The Fat Acceptance Movement… Thoughts??

littleprim

i think it's so unhealthy and dangerous!like, YES it's bad to try to force unrealistic beauty standards on people and to say that underweight is the only beautiful.but all i see from the 'fat acceptance' stuff is hate and personal attacks on thin women and an attempt to justify very serious eating disorders.an eating disorder is very very VERY dangerous whether it makes you fat or thin or neither, and encouraging people to indulge in self destructive behaviour is NOT a good thing.

firedragon064

My sister gained weight from medication.
She always tries to lose weight but it's like pull water into a leaking cup. It can never be full.
Yes, I think we just accept the person as they are.

Elf_Princess1210

I'm for accepting everyone as is. It is up to each individual what they want their body to look like. I also don't think that a person needs to apologize for being overweight, nor should they be ostracized.

Elf_Princess1210

i think it's so unhealthy and dangerous!like, YES it's bad to try to force unrealistic beauty standards on people and to say that underweight is the only beautiful.but all i see from the 'fat acceptance' stuff is hate and personal attacks on thin women and an attempt to justify very serious eating disorders.an eating disorder is very very VERY dangerous whether it makes you fat or thin or neither, and encouraging people to indulge in self destructive behaviour is NOT a good thing.

Fat people get attacked for being outside society's unrealistic standards, but it's ok as long as someone is trying to show them how unhealthy they are?

Maybe I just read too much into your post

*note* I really am trying to understand where you are coming from and not be rude. I am genuinely interested in discussing this with you maturely.

slkehl

I posted results from a study on a Health at Every Size program, part of the fat acceptance movement: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/624937-health-at-every-size-haes-related-research

Yes, simple calorie restriction and exercise should lead to weight loss. However, there's a lot involved in doing in right. What food choices are good and bad? If I'm starving, should I eat something or stick to the rigid calorie plan? How do I exercise with my schedule? How do I break through emotional attachments to food?

The Fat Acceptance Movement has the ability to address these issues by educating people about nutrition and healthy habits, without the stress of number crunching and depression when it doesn't work out. People may not lose weight, but they can lower their blood pressure, cholesterol, stress...all things that will make them healthier than if they were on a traditional diet that they couldn't maintain.

Umeboshi

I posted results from a study on a Health at Every Size program, part of the fat acceptance movement: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/624937-health-at-every-size-haes-related-research

Yes, simple calorie restriction and exercise should lead to weight loss. However, there's a lot involved in doing in right. What food choices are good and bad? If I'm starving, should I eat something or stick to the rigid calorie plan? How do I exercise with my schedule? How do I break through emotional attachments to food?

The Fat Acceptance Movement has the ability to address these issues by educating people about nutrition and healthy habits, without the stress of number crunching and depression when it doesn't work out. People may not lose weight, but they can lower their blood pressure, cholesterol, stress...all things that will make them healthier than if they were on a traditional diet that they couldn't maintain.

I think the movement would be spreading itself too thin by focusing on health education, when health is not the point of the movement. There are plenty of groups and programs out there that address health, nutrition, and exercise. I think the answer is to let them focus on the health, and Fat Acceptance focus on Fat Acceptance. FA promoting the idea of Health at Every Size is enough.

Basically, wanting Fat Acceptance to focus on health education is like wanting feminism to focus on sex education. While HAES is an important part of Fat Acceptance and sexual expression is an important part of feminism, both groups have more important things to focus on, especially when there are other people out there already promoting health and sex education/treatment.

Gilbrod

The way I am reading it is this way.

FA People: We are not going to change who we are. Accept it and make changes. If you don't, then you're being intolerant.

Anti FA People: We are not going to change who we are. Accept it and make changes. Stop forcing your ways at my expense.

If you have bundles of cash, then that slightly increase in plane fair will hurt. (Because it will be a few hundred bucks). If we God forbid, get a universal health care system, oh yeah, that will sting. I have had people who weigh 300 pounds lap me at the lake side track, but their body fat is like 20%. And they lift buses for warm ups. And they eat in insane quantities, but healthy as the ****ens. We all judge. One will judge me for judging someone else and so on and so on. If you don't like being forced to do something, don't try to force others to accept your beliefs.

ironanimal

I think it should be flipped on its head and people should just accept that if they're fat they WILL need to pay for two seats on a plane, they WILL need to pay extra on their insurance, etc etc.

Being fat and not doing anything about it doesn't mean everyone else around you should have to adapt to you.

DrGeriK

I'm for accepting the PEOPLE who are fat and being able to look past it at who they are... it's the FAT that I can't regard as acceptable, not with a national health crisis arising from it.

We do have a dual problem in the US, on the one hand we are becoming too materialistic, shallow, superficial... but on the other hand too many of us are also becoming overweight and obese. Both are severe problems, it's just that one is spiritual in nature and the other is physical. We have every ability to fight both battles at the same time, and we should.

