Fat Acceptance
20 07 2008
I need your opinions, folks. I’m working on a peice about the Fat Acceptance Movement, and would like your thoughts.
Im usually pretty opinionated, and while I’m open to other sides, and may change my opinion later, I usually come at a topic with clearcut stance. Not so much this time. I’m doing as much research as i can, and the piece will be up this Thursday on GroundedFitness, but I would like your opinions on this first (and permission to quote some of you.)
As a personal trainer, a woman, and an ex bulimic, its hard to make up my mind. One one hand, being overwieght is unhealthy, and as a personal trainer I am not comfortable just saying, “as long as you are happy…” when it comes to your weight and, thus, your health. As a woman, I’m sick of being judged by both men and woman, whether it be positively or negatively, based on the way I look and my body type. As a exbulimic, I just want to stand up a cheer for those that accept themselves no matter how they look. It hard, Im torn and I would like you help.
OF COURSE, overweight people should never be the objects of ridicule, face discrimination, or be looked down upon, but does this movement promote being unhealthy? Obesity is as an epidemic right now, should the focus be on accepting the weight, or doing something to change it? There is some decention in the movement between the overweight trying to lose the weight and those that are proud to be their size and have no intention of dropping an ounce. Is this contradictory? Hypocritical?
I’ve provided some links so you guys can read up on the subject if you wish, and please leave more link, your comments, personal experiences and opinions- i want to hear from every shape, size, sex- everyone.
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
The Fat Acceptance Movement- Wikipedia
Big Fat Blog- a blog about fat acceptance
Kate Harding’s Shapely Prose- a blog written by fat activists
And don’t forget about GroundedFitness’s Badass Giveaway. Contest ends July 25th.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with. Professionally, I have faced a ton of weight-based discrimination. When my first interview is face to face, I am rejected 97% of the time. When my first interview is on the phone, I have been offered a second interview all but one time in 18 years. So, I am all for the fight against discrimination. However, personally, I know that my weight reflects unresolved emotional issues from my past. I don’t know that this is true for the majority of obese individuals, but I am less concerned with the physical consequences of obesity than with all the emotional issues that are unresolved and hidden beneath fat. The physical effects are largely solitary, but the emotional effects take their toll on others. Plus, it truly sucks on a human level to find solace in donuts rather than in other human beings.
I think your delema is the difference between accepting yourself, and accepting other people. I think you should accept other people no matter what they look like or what they choose to do with their bodies. On the other hand, I don’t think you should accept YOURSELF for anything less then your personal best. No ones personal best should include being overweight, sedentary, or unhealthy. I must admit though you have a difficult task here, it’s hard to address this topic and be PC at the same time. I’ll be interested in what you come up with!
Man, as soon as I read the comments there is always so much more to think about! I love that! Generally my opinions on this lie in the grey area too… I really like what ModelBehavior said about you should always try for your personal best and that includes trying to be healthy and fit. I don’t think that society’s focus should ever be on weight strictly - I think that the focus should be on taking care of yourself and being proactive in looking after your health. While I think it is important to have self love and be accepting of your body type I don’t think that is a free pass to stop looking after your health - see that keeps coming up for me - that I wish North America would look after their own health!! No matter what their weight is!! Good luck on finishing that article!
This is NOT an easy one. Like you and the comments above, I can totally see both sides.
I believe that what it comes down to is health. Studies have shown that overweight people can be healthy if they have a good diet and exercise. So, in my opinion, people who are actively taking care of themselves–no matter what their size–should celebrate and be celebrated. I’m all for loving yourself no matter what, but part of loving yourself is taking care of yourself. It’s hard to have one without the other.
i appreciate all of your guys atriculate and senstive comments. i do have to clear something up though, the VAST majority and focus of this movement is based around obese individuals. not just a little overweight, but obese.
Have you ever read Roni’s blog? I believe the website is now http://www.ronisweigh.com and she wrote about fat acceptance at one point (sorry, no link). Ultimately, I think she had similar opinions to those who’ve already commented.
If I have to take a stand - I don’t think that obesity should be personally accepted. But as many people have said (and as Roni sort of testifies to), one must accept oneself before true change can take place. But accept and then get healthy - it should be a priority. Just my two cents.
