Why are overweight / obese people reluctant to exercise?
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After seeing posts from many, many MFPers about how they are reluctant / embarrassed to go out running or go to the gym, I decided to do a little research and see if there were any studies about social stigma and exercise. It ended up being interesting enough that I posted it to Science-Based Running.
I'm posting it here because I figured some MFPers would be interested as well.
Here's a snippet:Despite the amazing support I received from these communities, I’ve also noticed that many people in similar circumstances are self-conscious about exercising. Locally, I’ve heard from lots of folks who don’t want to join our running group because it is “too intimidating.” On the myfitnesspal message boards, there are dozens of stories every day from overweight / obese people who won’t go outside to run, or who are uncomfortable going to the gym, because they are worried that others will mock them.
Could it be that the same powerful social forces that helped me get in shape are, paradoxically, preventing many others from participating in exercise?
Full article here:
http://sciencebasedrunning.com/2013/10/is-stigma-stopping-exercise-in-obese-people/
1. Paradoxically, a lot of people for some reason, like to make fun of overweight people for going to the gym, or jogging, or working out. Hence, why they don't like going to the gym, or jogging around people, or working out around people. Working out at home might not be as motivating.
2. Laziness? a possibility.
3. If they are too large to actually move, then it's really hard to actually work out. You can't burn calories if you can't actually move adequately enough.0 -
if no ones said it yet, ef off0
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At least I'm doing something about my health, no amount of weights can fix them being an a**hole.
^That was awesome. And good for you! 0 -
Personally? The people I *perceive* as the gym-going types are the same people who made my life miserable as a kid. This is almost certainly a fallacy, but regardless of the accuracy, it plays a big role in the reasons I don't want to subject myself to going to a gym.
To the OP, I really like what I read so far in your blog, its the first feed added to my new "fitness" folder in NewsBlur....0 -
^^^^^ This<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<FAT and works out like a beast!0 -
I have been going to the gym for 9 months now, and there are days that I'm still very intimidated. We can all sit here and say "good for them! Go fat people! No one's judging!"...but how often do those threads pop up about someone who hates something someone else does at the gym? At the end of the day...we ARE getting judged. And for some people (fit or not) that can be very hard to accept. I get nervous and uncomfortable because I am very self-conscious about my lifting form. Am I doing it right? Am I one of those people that get silently laughed at because my form is silly? What if I have to do the roll of shame? I go to the gym anyway, but sometimes I'd rather be sitting at home eating bon bons.0
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> not overweight or fat and still reluctant to exercise. oops.0
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I exercise at home, my neighborhood, state parks, and the gym. I don't have an issue and I'm overweight/obese. I don't value the opinions of people when it comes to this subject. I'm too sassy I guess.0
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Obese people who don't know how to exercise, or have poor cardiovascular health, suck at it.
No one likes to go to a public place dedicated to a certain activity and proceed to visibly and obviously suck at that activity.
Plus, exercise is hard.0 -
I want to get back into running, I'm a little overweight, but nothing major (I'm well in "normal" clothing sizes)
However, we live at the top of a really steep hill, and I'm not ready to run up and down hills yet. There's a plateau just a few minutes walk away that's around 675m to the end of the street and back, all on the flat.
I've considered just running laps of this, but I feel embarrassed at the thought, of "what if people look out their kitchen windows and see me, just going up and down the street. how dumb will I look"
I know it's totally irrational, but I can't really explain it.
I used to see a young girl (maybe 14/15) walking laps of her deck when I came home after choir practices (about 9.30pm). I never thought anything mocking or condescending seeing her, but rather, good on her for finding a way to make it work. I don't know why I feel like others will silently mock me.0 -
I don't exercise at a gym and I don't run outside. I hope to change that some day but for now I will run on my treadmill and exercise in my home gym. I think some people are very harsh in their criticism of others.0
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I'm over weight and I've been working out for years! I think it's funny when those bean poles come into the gym and see me curling 50lb dumbells, benching 225 6-8 times, doing 200+lb ab presses and 170lb pull downs; 315lb squats; 400 lb leg presses; 120lb hamstring presses and EVEN 25min 3.5mph brisk walks for cardio. So your argument is sterotypical at best. I'm living proof that exercise alone is NOT enough. My doc says that I have good muscle tone but that it is covered up in fat! I look more like Kamala than the Rock. I'm back to MFP now and I'm getting rid of the "table muscle"! Not all fat people are reluctant to exercise.0
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I'm mostly going to echo what others have said.
Many, perhaps most, people find exercise unpleasant. And when you are obese it is 100x more unpleasant. So it isn't like, even under the best of circumstances, you start exercising and say "Wow, this is great! I'm so motivated to get out there every day." It's a struggle. Now if you keep with it then it becomes addictive. Or maybe you find something you really like to do. But mostly as you lose the weight and get in better shape things get easier and less unpleasant and the motivation goes up.
