Why does an anorexic person have to be in a mental institution.. but a severely overweight person doesn't ??

Answer:
That's a good point...what I don't understand is how people react towards anorexic people...saying they have a serious problem and they need professional help but to people who are overweight most react with disgust and don't really care to suggest any type of help or treatment.

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Very Very Good POINT!

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sometimes they are.

plus i really thought mental institutions were done away with? I think theres "Facilities" now, but they're vastly different from a mental instution.

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probably cos anorexia will kill you a lot qucker that obesity. Very interesting thought though.

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good point. atm in this country there is much debate about a similar subject.

smoking is greatly discouraged by the state, there are laws stating that cigarette packages should have texts on them like 'smoking kills' and 'Contents: 40g Tar'
extra taxes are raised on cigarettes. The state is now proposing similar actions to be taken against fastfoods chains and snackbar's.

its much better to simply try to change the mindset of people though, getting a more active society. for some reason many people in todays society think its normal for them to not practice any sports at all.

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Anorexia, as you know is an eating disorder...

Aside from the physical risks, it is normally accompanied by low self image, depression and possibly other psychological problems.

If a person is at the state where they are killing themselves (very rapidly) and is unable to reason this out in their own mind, then they probably need serious care.

While you could also reason that really overweight people also have a serious eating disorder - which is true, normally the immediate danger to that person is pretty slim - what is more of a concern is their long term health.

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because they are in the state institution called the hospital where I work. Trust me people need to stop eating after they get over 300 or 400 lbs, the human body is just not meant to be that huge.

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Maybe because Anorexic people usually think that they are fat or need to take control of themselves by doing so or maybe that they dont deserve to eat which is all in their heads...Overweight people eat (and become fat) because they like to eat...

I mean im no doctor, but just an idea.

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It depends on the situation. Anorexia is a mental condition/disease, it needs to be treated in such a facility. Severely overweight people are not necessarily mentally ill, physically, yes, but not always mentally. There are some mental conditions which cause one to gain weight, but the majority of the time, it's more of a physical issue.

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Excessive Compulsive overeating is an eating disorder also, but I think anorexia is treated in a facility more often because an anorexic is in more immediate danger than an overweight person. Of course they are both unhealthy, but the consequences of anorexia are much faster

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