I think health and balance is the best telling factor. If someone is technically overweight but healthy medically and emotionally (no high cholesterol… diabetes, etc., they don’t have an eating disorder like binge eating that effects them physically, emotionally, mentally) - well, then, the only other thing would be vanity, and I definitely admire people who don’t try and change themselves to fit into tiny jeans or whatever.
But then the question is, if they were healthy on all those levels, would they even BE overweight? Does fat = unhealthy?
This is really interesting and a tough issue. It kind of swings both ways too, because its easy to look at a skinny person and *also* think “unhealthy”, and many times you might be right. But then there *are* lots of people with technically underweight BMIs who are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy.
I dont think that “one size fits all” with this. Honestly I think that some overweight people might be healthy and fine, while others might truly be putting their health in danger (the same with thin people). The danger of “fat acceptance” is that what might be beneficial to one person who is truly big but healthy, might be detrimental to 100 other overweight people who are using this “acceptance” as an excuse to not truly take the best care of their bodies.
This is all kind of ramblings, and I’m not sure completely either where I stand on this! But thanks for the thought-provoking posts and links.
There’s a couple thoughts running through my mind on this. One, it kind of reminds me of previous movements involving equality of women & race. We are all people and we all are of equal worth. No one person is better than another because of color, sex, intelligence, size, hair color, nose shape (you get my drift). It’s sad that the acceptance of a person based on looks is even an issue.
Second, there seems to be 2 distinct groups of people — those that want to lose the weight, and those that want rights to stay their weight. I don’t think that’s hypocritical or contradictory — it’s just 2 different groups of people with 2 different goals. (Was that what you were asking? I’m not sure.) I think it’s important that everyone gets equal opportunities (because we’re all of equal worth), and legal actions might be the only way to ensure/emphasize that.
I hate how the media has completely distorted our view of what’s beautiful. To me, a beautiful person is someone who is sincerely happy with life. People of all sizes have this choice - the choice to be happy with what they have: the body they have.
At some point in time, everybody needs to accept their own body. Whether it’s the body they want or not, they need to accept it. Accepting your body is part of accepting who you are. Now, I’m not saying that you have to accept your own body/obesity (or eating disorder or whatever) and that’s who you are for the rest of your life. But acknowledge what you’ve got and make a decision — you’re either happy or you want a change. And if you want a change, make a change.
Wow this is a tough one. On one hand I want to say this movement is needed because discrimination against obesity is as silly as discrimination against brunettes (health issues aside). In most of the interactions the discriminator doesn’t necessarily care for the health of the obese; they’re simply uncomfortable and don’t want to handle it.
But on the other hand, I’m afraid with the movement passing, it’d be a signal that obesity is okay health-wise because everyone is officially being told to accept it. On that note though, if someone I loved was getting overweight enough to hit that obese level, I’d approach them lovingly with my concerns about their health and ask what I could do to help.
Oh crap did I totally miss the point??? I do that sometimes…
I think what you are doing is admirable, timely and very very important.
I have some personal training clients that come to me wanting to just be healthier and be able to play with their kids - they have some pounds to lose and they are ok with that. And you know what? So am I.
There is significant research showing that you can be healthy and be overweight. This research shows that it is not about how lean you are, but a better indication of your risk of lifestyle diseases (cancer, heart disease etc) has really more to do with your cardiovascular ability and muscular strength.
If you think about it, that means that it is more important to put efforts towards being healthy in the heart - nothing makes me sadder than a person who wants to be skinny but has no care of being truly healthy.
So remember. Skinny does not equal healthy. And overweight people can be just as ‘healthy’ from a risk perspective as the skinny minnies.
So tell the supermodels to stick that in their low-calorie pipes and smoke it.
Jamie Atlas
http://jamieatlas.wordpress.com
thanks for the links.
and Ill be back to read more of your comments
as ALWAYS you spark the best convo….
