a couple of months, then went to a rehabilitation place for about three more, and while she was there she was taking steps, even walking up and down stairs with help.  but once she got home, she quit working at it, and now half the time i have to remind her that she still has one hand and one leg that do work.

she couldn't have it her way, so she's decided not to try it any other way.  just stubborn.

none of that is relevant to this conversation, though.  my mom had already retired when she had her stroke, so she doesn't qualify for any disability benefits, even though my parents have had to completely alter their lifestyle.

Original Post by andie-joe:

Not when taken and used as the foundation to work with because behind that compulsion lies strength and determination.

But as I know that I am on a losing road here and won't convince you we will just have to once again agree to differ. :)

Compulsion is the opposite of determination. It's when your will and your actions do NOT coincide. You want to NOT do something but you can't stop. What you are doing is entirely contrary to your goals.

It's not that when someone is engaging in compulsive activity, that they really want to see it through and therefore they do. Often there's a (theoretical) voice screaming in their head for them to stop, but they can't.

Sorry, andie, I just don't see the connection. I've seen people seeking out heroin fixes, and that is not really "determination" that they have.

Original Post by trustwomen:

Original Post by andie-joe:

Not when taken and used as the foundation to work with because behind that compulsion lies strength and determination.

But as I know that I am on a losing road here and won't convince you we will just have to once again agree to differ. :)

Compulsion is the opposite of determination. It's when your will and your actions do NOT coincide. You want to NOT do something but you can't stop. What you are doing is entirely contrary to your goals.

It's not that when someone is engaging in compulsive activity, that they really want to see it through and therefore they do. Often there's a (theoretical) voice screaming in their head for them to stop, but they can't.

Sorry, andie, I just don't see the connection. I've seen people seeking out heroin fixes, and that is not really "determination" that they have.

Compulsions is certainly not the opposite of determination.  I dont know it that it has an opposite but the closest I could imagine would perhaps be some form of free will resistance.

Granted, determination doesnt adequately summarize someone trying to get their fix but its definitely a powerful aspect of the compulsive behavior and not contrary.  Determining involves choice but determination, as a human trait, does not.  It requires adamament resolve and as Andie accurately assessed in the the drug addict scenario, compulsion can be the cause of some of the most powerful determination.

Compulsion also does not require behavior and goals to be contrary. Its more obvious when they are and when theyre not, the lack of free will is still concerning.  It doesnt even have to be negative. It doesnt have to be obsessive. It simply has to be a powerful, difficult to resist mental force that compels behavior.

The issue of conflict seems rooted in how determination is connected to compulsion as its not behind it but resulting from it. So youve a condition that easily overrides one's free will which results in a powerfully driven behavior but significantly, not one of choice.

trust I'm not going on with this it's clear that use are just going to contradict it no matter what i say, but i'll be sure to tell my boy friend  that his councillors don't have a clue what they are talking about, he's a recovering meth/heroin addict who has channelled his strength in the direction of weight training and he is doing very well.

hang loose people.........

Original Post by andie-joe:

trust I'm not going on with this it's clear that use are just going to contradict it no matter what i say, but i'll be sure to tell my boy friend  that his councillors don't have a clue what they are talking about, he's a recovering meth/heroin addict who has channelled his strength in the direction of weight training and he is doing very well.

hang loose people.........

 Totally off subject, but I just have to say congrats to your boyfriend.  From what I hear, meth addictions is one of the hardest to try to recover from.  People who are able to recover from meth are very strong, indeed.  He should be very proud of himself.  :D

Thank you peaches I'll be sure to pass that on, he's been clean now for Ohh must be 2yrs+ but he says himself that every day brings new challenges for him so it's definitely a working progress. He is focused now on health but not obsessed