Ugh, The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance

TamsinEllis

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance ... Their name says it all. Yes I think it is wrong to *force* children to diet since it'll damage their bodies in the long run (I am a prime example of this, stunted growth and deficiency's galore haha) but to influence them in a positive way (for example this Disney attraction that makes it fun for them whilst drilling an important message into their heads) is a great thing. Kids (don't always) tend to copy or idolize characters off tv, so showing the lazy people as the villain's and the hero's being hard working is a great message, no-one wants to be the villain.


This is actually the first time I've heard of the Nation Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and honestly I'm surprised such an organisation exists. Yes children and adults can gain and retain weight from certain medications and that, but they don't become obese from just medication, that's them doing that as well. I know plenty of people who have gotten chubbier from medication, but that is it, just chubbier not obese. And as a population most people don't tend to *discriminate* against *fat* people, sure we might assume that person is lazy, or has a food addiction or any number of things, but we don't put them in cages and point and laugh at them (sorry if someone else has already wrote that, didn't mean to steal it, just only read the OP's post). We accept people who are *fat* (using *'s since pass on if they mean overweight/obese etc) but that doesn't mean that we should encourage people who are morbidly obese to keep on being that way, it's unhealthy and incredibly dangerous. I think it's wrong to want to *advance fat acceptance" by taking away the very things that could potentially influence not just children, but the entire family to keep living or start living a healthier life style.

lizzybethclaire

I think the exhibit would have been fun. The only change that I think may have needed to happen was that they should have had obese and skinny children in the group of children who do nothing but eat and watch tv all day. Just because a kid is skinny does not mean he/she is eating a well balanced diet. I think it should have went that route. It is ridiculous though that this organization exists. I may go to their website and look.

Edit: okay, I went to their website. I understand why they exist: So that fat people don't get discriminated against or lose their jobs cause they are overweight, etc. (BTW, I know I am fat which is why I am learning how to eat better and change my life. So I use the word Fat a lot. Fat Fat Fat Fat) Then it goes too far. Calling people "a larger size" or calling it size acceptance doesn't make being overweight any healthier. You can't tell me every overweight person has a glandular problem. I am fat because I ate like a pig. This organization pisses me off. Of course we should not discriminate against anyone due to their weight. However, you can't go around and say that it is alright to be overweight considering all the health problems obesity can cause. Yes, as the website states, we all come in different shapes and sizes, but that does not mean that you should want to stay that way. just because you are happy being overweight does not mean you are healthy.

archgrrrl

I'm not surprised we are being forced to except any wrong life style that comes down the road.

Oh wow.

Being overweight is now being "wrong". Please explain to the class the "right" life style.

^^^ Exactly what I was thinking.

GoldspursX3

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wuldn't consider these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has a few "healthy" habits, that doesn't make them healthy.

AntWrig

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Add sumo wrestlers as well.

This thread is stupid.

hypersensitiveb

The exhibit should take shots at the parents but they're the ones spending the money so that's not going to happen.

Personally, I agree with this.

Whilst the exhibit did sound ok it is really obese kids who will bear the brunt of the teasing / stigma rather than the parents who are making poor choices on their behalf.

"Shaming" children won't work except in the minority of case in my view.

Very true. The kids aren't the ones buying the food in the house. Parents aren't parents anymore in America. They're friends to their kids. Remove the junk food from the house, remove the Xbox, the Wii, whatever and make your kids do something besides sit in front of the TV. YOU ARE THE PARENT FOR GOD's SAKE.

But the way I see it, many parents are not going to change. So sometimes kids have to count on themselves and make their own healthy choices unfortunately. And i think encouraging them to get active is a great idea

it is a great idea, but how can a kid know he needs to make a change if his parents eat terribly and they buy terrible food. Kids have no other example to follow but that of their parents. and at some point the kid is going to have to make his own changes but if the parent instilled a healthier lifestyle from the get go then the kid would be fine. A kid cant go out and decide he wants a grilled chicken sandwhich instead of fried chicken and gravy, if thats what moms making thats what your eating.

As a kid even with out my parent making healthy choices I became Vegetarian on and off and exercised a lot. It is possible but definitely better if there are better examples in the house too.

ArroganceInStep

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c7aaeb7940626693fa418a1eab2291f6.81
(And no, I don't know the full merit of the study, but someone said name one instance)

There are overweight people that are in better physical health than skinny people, and vice versa.

At a certain point, obesity levels do indicate that a person is 'unhealthy'. However, just because a random person is fat does not mean that a random skinnier person is healthier than them (drug use comes to mind). I think that's the crux of the issue.

I personally think the exhibit looks pretty lame, there are more effective ways to motivate children to be healthier.

archgrrrl

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.