Great topic. I feel similarly conflicted. One thought I have though is that it is generally in the extremes where people fall into trouble. Sure being massively obese is a health problem. So is anorexia. But most of us are neither. For me, the fat acceptance movement is about realizing that “fat” and “unhealthy” aren’t necessarily synonymous. Gina Kolata wrote a great book, Rethinking Thin, where she concluded after much research that the “ideal” BMI (judged by length of life and cause of death) is actually 25-29 - what we now consider overweight and “unhealthy.”
I’m looking forward to reading your piece!
I think many women are conflicted about this. I think part of the problem is that there is seemingly no middle ground. So many people feel like if they can’t meet the ideal of a woman’s body, they might as well eat whatever they like. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard someone say they’ve been ‘bad’ or talk about chunking their entire weight loss plan because of one splurge. The entire thing is a process, a healthy body and healthy body image is the work of a lifetime. We, as women, need to learn to be accepting of our bodies as they are at this moment in time, while always striving to better ourselves.
Love your body? If you truly love your body, you’ll treat it well. There are plenty of markers for a healthy body image. If you’re doing ok on those, you’re doing ok.
I agree that the range of weights you can be healthy at is far broader than society currently tells us.
But as so many people have already said, the key word here is “healthy”. That doesn’t mean that being wildly obese is something which should be encouraged, and I do worry if that might be what the Fat Acceptance movement could possibly be perceived as standing for.
The bottom line is - it’s your choice to be as healthy or unhealthy as you want to be, however fat or thin or inbetween you are to start with. But NOBODY should get to judge you on that choice. And if that’s what Fat Acceptance is about, then that’s awesome.
I’m not sure. I think it could be a little of both.
TA x
I am in the same boat as you…as a former anorexic with bulimic tendencies; I have a tough time facing this topic. I think the fear of getting fat was what got me too little in the first place. I do think you should trust yourself and feed your body well for fuel but I don’t really agree with the ‘accept your body the way it is’ movement. That means I could have accepted my body when I was very underweight, which I was proud and comforted by so letting go of it was difficult. I think that if I had not chosen to do this, that this simply would have been the worst decision of my life. I have never been overweight, so I am unable to comment on how that feels, but I would think it is similar. If you are treating your body poorly and your health isn’t optimal, then no, you shouldn’t accept where you are. You shouldn’t strive to be a certain weight (either over or under) but you should strive to be the healthiest you.
sweetsandsweats.wordpress.com/
This is a very, very tough one… I think we should strive to accept individuals as they are (as far as their appearance is concerned).
However, obesity is unhealthy. I think it is our responsibility as humans to try to improve ourselves. While we should love ourselves, I don’t think this mean saying “I have anger management issues, but it’s all good, because I love myself”; or “I am completely obsessive compulsive, but I love myself, so it’s okay”. I believe that part of truly loving yourself is not to beat yourself up for your flaws but also acknoledge that you might partake in an unhealthy behavior and strive to improve that.
I hope this makes sense.
Interesting topic and discussion!
I don’t know if it makes any sense at all, but sometimes when I hear people saying, “But being fat is unhealthy,” I kind of feel like that’s SOME people’s excuse to discriminate or try to foster the same kind of attitude toward fat people as we have towards smokers nowadays in society– to shame them into being “healthy.” But when it comes to our bodies I don’t think shame really motivates us to work out or eat well…just the opposite.
My feeling is that if society were less cruel and discriminatory towards obese people, it wouldn’t create MORE obese people. It would create fewer. Because part of self-destructive behavior is feeling bad about yourself, right, like you’re not worth taking care of?
I think the term “Fat Acceptance” should be changes to reflect more of a “Self Acceptance” thing. I think it is important, FIRST AND FOREMOST ABOVE ALL to be healthy. Life is too short to live it on a couch, killing ourselves with junk food. Our bodies and our minds were built to be moved, engaged and challenged, to experience LIFE and all it has to offer. You can not do this if you are morbidly obese, so no, I do not think having the attitude of, well I am just meant to be fat so I give up is acceptable or ok. Not for society’s standards but for the quality of your own life. I think the attitude to have is, I am going to be the best that I can be, I am going to be as healthy and I possibly can, keeping in mind that every one has a different body shape and type. I can work out 10 hours a day but I will always have a round booty whereas some people never work out and eat junk food all day and be sticks. I think the point here is to accept that everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way but to not “accept” an unhealthy, sedentary way of life. It has less to do with size and more to do with attitude.
