Why aren't the habits that cause obesity recognized as an actual eating disorder, contrasting anorexia?

Question

Those suffering from anorexia fail to see themselves as thin enough.

But what about the vast majority of America who refuse to see themselves as fat?!

Of course obesity is criticized as a unhealthy physical STATE, but why isn't the cause more heavily criticized as a legitimate EATING DISORDER. In terms of the skewed self-perception, it is very directly related to the same blindness associated with anorexia.

Answer 1

It's called Compulsive Overeating Disorder and it does involve some elements of skewed perception..... not necessarily "self" perception.  

Answer 2

I've been trying to find the answer to that too.

Answer 3

I totally agree with what you're saying. I think it's the fact that the people who are fat are saying the anorexic people have a disorder because they're jealous of being thin. While, the majority of America is fat and therefore they have the numbers to be as ignorant as they want.

I'm exaggerating. I really dont know, but this is one way to look at it!

Answer 4

Because the people who are obese constantly act like they are persecuted and they can't help the way they look. Some will also say  real women have meat on them, or that's what real bodies are supposed to look like (yeah but not THAT much). And with the amount of people who will jump at any chance of fast cash they know they can file a suit that someone is discriminating them because of their size and then they get revered because of their size.

Personally I think it's a bit ridiculous and I absolutely agree with you. Some people, nutritionists and such, do refer to it as an eating disorder but they might also tag another disorder on with it such as Depression, Anxiety, Stress, etc. I don't consider any of those to be a real cause. I have Severe Depression among other things. I could find solace in food but I have better discipline than that, and that's really what it comes down to, IMO.

And for those people who think fat is the new beautiful or the new figure...since when is an unhealthy lifestyle considered a good thing? You don't see any heroin addicts being praised because of what they put into their bodies, so why should obese people have that privilege? Our bodies were meant to be a certain size and that size depends on our height and width. There is a healthy weight we should weigh. Our bodies weren't designed to weigh 300 pounds.

Answer 5

Because being thin or undereating isn't an eating disorder and neither is being fat. The vast majority of the obese recognize that they are overweight. And the majority are trying to lose weight.

Routinely eating to the point of being uncomfortable *is* considered a disorder - binge eating disorder. But just saying that fat people must be eating past fullness or the point of discomfort because they're fat isn't borne out.

People have different appetites (we know this, because tall/muscular people *have* to consume a lot more calories than petite people - so there must be a different regulation of their appetite. So you don't know that someone who's eating more than you must have gotten full at the same time you did, and just kept eating longer. In fact, it doesn't work that way at all.