| > I think obese people fit the definition of addicts. Most, in fact, do not. > Most of the time, other addictions are fought by pushing awareness on the person, forcing them to recognize they have a problem and that they need to change. That's not particularly true. Some addictions are managed through medical interventions, and those that are addressed through counseling usually start with the addict coming to the realization and seeking treatment, not "pushing awareness" on the addict. > I don't hear much "you were born this way" or "that's just what your body wants" for other drugs. Actually, recognition that problems with substance use (whether or not they end up in actual addiction) often originate in clumsy attempts at self-medicating real conditions and that finding alternate means of addressing those underlying conditions is important in enabling people to manage substance use problems is, as I understand it, quite important in modern substance use disorder treatment. > Is it because other drugs are always viewed negatively, whereas food is a pillar of life under normal circumstances? Plenty of drugs to which one can be addicted are not "always viewed negatively". That's really only true (and only loosely in that case) of illegal drugs, which overlap with potentially addictive drugs. |