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The body positivity movement promotes obesity

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  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    Who are the people (demographic) who promote the body positivity movement? I found this interesting.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/

  • DFW_Tom
    DFW_Tom Posts: 218 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    Who are the people (demographic) who promote the body positivity movement? I found this interesting.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/

    I found it interesting that anything like the above was ever published, much less funded:
    This project was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (#435-2021-0425).

    The authors could have just spent a few minutes reading this thread and come to the same conclusions.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,618 Member
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    DFW_Tom wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Who are the people (demographic) who promote the body positivity movement? I found this interesting.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/

    I found it interesting that anything like the above was ever published, much less funded:
    This project was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (#435-2021-0425).

    The authors could have just spent a few minutes reading this thread and come to the same conclusions.

    🤣agreed
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,188 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    Who are the people (demographic) who promote the body positivity movement? I found this interesting.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/

    Because now Instagram posts accurately represent attitudes/demographics in the world at large? Sure. 🤣🤣🤣
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    edited June 2023
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    DFW_Tom wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Who are the people (demographic) who promote the body positivity movement? I found this interesting.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/

    I found it interesting that anything like the above was ever published, much less funded:
    This project was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (#435-2021-0425).

    The authors could have just spent a few minutes reading this thread and come to the same conclusions.

    What was interesting was who originally coined the phrase, it's links to intersectionality which has roots in ideological thought like Marxism, Taoism and the basic connection to wokeism, radical feminism, etc. No biggy, just though some people would find it interesting. Cheers
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,618 Member
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    george6417 wrote: »
    Another flavor of degeneration afaict. We will end up like the land whales on electric carts in the movie WALL-E. Nobody should feel positive about being obese and people with obese kids should be charged with child abuse.

    I used to smoke and drink. I never thought it was a good idea. I always knew it was bad for me, and for society. I'd never expect people to accept that. I'd never expect people to let children do those things. I never felt good about it either.

    I did feel good about stopping, and becoming healthy and a role model for my children. That's what we should be proud of. Positive imporovment. Otherwise it's a participation award.

    Can't believe people died in world wars to support what humanity has become. Those guys had it so hard, and got so little respect. We do so little and demand so much respect and praise.

    Drinking isn't just accepted, it's widely encouraged in society, so I don't know if that's the best argument. I quit drinking, and lost a lot of friends when I did... because.... "it's no fun if you don't drink with us". There's a lot of things people do that they probably shouldn't. It's human.
  • VicDis2021
    VicDis2021 Posts: 4 Member
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    I think health, fitness and weight all intertwine in complicated ways. It is very possible to make healthy food choices, be active, be fat and be generally healthy. But fat definitely comes with some health risks at the same time. It is very possible to be slim, be slothful, make poor food choices and be generally unhealthy. But being slim in itself (unless extreme) carries no health risks that I'm aware of.

    But basically I endorse body neutrality. We all have bodies. Some do some things better than others. Why such a big deal about it? Some people are smarter than others. Some are more artistic or kinder. Why does physical appearance have to be so all-important?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    george6417 wrote: »
    Another flavor of degeneration afaict. We will end up like the land whales on electric carts in the movie WALL-E. Nobody should feel positive about being obese and people with obese kids should be charged with child abuse.

    I used to smoke and drink. I never thought it was a good idea. I always knew it was bad for me, and for society. I'd never expect people to accept that. I'd never expect people to let children do those things. I never felt good about it either.

    I did feel good about stopping, and becoming healthy and a role model for my children. That's what we should be proud of. Positive imporovment. Otherwise it's a participation award.

    Can't believe people died in world wars to support what humanity has become. Those guys had it so hard, and got so little respect. We do so little and demand so much respect and praise.

    Drinking isn't just accepted, it's widely encouraged in society, so I don't know if that's the best argument. I quit drinking, and lost a lot of friends when I did... because.... "it's no fun if you don't drink with us". There's a lot of things people do that they probably shouldn't. It's human.
    I don't drink, but don't deter people from doing it. I don't need to drink to have fun or relieve stress (I do that working out). And at the very least, someone is sober to drive.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,979 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    justuw84me wrote: »
    For me the point is that you don’t have to hate yourself to want to improve yourself. I can be positive that in spite of my weight, I am beautiful, smart, caring, funny and downright amazing. I am not waiting until I reach a certain weight to celebrate who I am. And all people deserve to be treated with dignity no matter their size, so I support body positivity and I feel great but I am still working on weighing a little less and being able to lift a little more and walk a little farther liking myself just fine through the entire process.
    Lots of people who are overweight don't hate themselves. Many are just unsatisfied about how they look. But the idea behind things like HAES, and body positivity for people who are very overweight or obese is that acceptance that is given so they DON'T really have to do anything to try to lose weight or get to a healthier weight. When there's no accountability for overeating more than one should, they will keep doing it. That's why over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese now.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    "Acceptance" doesn't eliminate health consequences. Overweight people don't need to berate themselves or get stink eye and nasty remarks from others to have "accountability."
  • YourWorstNightMary
    YourWorstNightMary Posts: 4 Member
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    In my mind, body positivity movement isn't about just accepting being unhealthy or glorifying obesity. Although it gets simplified to that, particularly when an opponent pushes the point that fat people should hate themselves and be miserable all the time if they "refuse" to lose weight. People HATE to see a fat person enjoying their life.

