Is Being Fat A Disability?

feast4thebeast

http://www.charlottecooper.net/docs/fat/fatwomandisabled.htm

I was researching something completely unrelated to this infact not even related to nutrition or health and came across this article. It does not reflect my views nor do I have any responsibility for the opinions put forward in it. I have not yet thought through the points made in this nor thought about what my stance might be. However, I wonder if any of you already have positions on this that you would like to share - that you have thought about carefully already and not just based on the title of this post. I am going to think it through later after completing the reading I am meant to be doing but would like your opinions.

zasae

From my point of view I would not say it's a disability . Like the woman says in the article , she has good eyesight , two arms and two legs . Though larger people aren't healthy . So she wouldn't be able to go up as many flights of stairs for example .
But I don't think that counts as a disaility . In a way every action has it's concequences , if you over eat you aren't going to be fit .

Chipmunk222

People who are overweight have not necessarily overeaten to get that way, and just because they are overweight doesn't mean they can't do the same activity or more that a normal weight person could do... I have known people like this.

But I don't know how I feel about it being a disability.... I need to read more when I have more time.

beattie1

Basically, becoming and staying fat is a result of the choices someone makes. To eat this packet of sweets, watch TV instead of going for a walk, eat those chips, or whatever - the daily choices that everyone has in the first world. People don't chose the things that lead to true disabilities - cerebral palsy, learning difficuties, blindness, arthritis - they are due to accidents of birth or accidents of life.

"Being fat is hard, losing weight is hard, remaining slim is hard. Choose your hard"

DietFemme

I think labeling fat people as disabled is misappropriating an already very loaded term.
I also don't buy into 'fat as a feminist issue'.
This paper is pretty old and the arguments about society the author is making about how fat people are ostracised have gone almost completely the other way. Now we have shops proudly advertising "plus sizes available", "extra wide fit" etc etc.
Promoting the idea that obesity is simply another healthy 'body choice' that needs to be catered to is not a good idea in the long term.
Neither is size zero body fascism btw, I'm all for women with curves and softness and all that jazz.
She talks about the medicalisation of fat... well, obesity is indeed a medical issue. And it can be cured. Comparing such with serious physical disability is pretty galling in my opinion.

Disclaimer: of course there are a couple of real (and rare) medical conditions that cause serious weight gain; I'm talking about self-inflicted obesity in all of the above post.

StormyGal8

I know that in my province, a weight over 300lbs classifies you as disabled (with a doctor's note), and you can get disability parking permits, etc.

Now where I work we have 1 morbidly obese woman, she was recently diagnosed with diabetes, since then, she's ignored her diet, managed to get a gaping hole in her foot...got that cleared up, but still ignored the changes she needs to make to stay healthy, eating MacDonald's, chocolate bars and regular pop daily. She occupies one of the disabled parking spaces in front of the store, all day, every day she has a shift....on top of that, she also occupies one of only 2 motorized scooters we provide to disabled customers. If she goes for an hour break, she will take it to the back of the store, park it there, and expect it to be there when she is done her break.

I think when we allow overweight people to be classified as "disabled" we provide them with an excuse to 1) make their lives even easier, and 2) provide them with excuses for being overweight...and even incentives to stay overweight.

I would also like to say that we have employees who ARE disabled, one with MS, one in a wheelchair, and several older women with knee/hip problems who all manage to make less of a fuss about their health issues than the one woman who morbidly obese (don't get me wrong, I believe I fall into the morbidly obese catergory myself, and started my weight loss journey at 295lbs...but I NEVER would have asked for a "disability pass" since I was perfectly able to live a normal lifestyle).


That all being said....if someone is 600lbs, they do indeed have special needs. They WILL need more room to get out of their car, they won't have the same mobility that a 300lb person has. So I believe in some cases, it is justified,

Kalraii

Definition of disability:
1. A physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.
2. A disadvantage or handicap, esp. one imposed or recognized by the law.

LITERALLY - yes, being obese IS a disability. Thing is you could say that a smoker who can't go anywhere because they can't breathe has a disability. You could say a drug addict who had a seizure is disabled. The person who drank, drove and crashed is disabled now too, possibly a innocent bystander also. That's because they are. It really depends on WHY and HOW their disability came to be but we can't always assume.

Was it a choice? A physical or mental malfunction? An accident? Circumstantial?

