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Is the 'fat acceptance' movement a good thing?

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  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
    The opposite of acceptance is not hatred. If being overweight threatens quality of health or health risk, there is no reason to accept that. However, all people have a right to be treated with compassion and there is no place for judgement or shaming of fat (or thin, or whatever minority you are) in a healthy community/society.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
    edited January 2017
    i dont know about fat acceptance but being rude to someone who is fat is not necessary. people take liberties and do stuff like pat your stomach and make comments. Here is the most outrageous thing that happened to me. In high school i was 180 and at age 50 (when my sister died) i was 350 (now 240 and going down) I was at my sisters funeral and a woman that was a "friend" of the family that i had not seen in years walks up to me, looks me up and down and says "what happened to you?" That is the truth i swear.
  • tcay584
    tcay584 Posts: 55 Member
    I don't think anyone else has any business "accepting" someone or not. Poo on you if you judge me by my appearance and not the content of my character. I don't think anyone should be mean or rude to anyone, fat or scrawny, redhead or blonde, blue eyed or brown. I am not for you to "accept" or "condemn". Deal with your own issues before you try and "help" me tackle mine, LOL!
    Personally, I am trying to lose weight because I am dissatisfied with my appearance. I couldn't give a fig what anyone else thinks and if anyone is rude enough to let me know their opinion, I show them the same courtesy.
  • LiftingRiot
    LiftingRiot Posts: 6,946 Member
    tcay584 wrote: »
    I don't think anyone else has any business "accepting" someone or not. Poo on you if you judge me by my appearance and not the content of my character. I don't think anyone should be mean or rude to anyone, fat or scrawny, redhead or blonde, blue eyed or brown. I am not for you to "accept" or "condemn". Deal with your own issues before you try and "help" me tackle mine, LOL!
    Personally, I am trying to lose weight because I am dissatisfied with my appearance. I couldn't give a fig what anyone else thinks and if anyone is rude enough to let me know their opinion, I show them the same courtesy.

    I judge everyone. Actually everyone judges everyone...I mean your judging people who judge people.

    It doesn't change my life one bit if being fat is acceptable or not. I don't care unless it offends my eyes by what I see. shivers... ill just look away and make fun in secret.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I agree that everyone judges others. It's in our nature. Hopefully everyone doesn't make fun. That's not cool.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    edited January 2017
    Not accepting people for the way they appear, race, religion, sex, etc, for any reason, is prejudice, and it is wrong.
    No justification for this. Not anyone's responsibility to judge anyone else. It shows immaturity, lack of compassion, and bad manners. My opinion.
  • electrickazoo
    electrickazoo Posts: 55 Member

    I'll never in my life forget what a surgeon said to me after removing part of my thyroid. I had gone to him as I had a tumor growing on it. While I was in the hospital he told me that he hadn't made an effort to hide the large scar because I was "Fat, unattractive and didn't deserve to have the scar hidden". Surgeons USEUALLY try to cut along the neck folds to hide an obvious scar. I made a complaint to the hospital board but since I'm not a protected class nothing happened. That kind of behavior is not OK at all.

    Similarly, I have a friend whose husband is a surgeon. Apparently when fat women have c-sections they don't put nearly the same amount of effort into making the stitches (and subsequent scar) look good, as they do for thin women. Their reason was that a fat woman probably wouldn't wear a bikini anyway, so why bother.
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Relser wrote: »
    I think it's good in the fact that it promotes not being a total *kitten* to someone because they are fat. I mean really, how does someone else being fat affect me?
    Well this actually happened to me at Disney World. A female and her kids got on the transportation bus. Myself and my brother in law, were both sitting and we both got up to let the female sit down. She chose his spot (which was beside me). I was at the end of the seat (bench seats) and she sat to my left. Every time the bus driver stopped she slid into me and pressed me into the end of the bench. And she was well over 250lbs. Not discriminating, but it was an uncomfortable ride all the way to our hotel.

    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


    Sorry but lve had this happen to me before also and the person was of perfectly normal weight as am l. I think buses tend to push people, no seat belts and all. Now airplanes are another story.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    dija92 wrote: »
    ...I don't think a person that smokes will get nearly as much crap from people as an obese person...

    I personally think smoking is the worst. It's filthy and vile. And I judge the hell out of smokers. (Sorry, not sorry.)
    I'd rather sit next to an obese person than sit next to a smoker (either actively smoking or just sitting there reeking of it) any day. I'm not sure that's a good comparison. I would definitely give more crap to a smoker. Just sayin'.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

    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

    From the report:

    "Adolescents with metabolic syndrome
    — a composite of obesity compo-
    nents — have significantly lower
    overall intelligence scores, including
    in math and spelling, and have lower
    mental flexibility and attention spans
    than adolescents without metabolic
    syndrome."

