Years ago a chick I was seeing had an 8-yr-old daughter who was growing rather obese. The kid would squirrel away junk food and snacks in her room like a pack rat - on top of second and third helpings she'd have at the dinner table.
On top of that, she was somewhat lethargic...prefering to sit around watching TV or doing something that required no effort, as opposed to riding a bike, playing in the yard, etc.
I was constantly on my GF's case about it - trying to make her understand how much effect the obesity was having on the girl, and the future health problems she'd face later in life.
Her typical excuse was a variation of, "If I don't let her eat what she wants, she'll think its because I think she's fat and that'll lead to self-esteem issues. When I was a kid other kids always made fun of me because of my weight - so I ate more to make myself happy."
Huh?
Her excuses at the time made no logical sense whatsoever.
The fact remained - the kid IS/WAS fat.
Both the mother and daughter had health issues - they were always frequent flyers at the hospital for one ailment or another. But nothing I could do or say would alter their mindset about food. I took over the grocery shopping in the household and made an effort to buy only healthy food. That lasted awhile until the GF started complaining, "There's never anything to eat in the house" (meaning - no junk food). So off she'd go to the store to pick up junk food.