Is obesity the cause of one's lack of motivation and priorities in life, or is obesity the result of lack of education? Some would maybe even argue genetics on this.

I honestly think it's the cause of lack of education. I think if you grow up in a home where the parents are making smart healthful decisions for themselves and show by example how to take care of their bodies, the children in that household will grow up with the same behaviors. I say that because my kids know we go to the gym, that we go for long runs and that we like to play outdoors. Our kids want to go to the gym with us. They ask us questions about the things we do there, how far we run, why we're so sweaty and if they can use the gym equipment. Often they are wanting to run on the treadmill at home. They want to show us their sweat! Wierd? YEs...LOL!

I, however, grew up in a house hold where we lived on a "farmers' diet". We had steak, potatoes, and sweets all the time. Or something fried or high in calories. It wasn't until I started getting interested in biology and started learning about metabolism and healthful eating habits (the food pyramid, etc) that I realized our family could definitely improve on a few areas.

Today, I am making better decisions than my parents did not just with my eating haibts but also in the way I want my body to stay healthy. When I look at how my parents grew up and how I am now a parent to my kids, I am so glad that I have been given more opportunity to learn more about healthier eating habits and lifestyle choices. They have been living and doing the same things for years and years. It's what they know and are comfortable with. However, they are both overweight and do very little in the way of exercise and given my parent's parents' health history, I worry about the having high blood pressure, diabetes and other health isses.

This is why I feel obesity is not a direct cause of laziness but rather lack of education.

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I think in alot of cases obesity are due to genetics or metobolic disorders.

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There are many causes. My parents were not overweight at all. My mom was the most slender - but she smoked. Her sisters were huge/did not smoke. Same on my dad's side. We didn't have much money, so meals were pretty much healthy and frugal. She NEVER had snacks like twinkies or something like that in the house. My sister and I would kill for something like that, and, if on the rare occasion, like a party where there might be chips, we would just shove as much food into our mouths as possible. As we entered our teens, we would hang by the food table at any social gathering because it was access to food that we never would get at home (shrimp, or cakes, or whatever). My sisters and I all struggle w/ our weight, and diabetes is rampant on my dad's side.

My neighbor across the street always had all sorts of junk food in the house. Every night I'd go spend the evening with my friend, and her mother would come downstairs with a "tray" for Lisa. It had hostess snacks, fruits, cheese, a milkshake, cookies - a whole tray of food. You can imagine the excuses I would make to try to stay there late enough so I could partake in this tray. All sorts of snacks were always available. Those 3 girls (all the same ages as me and my sisters) - I don't think a single one is over 110 lbs.

In our case, we think it was the lack of access to those food that drove an intense desire. If they were just treated as normal, common foods, they might not have been such a temptation to us.

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That said, do you think that because your parents taught you what "good foods" were from "bad foods" you were able to "avoid" the temptation more than someone who wasn't taught the difference?

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I think genetics first has a role, then education.

My dad and his sisters (my aunts) are all thin - and can eat like mad. Until I was in my 20's I was the same way - 4000 calories a day was needed just to maintain and "underweight" body type. My metabolism finally slowed, and I finally gained weight, but it still is a lot better than many. Part of it is I have a mildly hyperactive thyroid, which is monitored closely (treatment made me very sick).

I can eat junk food/high calories/high fat and not "grow", unless I really really over do it on a regular basis. When I do wish to lose weight, which right now is the first time I've ever tried (baby weight woo!), it comes off fast and easy - no exercise, no hunger, just limiting to good, natural, non-processed food and "normal" portion sizes of higher fat and simple carb/starch foods. I still eat as much fruit and veg as I can pack into me.

My mom eats very well, but has always struggled with her weight. She is a life Weight Watchers member, and has been going for years. She is down in her weight, but still technically overweight. If she thinks about junk food, she gains.

Everyone is different!

EDIT: Forgot to mention my mom works out daily, including swimming at least a mile a day. I do not workout, or do any sort of planned exercise, the most I can hope for is not falling on my face when attempting to walk.

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I think obesity is a complex issue that can't be laid to one cause. I think there are many genetic components and people do have different metabolic rates, so there are some medical aspects and it can't be attributed solely to lack of education or laziness. In SOME cases it may be lack of education, but certainly not all. I am obese, but it's certainly not from lack of education. I have a master's degree in nursing, have done weight watchers classes and met with a nutritionist, etc.....so I KNOW about healthy diets, even if I don't follow them. In some cases I think it is more of a motivational issue.

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I don't think parents should harp on eating healthy with small children. That could lead to eating disorders or as Mari suggests, rebeling. I think the key is to teach children to enjoy everything in moderation.

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~Happiness is a large family~

I don't think it's black and white--There are genetics, lack of education, poor choices and other physical things that can cause a person to be obese. There is no right or wrong answer to why people are obese, there are many.

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"It's time to move from what we can do, to what we must do, to what we will do." ~Hillary Clinton

Ok, it took me 10 minutes to get my post and this is exactly what I meant, lol.

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"It's time to move from what we can do, to what we must do, to what we will do." ~Hillary Clinton

I think the problem with obesity is a combination of things and they may be different from individual to individual. I think one of the big problems we have is our life style. People are so busy and work so much that many do not have time for exercise. Portion sizes have increased over time, and on top of that it is not safe to let your children run all over the neighborhood like I did when I was young.

I know in my case I make pretty good food choices. My mother is a dietician. I think my combination of problems are genetics, less activity, slowing metabolism, and portion control. I think pregnancy and breast feeding also contributed.