Ugh, The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance

FitLink

Overweight children is a huge problem. I work with children as a swim coach and I can't tell you how many times the kids come to practice bouncing off the walls from eating candy and ice cream before practice. We wonder why so many children have ADHD??

Um... ADHD has nothing to do with eating candy or ice cream. You can't give yourself ADHD. It's a neurological disability

You're correct but I believe there is a flaw in the way that they test many children. They hand out ADHD meds without thinking twice or being thorough. Most of the time it is the doctor diagnosing them and they aren't even referred to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

I'm not trying to start an argument or anything and that statement wasn't meant to be offensive. I'm just trying to bring up the point that eating habits plays a large role in body AND mind.

ONLY doctors can prescribe drugs, psychologists can't. Psychiatrists are MDs. My degree is in psychology, and eating sugar and/or caffeine never "causes" ADHD, NOR does it cause kids to behave badly. It might make it hard for them to sleep, but they won't be "hyperactive" or even more active than usual. I'm not sold on the idea that there really IS a disorder ADHD, and I'm less sold on medicating it, especially because of the drugs used to medicate it. But I don't see how it has ANYTHING to do with this thread.

cmeade20

It encourages healthy habits and its funny/cute. This fat organization really needs to lighten up. If someone takes it to a personal level that is THEIR problem. Gosh I'm so tired of people getting butt-hurt over every little thing.

I agree. I'm really sick of how sensitive everyone is. If you find this exhibit offensive don't go to Disney! Simple as that.

ishallnotwant

With some of the posts on here where adults have "absolutely no idea" what is healthy or where to start, I'm think there should be a Disney exhibit for adults to learn from as well as the children. I agree with what someone said on the first page or so, it should be the foods themselves that are the villians.

Food should seriously not be the villain . That's a great way to teach children an unhealthy stance on eating, and possibly trigger guilt over eating/ED tendencies. Food is NOT a villain, people shoving too much of it down their throats is the problem. Maybe the hero should be named "moderation" lol. I think the Gluttony hero is a great example of bad eating habits, personally.

timmymon

The concept of there being an association dedicated to advancing fat acceptance is so funny. You know you are in America when....

when you're too lazy to go to their site to see that they're trying to end discrimination based on weight, and instead you just judged a book by the cover?

Got it. Thanks for the update.

Nope. Actually I checked it out and it is just ridiculous. They refer to people with higher body weight as "fat people" on a site aimed to stop discrimination against the overweight. I find it humorous to say the least

0EmmeNicole0

Bollocks. The issues getting in people's way, the majority of the time, are their self control. I'm perfectly fine with a sedentary lifestyle filled with crap food being demonized. It's much better than ignoring the problem or promoting it as a perfectly fine lifestyle choice.

First, it's not really up to you what I do with my life. Second, I'm really happy for you that you have the self confidence right now to look at yourself, say "Poo, I probably ought to slow down eating this crap and move around a bit more, I'm filling out a bit around the middle". Really, I am. That's not sarcasm. I'm glad that you are there. My point is that a lot of people are not there, and telling them that their self-control is the problem is, again, calling them lazy. It's not going to make them feel better, it's not going to make them deny the one thing that they can rely on to give them comfort, and it's certainly not going to motivate them to get up and move around.

If you'd spent your entire life being told your "insert body part here" was horrifically ugly and you should be ashamed of it, you'd believe it. If I've spent my entire life being told I'm just lazy, imaging how good I'd feel about myself, how motivated to take care of myself, how inspiring that must be for me. My self-worth would be rock bottom. Why would I bother to change it?

(To the hypothetical person you are speaking of)
This is why: To prove to others and MAINLY yourself that NO you are not lazy, and NO you are not ugly. The self defeated attitude doesn't hinder anyone else but yourself. It isn't what other people call you, but what you answer to. You can't depend on others for motivation, it comes from yourself. And there are many of people on this site that wouldn't necessarily say they are motivated every day, and sometimes they feel like *kitten* and don't want to continue but they do. You can't wallow in self pity forever, eventually you are going to have to change it. And i personally won't feel sorry for somebody that feels sorry enough for themselves. I can be sensitive to obesity, but i cant be sensitive to self defeated attitudes. That's just lame.

