A person becomes obese unknowingly. The weight increases by 50 to 100 grams daily and the weight gain is unnoticed. Obese people rarely think that they have a medical problem and blame obesity on genes and hormones. By doing so effectively they absolve themselves of guilt of wrong eating or having wrong lifestyle. Fat people are desperate to loose weight but are not positively motivated to take actions conducive to losing weight. So there are no serious attempts to loose weight. People become obese in years time but want to loose weight in days. Many businessmen have exploited these expectations of magic cure of obesity by offering fancy weight loss programs, weight loss pills and Imported machines.
In reality these are all gimmicks, which lighten the purse of obese by few thousands with no results.
There are few centers run by gymnasiums and nutritional advisors, which follow crash dieting with excessive physical workouts. People definitely loose weight rapidly, but also regain rapidly after they are off the program. Because the chosen method of weight loss is not part of normal lifestyle, and a person reverts back to faulty food habits and lifestyle after the program.
A Fat person is also poorly motivated to loose weight and maintain the weight. Motivation to loose weight comes as an afterthought during someday but the momentum is not there. Everyday he postpones the issue of weight loss, and thinks, I will begin from tomorrow, today let me eat my hearts content!! A person seriously decides to loose weight in few situations which are called triggers-
· Before searching for life partner, one wishes to be presentable.
· Loss of interest by spouse in sexual act.
· Medical disease- Hypertension, Diabetes, Respiratory problems, Joint pain, Back pains, Cardiac complaints, etc.
· If Job profile needs fit person- like airhostess, armed services, marketing personnel.
· Very few individuals wish to lose weight to be healthy for the sake of being healthy.
A fat person by society is considered as a fool, who overeats and has becomes fat. He is made a butt of jokes and looked down, so a fat person develops a jovial attitude, which is a cover for depression.
The psychology can be summed as follows-
1. Tried to lose weight, lost few kgs, but regained all back in matter of days. Hence wt loss is a very difficult task, which cannot be done.
2. They become complacent about weight, and disregard barbs about being overweight.
3. They become comfortable about obesity, blaming it all on genes or some vague illness or happenings.Like- I became overweight after Caesarian or after episode of typhoid.
4. They lose confidence in themselves, that they have the required determination to follow any program.
5. Obese people think that they know everything about –how to lose weight. And so are skeptical of new knowledge.
6. They distrust anyone offering weight loss programs, even preferring not to listen to anyone talking about weight loss. They are very skeptical, as they have failed n number of times to lose weight. They think God has made them the way they are and there is no remedy.
Family and friends also get comfortable with obesity and usually stop commenting on this issue.
7. No reason is strong enough for them to do anything seriously to lose weight.
8. They generally eat a lot, saying that as it is I am fat, so what difference does that make.
THE ULTIMATE PARADOX
Many fat people don’t want to reduce. They fear success. They know that when they lose weight and look differently people will react with them differently. They fear that they wouldn’t be able to handle the adulations and attractions from other sex. They have become comfortable with obesity and the related environment and fear that if they successfully reduce they would be unable to cope with changed situations.
PSYCHOLOGY OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES-
People in immediate circle of an obese person , derive a perverse pleasure of seeing that the obese remains a obese. If an obese person refuses helpings, they forcefully feed them, saying- today you don’t do dieting, start from tomorrow.
Love and affection to others in most cultures is demonstrated by offering food. Hence people overdo that and become very much insistent that the food should be consumed. Also its bad manners to leave leftovers in plate.
So an obese despite his hunger being met is forced to eat wrong quantities, wrong type of food and on wrong timings.
Many fat people do not wish to lose weight as they will lose sympathy of family. Few fat people want to shirk work and responsibility and hide behind the fact that they are destined by GOD to be fat!!!