A human being can always grow and change. I have accepted that I’m not a size 4 but I have not accepted that I have high cholesterol. I do not accept that my back has to hurt when I take a jug of milk out of the fridge. I CAN be stronger.
I do the very best I can looks wise with what I’ve got and feel confident inside and out. That said I’m always trying to be better, a better friend, mom, eater, cook, wife, and just be a more complete person in the universe.
We started our blog about diets, fat, and body image because in the end you can be happy at any size as long as you get a healthy dose of laughter.
Here’s what I totally accept, I’m 5′3″.
This is a difficult topic, and I can see both sides of the argument. However, I think I lean more on the side where I’m not totally accepting of “fat people.” It sounds awful, I know. However, it’s much like that saying that you’re supposed to accept the person, but not the disease/act/whatever. I will accept the person, however I know that what they’re doing to themself is not healthy, so it’s hard for me to accept their unhealthiness/lack of caring about themself. I agree that overweight people can be healthy, but if we’re talking about obese people, I don’t think it’s really possible to be obese and be healthy (I could very easily be wrong about this though). The fat movement sounds like a great thing, in theory, however I think it promotes unhealthiness to some extent and that is not something that I support. I think everyone should be the best they can be (for themselves, family, friends, etc.) and part of that is being healthy.
But, again, the physical “unhealthiness” cannot be cured until the mental “unhealthiness” that produces disordered eating — whether obesity or anorexia, I’ve been both — are cured. Society’s “not totally accepting of fat people” will only provoke more disordered eating. the number one thing that helped me recover from anorexia was acceptance. When my disorder came back in another form, it was Sean’s acceptance of me, my body, my heart, my brain, my soul that helped me step back from the brink. to not accept people who using their bodies to cry out for acceptance and relief is terribly cruel and does not speak well about our abilities as a people to care and nurture each other.
The problem I have with the Fat Acceptance Movement is that a lot of obese people are obese by choice and action, and not by their genetics. Those poor individuals who have thyroid problems and such who can’t stay at a healthy weight no matter what should be accepted by themselves and society no matter what. Unfortunately there are too many people in this world who are obese because they make poor eating decisions, they don’t move their bodies, they eat out of emotion/pain/boredom/and on and on and on.
I feel really torn on the topic, but at the same time, where does a “fat acceptance movement” put our society? We should want our fellow citizens to be healthy, strong, smart, and more. How is that different than a “non-showering acceptance movement”, a “lazy acceptance movement”, a “non-educated acceptance movement”? Being obese is not a good thing- it is an EPIDEMIC in the U.S. How can we tell these people to accept themselves as they are when that very thing is what is killing them? Instead we should be educating them to get healthy.
Does being obese make a person less efficient? YES. The movement is trying to say that is not true, but how is that possible? Many obese people can’t walk up a flight of stairs, or pick up their children, and most have many health problems that can be attributed solely to their weight. You could run the same argument for an underweight person. Someone underweight might be out of breath from climbing a flight of stairs, or might not be able to type as quickly because they lack the proper nutrients to fuel their body.. but no one has a problem telling them to gain weight or attributing their decreased output (as far as contribution to society) to their weight.
To me a lot of this is similar to the antidepressants debate. There are ZILLIONS more prescriptions for antidepressants today than there was years ago. In my opinion it is not because there are more depressed people or it is being recognized more etc.. it is because it is being over-prescribed. I lost my mom 7 years ago and I went to the doctor shortly after for a yearly checkup. She mentioned my mom’s death and asked how I was doing and I told her I was really sad and cried a lot. She prescribed me Paxil. Was I depressed? No. Just like many obese people are said to be obese because of their genetics. Is that true? No. Some, yes, but MOST, I don’t think that is possible. Genetic changes simply can’t happen that fast (over only a few generations).
A little mumble jumbles, but those are my thoughts on the topic. I am curious to see what everyone else thinks.
