Fat is a Mental Issue

Written by SuenMike Wednesday, 17 November 2010 00:00

I just finished watching Panorama’s report on Britain’s burgeoning waste-line: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00w4dsy/Panorama_Tax_the_Fat/.    It didn’t say anything we don’t already know.

I’m puzzled with the constraints around the fat debate.  It seems that you can only talk about two things – you guessed it  - diet and exercise.  You can talk about the chicken or you can bring up the egg – but don’t say anything else!  

The problem with those constraints is the fact that human beings are much, much more than just bodies.   It turns out we are also thinking critters!  And much of our behaviour is determined by the beliefs and unconscious influences we carry in our heads.  The fact that advertising influences our eating choices so much gives testimony to that fact.  So do a number of other things – the idea that we like variety and adventure in food and that we like to try new things.  We appreciate when someone takes the time to make food look good.   We are attracted to food on an aesthetic level and enjoy having an assortment of textures and colours to eat.

 In short, we eat with our minds.  Food is much more than the physical to us; it goes through a mental process as we wonder exactly what to eat, how to prepare it, what plate to put it on.  And it is this mental component that we need to examine if we want to get to the bottom of the overeating question.

Obviously, it is a huge question and I readily admit that sometimes the body and its hormones are involved. But I’ve also noticed (and I’m sure I’m not alone here) that I also over-eat when I’m bored or lonely or upset.    When I’m frustrated with a problem or low and want to cheer myself up, when there’s nothing else to do, I find myself opening the fridge. 

On the other hand, I find myself not eating when I’m interested in something else.  When I’m gardening or writing, when I’m engaged in an activity I love, I find that I don’t make another cup of tea or open that second bag of crisps.  And, since it’s sometimes difficult to realise how much we’re not living life to the fullest, we don’t fully understand how much we rely on eating to fill this spiritual void.

I think the obesity epidemic is more about this lack of Life than diet or exercise; it basically reflects a society-wide boredom.  It’s disappointing that the media and the medical establishment are too scared or too simplistic to go down that line of enquiry.  While we all go on diets, the nation-wide debate needs to be enlarged.