Ah, so THIS is why it's okay to shame kids? Because if the Disney cartoon shows all skinny kids that are heros and all fat kids that are bad, and kids take away that they're bad if they're fat (and almost worse, that they're automatically a hero if they're skinny) it's their fault they have a "lame defeated attitude?"

I didn't know we were talking about children due to the words in your post such as "in your entire life" and "a lot of people" you never said children, and neither did I. I'm not for shaming children in any way. And neither is Disney, the villains were overweight i guess ( i haven't seen them) but i didn't hear that they were kids, so i don't see how the kids are being shamed with that either. Am i for the skinny people being heroes and the fat people being villains, well no. Do i think that usually most obese people are unhealthy, absolutely. Some of them aren't, but lets be honest that is an exception to the rule, and most people are the rule not the exception. I don't think all skinny people are healthy either, a lot of them aren't. I could run circles around a couple of my skinny friends. However what i was saying was i would never ridicule an obese person, or shame them. But if somebody came to me and said "Why should i change my weight when all my life people have told me that i was ugly or lazy" then my reply is exactly what i would say to them. Okay you're obese, if you don't like it change it! If you do like it roll with it, but don't bring your children down with you. Teach them to eat healthy and give them that option. I don't agree with the villain situation in this post, or the shaming of children. But lets face it bad food isn't going anywhere. If you don't like the disney idea so much, why don't you come up with a way to educate them in a less condescending way, that doesn't cause them to feel sorry for themselves. Have at it!

I don't have to. Mrs. Obama already has. And I never said "in your entire life" OR "a lot of people." That was someone else. This thread is about Disney taking heat for an Epcot show where the villains are fat and the heros are skinny. I support NAAFA'S objections to it because in real life not all fat kids are unhealthy and not all skinny kids are healthy (a lot aren't) and vilifying fat people while portraying skinny people as heros isn't likely to lead to healthier kids and will likely lead to bullying.

Well i was responding to another post with my reply, and that's what i said to it. I never said that the Disney show was a good idea geesh! Someone asked a question and i answered it. You're the one that took what i said to the disney show which i wasn't even talking about . I'm not in disagreement with you regarding the disney show so why are you attacking my opinions when they are the same. I don't think the disney show is a good idea in terms of villains or heroes . But i mean it IS true that bad health choices can lead to obesity, i think that's the message they were trying to send, it was just a poor execution. It is clearly getting shut down till it's improved so what difference does it make anyways.

KellyKAG

Overweight children is a huge problem. I work with children as a swim coach and I can't tell you how many times the kids come to practice bouncing off the walls from eating candy and ice cream before practice. We wonder why so many children have ADHD??

Um... ADHD has nothing to do with eating candy or ice cream. You can't give yourself ADHD. It's a neurological disability

You're correct but I believe there is a flaw in the way that they test many children. They hand out ADHD meds without thinking twice or being thorough. Most of the time it is the doctor diagnosing them and they aren't even referred to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

I'm not trying to start an argument or anything and that statement wasn't meant to be offensive. I'm just trying to bring up the point that eating habits plays a large role in body AND mind.

Please educate yourself on a subject before just throwing out bogus info.

Silverkittycat

FitLink, make up your mind. Are you a victim or the one taking responsibility for your choices?

The obsession with other people's health is unhealthy in itself. You are responsible only for your own health, not every adult in the world's health.

I don't see how FitLink has been inconsistent. It's possible people aren't understanding what's being said. We're responsible for our own health and actions. It can be also true that factors outside of our control do influence us.

Are we responsible for our own obesity? Sure. It's also true that people can feel powerless and defeated due to the actions of others. We can tell them that they're the one's in control 50 times every hour on the hour and it won't a make a difference if something else is going on causing them to not truly believe it.