I don’t think the “acceptance” is about the fat person and themselves. It is about society accepting fat people as human beings who have worth and dignity and feelings. Nobody wants to be unhealthy, but for many people, food — either eating too much or too little — is the way they cope with the pain in their lives. We all have ways of coping. For the fat person, as for the anorexic person, that coping mechanism is ALWAYS on display. If your coping mechanism is liquor, or beating your wife, or shoplifting, it is not constantly on display and you may go undetected your entire life. It is not possible for an obese or anorexic coper to go undetected. Thus the plea that society accept, non-judgmentally, the obese person as a human being deserving of respect and equal protection under the law. No one is asking for a pat on the back for weighing 600 pounds, no one is asking you to stop your judging people based on what they put in their shopping carts, no one is asking you to curtail your private prejudices, but when it comes to matters of employment, for example, fat acceptance is needed. And, when it comes to people you love and care about, fat acceptance is needed.
I would focus my (your) comments on the more seedy side of the fat acceptance movement which spread false stories and misinformation to try and convince people that obesity has little to no impact on your health. Denialism.com is a good source on some of their misinformation.
I should add that I’ve had my own fair share of tussles with the fat acceptance folks. I was banned from one blog and been attacked on my own. You might want to check out this post of mine (admittedly written in a more harsh tone) and the comments.
http://totaltransformation.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/fatophiles-of-the-world-uniteagainst-a-cartoon/
Mary-
I think our different views stem from a sort of “what came first…” scenario. Are these people obese/disordered eaters/unhealthy because they are unhappy or are they unhappy because they’re obese/disordered eaters/unhealthy? Maybe a bit of both…? I’m sure it’s to varying degrees for everyone.
As I said, I accept the person, however it’s a little more difficult for me to accept the obesity and what they’re doing to themselves. Everyone deserves to be happy with themself and I find it hard to believe that truly obese people are happy with themself. As Mary implied, the outward appearance is probably a clue to something more that’s going on inside.
Overweight/obese individuals should not be discriminated against, and have every right to be angry if they face discrimination in the workplace, etc.
However, I do not think that they should passively accept themselves in such an unhealthy state. This is like a smoker saying, “Oh well, I am what I am,” instead of trying to quit smoking and save themselves from future health problems.
I have so many thoughts on this. so many. I don’t think I can make a coherent comment. I’m going to post about it on my blog.
Like everyone else I’m really conflicted… but it kind of reminds me of Jen Lancaster. She was totally cool with being overweight and only made changes when she started to have health problems, right? So it seems to me that what we need is to build up a good self esteem no matter our weight, but still persist in trying to obtain a healthy lifestyle. After all, theres plenty of people who are fit and eat healthy but are still a little overweight according to the BMI, and they don’t have health problems. We need to accept who we are and how we look and feel comfortable with that while at the same time strive to keep ourselves healthy. Its a difficult balance to achieve but I think we’re all capable of it, and I think if we CAN get that balance then it’ll help us feel better and also become more healthy.
I think we as a society have force fed the illusion to ourselves. That skinny = healthy. That skinny = healthy=happy=successful.
We are always our worst critics when it comes to self evaluation and self image.
I agree, it’s a double edged sword. Where is the happy medium? In my humble opinion its a balance between what harm are you causing to the ‘health’ of your body, and how happy can you be/ or want to be?
Of course you should lose the mimimal amount of weight to lessen the degrading health effects. And your state of mind has to coincide with your physical health. I think I said it once before, a Strong Mind and a weak body sets you up for imminent injury and A Strong Bogy and weak mind is a recipe for failure in all endeavors!
I’ll be interested to see your post on this issue, because the happy medium everyone strives for is different for EVERYONE. And I think that is the key element in all this.
Great thoughts as always.
thanks for all the great comments guys and for trying to keep it as PC and senstitive as possible, which can be hard with this subject.
Im staying out of this as much as i can on purpose but wanted to throw this out there:
do you really think people judge because they see skinny=healthy and fat=not healthy, or because skinny=beautiful and strong (in terms of willpower and self control) and fat=weak (as in no self control or willpower)? is it really about health?
No, I don’t think it’s about health. I think framing it that way makes the judgmental types feel better about themselves. Look at the next person you see on the street. You don’t know what diseases, habits, perversions she has. But, with fat people, people think they know everything and society encourages them to feel superior to fatties.