    Independent of the movement, my idea of body positivity is:

    knowing that you don't have to have contempt for yourself for being fat. That you're still worthy of self love and love from others.

    Knowing that for every body type, there are people out there who can't get enough of it.

    That you're still human and having a human experience.

    That weight alone is not the only determinant of your overall health.

    And that weight gain or lose can happen for many reasons, some of them truly beyond our control.

    I think that people who are shamed and taught to hate their bodies won't feel an incentive to improve. Improvement needs to come from a place of self love, wanting better health and a better state of mind.

    Personally, it was only after I 1. started ignoring the external criticism from people who didn't matter (ie not my physician), and 2. stopped bad-mouthing my body out loud, that i stopped feeling contempt for it. Which led to a desire to take better care of it. And here we are.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,123 Member
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    There is, or at least should be, a difference between not discriminating against a person because of their weight and saying, as seems to be the case, that a person can be obese, even morbidly so, and it doesn't affect their health in extremely negative ways. All the evidence shows differently. That is even the case with Sumo wrestlers who also suffer from obesity-related illnesses. Yes, the incidences for them are slightly lower, likely because of the physical training that is part of being a Sumo Wrestler, but they still have increased issues with all the illnesses that other obese people who don't do that training face. Positivity to the point of denying the real danger to health simply because of lifestyle is not positive for them in the longterm.
  • lemonsnbees
    lemonsnbees Posts: 1 Member
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    i think people really have a lot of misconceptions on fatness, and an incorrect definition of obesity. obesity is when you're UNHEALTHY due to being severely overweight- but being fat doesn't necessarily make you overweight or unhealthy. many different factors play into body shape aside from food consumption and exercise, such as genetics, height, sex, age, medical conditions, and various other traits. being fat isn't unhealthy for everyone- for some people, it's possible that a lot of fat could indicate health problems. but for a lot of others, being fat is natural and, for a matter of fact, healthy. according to my BMI (29.7), i am almost obese- but my doctors and other medical sources say my weight is perfectly healthy for me.
    not to mention, we shouldn't shame people even if they WERE obese. rather, we should encourage them to work towards a healthier weight for them personally. obesity can be a result of things beyond "laziness," and can instead be caused by various mental and physical disabilities. so we SHOULD normalize obesity- not romanticize it, but also not demonize those with it, either.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,188 Member
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    lemonsnbees wrote: »
    i think people really have a lot of misconceptions on fatness, and an incorrect definition of obesity. obesity is when you're UNHEALTHY due to being severely overweight- but being fat doesn't necessarily make you overweight or unhealthy. many different factors play into body shape aside from food consumption and exercise, such as genetics, height, sex, age, medical conditions, and various other traits. being fat isn't unhealthy for everyone- for some people, it's possible that a lot of fat could indicate health problems. but for a lot of others, being fat is natural and, for a matter of fact, healthy. according to my BMI (29.7), i am almost obese- but my doctors and other medical sources say my weight is perfectly healthy for me.
    not to mention, we shouldn't shame people even if they WERE obese. rather, we should encourage them to work towards a healthier weight for them personally. obesity can be a result of things beyond "laziness," and can instead be caused by various mental and physical disabilities. so we SHOULD normalize obesity- not romanticize it, but also not demonize those with it, either.

    I do take your main point, and 100% agree that health and body fat don't march along hand in hand universally, and way more than 100% agree that we shouldn't shame, stereotype, or demonize people who have body fat (or most any other appearance issue).

    I have to quibble, though: The standard definitions of "obesity" are in terms of BMI. In the US, the definition is a BMI over 30. It's a body size ratio, though, I agree, not a measure of health.

    I understand the limitations of BMI. Even "the establishment" understands those limitations. For example, the US NIH's BMI calculator has a link to a whole page on limitations**, and talks about BMI in terms of increased risks for health conditions, i.e., a statistical correlation in groups, not an individual indicator of health. It's true, though, that many people misunderstand BMI, and some organizations misuse it unfairly.

    ** https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/risk.htm#limitations

    That said, I personally was less healthy when in the obese BMI range, vs. now in the normal BMI range. Despite being very athletically active for over a decade while in that weight range - and pretty fit by multiple objective measures - I had high blood pressure, very high cholesterol/triglycerides, worse arthritis symptoms, and more.

    I'm sure some of that is because risks are more likely to come to roost with age, and I was on the threshold of my 60s when I finally lost weight. For me, most of the health concerns have resolved. I still have arthritis (of course, there's not a cure), but I experience much less pain, discomfort, or physical limitations at a lighter weight.

    As with so many things, others' experiences will differ.

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