Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?

Options
12357…17

Replies

  • kyrakoala
    kyrakoala Posts: 32
    Options
    Ummmm, who is ever nice to obese people? Fat shaming already exists and is rampant across our country! Maybe if people were genuinely nice (instead of just saying they are) and encouraging rather than harassing an individual something would get done.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Options
    You cannot make someone lose weight no matter how hard you try. My friends and family tried to get me to lose weight for years and I never did. I had to make the choice myself to get off my butt and do something about my weight. It has to come from within or it will not happen. Once you take the step to become healthier then it becomes a matter of preference as to what will help motivate you to keep going. Some people like rewards and some people like tough love, but every person is different. Shaming is NOT the answer though and will only lead to more obesity IMO.
    ^^^^^ that^^^^^ its called "hitting rock bottom" Just like an alcoholic (I know both from experience), We have to want it for ourselves. Shamming only makes me angry,ashamed,worthless,hopeless & want to deny it & hide it :angry:

    This your right its like any addiction until you hit bottom and do it FOR YOURSELF! No amount of shame or derogatory comments is going to make you change.
  • watcheronthewall
    watcheronthewall Posts: 104
    Options
    Nope, never the solution.
  • resistance_freak
    resistance_freak Posts: 899
    Options
    I'm pretty sure that if someone is overweight, they already feel some amount of shame without the need for an advertising campaign (as described in the article) to increase that level of shame.

    I don't believe that our population is as overweight as it is because everyone "feels good" about being overweight. It's because we are more and more sedentary, and consume more and more calories.

    But I will have to disagree with a critic of the proposal that was quoted in the article who when comparing shaming smokers to shaming the overweight said:

    “Deciding whether to smoke or not is a behavior,” she said. “The weight your body is is not a behavior.”

    I completely disagree with the implication of this quote. Agree that your weight is not a behavior, BUT IT IS A DIRECT RESULT OF YOUR BEHAVIOR. If someone chooses to consume more calories than they expend then they gain weight.

    I exhibited that behavior in the past, and now I'm exhibiting opposite behavior and it's having the opposite effect. It's a simple concept, but I know it's not at all easy to do.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    Options
    Well, stigma against drug use certainly keeps people from using them. :| And bullying anorexics shows promise. Honestly, this guy can do one.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Options
    Ummmm, who is ever nice to obese people? Fat shaming already exists and is rampant across our country! Maybe if people were genuinely nice (instead of just saying they are) and encouraging rather than harassing an individual something would get done.

    I am nice to obese people. A good number of my relatives are obese so I'd better be!
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
    Options
    When people comment on my weight it only makes me want to rage-eat. This wouldn't help me at all.

    Lol. But yes. Thinking, "go screw yourself! I'll be as fat as I want!" while I stuff my face.
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    Options
    Being bullied SUCKS!!!!!! I remember when i was in 4th grade, this JERK ( i still remmber his name!) used to call me WIDE LOAD!.. sad thing? When I look at photo's of myself back then.. I feel like I looked just like all the other kids! Funny thing? I bet he would never ever, remember saying that to me now...

    We always remember! It doesn't help, it just scars you! I am here not because of stupid bullying as a kid, but because I finally felt it was time..In my opinion, You need to feel it.. not be bullied into it.

    I totally agree I still hate myself when i look in the mirror thanks to the 2 jerks in 8th grade that used to make fun of me every day it didn't make me want to loose weight it made me depressed and want to kill myself no joke. Bullying and shaming only scars you for life and makes you constantly conscious of how you look and how others perceive you and make you not trust anyone and think somehow no matter what you do you are never good enough. I tell my little girl how beautiful she is every day and I do everything I can to help her loose weight and although she is only 15-20 pounds over weight she is active and doesn't eat horrible so i do my best to make her feel like no matter what she is beautiful and trust me it helps her. She is very confident and I am getting her a treadmill for her birthday to see if that helps, I would never sham my child in to thinking she is fat because I know what it did to me so many years later still
  • SillyFitMe
    SillyFitMe Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    I disagree. I was heavy and got tired of the negative comments so I got healthy and lost weight. I was a smoker too and again got tired of the negative comments and feeling like an outcast so I quit. Shaming (or whatever you want to call it) worked for me. Not saying it will work for everyone by any means but I personally would not rule it out and I do think its a fair comparison.
  • MelStren
    MelStren Posts: 457 Member
    Options
    I think a much more effective idea is to make it harder to get health care/welfare if you are obese.

    What if I have prader willis and I'm unable to care for myself. What if as a result of my obesity I develop onset diabetes should I not be able to get the insulin I need or access to a doctor and dietitian to help me to learn to manage my diabetes?

    What if I get pregnant when I'm obese should I not have access to prenatal care?

    I guess I should added that there are health factors involved that DO need health care regardless of size/health. I have an obese sister who does need special medical care but I do believe it'd be effective to restrict acess, for the majority of the population, if you weren't at least trying to manage your health.

    ****edited to add****
    But I work with the public and see the abuse of government aid by so many welfare recipients that it's made me a bit callous.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    Options
    I think a much more effective idea is to make it harder to get health care/welfare if you are obese.

    Oh yeah. That's a GREAT idea.

    Please tell me this was sarcasm. If not, then you have to draw the line at all sorts of other behaviors. What about people who drink, smoke, and engage in other reckless behaviors? Many people do all kinds of things that directly affect their health. You're riding a slippery slope there.
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
    Options
    Yeah, this is a "great" idea - hear the sarcasm? I'm sorry, but I grew up my whole life bullied, tormented, abused and psychically harmed because I was big.