I personally think it's wrong when a disabled person with full mental capacity fails to help themselves. I know someone who is bed bound with her obesity at 43 years old and hasn't been off the bed in four years. I sympathize (how can you not?) But a part of me cringes as I stand talking to her and a neighbor drops off two large cheese crust filled pepperoni pizzas JUST for her alone. Even as she began to absently eat through it she would complain about her hard life. I just don't understand. But, if my nan can hobble around with her two sticks, over ride her pain and lack of ankle bone, determined to keep her independence, then I can't see how a fully functional, if overweight but not house bound person, can claim hardship because they ate one too many chips. I don't care what you have done the past, so long as you are trying or want help, I will always give you my time.

nmclaurin

I know that one used to be able to obtain SSD benefits based on obesity alone, now it has to be in conjunction with other ailments.

DanaDark

I think is IS a disability once the weight gets in your ability to do standard things. If you are too heavy to even lift yourself out of bed or can no longer fit through any doors etc. then you are pretty much disabled.

Brandon74

Basically, becoming and staying fat is a result of the choices someone makes. To eat this packet of sweets, watch TV instead of going for a walk, eat those chips, or whatever - the daily choices that everyone has in the first world. People don't chose the things that lead to true disabilities - cerebral palsy, learning difficuties, blindness, arthritis - they are due to accidents of birth or accidents of life.

"Being fat is hard, losing weight is hard, remaining slim is hard. Choose your hard"

Well said.

srhershey

I think being fat is not a disability, but an excuse to remain fat. This is a choice, for the vast majority at least, to keep eating junk food and not moving. Having a true disability in my opinion, is not a choice that someone has. I think if someone is too fat and would "qualify" for disability, they should have specific requirments they need to meet to eventually get off disability. For instance, have to start working out and eating right. Then after a year or two, the person who was once fat will be healthier and eventually get off of disability. My neighbor's son is very obese, somewhere in the 500lb area, and the only time I see him is when he gets into his car to get fast food. He is on SSD too, which I disagree with as well. Just because he's too fat to work outside the house, doesn't mean he still can't get a job working from his house. I think there just needs to be stipulation on disability rules and requirements that pertain to those who are fat. Instead of keeping the fat fatter, help them to become healthier and eventually they wont need government help anymore.

GauchoMark

This is semi-related, but yesterday on my drive home I heard a radio host talking about how that he would rather sit on a plane next to a dead person than to sit next to a fat person.

So, there is a social aspect to being fat that does hinder people as well a physically limiting them. However, I think most overweight people (99%) can change their situation, whereas I consider a handicap or disability to be something beyond your control that you have to learn to deal with.

In typing this, though, I have thought of another situation: what if I decided to cut off my legs? This is a choice I made for some reason. Would I be considered disabled/handicapped from then on? Not trying to hijack, but my mind wanders!

loumaag

Well, I took the time to read the referenced article before coming back here to comment; that said there may be many comments before mine that I am not bothering to review before posting my reply. That said, I found the author of the article made some good points and then drew some poor, indeed outright false, conclusions.

Let me say that I agree with the overall concept that "fat people" are, by and large, discriminated against. There are various reasons for this, some quite well explained by the author of the paper. However, in no way are fat people disabled because they are fat. Disregarding the fact that some, indeed very few, overweight people are overweight because of an untreatable (or untreated) medical condition, the bottom line is that fat people are fat because they overeat. Let me repeat that in plain words, fat people are not disabled, they are just fat. They are not missing limbs or senses, indeed they don't even belong in what is known as a "protected class" and therefore garner the protection of the government, and not being a protected class, I think, is the correct status. They are not white, black, yellow, green, or polka-dotted; they are not old, young, gay or straight; they are fat. Hey, I am fat, that is why I am here.

With the above said, and again repeating that in this reply I am disregarding those folks with a medical condition, let's look at what fat folks are. They are at the least undisciplined over-eaters. At the worst, they may be addictive over-eaters, that in itself is a topic completely different from the fact that they are fat. Addictive over-eaters, have an addictive disorder that if not pointed at food, might be pointed at something else or indeed may be concurrent with some other addiction. Smoking, drug use, drinking, etc., can all be codependent with overeating as an addiction. But that does not address, IMHO, the vast majority of us fat (or former fat) folks on this site. The vast majority of folks on this site are not here because of an addiction (not counting a potato chip disorder as an addiction of course 8^) ), but rather because we recognize that we are undisciplined and are seeking mutual aid in becoming more disciplined in both our eating and exercise habits.