To put this in a concrete perspective, 35 pounds ago running would have caused so much problem to my feet and ankles that it would have taken Vicodin to let me sleep. Today I'm working my way through the C25K program and don't take anything. But that's after four months of exercise in addition to the weight loss. It took a decade to get myself motivated enough to push through what I was sure was an impossible block to my exercising (as one doctor, after looking at my feet, put it "God wasn't kind to you").
The psychological part is a big factor until/unless you start to love exercising. And saying people need to just put that out of the way and do it is both naïve at best. I would guess less than 10% of the people who need to make a change like this are actually capable of just doing it. And life is waiting out there to try to sabotage anyone who really gives it a try.
But here is what I don't get about this comment stream. In my experience I've found the gym a pretty accepting place to risk exposing my body, klutziness, and lack of fitness. Granted some personal trainers are so into working with people who are already fit that they aren't the most appropriate for people in the early stages of exercising. On the other hand, plenty of them seem more than happy and capable of helping anyone who wants their help. And unless you go to the wrong gym, at least half the people at the gym are in exactly the same situation as you. Basically I find most people at a gym are happy to see you trying and want to see you succeed. Maybe I'm just good at picking where I work out. I was OK at 24 Hour fitness. I'm perfectly at home at the YMCA. Noobs should head to the Y.0 -
I know for me it had a lot more to do with feeling uncomfortable and overworked which works hand-in-hand with feeling self-conscious. If the work out is hard and you're uncomfortable, you're then worried about how you look to others and if you look "stupid" to them...if that makes sense.0
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I'm over weight and I've been working out for years! I think it's funny when those bean poles come into the gym and see me curling 50lb dumbells, benching 225 6-8 times, doing 200+lb ab presses and 170lb pull downs; 315lb squats; 400 lb leg presses; 120lb hamstring presses and EVEN 25min 3.5mph brisk walks for cardio. So your argument is sterotypical at best. I'm living proof that exercise alone is NOT enough. My doc says that I have good muscle tone but that it is covered up in fat! I look more like Kamala than the Rock. I'm back to MFP now and I'm getting rid of the "table muscle"! Not all fat people are reluctant to exercise.
At 360 pounds I was enjoying the view from the top of a mountain and was asked sincerely by someone how I got up there... They simply couldn't believe that a person of my size could/or would want to make that hike...
I find it hilarious when people try to give fatties advice on how to lose weight assuming that we're all couch potatoes.. if all I needed to do was "walk 10 minutes after dinner", "park in the furthest spot" and "quit soda" I'd be twiggy right now. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, MY STRUGGLE IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE in the KITCHEN, not in the GYM!0 -
Pretty much every reason others have already stated: people saying nasty things, having low energy, depression, anxiety, self-conscious, etc.
That's why when I first started working out I went to Curves. It was a friendly place where I didn't feel so embarrassed about myself or be concerned about what other people were going to say.
Eventually I just sucked it up and went to it. Even though I have lost 95 pounds and feel pretty awesome about myself and what I have done, I still have doubts in my mind (due to people being jerks in the past) in regards to what people might think or say about me or to me. Even if it did happen again, it won't stop me now, but it took a lot of work, mentally and physically, to get to where I am now.0 -
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At 360 pounds I was enjoying the view from the top of a mountain and was asked sincerely by someone how I got up there... They simply couldn't believe that a person of my size could/or would want to make that hike...
I find it hilarious when people try to give fatties advice on how to lose weight assuming that we're all couch potatoes.. if all I needed to do was "walk 10 minutes after dinner", "park in the furthest spot" and "quit soda" I'd be twiggy right now. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, MY STRUGGLE IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE in the KITCHEN, not in the GYM!
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Hear Hear!
I too am in that seriously obese category- but I used to be an exercise fiend before my kids (which I had really late in life). I really don't care what other people think or say, my answer would be to them, "Well you get your skinny *ss moving a little faster, because if this fat old lady can do it- you had better being doing double time!"
But seriously I think some of you should find a nicer place to live- no one has ever yelled at me out of a car window, or thrown anything....yet!