    If i heard one day that they decided to "shame the fat away" as a younger person... sadly I would have to say I wouldn't be sitting here typing this out for everyone to read. Life was living hell and if they suddenly gave them permission to continue because it was "to better me" I wouldn't have been able to survive that.

    Yes the world has become to PC in many things, but this is one of the stupidest ideas anyone tried to justify.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
    Options
    I don't believe in the concept of "bioethicists." Sounds like a job someone made up because they didn't want to get a real job.

    But beyond that, shaming is effective in a lot of cultures at preventing various types of social disorder. East Asian countries, for example, don't spend much on welfare because the cultural shaming of people who don't work has been such an effective method of keeping them employed. Until fairly recently in the US, fathering children out of wedlock, a woman becoming pregnant outside of marriage, and even living together before marriage were such shameful behaviors that people went to great lengths to prevent them (or to keep them a secret when they happened). These days, society as a whole doesn't bat an eye at those sorts of things, and many studies have been conducted regarding the social problems that have resulted from the abundance of fatherless children, teenage pregnancies, an ever increasing divorce rate, etc.

    If the primary objection to fat shaming is that it hurts people's feelings, what I want to know is why are the feelings of one obese person more important than the feelings of all the people who will be affected by that person's obesity? I'm not advocating being cruel for the sake of cruelty. I'm suggesting that maybe we aren't doing obese people or ourselves any favors by tip-toeing around their obesity and pretending it's okay. It is not okay. And if you google "fat acceptance," you will see just how twisted a perception of their bodies a lot of obese people have. You can call it self-esteem; I'll call it willful ignorance.
  • GetFitE
    GetFitE Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    How about instead of wasting time fat-shaming people, we make more efforts to make JUNK FOOD and FAST FOOD cost more than fresh fruits & veggies. It's expensive to lose weight and if you don't have the spare income to afford the healthier stuff, then it becomes harder to lose weight and keep the weight off, without trying some fad-diet idea. OR make weight loss programs cheaper--like Weight Watchers and Quick Weight Loss Ctrs... Or even gym memberships (I had to give up mine after 5 years bc I don't have the spare income, but I still make due with home videos & the small gym in my apt complex). I think people probably need more EDUCATION versus shamming people.
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    Options
    Yeah, this is a "great" idea - hear the sarcasm? I'm sorry, but I grew up my whole life bullied, tormented, abused and psychically harmed because I was big.

    If i heard one day that they decided to "shame the fat away" as a younger person... sadly I would have to say I wouldn't be sitting here typing this out for everyone to read. Life was living hell and if they suddenly gave them permission to continue because it was "to better me" I wouldn't have been able to survive that.

    Yes the world has become to PC in many things, but this is one of the stupidest ideas anyone tried to justify.

    I feel your pain I was close to not being here many times because I didn't want to go to school and deal with the everyday torture that a lot of people just don't understand, they don't know what that does to a person physically and mentally for the rest of there life
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    Options
    I'd like to see Jillian Michael's kick his sanctimonius butt to the curb. THAT would be the type of shaming I could agree with. Convincing people that they are fantastic, strong individuals who deserve to be the best they can be is what works. That is why this site works.
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    Options
    How about instead of wasting time fat-shaming people, we make more efforts to make JUNK FOOD and FAST FOOD cost more than fresh fruits & veggies. It's expensive to lose weight and if you don't have the spare income to afford the healthier stuff, then it becomes harder to lose weight and keep the weight off, without trying some fad-diet idea. OR make weight loss programs cheaper--like Weight Watchers and Quick Weight Loss Ctrs... Or even gym memberships (I had to give up mine after 5 years bc I don't have the spare income, but I still make due with home videos & the small gym in my apt complex). I think people probably need more EDUCATION versus shamming people.

    TOTALLY AGREE THIS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL THING FOR SOOOOOOOO MANY PEOPLE
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Options
    Fat shaming would be preferable to the nonsense that is the fat acceptance movement
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    Options
    If the primary objection to fat shaming is that it hurts people's feelings, what I want to know is why are the feelings of one obese person more important than the feelings of all the people who will be affected by that person's obesity?

    My friends' obesity doesn't affect my feelings one bit, so I'm not sure what you mean by this? (Not attacking, just curious.) Do you mean something more like my boyfriend being worried about my health and that I should take his concern into consideration? Something like that? I'm just trying to follow what you're saying.
  • SillyFitMe
    SillyFitMe Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    WELL SAID!!! A MUST READ!!
    I don't believe in the concept of "bioethicists." Sounds like a job someone made up because they didn't want to get a real job.

    But beyond that, shaming is effective in a lot of cultures at preventing various types of social disorder. East Asian countries, for example, don't spend much on welfare because the cultural shaming of people who don't work has been such an effective method of keeping them employed. Until fairly recently in the US, fathering children out of wedlock, a woman becoming pregnant outside of marriage, and even living together before marriage were such shameful behaviors that people went to great lengths to prevent them (or to keep them a secret when they happened). These days, society as a whole doesn't bat an eye at those sorts of things, and many studies have been conducted regarding the social problems that have resulted from the abundance of fatherless children, teenage pregnancies, an ever increasing divorce rate, etc.

    If the primary objection to fat shaming is that it hurts people's feelings, what I want to know is why are the feelings of one obese person more important than the feelings of all the people who will be affected by that person's obesity? I'm not advocating being cruel for the sake of cruelty. I'm suggesting that maybe we aren't doing obese people or ourselves any favors by tip-toeing around their obesity and pretending it's okay. It is not okay. And if you google "fat acceptance," you will see just how twisted a perception of their bodies a lot of obese people have. You can call it self-esteem; I'll call it willful ignorance.

Categories