Very well said.

dlf88

Okay I think it is good because it tells us we dont have to be a size 0 to be beautiful. We must learn to love ourselves and some people find bigger people really attractive.The most important thing is being healthy plus young females need to have healthy body images we dont want them to starve to be a size 0, have self hate and die from a eating disorder.

Anitamarhea

I think that our bodies were not originally made to be over-weight and that "accepting" it, overall, would be a travesty. I think we, as a culture, value the "perfect" size and that people have to make excuses for not being "it". I work with kiddos and I hate to see them not eat at all because they feel everyone will see them "making themselves more fat". I also, unfortunately, see a LOT of difference between the way bigger kids are treated compared to the smaller kids. This starts in kindergarten!! By the 1st grade, they KNOW they are fat, and "lacking". With all this said, people who go on tv and sensationalize the fat movement aren't doing anyone any favors, and, if given a choice, I bet they would chose to be fit. Their lives have just got out of control. It took years for me to gain the 50 lbs...I won't accept it..my body is wearing itself out faster and it's screaming "heart attack!!" and NOONE accepts heart attacks and diabetes as ok!!!

naomi8888

I think it should be flipped on its head and people should just accept that if they're fat they WILL need to pay for two seats on a plane, they WILL need to pay extra on their insurance, etc etc.

Being fat and not doing anything about it doesn't mean everyone else around you should have to adapt to you.

Exactly! When it negatively impacts other people then you're forcing your problems on others.

AlyRoseNYC

I think it should be flipped on its head and people should just accept that if they're fat they WILL need to pay for two seats on a plane, they WILL need to pay extra on their insurance, etc etc.

Being fat and not doing anything about it doesn't mean everyone else around you should have to adapt to you.

I totally agree.

Wonderob

I feel like acceptance is the wrong word. I don't think we should accept obesity or encourage it, (do we really want to teach our children that obesity and poor health is totally cool, and that their life will be as totally rad and fulfilled as a normal sized healthy person? Probably not.) but we should treat those who are overweight with the same respect and dignity and any other person and not just assume that they're weak willed/ stupid/ wastes of life.

Hmm I'm pretty sure that there isn't an alcoholic acceptance movement and I would guess nobody would advocate one, however do the same things not apply to alcoholics?

For some obese people it's a lifestyle choice - just as drinking lots is
For some obese people, it's an addiction, same as alcoholics
On end of the scale where one might eat a little too much - or drink a little too much, you probably wouldn't treat either of those any differently - acceptance

On the other end of the scale you would surely seek to help those who are very obese, just as you would those who were alchoholic? I'm not sure you should make too many allowances for either should you?

"but we should treat those who are overweight with the same respect and dignity and any other person and not just assume that they're weak willed/ stupid/ wastes of life."

Would you afford the same respect for a drunk? I guess we should really

vklebanova

I have VERY strong feelings about this actually and it is absolutely NOT okay to promote obesity. If for nothing else, then the impact on children. It's REALLY beyond upsetting to me when I see like a 7 or 8 year old who is morbidly obese.. and in this instance it is COMPLETELY and WITHOUT A DOUBT the parent's fault.

I think one of the main focuses of our country actually at this point should be teaching good nutrition and exercise habits starting at a very early age. There should also be free education available to parents on how best to nurture children & promote overall good habits in the household.

I am very much against this movement. I understand some people have hormonal problems and what not - all of which are completely treatable and are no longer an excuse in our day and age. I HONESTLY don't see a single positive thing about this movement... No one should feel "comfortable in their own skin" and weigh 500+ pounds. It's disgusting.

SteveTries

What a load of tree-hugging hippie crap!

For sure there's no reason on earth for people to subject fat-folk to hatred and ridicule, that's beneath contempt. But a movement to promote societal attitute that fat is OK? That society at large should change to adopt the super-fat few? Utter tosh.

Being very fat is not OK. It's not healthy for us as individuals, it robs children of their parents prematurely and it put strain on our social healthcare systems and welfare systems. If we start promoting an attitute that this is perfectly fine (indeed why not encourage it) all we do is enable people to go on damaging themselves. I think the same argument applies to excessive drinking, to smoking and to drug use. As a society we have to pull together to help people, sometimes that means protecting them from themselves..........we shouldn't be enabling this further.

WhittRak

I think people are too concerned about how others live their lives to a point where it disrupts their own.

roachhaley

I just dont want to pay for a (mostly) self inflicted ailment with my tax money. I'm all for loving yourself, and I need to get to that point too, but it goes a bit too far when people stop admitting to themselves that they're unhealthy.

jackieatx

I'm pretty against it. Of course no one should be judged solely on their weight/appearance, and being overweight doesn't make anyone a bad person, but advocating for staying fat is not even remotely ok. I have a hard time believing anyone who is obese is truly happy with their body (in my experience, happy people don't usually walk around demanding everyone recognize how happy they are).

Yes

jackieatx

Acceptance of any eating disorder is not okay, and overeating is definitely an ED