But watching the calories through MFP and walking 6-7 miles a week has taken off almost 40 lbs in a relatively short time- so fiendishness is back in sight!0 -
Even when I was thin and in awesome shape, I still turned an alarming shade of purple/red and would sweat buckets when exercising. At my current weight, I'm sure to someone who doesn't know what is "normal" for me - the sight invokes an urge to dial 911 and grab a defibrillator. I can't tell you how many times I have had random strangers come up to me and tell me that I am working too hard, or need to back it down a bit. One woman actually went and got someone from the front desk to make me get off the elliptical so that they could make sure I was okay. Talk about embarrassing. It took awhile for me to want to go back to the gym after that one, but I did.0
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Just found out I have to do 4 group/class exercises... not looking forward to that.0
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Sweat is just your body crying because it wants you to stop moving.0
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I can relate. When I wanted to start running I was so afraid people were going to be watching me and laughing and judging,etc etc. Eventually the desire to do it overcame those feelings and I'm doing my first half marathon Sunday and I am still 220 pounds. Don't ever let someone (even yourself, especually yourself!!!!) hold you back. I have never gotten one bad word from anyone, but I'm sure people have looked and me and judged how slow I run or how awful I look, but I don't care. All the people who stop me and say "good job" tell me I'm doing great or comment on my determination makes it worth it 0
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People still stare at me running but I think its the giant boobs.0
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There comes a point in time when people need to get over feeling sorry for themselve/being self concious....
That is true but I just read a post where someone was there and out walking hit a red light so jogged on the spot to keep their heart rate up...
A Car full of young girls drove by laughed at them and yelled out as they drove away "You're Still FAT!!!!"...
so it isn't always about how you are feeling before you exercise it could be what is happening as you exercise.
I was just about to mention that post too.0 -
Who said running or the gym are the only ways to exercise? I can't afford the gym and am not fond of running, even before my knee issues put a damper on running of any kind, any time. But when I decided to start exercising that was no excuse -- there's always walking and if you really just don't want to go out and be seen plenty of beginner exercise vids to do at home where no one will see you or comment except maybe your furry kids. My preference --Fitness Blender. But I started out just walking and riding my bike and then discovered FB for rainy days. Now I alternate based on weather and what I feel like doing that day. Even got a stationary bike at Salvation Army for $2 for another private, weather-friendly option. But when I was overweight - all my rationalizations for not exercising were just excuses and justification for not doing what I didn't really WANT to do anyway. So I'd rationalize why it was OK, not really in my control anyway.....until I decided that it WAS and stopped deluding myself and accepting my own excuses. I would suspect that alot of the reluctance is just that.....because yes, people can be mean and no, that's not fun and it's discouraging. BUT, if you really decide that your health is worth the effort, you can find ways around that whether that means just learning to tune them out and not let it affect you (since it's a reflection on their character not yours anyway!!); or keeping your exercise to private arenas where there is no comparing, body shaming or rude, small-minded and hearted people to drag you down. I would say that if anyone says they are reluctant to exercise because of their body, it is a red herring to distract from the fact that their motivation to change isn't really fully locked in and they just want to justify not doing something they feel they really "should" do but don't really want to because it requires stepping out of the comfort of the status quo --which may not be great but has the advantage of familiar and "safe." I totally understand that because that was me 2 years ago. But I also know that nothing changed until I refused to settle for status quo anymore and force myself to do things I really didn't want to do for the sake of my health so I know how shallow and fake the justifications and rationalizations can be, even if the discouragement and hurts are real. When I decided it was worth my time and effort, none of that mattered anymore. So it's really just all a matter of how you look at it and how motivated you really are -- and "shoulds" never motivated anybody to do anything and stick to it over the long term. You have to find and grab onto that deeper "want to" before discipline is ever going to overcome natural disinclination.0
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I'm fat. I wear skin tight clothes to the gym.. (comfier for me) and I work it like a beast. Sweat rolling all over everywhere... I DGAF what anyone thinks. I bust my *kitten* off. I'm not reluctant to exercise or go to the gym.
Amen Sister!
X2 ...:bigsmile:0 -
Personally, even though I have lost the weight that I needed to now, I am still not in great habits when it comes to exercise. I have successfully managed to change my eating habits, but the simple fact is that I am lazy - and that isn't great when you want to get fit. I work from home as a writer, and I'm a workaholic, so I wonder why I'd go out to exercise for an hour when I could be earning. Probably something I will regret later in life, but sadly, right now, it's true.
I am a little better than I was when I started, though, in that if I have a day off I will go for a walk, whereas in the past I would have sat in front of the TV and eaten snacks. But I do need to get a grip. I wish I could skip the "start" phase and go forward maybe a year where I'm in the routine and can cope with it. I have no doubts that I'd enjoy running if I was fitter, and that to GET fitter I have to GO running.. but like a lot of people I'm all talk/thought and no action right now.
But at least I managed to lose the weight I suppose; better than nothing.0 -
I'm kind of not surprised about how many people keep citing the "You're still fat" exclamation thread from last week, but I still think people need to bear in mind that a-holes target people pretty indiscriminately because that's simply the way they are.
Like I said previously, I've run outside at 170lb and at 125lb and the level of harrassment or relative abuse running in an inner city in my experience doesn't actually change very much. You get harrassed whatever!!