And even if they do believe they're in control, seeing people shaped like them vilified can very reasonably be interpreted as demotivating.

People are made to feel powerless and defeated due to the actions of others constantly. I can't change what others do or say, I can choose how I react.

I choose not to blame Disney, and until I see this exhibit I'm not going to complain about it. I really don't have enough info to even form an opinion about it, so I'm not going to sit here deciding/debating on who is to blame for kids feeling bad or being obese and so on.
I'd prefer to work on possible solutions and spend my energy implementing them, not *****ing about how evil Disney is. I hope to see this exhibit next week, until then, I'm done.

MikeSEA

The concept of there being an association dedicated to advancing fat acceptance is so funny. You know you are in America when....

when you're too lazy to go to their site to see that they're trying to end discrimination based on weight, and instead you just judged a book by the cover?

Got it. Thanks for the update.

Nope. Actually I checked it out and it is just ridiculous. They refer to people with higher body weight as "fat people" on a site aimed to stop discrimination against the overweight. I find it humorous to say the least

I can't imagine where the humor comes in. You didn't provide an example of discrimination on their part. I assume you thought you found some sort of irony.

And it sounds like you're claiming that they, themselves, are somehow being insensitive (thus the humor), feel free to post the link.

soniaa777

well children dont get fat by eating healthy and exercising and playing. instead of addressing the problem, lets just hide it and act like its okay 2 stuff your kid full of junk and please dont limit their sedetary habits.sure.. eating a bunch and watching tv all day will make them healthy.
accept you're fat or your child's fat, it must be just genetics. make people love them for who they are, and when they are sick and nearly dead by age 30 its fine, cuz at least someone not shallow loved them, right?

JNick77

There are certain things in this country to be sensitive to, ethnicity, gender, age, legitimate disabilities (I would include obesity due to hormone / organ deficiencies), but seriously get over people not being sensitive to weight issues. Childhood and adult obesity isn't a good thing. Child Protective Services should absolutely start stepping in with situations of obese children. They would if a parent was physically abusing them, how is obesity that much different? You're damaging your body and setting yourself up for long-term health issues.

I'm really sick of how sensitive everyone is. If you find this exhibit offensive don't go to Disney! Simple as that.

I couldn't agree more. Having such extreme sensitivity to every issue in this country is probably been more to our detriment than benefit. Not everything needs a sensitive touch.

KellyKAG

[/quote]

ONLY doctors can prescribe drugs, psychologists can't. Psychiatrists are MDs. My degree is in psychology, and eating sugar and/or caffeine never "causes" ADHD, NOR does it cause kids to behave badly. It might make it hard for them to sleep, but they won't be "hyperactive" or even more active than usual. I'm not sold on the idea that there really IS a disorder ADHD, and I'm less sold on medicating it, especially because of the drugs used to medicate it. But I don't see how it has ANYTHING to do with this thread.
[/quote]

Thank you for clarifying this better than I was able to.

Silverkittycat

FitLink, make up your mind. Are you a victim or the one taking responsibility for your choices?

The obsession with other people's health is unhealthy in itself. You are responsible only for your own health, not every adult in the world's health.

I don't see how FitLink has been inconsistent. It's possible people aren't understanding what's being said. We're responsible for our own health and actions. It can be also true that factors outside of our control do influence us.

Are we responsible for our own obesity? Sure. It's also true that people can feel powerless and defeated due to the actions of others. We can tell them that they're the one's in control 50 times every hour on the hour and it won't a make a difference if something else is going on causing them to not truly believe it.

And even if they do believe they're in control, seeing people shaped like them vilified can very reasonably be interpreted as demotivating.

I'm saying, since a more polite approach didn't sink in, that IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS IF OTHER PEOPLE ARE UNHEALTHY OR FAT! Your responsibility begins and ends with YOU! You needn't concern yourself with whether other adults have healthy lifestyles, and it's unhealthy FOR YOU if you do.

