Dear DOCTOR Owen:

I see so many fat people that it makes me wonder: “What’s becoming of this world?” Have we chosen to be such seekers of pleasure that we cannot even control our appetites? Whatever happened to self-discipline and willpower? If we keep going in this direction, we won’t be able to accomplish anything as a society. It is disheartening to believe that we are so weak as a culture. I am afraid that America is “going down the tubes.”

Willie Willpower

Dear “Willie”:

Your view of obesity is widely held. That is, compared to “thin” people, the obese are viewed as less disciplined, less successful, lazy, stupid, amoral, unproductive pleasure seekers. (What’s wrong with pleasure?) Your views are confirmed in study after study. Even an editorial in a major city newspaper recently lambasted the American Obesity Association for petitioning Congress for more obesity research funding, public awareness, and anti-discrimination action. The writer’s statement that people choose to be obese is the ultimate basic belief of many, maybe even most Americans—even if they themselves are obese.

In the Bible, Matthew (11:18) and Luke (7:33) describe gluttony as a moral failing. In addition, the Bible implies that gluttons are rich, irreverent of restraint, and akin to being tax collectors. Similar remarks are made in the Old Testament. Fasting as a religious attribute is part of the Judeo-Christian tradition and most other major religions of the world.

Once entrenched deeply into our belief system, it is hard to change people’s minds. But people’s mind-sets are not consistent with current scientific data or dietary common sense. Today, people actually eat fewer calories than they did at the turn of the century. Then, approximately 90% of people lived on farms and toiled daily. (I like the word “toil” because it parallels character.) Our lives have become more convenient, however, and are devoid of activity. Is that a moral failing? Perhaps we should ban TV remote control devices!

In a Diet Therapy class at my clinic, I recently described a 4100-calorie breakfast/lunch meal that was being promoted at a famous fast food burger restaurant. A 150-pound, 40-year-old female would have to eat a 500-calorie liquid supplemented diet for 2.8 days to break even in calories from this meal. The average 220-pound, 40-year-old man would need 1.6 days of the same diet to break even and not gain weight.

Do you feel like a glutton whenever you eat a routine fast food meal? Do you feel like a sloth for not walking the 28 miles necessary to burn off that meal?

This is only one of countless examples I have, which demonstrate the calorie imbalance that is prevalent in our current culture.

I happen to like our culture. I love all the conveniences and hate manual labor. I would rather work out in the gym at 72 degrees for a whole day than spend an hour in the yard at 90 degrees Fahrenheit! Does that make me less of a person?

The word “willpower” is made up of two words: “will” and “power.” “Will” connotes moral character. “Lack of power” is (or connotes)] failure. “Knowledge” means knowing. Discipline entails knowledge and skills that must be practiced over time.

Managing anything requires skills. At the clinic, we diet and health counselors teach the arithmetic of weight management. Once people see that weight management is about arithmetic and not moral failure, they view themselves and others who are obese differently.

Too often, society’s attitude toward the obese is prejudicial: “Treat them differently. Relate to them differently. They are not like you and me, so there is something wrong with them.” What a surefire way to create animosity, pain, fear, anger, defensiveness, depression, and failure in others!