I wish I could convince my parents to get it. My mom has gone up and down so many times that she has probably lost 2-3 times her current body weight over the course of her dieting. Just can't keep it off. Dad just keeps going up without really trying.

Eating is their coping mechanism, unfortunately. Which you could argue is probably better than stealing, looking at porn, having angry outbursts, etc. that others do to cope with stress.

Edit: sorry if that came across harsh. Didn't start out with that intention. You were probably being TIC