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Is the 'fat acceptance' movement a good thing?

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Replies

  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
    GuitarJerry wrote: »
    I think it's good in that there is really no point to body shaming. People gain weight for many reasons, some medical, some due to stress or other circumstances, some because maybe they go through a period of not caring, some due to self-loathing, or maybe mental illness, or sometimes, they are just happy and enjoying life. Whatever the reason, it's not important for me to criticize or judge. It doesn't matter.

    The other factor is that I think people look overweight, but they think they are healthy. I do notice that many people these days have a skewed view of a "healthy weight". So, they don't even think they are overweight. But, they are.

    No matter what the reason though, it is unhealthy to be overweight or obese. But, it's just none of my business. And, I don't judge.

    You don't judge, but you just did. How do you know what someone's healthy weight is? Fat shaming is just fat shaming. People who fat shame need to get a life. They are not so concerned about a stranger's health. Fat is just an easy target.
    I used to be 500 lbs. There was nothing medically wrong with me but I was miserable. People are people and everyone has their own issues.
    Its negative attitudes and looks that keep a morbidly obese person in the house. If you don't like the way someone looks, then don't look, but at the end of the day they are human just like you. When you are a certain size you have to try to boost yourself up just to go in public. Sorry for the rant, but this to pick upsets me. Don't judge, lest ye be judged yourself.
  • naturesgirl54
    naturesgirl54 Posts: 3 Member
    edited January 2017
    If being overweight and fat feels physically good why Change?

    But, there are a host of other questions to ask yourself. Such as, Do you like how you look, feel attractive, able to be physical in outdoor activities, do you fit in the seat enough where it does not get in personal space of the person next to you. Do you huff and puff walking up a few stairs etc...... If you are worried about long term health issues and diseases then by all mean start making different decisions in what you are eating and doing in your life.

    If you feel physically ill and have health issues because of your weight then it's your own responsibilty and truthfulness to be direct and honest with your own self. So if being overweight is keeping you from doing what you wish you could do the the answer is simple. Being overweight is detrimental to you. Start changing how you live. If you are good and being overweight does not affect others then it's no one's elses business.

    We just all know that being overweight creates a host of other physical health problems. But make your own decision and accept responsibility for the results that occur down that road. Yes, we all judge and we should. It helps us make decisions in life whether positive or negative.

    Fat shaming is different from having an informed set of values and standards each of us live by. I would not shame a fat person for being fat. It's a personal decision for the most part that they've made to be where they are at in a physical sense. This is for the most of overweight people. It was for me. I did not change until it started ruining my health. Some people honestly have health issues out of their control. But, everyone has their own road to travel.
  • naturesgirl54
    naturesgirl54 Posts: 3 Member
    emalethmoon wrote: »
    I think there are parts that are wonderful. Adipisitivity art photos showing the beauty that can be found in every body are great! Fashion and art and sexyiness, yes! But I've parted ways with the HAES part of fat acceptance because, while I've found love and fashion and beauty (to an extent) as an obese person, my knees hurt, and my back hurts, and I had gestational diabetes twice. This isn't healthy! I'd love if we could find a middle ground where everyone could feel good about themselves at any size, but could still recognize that they probably don't feed good enough physically to stay their size. Support folks where they're at and help them get where is healthiest for them.

    For the most part yes. But, the decision lay completely on the person with the overweight issues. No one else. Getting healthiest for overweight person as you say is putting responsibilty on to others. No one else knows exactly how an overweight person got to be overweight. Only they know. Being in an environment whether a weight watchers meeting or online forum is great. There is no way to satisfy a person (s) emotional needs without that person feverishly working on those needs themselves. You can't coddle a person to become strong and independent in any aspect of improvement when it involves emotional growth changes. If coddling helped I would not have an alcoholic daughter. Looking the monster directly in the eye here.

    Best luck. FYI I've lost 30pds in 10 months on lchf aka Presently known as Keto.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
    Pretty tough to jump into this one. I do agree with above posters that fat-shaming and positivity can be separated but their are some correlations.

    Treating someone poorly for how they look, is just wrong! Ignoring, Judging and making assumptions is also wrong. It is something I try to catch myself from doing and

    However it is pretty clear that the entire fitness industry, most mainstream media (movies, music etc) seem to want to make people feel bad about being overweight. The trickle down effect is that most of us were made to feel the same way. Self esteem takes a beating because it was hard to feel good about yourself when you knew that you didn't fit the mold.

    I am not sure its dangerous to make it 'ok' to accept people for what they are. Do you really think an overweight person doesn't want to improve? I don't think making them feel worse about themselves helps in that endeavor. They will in their own time figure it out, because it is not like they aren't already bombarded with images telling them they aren't 'healthy' and 'happy'.

    Hit me eventually, and no one telling me I needed to improve was going to motivate me (short of a doctor warning me of major health scare),

  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
    Conflating unhealthy obesity is ok with judging another human being is mostly what I see these days.