@silverkittyca, not, MikeSEA. Thanks, Mike!

so FitLink, I guess that was a BAD on my part to spend my day building a community garden down in Ybor. I don't live there...none of my business if those poor kids have no vegetables. Got it.

beerbomber

Kind of funny they been around since 1969

timmymon

"Discrimination towards fat people in the workplace, education system, and healthcare system has been clearly documented and is growing rapidly" (from their website)

Growing rapidly....Fat people in the workplace....

Come on man lighten up! No need to be such a chad about it

MikeSEA

well children dont get fat by eating healthy and exercising and playing. instead of addressing the problem, lets just hide it and act like its okay 2 stuff your kid full of junk and please dont limit their sedetary habits.sure.. eating a bunch and watching tv all day will make them healthy.
accept you're fat or your child's fat, it must be just genetics. make people love them for who they are, and when they are sick and nearly dead by age 30 its fine, cuz at least someone not shallow loved them, right?

1. I do quite enjoy the finger art.

2. No one is actually saying anything you've posted here. The objection is that personifying poor behaviors as people and then vilifying them can be counter productive. There's really no point in talking about villains anyway. There is no conflict. It's just cause and effect. It was a poor design concept.

CoffeeNBooze

The concept of there being an association dedicated to advancing fat acceptance is so funny. You know you are in America when....

when you're too lazy to go to their site to see that they're trying to end discrimination based on weight, and instead you just judged a book by the cover?

Got it. Thanks for the update.

Nope. Actually I checked it out and it is just ridiculous. They refer to people with higher body weight as "fat people" on a site aimed to stop discrimination against the overweight. I find it humorous to say the least

hehehehehe. that is all!

KellyKAG

The obsession with other people's health is unhealthy in itself. You are responsible only for your own health, not every adult in the world's health.

[/quote]

I don't see how FitLink has been inconsistent. It's possible people aren't understanding what's being said. We're responsible for our own health and actions. It can be also true that factors outside of our control do influence us.

Are we responsible for our own obesity? Sure. It's also true that people can feel powerless and defeated due to the actions of others. We can tell them that they're the one's in control 50 times every hour on the hour and it won't a make a difference if something else is going on causing them to not truly believe it.

And even if they do believe they're in control, seeing people shaped like them vilified can very reasonably be interpreted as demotivating.
[/quote]

I'm saying, since a more polite approach didn't sink in, that IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS IF OTHER PEOPLE ARE UNHEALTHY OR FAT! Your responsibility begins and ends with YOU! You needn't concern yourself with whether other adults have healthy lifestyles, and it's unhealthy FOR YOU if you do.

@silverkittyca, not, MikeSEA. Thanks, Mike!
[/quote]

so FitLink, I guess that was a BAD on my part to spend my day building a community garden down in Ybor. I don't live there...none of my business if those poor kids have:noway: no vegetables. Got it.
[/quot



I dont see how you connected those dots.

FitLink

The concept of there being an association dedicated to advancing fat acceptance is so funny. You know you are in America when....

when you're too lazy to go to their site to see that they're trying to end discrimination based on weight, and instead you just judged a book by the cover?

Got it. Thanks for the update.

Nope. Actually I checked it out and it is just ridiculous. They refer to people with higher body weight as "fat people" on a site aimed to stop discrimination against the overweight. I find it humorous to say the least

Since the 1980s they have supported fat people using the word fat, just as gay people often often use the word queer to describe ourselves. We reclaimed the word and accept it. If you find that funny, you obviously consider the word fat to be perjorative. And their purpose, to advocate for treating fat people with dignity and equality and to fight discrimination of fat people seems pretty admirable to me. Do you believe that fat people deserve to be discriminated against? What about people of color? What about the disabled?

MikeSEA

"Discrimination towards fat people in the workplace, education system, and healthcare system has been clearly documented and is growing rapidly" (from their website)

Growing rapidly....Fat people in the workplace....

Come on man lighten up! No need to be such a chad about it

I guess I don't follow--thank you for the quote though, it was enough to at least search by. You posted an opinion and I gave you mine. Isn't that how this is supposed to work?

timmymon

I hate people