Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?

myofibril

Positive reinforcement is better than

Positive punishment which is better than

Negative reinforcement which is better than

Negative punishment.

dovetail22uk

The world is way too sensitive these days.

^^Agreed.

But really pleased you posted this as it's going to make some interesting reading!

Micahroni84

When people comment on my weight it only makes me want to rage-eat. This wouldn't help me at all.

^ this! I was body shamed starting at a young age before i was even over weight. It made me feel worthless and i found myself binge eating in response.

Edited to say, the last time i was body shamed was in a gym working my *kitten* off. My brother in law was the one shaming me. I didnt step foot in a gym for a whole year after that.

fbmandy55

Never did being bullied about my weight ever inspire me to lose weight. It made me sad, depressed, guilty and many other things. It made me want to stay indoors, never be seen by people and I would spend that time binge eating. It got to the point that I wouldn't even go out to a bar for fear of people seeing me.

I think a majority of people here can tell you that taking the steps to getting healthy comes from within and is something we have to decide we want for ourselves, not because people are bullying us into doing it.

PBsMommy

Uhhhhhh...... No

We would see "death by being sat on" at an all time high....

angdpowers

The world is way too sensitive these days.

AGREED!!! You have to be nice, politically correct, blah blah blah -- world is VERY sensitive!

MaraDiaz

Yes let's up the murder rate. Hope prisons have extra wide mattresses! They might need to alter the size of their shiny metal bracelets and fine dining plastic chairs, too.

Mailboxhead1

Too lazy to read the article, but what makes him certain that whether you're nice or mean to someone determines what they weigh? That's taking a possibly inconsequential factor, and saying that if you change it you'll change outcomes.

E.G. So, I kicked four goats last week, and it's still hot in Brazil. I guess that means next week if I punch 2 ducks in the face, Brazil will get to a more tolerable temperature....

That's about the logic that I'm hearing from that article.

chelazar88

I am totally against this, I was made fun of as a kid for being fat, and all it did was make me wanna eat more and do it in secreat...Lol on a funnier note...Jillian Michaels pretty much does shame people into losing weight on the Biggest Loser, but they signed up for that!

diodelcibo

Maybe not shaming but telling it how it is may help.

_Witsy_

Bullying anyone to change anything never seems to work well. Uhh duh.

SteveJWatson

It is an interesting theory. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. Fat people were shamed much more than today back then. There were far fewer fat people. But I'm not sure that shaming was the reason. But the author is correct that shaming smokers did cause a dramatic drop in the number of smokers.

And for those talking of bullying, shaming and bullying are the same thing.

I think the fact that there was less food available per capita and therefore it was comparatively much more expensive was more likely the reason.

I read somewhere that food was the main household expendature then, now rent is - basically, an abundance of cheap food meant the landlords could up the rent...

Edited to add: Heavy manual labour was also much more common then too.

murphinchina

How about shaming the parents who teach their kids these terrible, self-destructive behaviors when they are at too young an age to know better and make better choices for themselves. I'm sorry, but I'm in China now, the land of the One Child Policy and I see, on a daily basis how terribly spoiled these children are. I'm not sure they're much better in the States though. But nothing enrages my inner teacher like a little fat kid (and I mean really fat) stuffing his face with the little cakes his grandmother is feeding him on our class breaks.

Don't shame the kids, shame the parents! (Or grandparents)

Katacheese

As someone who grew up fat, there's plenty of shame out there already. I remember walking down the street during college and a car ful of young men pulled up to me to tell me I was fat. That was shaming and embarrassing and had absolutely no effect on me other than to make me want to eat. I think it makes more sense to post calories counts on everything. I live in Vermont and all chain restaurants have to post how many calories are in everything and it makes me a more informed consumer. I think putting up this information on everything, even if it's a best guess, would go farther towards helping people make better choices. Empowering people to choose is so much better than empowering people to bully and shame one another.

Mokey41

I don't think we need to shame people but I do think we need to quit making excuses for obesity being accepted as the norm. Stop adjusting sizes so the overweight can feel good about themselves, making allowances on public transport, ***** footing around the word fat by using chubby, fluffy, etc, making adjustments to the work place to accommodate the obese.

There's the odd special snowflake out there who has some genuine medical problem that causes a weight issue but for the 99% it's a matter of getting your head in the game. Pretending it's alright is not helping.

Edit: Seriously? Another word for cat is deserving of censorship? SMH

erinsueburns

Well, one of the arguments was that public shaming of smokers worked to get people to quit smoking.

Some people are genetically predisposed to obesity. Medical issues. Hormonal problems. No one is predisposed to smoking.

Not that that is an excuse to be obese, but it's also very easy for a slender person to make this assumption.

Public shaming of smokers never made me want to quit smoking. All it made we want to do was say "go **** ******* ***** ********" to the person complaining about smokers.

Or smoke another cigarette...

But this is what really caught my eye in that news article:

actual free-range fat people

OutsideCreativ

I don't think shaming is the solution-- but coddling certainly isn't either.

Too big to fit in your chair at the ballgame, on the plane or on the train? Then you'll have to buy another. We're not going to just give you one.

In stores-- lets make those scooters available only for those who are injured or elderly. If you're just using one becasue you're fat... then maybe a walk down some aisles would help you out.

Don't shame, don't coddle just hold everyone to the same standards you hol people of healthy weight.

bcattoes

Well, one of the arguments was that public shaming of smokers worked to get people to quit smoking.

Some people are genetically predisposed to obesity. Medical issues. Hormonal problems. No one is predisposed to smoking.

Not that that is an excuse to be obese, but it's also very easy for a slender person to make this assumption.

There is as much non-truth in this as truth. Genetics do a play a role in how easily one loses or gains weight, but outside very rare genetic disorders genetics do not make people obese. People eating too much and moving too little makes them obese. And just like genetics may make it easier for some to gain weight, genetics can make it easier for some to become addicted to substances like tobacco. Both smoking and gaining weight are choices people make.

Dougf90

Fat people know they're fat, someone mocking them isn't going to help them. Also, fat shaming is already in full force. What has it done?

This would also encourage more bullying towards young children in school, who not only hate themselves but will now hate going to school. That's not good. How can you expect a child to have the wherewithal to overcome such a task when most adults can't even do it themselves? Are we expecting to shame the knowledge into them?

MizTerry

Well, one of the arguments was that public shaming of smokers worked to get people to quit smoking.

.

I quit smoking when "I" saw fit to do so, not because I was shamed into it. "I" had to make the decision that it was time to quit. That's all a bunch of hogwash.