    "The majority of overweight children (81
    percent boys and 71 percent of girls) be-
    lieve they are about the correct weight."

    "Obese adults spend 42 percent more
    on direct healthcare costs than adults
    who are a healthy weight.
    Per capita healthcare costs for severely or
    morbidly obese adults (BMI >40) are 81
    percent higher than for healthy weight
    adults.
    In 2000, around $11 billion
    was spent on medical expenditures for
    morbidly obese U.S. adults."

    Terrifying! :o
  • gorple76
    gorple76 Posts: 162 Member
    I was thinking about this the other day. I grew up in a family where obesity was a norm. I was obese my whole life until recent years, and I am still overweight now. The obesity in my family has resulted in ill health - physical and mental - and limits life choices. It's not seem thing I can 'accept' as ok. But nor would I 'accept' alcoholism, diabetes or manic depression if they were issues for me or my family. The shaming that goes in in society, however, is body shaming, not fat shaming. And people's bodies are shamed for being fat, puffy, scarred, skinny, short, tall, not tanned, spotty etc etc. Until we stop focussing on appearance, reading magazines full of polished, airbrushed celebrities, avidly following before and after photos as *the* evidence of a new healthy lifestyle, body shaming will continue. How about a body acceptance movement?
  • CommanderEmily
    CommanderEmily Posts: 68 Member
    Just my two cents, but I think this false in shades of grey rather than being a clear cut thing. I believe strongly in body positivity for all shapes and sizes. And loving yourself as you are can be a strong motivator to bettering yourself. Think of it this way: People who hate their bodies and can't find ways to love themselves as they are will more than likely be the same people who fail at their attempts of change it. And I think that it ties back to trying to change for the wrong reasons. I think change has to come from a positive and healthy place.

    Though some people can take it too far, just like too much of any sort of good thing can be bad.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    MandaB9780 wrote: »

    What exactly is wrong with her "psyche"? Seems to me like she hit it pretty spot on. As a former smoker I can attest to everything that she pointed out about smokers vs fat people.

    It's very rude of you to attack someone personally without even an ounce of reasoning to back it up.

    Hi, Manda.

    The mind, soul, or spirit, as opposed to the body. In psychology, the psyche is the center of thought, feeling, and motivation, consciously and unconsciously directing the body's reactions to its social and physical environment.

    The OP stated she was on the fence about the subject. She raised valid points for both sides of the fence, yet has not reached a conclusion for herself.

    Hence my comment confirming that she has yet to work it out in her mind.

    If that's a rude attack...



  • megdnoorman
    megdnoorman Posts: 282 Member
    Shaming and outwardly criticizing people does not motivate them to adjust behaviors, which could potentially help them lose weight. So, like most everyone else, I'm against body shaming. Overweight people know they are overweight (at least adults do) in most cases, and the vast majority (even FA types as far as I can tell) would like to be healthy (they may not admit that this involves losing weight, but the process of adjusting to more healthy behaviors has fairly consistent outcomes).

    My opinion is that we should stop shaming/lecturing and instead we should offer accurate information that isn't morality-based. Stop showing people the food pyramid, stop pretending all fat is "bad" (both a moral judgment and incorrect nutritional judgment), stop pushing weight loss pills and other quick fixes. If we change the "weight loss" paradigm so that is about life long adjustments and personal goals and not about moral judgments and the number on the scale, in my opinion that is the best way to offer body positivity and accept everyone right where they are at.

    No one should feel bad about themselves because of their weight, but we should all be motivated to enjoy life, which is lost sustainable through an everyday goal of doing "your best" in all areas of life. Some days that means going to the gym or joining a community soccer league, other days that means taking a nap and reading a book. The best way each of us can aspire toward health/weight loss or whatever else our goals may be, is to have accurate information, and I believe much of our obesity issues would be reduced if false and outdated information and education styles (like lecturing w/moral judgments) were revised and replaced.

    Parents shouldn't think their kids will be healthy based on a diet of chicken, with two veggie sides when that meals is chicken nuggets, corn and French fries. Mandarin oranges soaked in sugary juice does not constitute a healthy fruit serving. But they are pedaled this information by food corporations, scientific studies that are funded by corporations (conflict of interest abound) and outdated information that is taught throughout school and even on college-level nutrition courses.

    As a sidenote and step away from my tangent, obesity can be a serious medical condition or can lead to serious medical conditions which are very costly.... but exercising to the point of needing joint replacements and early-onset arthritis etc are also self-inflicted and quite costly.. so I'm not sure if I can hold anger toward a group for hiking medical expenses... I have epilepsy from a head injury I sustained while playing sports. My medical bills are a burden on society, and I would not likely have this disorder if it weren't for a decision that I made to play sports. Should I feel bad about this? Should I feel guilty?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    My opinion is that we should stop shaming/lecturing and instead we should offer accurate information that isn't morality-based.

