Weight - A sign of affluence???

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Muchaneta1305
Muchaneta1305 Posts: 21
in Introduce Yourself
Hie all. I was just wondering if there are any other people out there who come from a place where weight is considered a sign of good living and wealth? I used to weigh around 220 pounds. I realise now that I used to be highly respected in my community ( a small one). Lots of friendly smiles, jokes and wonderful service. Now that I have reduced in size I even hear people s******ing behind my back and pointing fingers.Maybe I am just being paranoid but I really feel like I lost something when I lost weight....just wondering if I am alone on this...

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  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
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    I guess it depends where you come from. In North America I find it's different. The least wealthy people tend toward obese due to the quality of cheap food.

    I flew in to Detroit once, and was meeting the rest of the party the next day. I lost all my credit cards. Pooling resources, we had enough for the hotel room with $15 left for food.

    With that $15 I was able to eat dinner, breakfast AND lunch. And no, it wasn't quality food. I remember being flabbergasted, and finally understood why the world thinks the US is so disproportionately large. And of course, excess weight causes excess health problems, and poor people can't afford healthcare. (insert conspiracy here.)
  • Muchaneta1305
    Muchaneta1305 Posts: 21
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    I agree it really depends where you live. I am from a small place where most of us know each other...very well too. Conspiracy???mmm you might be on to something there:wink:
  • SuperVixen2B
    SuperVixen2B Posts: 218 Member
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    It does exist. I read an article about some place in...Africa? I think...? The women were force fed like geese for foie gras. The men would only marry very obese women - the silver of the stretch marks was highly prized as a beautiful feature. A man with a very heavy wife was admired because he must be so wealthy to be able to keep a wife so well fed. It was an interesting read. So it does exist.
  • Muchaneta1305
    Muchaneta1305 Posts: 21
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    Funny you should mention Africa.....
  • BrianE30
    BrianE30 Posts: 12 Member
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    Many cultures in Africa consider being overweight a sign of good living. And being overweight is not frowned upon but it some ways admired. But I think in more recent times, some cultures in Africa have started to change views on this and are gaining more understanding of the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    i have come across this personally in south-east asia.
    when it was at my heaviest at about 260 lbs,random older women would just rub my belly in the street or bar.
    i was told it was as a matter of respect for being able to be afford being that size.
    one local girl remarked that i was the image of a buddha!
    strange but true.
  • botography
    botography Posts: 95 Member
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    My grandmother thought so. She used to chase me around trying to feed me. She thought it was a sign of achievement, importance, who knows. Anyway I was a small little gal for the longest time. And then I guess it didn't end up that way. I have 30 pounds to lose and I hit a set point and it is all over.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I spent some time in Zimbabwe a few months before my sisters wedding (I was the maid of honor). I was trying to lose weight at the time to look good for the wedding, knowing that these pictures would be posted in my parents house for all of eternity.

    My hostess would harass me to eat more (I was still eating plenty, believe me) and would poke fun at me for wanting to watch my waistline. I don't know if it was a food=love type of thing or a fat=wealth=desirable thing, but that was my experience.
  • smarieallen85
    smarieallen85 Posts: 535 Member
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    I think it was more common hundreds of years ago for weight to be a sign of affluence. Now, in the US, not so much. If you are from a small town in a south, are a lot of the people there over weight? If so, they might not understand your weight loss. They might think you think you're better than them, they may be jealous, etc.
  • Soggynode
    Soggynode Posts: 1,179 Member
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    I run accross this in SE China on business trips. The other engineer I travel with is older with gray hair but I am much heavier. Waitresses in restaurants are constantly trying to figure out which one of us is senior or more important so they know who to serve first. Our host says it causes quite a lot of discussion amonst the wait staff. Since I'm down 45 lbs since our last trip over there, I guess the other engineer is going to get served first from now on. I guess I can deal with that :happy:
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    With that $15 I was able to eat dinner, breakfast AND lunch. And no, it wasn't quality food. I remember being flabbergasted, and finally understood why the world thinks the US is so disproportionately large.
    This is why I love visiting the states! Om noms for super cheap!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    I think it was more common hundreds of years ago for weight to be a sign of affluence. Now, in the US, not so much. If you are from a small town in a south, are a lot of the people there over weight? If so, they might not understand your weight loss. They might think you think you're better than them, they may be jealous, etc.

    Yes, it has changed as the culture changed. The most recent example is the "Gilded Age" in the US (late 1800's to just before WWI) where the moneyed fat cats like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts. Mellons, Morgans, etc had huge amounts of money but poverty and hunger were prevalent among the rest, especially the waves of immigrants. Being overweight was a sign of wealth and privilege and moral superiority.

    Now, the better off can afford the gyms and higher quality food needed to keep weight off so obesity is seen as a sign of poverty and moral failing

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