The author of the article also presents, I think unsupported, conclusions that being fat is not "itself a major health risk". And then obfuscates this statement by pointing out the known risks of radical weight loss treatments, such as stomach-stapling. She also makes blatantly false statements such as, "fat and disabled people share low social status" and "the disabled individual must be rehabilitated to become a useful member of normal, able-bodied society." I wish I could drop this woman onto the Gallaudet University campus where she could try and make her argument that deaf people are less than able-bodied.

I think a clear understanding of this woman's attitude can be garnered by this sentence alone, "I read my body as impaired and unchangeable." That alone shows that she would not fit into the MFP community. Her conclusion ends up as a question, is she disabled because she is fat? Well that is the topic question here. IMHO, no, she is not disabled; she is just fat and trying to justify it.

suziecue66

To allow yourself to get that fat you must have major issues going on.

suziecue66

This is semi-related, but yesterday on my drive home I heard a radio host talking about how that he would rather sit on a plane next to a dead person than to sit next to a fat person.

So, there is a social aspect to being fat that does hinder people as well a physically limiting them. However, I think most overweight people (99%) can change their situation, whereas I consider a handicap or disability to be something beyond your control that you have to learn to deal with.

In typing this, though, I have thought of another situation: what if I decided to cut off my legs? This is a choice I made for some reason. Would I be considered disabled/handicapped from then on? Not trying to hijack, but my mind wanders!

Yes you would be disabled and thought of as mentally ill to contemplate hacking your legs off in that fictional scenario.

WendyTerry420

Definition of disability:
1. A physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.
2. A disadvantage or handicap, esp. one imposed or recognized by the law.

{snip}

The definition is accurate, which is why it is a "loaded" term. With all the PC nonsense, lots of folks are disabled, even if it is their free will causing it.

WendyTerry420

People don't chose the things that lead to true disabilities - cerebral palsy, learning difficuties, blindness, arthritis - they are due to accidents of birth or accidents of life.

This is also true. I don't think that lifestyle choices should be considered the same as true disabilities. (at least legally, but practically, they are because severe obesity does limit ability to live life normally)

mistylovesmusic

To me a disability is an illness or handicap beyond ones control. Yes, being obese can limit your movements and the things you are able to do (which is the definition of disability) but a seatbelt or being strapped to a chair also limits you. Being obese is something you can control if you seek th education and want it bad enough. It is hard and a long road. Is being "fat" as you put it a disability, no. Is it an illness, I say yes.

chrishgt4

I think there are 2 trains of though here - one is "Are they disabled?", which I think the answer is yes.

The other is "Should they get the benefits that are awarded to disabled people?" Which I think the answer is....no...

You CAN lose weight. Someone drew comparisons to a smoker who can't breathe so well which I agree with. They shouldn't be classified as disabled and so get benefits as it is of their own doing. If there truly is a reason that you had no choice but to put on weight and/or there is now NOTHING you can possibly do about the situation, then that should be treated as a special case, but outside of that circumstance, I think it is wrong to classify them as disabled in the accepted sense.

russellma

If you spend much time around very overweight people, then I think most would agree that they are disabled... They can't do things that "normal" people can do.

That doesn't mean that they should be pandered to as someone who needs special privileges, per se, but like all disabled people, they should have equal rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The nice thing about the "disability" of obesity is that, many times, it is fixable, so I think it definitely merits designated programs to help their disability.

half_moon

This paper is pretty old and the arguments about society the author is making about how fat people are ostracised have gone almost completely the other way. Now we have shops proudly advertising "plus sizes available", "extra wide fit" etc etc.
Promoting the idea that obesity is simply another healthy 'body choice' that needs to be catered to is not a good idea in the long term.

So overweight people shouldn't have clothes choices easily because it's their fault? When I was a 14, I'd have to go to those shops. As a 10 I still do for bra sizes. Not all of our body shapes can fit into Forever 21 clothing! I think there is a lot of great stuff in the media about being healthy. I think you are misinterpreting a new media appreciation for curves for encouragement of obesity. They are not alike! Previously models were so skin and bone they looked sick. People complained that the media was hurting the confidence of healthy women. So now "average" women are being appreciated and celebrities are being hounded on if they get too thin. This is good! Health is what the aim should be. And I think the media is finally catering to this. Finally! And now we're complaining again because we think they encourage obesity??

Just saying!

This rant is unrelated to the article, btw.