    Are we actually shaming/lecturing? I don't think so, as a public policy.
    Stop showing people the food pyramid, stop pretending all fat is "bad" (both a moral judgment and incorrect nutritional judgment), stop pushing weight loss pills and other quick fixes.

    Don't know who "we" is, but the food pyramid is outdated and no longer used, and MyPlate and the current dietary guidelines don't say that all fat is bad (healthwise or otherwise) or promote chicken nuggets or whatever (which have fat, usually). Public policy doesn't push weight loss pills, etc. -- quick fixes of all sorts are the provision of the diet industry and the idea that there's a way to lose that requires no actual work, time, sacrifice, which of course lots of people want to believe.
    If we change the "weight loss" paradigm so that is about life long adjustments and personal goals and not about moral judgments and the number on the scale, in my opinion that is the best way to offer body positivity and accept everyone right where they are at.

    Agree with this.
  • s3rialthrill3r
    s3rialthrill3r Posts: 49 Member
    edited January 2017
    It might be more productive to simply side-step the issue of whether it is good or bad and just focus on improving ourselves for the time being. Worry about the rest of society some other time.

    In the words of Michael Jackson, "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change."
  • megdnoorman
    megdnoorman Posts: 282 Member

    lemurcat12 wrote: »

    Are we actually shaming/lecturing? I don't think so, as a public policy.

    I was referring to society in general, and I think many overweight people are shamed or lectured about their weight, and that shame/lecturing occurs from doctors, family/friends, television shows about diet/weight loss etc. I'm not referring to any specific policy but to society in general.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Don't know who "we" is, but the food pyramid is outdated and no longer used, and MyPlate and the current dietary guidelines don't say that all fat is bad (healthwise or otherwise) or promote chicken nuggets or whatever (which have fat, usually). Public policy doesn't push weight loss pills, etc. -- quick fixes of all sorts are the provision of the diet industry and the idea that there's a way to lose that requires no actual work, time, sacrifice, which of course lots of people want to believe.
    .

    Again, I am referring to society as a whole. Yes, the food pyramid is outdated, but it still shows up. My sister is studying to be a nutritionist and the pyramid was on the front of one of her text books (a book published within the last 5 years). My niece's school had a "health" day and she came home with a coloring sheet that had the pyramid on it. Fat and fat-dense foods are still often characterized as "bad", and food in general is consistently characterized as "good" "bad" or "cheat-food" "safe-food"... in my opinion, speaking of food in terms of moral values is damaging to the way we think about and relate to food. I agree the diet industry is largely at fault as are shows like the biggest loser and whatever that kardashian sister's new show is. I guess my point was that the way that we, holistically (not as individuals because I know many of us strive not to speak/behave this way. I'm talking about the greater and more visible majority) as a society talk about food, diet, weight, etc. is part of the problem.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    I started a related thread before I knew this one existed
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10506234/milo-at-lsu-fat-shaming-works

    I started it after seeing a video from a controversial speaker on the Univ circuit

    He's a bit crass, but he makes some good points that we should be effectively encouraging society to embrace obesity as appropriate. Video is at the above thread link, if you are curious.

  • HerFire
    HerFire Posts: 22 Member
    Haven't really kept up with the movement so I'm not sure if it turned into an extreme one since, but I always saw it as trying to get the point across that fat people exist and have the right to regardless of your thoughts on their appearances. Me existing as overweight person isn't saying this is okay by any means, just that I'm deserving of acceptance as a human being, and nothing more.

    But with that said, at the end of the day, we all need take measures to ensure our health and longevity. :*
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Health at every size is crap. Excess weight causes or makes virtually every health conditon worse, adding unnecessary coats to society.

    With this said, shaming isn't appropriate.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    HerFire wrote: »
    Haven't really kept up with the movement so I'm not sure if it turned into an extreme one since

    Oh boy howdy, did it. Probably the biggest example is a blog called Dances With Fat by a woman named Ragen Chastain who makes some really bonkers claims. It's a shame because:

    HerFire wrote: »
    Me existing as overweight person isn't saying this is okay by any means, just that I'm deserving of acceptance as a human being, and nothing more.

    ...this for real happens, overweight and obese people being treated like they don't exist. And it's shameful.
  • s3rialthrill3r
    s3rialthrill3r Posts: 49 Member
    nokanjaijo wrote: »
    Oh boy howdy, did it. Probably the biggest example is a blog called Dances With Fat by a woman named Ragen Chastain who makes some really bonkers claims.

    Sounds like she's the Food Babe of this particular movement.

This discussion has been closed.