As always, it is helpful to look at the various attempts that have been made to turn back the tide of childhood obesity, or at the very least, to prevent the surpassing of its current level. This series highlights why many parents so fervently hope that their children will not become obese, and how some parents want to do everything possible to keep this from happening. Sadly, circumstance has placed in the way of that worthy ambition a major stumbling block, i.e., the very fact that we are human.
If Earthlings are being surveilled and discussed by intelligent observers from somewhere else, our attitude toward food must leave them deeply puzzled. One extraterrestrial scientist says, “You know, I comprehend the ones who never have enough to eat. Their goal is basic survival, to sustain life itself. If they think about food and eating all the time, this is perfectly understandable.”
They just don’t get it
And the Extraterrestrial colleague says, “Sure. But look at the others, the ones who have so much food, they drown in it. They too think about consumption all the time! Build their day around it. Count up their energy units. All kinds of crazy nonsense that wastes the very essence of life they are so avid to preserve.”
The first ET scientist shakes one of its heads and says, “Check out this human specimen I’ve been observing. It does not want its body to increase in size. This could be prevented by causing some energy to be expended. So — and you won’t believe this — it goes out and activates its personal automated vehicle, in order to travel to the gym and — wait, what do they call it? — ‘Do some exercise’.”
It comes with the cream
Those researchers write a paper about how a little thing called “human nature” will always get in the way, warp our perceptions, pervert our best impulses, and waste our time and precious energy as we quarrel over details and side issues. Meanwhile, we are all in the same metaphorical sinking ship, and because of that, the best we can do, here on the Titanic, is to rearrange the deck chairs and play a tune, which explains the importance of Art in our relationship with the Universe.
Human nature has very much the appearance of being a package deal, where we must take the bitter with the better, and where we spend enormous energy to sabotage our own best interests. In the course of trying to solve our huge problems, we are capable of ideas and actions that turn out to be outrageously counterproductive. Often, enormous damage has been done before we figure this out, if we ever do. We humans are such contrarians, we are almost never able to totally stop working against our own best interests.
Parents are in a great position to understand how obesity works because they have gone through the experiences of being a child, an adolescent, and a young adult. Women are especially aware, because they are going to gain a certain amount of weight as expectant mothers, and of course, the fathers will notice the size increase too.
At any rate, it is to be hoped (though rarely achieved) that, once we understand what a drag it is to get out of obesity, we parents will be deeply inspired to instead prevent obesity. It is very easy to say that families should seek help from therapists. The next steps, finding a good therapist and affording the care, are quite a lot more difficult — and the hard part has not even started yet. Even with the aid of a professional, family conflicts and traumas can be incredibly difficult to cope with. Also, now in particular, the societal sources of help are drying up.
At any rate, after taking the long way round, we circle back to the main subject of this sequence, which is the type of therapy called IFS, or Internal Family Systems, about which there are two very important things to know. First, IFS has been widely utilized to address eating disorders and seems to have been promoted as particularly adaptable to this specific spectrum of problems.
Also, “Some patients say it’s destroyed their lives.”
(To be continued…)
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “The Therapy That Can Break You,” TheCut.com, 10/30/25
Image by lethanhstudio/Pixabay
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