MikeSEA

I wish anyone would point to anything about their mission or vision statements that indicates something strange or ridiculous. People get caught up on the name because of our individual views on what "acceptance" means.

The organization appears to be almost exclusively driven to end discrimination based on body size. If someone's objection is to the name, it's about as superficial as discriminating against someone because of their weight.

GoldspursX3

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.

Once again, healthy habits does NOT mean a totally healthy lifestyle.

hypersensitiveb

I'm not surprised we are being forced to except any wrong life style that comes down the road.

Oh wow.

Being overweight is now being "wrong". Please explain to the class the "right" life style.

^^^ Exactly what I was thinking.

Not being fat.. But over eating a lot, sitting on the couch all day playing video games never going out side and playing. Living off candy, chips, pizza , french fries.
That is the wrong life style to teach our kids. It's not being fat that's wrong.

KellyKAG

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!
[/quote]

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.
[/quote]

Once again, healthy habits does NOT mean a totally healthy lifestyle.
[/quote]

It does however mean that maybe people should not be so blatantly rude and judgmental of each other.

archgrrrl

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.

Once again, healthy habits does NOT mean a totally healthy lifestyle.

So what? If that was the point of your original post, I misunderstood. I thought you were asking for an example of when a person could be healthy and yet still be considered or ridiculed as fat.

GoldspursX3

GEEZ...

Food is the villain not the individual shoveling a whole large pizza down their gullet.

It's the corporations' faults for advertising their product because I don't have the intestinal fortitude to put down the Big Mac.

Some people have REALLY slow metabolisms, it' not because I sit in front of my TV 10 hours a day.

The bullying made my kid fat. Not the big portions of unhealthy slop I allowed them to eat.



Plenty more excuses I see in this thread. Most fat people are fat by choice. Silly me for thinking people on this site understood they had been leading a unhealthy lifestyle BY CHOICE and were now changing that lifestyle BY CHOICE.

GoldspursX3

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.

Once again, healthy habits does NOT mean a totally healthy lifestyle.

So what? If that was the point of your original post, I misunderstood. I thought you were asking for an example of when a person could be healthy and yet still be considered or ridiculed as fat.

If the person is actually "healthy" then I don't understand why they would be labeled as "fat".

JustLena75

I wish anyone would point to anything about their mission or vision statements that indicates something strange or ridiculous. People get caught up on the name because of our individual views on what "acceptance" means.

The organization appears to be almost exclusively driven to end discrimination based on body size. If someone's objection is to the name, it's about as superficial as discriminating against someone because of their weight.

^^^This. But then again, it's still socially acceptable to make fun of fat people. :sad:

ArroganceInStep

People who are overweight and claim to be healthy often cite normal bloodwork (healthy cholesterol levels, blood pressure, etc.), but what they don't realize is that the real risk is the long term damage to the body caused by excess fat. Long-term obesity more than doubles the risk of certain types of cancers on top of the numerous long-term cardiovascular issues associated with it. This doesn't even address the issue of quality of life. If you are carrying so much weight that you can't go do fun things with your family, can't walk around the block, can't stand up or sit down without pain, you've lost a lot of your quality of life there. That's the saddest part about it all. I don't think there should be any promotion of this lifestyle as "normal" or "healthy" at all.

Not being able to live a normal life is a very extreme case. I've let myself become very overweight, and I'm working on changing that, but I also don't let it hold me back. I doubt that's what you meant but just because I'm very overweight doesn't mean my quality of life is any less than someone else.

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance ... Their name says it all. Yes I think it is wrong to *force* children to diet since it'll damage their bodies in the long run (I am a prime example of this, stunted growth and deficiency's galore haha) but to influence them in a positive way (for example this Disney attraction that makes it fun for them whilst drilling an important message into their heads) is a great thing. Kids (don't always) tend to copy or idolize characters off tv, so showing the lazy people as the villain's and the hero's being hard working is a great message, no-one wants to be the villain.

This is actually the first time I've heard of the Nation Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and honestly I'm surprised such an organisation exists. Yes children and adults can gain and retain weight from certain medications and that, but they don't become obese from just medication, that's them doing that as well. I know plenty of people who have gotten chubbier from medication, but that is it, just chubbier not obese. And as a population most people don't tend to *discriminate* against *fat* people, sure we might assume that person is lazy, or has a food addiction or any number of things, but we don't put them in cages and point and laugh at them (sorry if someone else has already wrote that, didn't mean to steal it, just only read the OP's post). We accept people who are *fat* (using *'s since pass on if they mean overweight/obese etc) but that doesn't mean that we should encourage people who are morbidly obese to keep on being that way, it's unhealthy and incredibly dangerous. I think it's wrong to want to *advance fat acceptance" by taking away the very things that could potentially influence not just children, but the entire family to keep living or start living a healthier life style.

