how do people react to being overweight in your country?

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  • tehpounce
    tehpounce Posts: 64
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    In the U.S. it is looked down upon but widely common. When I was in Okinawa the Okinawans' weren't AS obsessed with dieting but they still did it, they weren't AS thin as the girls I saw in Beijing, South Korea and mainland Japan. I always felt like I was massive over there even when i was at my thinnest. Now that I am quite big :( I am appalled by the idea of going back for fear of the reactions.

    although I'm very interested in reading these posts, I just wanted to say i LOVE your nyan cat ticker :)


    HAHA thank you :D
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    seems like lots of people i know in the states are obsessed with dieting.. yet most are still fat.
  • tehpounce
    tehpounce Posts: 64
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    This was a fun post, lots of peoples opinions which I found positively thrilling to read. :) Thanks Natasha for starting this thread. It makes me even more pumped to get this weight off.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    I'm in Israel, where people are just starting to talk about the increasing obesity problem (yay for being in the OECD!).

    Basically, being really skinny is not considered attractive, but being overweight isn't either. The ideal is still for nice curves and birthing hips. Before middle age, there are relatively few overweight people, so the ones who are tend to stick out. Then, beginning middle age, you see a heck of a lot more overweight people. It's still rare, though, to see someone who is morbidly obese. All the fitness ads are targeted towards women, and the ads phrase it as "returning to size."

    We have no tact here, so I assume it must be very hard to be unusually overweight.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Some statistics...
    _44310527_global_child_obesity_gr416.gif
    This one doesn't surprise me at all. There has been a big emotional shift in schooling recently towards "everybody wins and nobody sucks". When I was in Secondary School all of 6-10 years ago my teachers were perfectly happy to tell me I was getting fat. Now if you tell a kid that they have a mental breakdown and the parents take the teacher to the cleaners. Outside of school it's becoming the norm for families to be fat as well, and kids that are a healthy weight are the ones seen as having a problem. Sad.
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    this thread is a joke, correct?

    what do you mean?

    no offense but you come off as a rude b*tch.

    No offense....lol
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I didn't say everyone in US is fat, other people said it. and it's not EVERYONE, it's two thirds of population which is a lot, you know ;)

    Actually, according to the latest data, slightly less than 40% of Americans are overweight. That is according to BMI, which would mean that some who fall into the overweight category are not really fat at all (athletes, bodybuilders, for example).
  • catshark209
    catshark209 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    seems like lots of people i know in the states are obsessed with dieting.. yet most are still fat.

    The #1 line I hear in my line of work is, "I haven't bought new uniforms because I've been trying to lose weight". Never mind this has gone on for 5 years and their current uni is holey and faded.
    "Oh well, (insert life changing event) happened and I couldn't give up my (insert high cal food here)".
    Like I said before, the average size is 42-44 for females and 38-40 for males, in pants. We order primarily LG through 5X shirts, with the 2X and above selling out before the other sizes, though 4X and 5X are close behind. Its like people just skip 3X and go all the way to the top.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    . You guys from US, don't get offended, you KNOW that it's not how it's supposed to be, people from US are not healthy.

    Sweeping generalizations, for the win.
  • L00py_T0ucan
    L00py_T0ucan Posts: 1,378 Member
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    Everyone in the US is fat.

    :laugh:


    - - -
    ETA:

    - For the record, I am American.
    - Also, how do I react? If I have snacks (either healthy carrots or fatty doughnuts) I offer them to everyone - whether they are fat or skinny. I'm just equal opportunity, like that. :wink: :huh: Iz American!
  • Buddhasmiracle
    Buddhasmiracle Posts: 925 Member
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    I don't know about how people react in other countries, especially China, but the obesity rates for America are apalling. Check out this page from the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html. We have an abundance of stores for clothing for overweight people, wider tables and chairs in restaurants to accommodate us, etc. I have always found it comforting because I have been large, but find it a frightening complacency with being unhealthy.

    And a lot of your banter with the med guy - both sides of the story are true. However, it is lifelong eating patterns that make the difference. A diet rich in fish and fresh vegetables is bound to be healthier than one heavy in comfort foods like fried chicken and lots of beef. A lot of foreign diets are more healthy than what we usually are exposed to in the US, such as a Mediteranean diet, a true Chinese diet, etc. where fat content is a lot lower.