I 100 percent agree with Mary.
OOHHH Dang Kelly, your sure know how to spark a conversation don’t you!
Before I respond to your last question I just wanted to add that this is by far the most interesting and thought provoking comment thread I have ever read, wonderful input from everyone.
First off, I think that people who have always been thin, and people who have always had trouble with their weight, will ALWAYS have very different opinions on this, because it is just to diffacult to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. I am going to have to say I think it’s more about weakness and the health (even though I hate to say that). I think many people see obese people as lazy. I think overweight people are scorned for not meeting societies ideas of “beauty” and saying it is because of health is somewhat of a scapegoat.
HOWEVER
It depends on the person. Those that put more of an emphasis on health are more likely to judge the health risk, while those that do not will put more emphasis on the weak/lazy aspect.
But here’s the issue Kelly, I don’t know if you can get a fair consensus from the readers here because we all put an emphasis on health…which is why we read your blog at all.
Conclusion because this is getting wordy: On here I think people will be more likely to say that it is because of the health issues. If you took average people you found on the street and asked them the same question, they would say it’s about nonbeauty. It’s all about point of view.
p.s. I love runjess comment comparing it to a smoker saying “I am what I am” instead of bettering themselves and quitting, well said!
It’s about life-style acceptance. Being empowered to embrace our own inner beauty by having the outside reflect what’s in. Unless there is an overarching medical disorder, we should strive towards active, healthy life-styles. I’ve gone from 173 to 133 (size 16 to a size
with spine issue and underactive thyroid. People who’s body types veer towards either end of the spectrum on the “normal curve” should never be discriminated against. They should be supported. Very often, many may have a negative self image. And others may just love themselves unconditionally which is great. You can’t force anyone to change. I think now that I’ve lost weight (working on the last 5-10 but not fretting if I stay where I am) I’m kind of “on” other people I care about because of perceptions that they are at risk for health issues, heart disease etc. Yet we can’t force folks to change, only gently support and respect the right of the individual to choose. I know that when I’d audition for NYC musicals when I was significantly overweight, I would get told, “You’re too fat for this role.” Sometimes, I could understand it based on that certain characters need to look a certain way. Other times it was just cruel. That was before Tracy Turnblatt came around! Dream part. When I was ready to engage in improving my self esteem the weight came off the healthy way. Even though with the thyroid, it just comes off that more slowly, though with meds, it makes a BIG difference. We should never give up on our goals. Unless there is an overarching medical disability, I think folks should strive to be in a healthy weight range for their height/bone structure etc.
Don’t hate on super models Jamie
Hi, does that e-mail in your contacts category go directly to you?
I didn’t read the comments–too tired–so maybe this has already been said.
My main issue with FA is how many of the adherents react when people decide to try and lose weight. It doesn’t matter that it’s health-related, that the (usually) blogger is doing it the right way through small changes: it’s all tar and feathers and angry comments. And I think a lot of that anger comes from people not wanting to have their beliefs challenged (i.e., that they don’t need to lose weight to be healthy, that they could adopt a healthier lifestyle, etc).
I would support FA a lot more if people would can the vitriol and give people support in the goals they’ve chosen for themselves.
KrisT- yes it does.
Everyone else- thanks for your input. keep commenting. the post will be on groundedfitness on Thursday. you guys are helping me out a lot- keep it up!
So when does the piece about fat acceptance come out?
In my book, skinny does not equal healthy. Obese or skin and bones anorexic = unhealthy. But aside from that I look at people’s body composition and activity level. Looks can be super deceiving.
I think the fat acceptance movement has been torn apart by conflicting interests within itself, and I do not necessarily agree with all the viewpoints within the movement. However, I 100% support the idea that people should not be discriminated against based on their weight. Because of that, I support its ability to get the discrimination issue into public consciousness
A lot of the commenters seem to think that fat acceptance is not really okay because of the fact that the overweight or obese individuals are not healthy. But really? Why is it their business whether or not someone is healthy? I think that in this particular circumstance, lack of acceptance of someone because you deem them “unhealthy” is a cover for your prejudices.