When at 125lb and probably the fittest and leanest I've ever been, I have had....
- half empty beer can thrown out of a car in me and my friend's direction while out running, by some chav youth "cruising"... my friend got drenched
- been virtually forced into the gutter while riding clipped in on my road bike by 4 males in a car, where the passenger was trying to touch my butt and I could hear him encouraging the driver to get closer because he couldn't quite reach yet... I recalled the number plate on my way home and reported it to police but nothing was ever done...
- verbal harrassment is a regular occurrance, usually of the sexist variety...
- people trying to run with you... usually bored youth.... thankfully they're not very fit and don't last long but can be quite intimidating
- drivers driving up from behing and slamming on their horn just to make you jump out of their skin... that gives them a right good laugh...
It's not nice and it happens... but being harrassed while exercising outside happens to all of us sometimes whatever size you are... it's not a fat issue.0 -
I'm kind of not surprised about how many people keep citing the "You're still fat" exclamation thread from last week, but I still think people need to bear in mind that a-holes target people pretty indiscriminately because that's simply the way they are.
Like I said previously, I've run outside at 170lb and at 125lb and the level of harrassment or relative abuse running in an inner city in my experience doesn't actually change very much. You get harrassed whatever!!
When at 125lb and probably the fittest and leanest I've ever been, I have had....
- half empty beer can thrown out of a car in me and my friend's direction while out running, by some chav youth "cruising"... my friend got drenched
- been virtually forced into the gutter while riding clipped in on my road bike by 4 males in a car, where the passenger was trying to touch my butt and I could hear him encouraging the driver to get closer because he couldn't quite reach yet... I recalled the number plate on my way home and reported it to police but nothing was ever done...
- verbal harrassment is a regular occurrance, usually of the sexist variety...
- people trying to run with you... usually bored youth.... thankfully they're not very fit and don't last long but can be quite intimidating
- drivers driving up from behing and slamming on their horn just to make you jump out of their skin... that gives them a right good laugh...
It's not nice and it happens... but being harrassed while exercising outside happens to all of us sometimes whatever size you are... it's not a fat issue.
I agree that we can be harassed at any size.. but when you've been out there at over 300 pounds you see it differently.. Even now, at 238 pounds the harassment based on my weight is MUCH less than it was at 360... So I imagine that when I am down to 170 it will be even less0 -
Yeah all I'm saying is that many people seem to be under the impression that by losing some weight the whole world will change, you're whole life will be suddenly amazing and perfect and everyone will be really nice to you, but that's a bit of a fallacy.
Sadly there are bored a-holes everywhere just looking for someone, ANYONE to harass, ridicule or pick on, and whatever size you are you can't afford to let people like that determine what you do in life.0 -
I joined a gym, bought a Fitbit and signed up here all on the same day. I got to the stage where I was sick of kidding myself although I was fat (morbidly obese actually and with honesty I didn't have with myself at the start of this year) I was still fit enough to do the stuff I enjoyed (camping, kayaking SUP boarding). Before March of this year I was relucant to exercise for a number of reasons:
1) I was kidding myself I didn't really need to (yeah right! I got out of breath going up a single flight of stairs and doing my shoes up made me pant!).
2) I was exhausted just from living a sedentary life because of the weight I was carrying
3) Being out of breath hurts, as do knees, ankles, back, hips, shoulders when carrying 300+lbs around
4)I don't actively seek out public humiliation (also a 'victim' of acr shouters).
What changed was the realisation that the only person who was suffering was me. I joined a gym and the guy who did my induction was brilliant - he basically ignored my size whilst still setting me an appropriate exercise plan so didn't scare me off! I started off with loads of swimming, then moved onto the elliptical and then dared to start C25K on the treadmill. All the time I was eating at a deficit and losing about 2lbs a week. Somewhere along the way I found a love of running and one beautiful early Sunday morning headed outdoors rather than to the gym. Headphones in, head down and ignored everybody I ran and loved it. Since then I've done at least one longish run (for me ie 3-5miles) a week outdoors, climbed a mountain (only a small one, really a hill but a big one mentally!), have signed up for a big 10k race and am planning on a couple of long hill hikes before winter sets in. I am 41 years old and decided I'm too old to give a %^$£ about some spotty oik in a car or some skinny chaining smoking moron who decided that they can yell abuse as I run past, red faced and panting but doing something they're not and probably aren't capable of ie running!
However, I can understand 100% why people don't exercise and its far more than reluctance its a mental battle for the reasons I've listed and probably more for other individuals. All I'd say is I hope my story above helps encourage just one person to walk a bit more or go for a swim. It feels fabulous to be fit and I can't wait until I'm thin and fit!0
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