I have been reading posts from people believing that their weight problems is their own entire fault! Well is it?
(Extract from http://www.ivanpavlov.com/ )

Conditioned vs. Innate Reflex
An innate reflex is an instinctive and unlearned reaction to a stimulus. Although we do not know the exact cause of it, yawning is an innate reflex, as it is seen in newborn infants as well as adults. It is believed that yawning occurs as the result of a change in physical state, from alertness to fatigue or as we awake from sleep. Sneezing is another example of an innate reflex, as it is the uncontrolled reaction to the introduction of foreign particles in one's nose, or a rapid change in temperature. Attempts to stifle a sneeze are often unsuccessful, as the involuntary reaction is already underway.
A conditioned reflex is learned, either through negative or positive stimuli. The fear of snakes is a learned reflex, as young children who would play with snakes and other reptiles with innocent fascination are soon taught to fear by example or stimuli i.e., a mother screams and pulls her child away from a harmless garter snake, reinforcing the gesture with a statement such as "You could have been bitten!"

Well we all have television and as Pavlov’s dogs where conditioned to salivate on the ringing of a bell, we are induced to believe that this food or that food is good for us.

So enter the adverts on the TV. In the UK adverts have to be truthful and accurate, but in most adverts the truth is very thinly spread, with words like can, could, might and may, all a copout’s for the truth.
In the 60’s sublimable advertising was used and later outlawed. So blanket advertising was introduced, now every few minutes we are told that this or that (usually) frankinfood is time saving, stick it in the microwave (your time is precious)
Its lo-fat so its good for you (no mention of added sugar) and the pester factor, “aim the adds at the kids” peer pressure and lots, lots more.
Advertisers have no morals; all that they care about is their own huge salaries, as with the processed food manufactures profit is their God, and they know that advertising “PAYS” (look at what it costs to advertise when the super bowl is on TV) they don’t pay that out for nothing, they pay up because it will reach millions of potential customers and more profit.

So what I am saying? Well you may have put the food in your mouth that caused the weight gain but where you conditioned thro the media advertising to believe it was ok to do so? Therefore it is not your fault; you have been conditioned to do so

A conditioned reflex is learned, either through negative or positive stimuli.

True, we have been conditioned to do so....

HOWEVER...

One of the rules of life is: There is a price to pay for over-indulgence.

The advertising world entices us into doing things that we know we shouldn't do. Do we really NEED a new car? No, but the advertising industry makes it so attractive, that it's hard to resist. The same applies to food, beer, cell phones, etc, etc, etc.

We are bombarded with this stuff through the sight and sound all day every day..........No wonder it's so hard to resist!!!!

The ability to resist temptation and having self-control are great gifts. It took me decades to finally figure that out!

No...it my fault. I am intelligent and well educated. I can research and I was fully aware the way I was eating was wrong. I blame no one but myself. Not my mom, advertisers, anyone. To do otherwise makes me a victim and that, I am not. To become a victim gives me a perfect excuse when I fail.

I take full responsibility for my weight gain AND my weight loss.

hi toning up,

well your weight loss is and your achivement

your weight gain was planed by others and not your MOM

well I am one of the suckers these adverts are aimed at I suppose because up to a few weeks ago I was one of the nay sayers about low carb dieting (I even told my mom not to do it because of the health risks, she is very overweight so much so that I am worried we will not have her around for long ). I didnt know anything about it except the anti atkins propoganda that was being spouted on the news. I was eating grain bars, wholemeal bread, potato salad and other supposedly healthy stuff and wondering why I was putting on weight.
I believed I was eating correctly but so obviously wasnt.

Well, obviously I put the food into my mouth, it's not like anyone force fed me. However, my appetite was increased dramatically by a medicine I was temporarily put on. Draw your own conclusions. =P

I gained weight from:

-Overeating
-Eating the wrong foods
-Too little exercise

Purely my doing. No one else to blame. Now I'm taking the steps to correct my errors.

I gained from eating poorly during 2 pregnancies, depression related eating and siting at my computer instead of exercising.

I do sometimes miss a totinos pizza cooked in the microwave and rolled up like a buritto though

How I lost the first time around was through alot of exercise and low fat. Yes for some low fat can work. After my second pregnancy low fat just wasn't working anymore, and with a son and SO to feed, it was much harder. With Atkins I got to the same weight as with low fat, even a bit lower. I completely changed my taste buds and got to enjoy a much wider variety of foods. I also got clear skin.

The buck stops here.

Sorry, Lez, but your analysis leaves a lot to be desired. If advertising were the main cause of the obesity epidemic, the first rule of Atkins Induction would be "Throw away your TV." I think you place entirely too much weight (no pun intended) on the role of advertising.

If you want to assign blame, start with the food processors who are busily putting sugar or HFCS in practically EVERYTHING. However, the question of "Whose fault is it that I'm so fat?" seems less useful and interesting to me than the question, "What's the best way for me to lose the excess weight and keep it off?"

It was my fault. I gained weight when I was a teenager, and perhaps a little ignorant when it came to what I should and shouldnt be eating, and how much ect. Regardless, it was still my fault.

I'm sorry but I grew up in Poland with no *at that time* advertising at all and I was a fat kid until the age of 16 or so......

Now I live in Germany with six bakeries along my every day walking route plus heavy adverts for carbs absolutely everywhere and I'm thin.......

Alina

Hi Lez,

As a language teacher I have learned to back away from behaviourist theories of langauge aquisition and now I don't believe in bahaviourism in general.

The reasons I'm fat are because:
1. I gave up an active job to become a teacher.
2. I gave up sport thinking I had no time.
3. I was greedy and used to eat tons of Belarusian oatmeal biscuits and wafers during the night. (I could polish off a kilo of biscuits in one nocternal session).
Non of these behaviour traits are endorsed by the media/advertising.

It is all my own fault I am fat and all credit goes to me that I am losing. (As well as my hero, Dr Atkins).

I agree that the weight I had put on in the beginning was indeed my own fault I was doing a sit down driving job, very little exercise and eating the wrong stuff at the wrong time but when i decided to do something about it I ate what I was being told was healthy and it wasnt.

I feel its our fault if your overweight but also we must blame our society as well for not educating us. We are conditioned from the time were born to eat sugar and carbs and we all know that when you do that, it creates more cravings and thus obesity. Plus factor in the endless supply of junk at the grocery store and the fast food places and you get an obese society.