    Body image is, I think, a reflection of what is available in society. While it is true that the people who come from the poor provinces of china are thin because of a lack of food availability, it is also probably true that the girls in the cities obsess with thinness. In the US, it is grossly acceptable to be quite large.


    I don't think it is "acceptable' to be large in the US, even if a large (no pun intended) segment of the population across are clinically overweight or obese. It seems as if we in the US obsess about "dieting," judging by the number of pop culture magazines admonishing us to tone, trim, look thinner, look younger, etc.
  • kie_kie
    kie_kie Posts: 106 Member
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    I live in Jamaica and I would say there is an even mixture of fat and skinny people. If you are fat depending on the personal preference of the person commenting they will either say something like "your fat and ugly and shape like a barrel" (lol still cracks me up) or " your a fluffy empress/diva" meaning that you look good fat. If your slim they might say " you look like a stick" (which is meant to be insulting) or "your slim and trim"

    Most people diet I think even if its under the quiet. fat or skinny it doesnt matter.
  • zela
    zela Posts: 92 Member
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    LOL in on this... I'm Serbian as well and my mom tortures me and tries to force feed me to gain some fat whenever I visit.

    I am absolutely healthy, lean, above average muscle mass, abs, etc... pretty much ideal shape for any guy yet she tells me I'm skinny and unhealthy and need to cover up my muscles with fat! Crazy woman but you gotta love mom and unfortunately she knows my weakness is those nutella crepes. I have to argue with her to not make me food :/
  • PittShkr
    PittShkr Posts: 1,000 Member
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    Everyone in the US is fat.

    081123015819454322786775.jpg

    coincidence ....I think not!
  • Naytahlee
    Naytahlee Posts: 53 Member
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    Everyone in the US is fat.
    Pretty much this. Being overweight is honestly the norm.

    Honestly, i cannot imagine living in such a country.

    I am not sure if "norm" is the word I would use. Being overweight is common, and I think over half the population is at least overweight. However, there is still a stigma attached to being overweight or obese, so I wouldn't consider it to be generally accepted.

    I have been overweight or slightly obese (BMI of 31) most of my life, and have rarely been made fun of for my size, though it had been pointed out to me before. I live in Michigan for general reference.

    I just watched a documentary on obesity in America (Weight of the Nation on HBO) and it stated that 68% of the US is obese or overweight.
  • bevsdietfor2011
    bevsdietfor2011 Posts: 361 Member
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    I live in Central Illinois and am pre diabetic and here is what I know from visits with professionals......Most of the US is obese it is a RAPIDLY growing disease and as of a doctor's appt yesterday I learned that over 70% of people are diabetic!!! This country pushes everyone (in ads, on tv etc) to be super skinny and a lot of the girls here are going overboard to meet that expectation. I believe that a healthy weight for each individual is not the same healthy weight for everyone else. I just wanted to do some explaining on why the US is focused on looking down on overweight people.

    We can all fix this problem one person at a time. First ourselves and then helping friends!!!!

    Hugs to all.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
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    I live in Canada... I think we are kind of similar to the States...where the average female body is a size 10-12, but all these women aim to get into a size 4. I live in Toronto and there are tons of different cultures - so there is a wide variety of body shapes.
  • CindiBryce
    CindiBryce Posts: 438
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    don't be ignorant, there is so many rich people in beijing, everybody around here carry ipad and iphone, they CAN afford food. I'm obviously not talking about poor chinese villages, i'm talking about girls that live in the city, they ARE obsessed with being skinny.
    Yes, I agree. A lot of it has to do with media and popular culture.
  • kittyfrost
    kittyfrost Posts: 54
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    Whenever my French grandparents come to the Uk to visit, they always comment on how there's many overweight people now. Similiarly when I go to France, I see more slimmer and normal weight people typically than I would walking around in England.
  • mali240
    mali240 Posts: 126
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    I live in India right now, and it's weird... If you are fat then people (generally older women form your fan, like extended aunts.... )will tell you to lose weight. It applies even more if you are unmarried coz apparently they believe only skinny girls will get married.
    But if you're thin then the same aunties will tell you to gain some weight, coz no one will marry a Skeltor...

    I guiess evil old aunties just like to give their opinions here about your body weight whether you care to hear or not...


    oh I forgot to mention, the fore mentioned aunts will also stuff you with fried and sweetened goodies, and if you refuse it's being very rude...

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