I’m overweight. In the past, my weight has gotten as high as 260 (at 5′7″). Now, because of lifestyle changes, and wanting to be healthier, I have lost over 40 pounds, and counting. But it came from within, not from anyone else’s “concern” or their disgust. I have not been outwardly discriminated against because of my size. I also have a great self esteem, and although I have “problem areas” that I am slightly insecure about, I have always felt that I am a beautiful worthwhile individual, and that acceptance is, to me, the basis behind the fat acceptance movement. That everyone be valued regardless of their size. And that, I wholeheartedly support.
Holy crap, I’m writing a novel. So I’ll stop there.
Sassy-Don’t worry about writing a novel. I couldn’t contain my self in the comments so, I went ahead and wrote the first chapter of the novel in my own blog. This is, to me, a more complex and personal issue than I could contain to a comment.
Kelly-Don’t know if you’ll read my blog, but if you do…I hope it helps.
“But really? Why is it their business whether or not someone is healthy? I think that in this particular circumstance, lack of acceptance of someone because you deem them “unhealthy” is a cover for your prejudices.”
The problem arises when public health care requires society to pay for the consequences of obesity. While I don’t agree with this (the discrimination or almost any form of welfare medicine) it is inescapable that IF obesity causes health problems AND society foots the bill for medical care, then society gains a vested interest in the health and wellness of individuals. It isn’t something I like, but it is a consequence of publicly funding health care.
Thanks for the links - I have heard of a few of this folks and while I agree that people should be treated with respect regardless of their size. No one has the right to treat another cruelly because they are overweight. One would think folks would have outgrown such juvenile, petty behavior.
But…the problem I have with the FA movement (I think someone has mention this already) is they way people who decide to drop some weight to feel better and/or healthier are treated - like they broke a commandment. Why aren’t their choices supported?
Hey Kelly,
I’m sort of in the same boat as you as I am bulimic myself. Obviously I’m not okay with being overweight or I wouldn’t torture myself by throwing up everytime I overeat. Although, now it’s more of a habit and pattern of binging and purging as I’m sure you can relate to having been through this yourself.
I’m certainly not pro-fat, and I am not underweight myself but I am dissatisfied because of that. I fall between the low to middle range of the healthy category for all criteria and I ace any physicals I take. But throwing up 2-3 times a day cannot be healthy right?
I envy those people that are slightly overweight or at the high-end of a normal weight that can embrace it and have normal eating habits and feel good about themselves. But I don’t know if I can ever be that person. I think if I ever do recover I will have to find a way to stay on the low end of normal and hopefully can do that eating healthily and keeping everything down. I’m sick of being sick but I can’t stand the thought of gaining any weight.
Even though I am “thin”, I feel like I can relate to fat people. I know if I wasn’t throwing up I’d be one of them. I know what it’s like to feel addicted to food, to overeat, and to feel ashamed of it. In fact, it’s hard to admit this but when I see obese people I always have an urge to tell them it doesn’t have to be like that, part of me wants to teach them how to purge so they don’t have to be fat. But that’s not healthy right? And I feel sad for them, because I know what they’re feeling. Or at least I assume they are unhappy, I guess I can’t relate to a pro-fat movement. I feel if they are overweight they must be unhappy about it. But perhaps they aren’t as obsessed with being thin as me. Perhaps they are genuinely enjoying the food they eat. Perhaps they have full lives in spite of being overly heavy. But I don’t believe it.
I will add though, that the stories I have read about the way overweight people have been treated by the medical community breaks my heart. You can help people become healthier and make better choices without being belittling and rude.
I’m not sure I made clear what I wanted to say.
It may have come out like, I feel sorry for fat people. My heart aches when I watch those shows on morbidly obese people. But it’s only because I can relate to part of their sturggle. I was trying to say that it’s because of my own unhappiness with my appearance that I assume they are unhappy, not because they truly must be. I have friends of all sizes and I think I can find beauty in a lot of people. I’ve dated overly skinny people and chubby people. But I empathize with people that struggle with weight because although outwardly people might not see me as fat I see myself that way.