You must have gone to a school where everyone loved everyone. I didn't. Growing up overweight was tough for me, I got into more fights than I can count because of it. Bad ones too.




I certainly don't think obesity should be promoted or encouraged. I do think that fostering a negative attitude for it is counterproductive as it can easily reinforce bad habits and have psychological consequences on the overweight people (like me) whose habits we are trying to encourage to change. I think it's better and more effective to promote positive associations with good, healthy living.

If I thought shouting 'FAT IS THE DEBIL!!!!' (I'm being a bit facetious of course, but I hope the point I'm trying to make makes sense) at the top of my lungs would help reduce the rampant rates of obesity in this country, I would be all for it even if it didn't make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy. I don't think it does, and in fact think it causes more harm than good in the long run.

burg1801

Why does this kind of stuff always happen in Florida?!?!

Elizabeth_C34

People who are overweight and claim to be healthy often cite normal bloodwork (healthy cholesterol levels, blood pressure, etc.), but what they don't realize is that the real risk is the long term damage to the body caused by excess fat. Long-term obesity more than doubles the risk of certain types of cancers on top of the numerous long-term cardiovascular issues associated with it. This doesn't even address the issue of quality of life. If you are carrying so much weight that you can't go do fun things with your family, can't walk around the block, can't stand up or sit down without pain, you've lost a lot of your quality of life there. That's the saddest part about it all. I don't think there should be any promotion of this lifestyle as "normal" or "healthy" at all.

Not being able to live a normal life is a very extreme case. I've let myself become very overweight, and I'm working on changing that, but I also don't let it hold me back. I doubt that's what you meant but just because I'm very overweight doesn't mean my quality of life is any less than someone else.

It's really not an extreme case. How many people who are overweight or obese can walk up a couple flights of stairs without getting winded? How many of them can go play football with their kids without falling behind and being exhausted? I don't know many who can do those things unless they are like you or me (and most other people on here who exercise regularly) and active to begin with. Most overweight and obese people are not active.

At my highest weight, I was obese at 218 lbs and 5'8". I couldn't stand up from the toilet without holding onto something, couldn't walk up to my office using the stairwell without getting winded and sweaty, and I struggled to even walk a mile at 2.0 mph. My bloodwork was totally normal. Was I healthy? Heck no. I can do all of those things plus so much more. I'm still overweight, but, like you and most of us on MFP, I have worked my butt off to get into better shape. FWIW, people who are overweight have to work so much harder to get fit than people who are healthy weight. Imagine someone who is a healthy body weight carrying a 45lb barbell weight on their back all day long. They'd be exhausted too.

My point is that most people who are obese (with rare exceptions) cannot live an active life because it's so much more difficult to do so carrying all that extra weight, not to mention the very real risk of dying early in life.

Just for clarification, I'm not advocating that we be cruel, discriminate against, or mock people for being overweight or obese, but that we cannot allow society to accept "fat" as the new "normal" because all it does is make the obesity epidemic worse, lessen the quality of life for people, and increase our healthcare costs.

archgrrrl

Bottom line, skinny does not always equal healthy and fat does not always equal unhealthy. Read up on the Edmonton Obesity Staging System and the studies surrounding it.

I've read most of the posts on this thread and I'm tired of reading this excuse. Yes we know skinny isn't always healthy but please explain to me when FAT is healthy??!! I can never think of a time when someone was called fat and that meant healthy.

Did you ever see a lineman for a NFL team? I wouldn't consider most of these "atheletes" healthy either. Just because someone has some "healthy" habits does not make them actually healthy. NEXT!

Did you read the post from the parent of a 9 year old "chubby" girl who plays soccer and does hapkido, eats healthfully and still gets picked on at school for being "fat"? Sounds healthy to me!

Just providing an example of a person (a child) who leads a healthy lifestyle and is still labeled "fat" by her peers. NEXT.

Once again, healthy habits does NOT mean a totally healthy lifestyle.

So what? If that was the point of your original post, I misunderstood. I thought you were asking for an example of when a person could be healthy and yet still be considered or ridiculed as fat.

If the person is actually "healthy" then I don't understand why they would be labeled as "fat".

Did you read this post?:

"http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c7aaeb7940626693fa418a1eab2291f6.81
(And no, I don't know the full merit of the study, but someone said name one instance)

There are overweight people that are in better physical health than skinny people, and vice versa."

Just because you don't understand how it could possibly be true doesn't mean there's the possibility that it isn't.