    A better question in my opinion is how to get a healthy and balanced message to the obese without coming off as judgmental. I don't know the best way to do that, primarily because some folks will listen and some won't. Dunno....
  • UltraTacks
    UltraTacks Posts: 230 Member
    Us fattys need acceptance
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    The issue is that people who are obese/very overweight feel discriminated against. And in many cases that's true based on how they may be viewed as lazy, unmotivated, etc. I don't believe you judge a person by how they look physically. Many get exempt for being hired for work because of some of these views.
    But at the same time, I don't think we can accept being obese/very overweight as something that's okay from a health perspective............because it's not. If people think it's okay to not worry about it, then they need to work with some people who have had health issues deriving from it. It's not easy to help move someone in and out of a vehicle at 300lbs (I've done it many times).
    I'm also not very big on the HAES movement. I've mentioned before that Whitney Thore tries to portray herself as this healthy obese individual and is a big HAES proponent, but as of late she's now been experiencing health issues from her weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    The problem with discrimination in hiring practice is that the Fat Acceptance movement wants it legislated against, and you really can't. Sometimes, it's a subconscious prejudice, sometimes they're not able to perform the job they're applying for. Obese people also cost employers more. Statistically, they call out sick more often.

    FTR? You know who else gets the short end of the stick hiring-wise? Short men. The point being that it's a slippery slope to take statistics like this and then maybe think we need to "do" something about them.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Cylphin60 wrote: »
    Conflating unhealthy obesity is ok with judging another human being is mostly what I see these days.

    IMO, unhealthy obesity is unhealthy and people should (and mostly are, I think) be aware of that. Is that "okay"? I don't know what it means in this context. Plenty of people are okay with unhealthy lifestyles for themselves, and that doesn't make them not okay, in my eyes.

    We probably shouldn't judge (if one applies a Christian perspective, anyway), but we do, everyone does, about all kinds of things. IMO, judging doesn't really matter, but we should accept others as they are, not treat them badly because they are overweight, not fail to see them as human beings, etc. Of course, I don't think this has anything to do with fat acceptance, it's basic politeness and caring about other people, being a decent person.
    A better question in my opinion is how to get a healthy and balanced message to the obese without coming off as judgmental. I don't know the best way to do that, primarily because some folks will listen and some won't. Dunno....

    I don't think it's my place to tell others about the unhealthfulness of their obesity, and I don't assume they don't know that or that they are not working on it. I do think it's a reasonable idea for us to educate the population on health, including the importance of not being obese, nutrition, getting in physical activity, etc. This is done through schools, doctors, public health initiatives, etc. I suspect people are actually more aware of it than when I was young (when obesity was not yet a problem).
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,386 Member
    I'm more into the human acceptance thing. Humans are flawed, generally all of us, and the flaws vary. But to accept flaws to the extent that it's expected for nobody to judge is a slippery slope. Even the laws in society are generally based on what is judged as a moral, safety, or freedom line of some sort.

    When we reach a point where we cheer people on for unhealthy practices, whether it be overeating, smoking, alcohol or drug abuse, etc, we are reaching a point where we are contributing to allowing that free pass. Trying to decide where to draw the line between true well intended pointing out facts or offering advice and when it turns into "shaming" is yet another slope, even more slippery.

  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    The number of obese people on disability because they can no longer work (or never worked) has skyrocketed. Therefore, taxpayers are supporting them through monthly disability payments, SNAP (food stamp) benefits, and housing subsidies.

    And here you make the libertarian's argument against a socialized wellfare state for them; that government and "social" control of individual choices occurs when government has control of the purse strings, and that people feel justified in taking that control.

    That said, these claims really need to be substantiated.

    Having worked with Health and Human Services, and both federal and state medicaid programs as a policy analyst for over 35 years, I've had firsthand experience watching the numbers increase over the years, the costs escalate, and the co-morbid conditions associated with obesity grow. I do believe the fat acceptance movement will contribute to this alarming trend.

    Since you asked, here's some light reading to substantiate:

    https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/obesity.html

    https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/documents/obesityFactsheet2010.pdf

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10696282

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&ved=0ahUKEwiBs7b-iLPRAhWM0FQKHf3tCRoQFghuMBA&url=https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/download-media?MediaItemId=%7B654E332E-D920-4FF7-8E20-48E3DA2E7C85%7D&usg=AFQjCNEmgmYCtxWZcvsGmJ8xnzV0yGrHPg&sig2=SvhM_slR6t5lA9PNndQUNA&cad=rja

    And one of the best reports on Obesity in America. (and YES, I have read the entire thing)

    http://healthyamericans.org/assets/files/TFAH-2015-ObesityReport-final.22.pdf

    None of this substantiates your claim that
    "] The number of obese people on disability because they can no longer work (or never worked) has skyrocketed.

    The best it does is says that more obese people are on disability. But what you claimed makes it sound like obesity itself has caused the disability. That is unsubstantiated.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    I think it is a good thing to accept people as they are, so I am all for it (fat acceptance).
    People know if they are fat, and they are the only one that can do anything about it.
    I think it is a MYOB issue.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    I'm winning to bet that HAES members send their kids to school packing Pop Tarts.

    But they're not healthy.....

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