Missicat: When i was at my heaviest, 368 pounds at 5 feet 3, I could not get a doctor (at the Cleveland Clinic, no less) to tell me I had a weight problem. They would not address it and if I said something like I can’t walk to the corner without stopping five times to catch my breath, they wanted to test me for allergies. Doctors have no treatment for this illness so they pretend it doesn’t exist.
Ally: In my experience, many, many, many obese people got there from anorexia. They really are the same disease.
John: there are medical costs attached to obesity, but there are also medical costs attached to driving. Where do we draw the line? Moreover, and I speak for myself here, if we do not treat the the trauma which produces adult obesity, and mental health care is woefully unavailable, we have to hold ourselves responsible for the increased medical costs. Which, presumably, are still lower than those costs associated with driving, sports, and other risky behaviors.
I have not read all of the comments but here is my opinion anyway.
I am overweight and according to BMI charts, I just in the obese range. My doctor tells me that I need to lose weight and for my own self esteem issues, I would like to drop a few pounds. BUT, I do feel that I am healthy. I eat well and exercise regularly. All of my bloodwork is normal and within healthy ranges.
I think that people assume that fat = unhealthy and that thin = healthy. But I know thin people that eat fast food three meals a day, never exercise and smoke. That isn’t healthy! And then there are fat people like me eating well balanced healthy meals and working out.
I think that the fat acceptance movement is important but I also think that some real evaluation needs to happen on the part of the overweight people(myself included). I think that some assume they are healthy based on no evidence and lack of regard for their food and exercise habits.
I do believe that a good diet and regular exercise are important but that comes in all shapes and sizes.
I feel in a way that I let myself be taken in by fat acceptance, particularly by the idea that you can be perfectly healthy (if you’re active) and obese. The big risk: Type II diabetes. I was tested and given a diagnosis of “pre-diabetes,” which I resisted at first, thinking it was just over-diagnosis &c. Then the penny dropped and I realised it was just denial on my part. I lost weight, took up running and weightlifting, and my numbers are normal now, though I still have some weight to lose. I’m really glad I took hold of this problem rather than further risking my health.
John - I find it interesting that you are using this as a forumn for your debate. And now because you are “debating” me, I feel I need to respond.
You said “The problem arises when public health care requires society to pay for the consequences of obesity”.
Firstly, that statement could be applied to anything, and is very much not obesity specific. Since you can pretty much replace obesity with anything would you propose that we take away free will? After all, if people are not allowed to engage in certain behaviors, there will not be risks, therefor no drain on your income funding public healthcare. Or should only people who do not have private insurance be held to certain standards?.
Secondly, it seems to make the assumption that obesity is a low income problem, i.e., people who are obese do not have private insurance, so it will fall on society to pay for their ills. I’m not sure if this is what you were meaning, but that is how it came across.
I stand by my previous statement.
still staying out of it, but i just wanted to stir the pot a bit:
what Ally said is very interesting because it is completely true (for those who have had in the past or are currently suffereing from eating disorders):
everyone is talking so much about health: is physical health more important than mental health?
do you believe than an overweight/obese individual can truely love themselves just the way they are?
can they truely be happy if they are 300, 400, or 500 lbs?
in a society where life is easier for the beautiful, in general, are they perhaps better off than we are, character/personality-wise, because not everything is handed to them on silver platter?
i shouldnt have said “we”, i apologize, i know everyone here are different shapes and sizes, which is wonderful because this is a FITNESS blog.
and i just have to brag that i have the most intellegent, mature reader base that I have seen on a blog when it brings up controversial subjects (who wants to be mature all the time
)
Also -Ally if you ever want to talk, you can email me. I do know what yo uare goiing through, because ive been there and have come out on the other side. If you need anything, let me know.
I would also add to my comment that I think more should be done in children’s schools; I remember when I was on a youth wellness task force there was intense, heated debate on whether nurses should mail home BMI/weight ranges when kids got measured. I think that’s where this should start. Building community coalitions to ensure that kids are eating healthy and getting enough physical activity (modifications for kids with special needs/medical issues of course)! Thanks so much for this interesting conversation.
Thanks Kelly. I would like to email you sometime - as soon as things calm down at work a little : ) I also just want to say how glad I was to have found your blog. Besides having great tips, it is very inspiring for me on a personal level, and I also like how funny and down to earth you are!