Posted: Jan 17, 2012 12:33 am
Matt_B wrote:
Just as it happens, my father-in-law is obese, diabetic and has had heart surgery. The thing is, he's lived like that for the past twenty years since he retired. Sure, it's not an ideal state of affairs health-wise but, despite all the medical complications associated with it, he's not even close to being at the same risk as the sort of anorexic who would get sectioned, and that's pretty much the point I'm trying to make.
Now, that's one person and that doesn't constitute a study, but I'd be surprised if there are that many morbidly obese people who are genuinely at the same level of risk as anorexics whose condition is severe enough to be sectioned. Of course, those who are should be given appropriate medical treatment psychiatric or otherwise, but I maintain that the argument as first stated is flawed.
Yes, he's lived a long time because he got physical treatment. However, if someone who is starving themselves has a life threatening emergency they can't just go to a regular hospital and get an IV. They are also forced to into getting psych treatment. If someone has a life threatening emergency from eating too much (unconscious or whatever) they can just go to a regular hospital for treatment and psych treatment is not mandatory. They are both in life threatening emergencies, so saying the difference is one of emergency doesn't make sense.