Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?
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OP, I have been fat-shamed in some form or another since age 8. It started with my mother sitting me down and telling me that if I continued eating the way I did, I was asking to develop Type II Diabetes, which she herself had just been diagnosed with. (And she was also very overweight.) It continued through school, with examples such as a boy poking me in my leg with a pencil and saying sarcastically, "nice thighs", and a crowd of boys walking behind me in the hall saying "look at that fat b!tch."
NONE of that shaming inspired me to become thinner. In fact, as many others have said, it only made me want to eat more, because what was the point in trying to do anything else? A depressed mind doesn't think logically. Plus, even though my mother made attempts at getting us to eat healthy (and even took me to three different nutritionists as a child, who all told me basically the same thing), she herself struggled with binge eating and choosing bad foods over good ones more often than not. I am not BLAMING my mother for how I am, before anyone jumps on that-- I am merely pointing out that if fat-shaming worked, I would have lost this weight years ago. But it doesn't. The decision to lose weight-- just like any other major decision a person faces-- is up to THEM, and them ALONE. No one can force your hand, and fat-shaming is a poor way to try and do that!0 -
When I first joined this site, oct 2012, i didnt see as many rude, ignorant comments. i took 2 months off and im back and im just amazed at how immature and disgustingly rude people are. It literally makes me sick to my damn stomach.
Did your parents not teach you people ANYTHING? Did you not get spankings when spankings were okay back in the day? Many of you should have.0 -
When I first joined this site, oct 2012, i didnt see as many rude, ignorant comments. i took 2 months off and im back and im just amazed at how immature and disgustingly rude people are. It literally makes me sick to my damn stomach.
Did your parents not teach you people ANYTHING? Did you not get spankings when spankings were okay back in the day? Many of you should have.
I agree. The forums used to be a far more pleasant place in 2011, which was when I first joined.0 -
but a 99% tax on all those over 12% BF... two things will occur, the will lose weight themselves, or they will be so heavily taxed they will not be able to eat those loose weight that way...no excuse to be fat its a personal choice a poor one that that. being fat is like being a drug addict you choose the lift style if you dont like the way your treated change yourself not others.
I really, really hope you are exaggerating both the tax and BF% figures for effect! Or do you envisage a future where only Calvin Klein models (men) and professional body builders (women) are allowed any of their wages? :laugh:0 -
Ridiculous. Like people need to be bullied and made feel like outcasts from society even more than they already do. Yeah it may reverse the obesity trend but it'll be replaced by the anorexia and bulemia trends!
Or suicide trends.....0 -
There's plenty of fat-shaming going on. If it's supposed to curb obesity, I don't think it's working.0
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Shaming people (as a general matter and not for anything specific) seems unnecessarily cruel. Thus, arguing that we should shame people for a "good" reason just seems like an excuse to be unnecessarily cruel to other people.
Even if you can argue that something is for the greater good (which I don't really believe applies here), do you really want to be the one pulling the emotional trigger? For me, the answer is 100% NO! It might be juvenile, but I was taught to treat others the way I would want to be treated.0 -
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Perhaps, though I never noticed a lack of food. There was much less fast food, but we had Little Debbie and homemade cookies and cakes and ice cream and chips and a lot of other junk food.
I believe the difference was the amount we sat. We didn't have video games and cable TV. Sitting in the house was no fun back then. We had 3 fuzzy TV channels and parents in the house. so, we went outside and played with our friends because inside was boring. Most households were still one income so kids were home after school and in the summer, instead of in a structured day care. We roamed the woods and rode our bikes. We were too busy to just sit in front of the TV and eat.
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^^^ THIS ^^^0 -
this - "Instead of shaming people, social efforts should focus on forcing food manufacturers and marketers to stop creating what’s been termed an “obesogenic environment.”0
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Did anyone else actually read the paper?
He didn't actually suggest we arm school kids with sticks and send them out to taunt the "fatties"...0 -
Don't they realize that people are already generally rude to obese people, or does Tyra have to put that fat suit on again? Nothing breaks your heart like watching a model in a fat suit try to lift her own luggage into a taxi as men casually stroll by.
Trust me, people don't need to be encouraged to shame fat people. They figured it out a long time ago.0 -
Fat-shaming is what's ALREADY happening, and it hasn't been working.0
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for those of you who didn't read the article because you were so outraged, the entire thing is pretty much criticism of this guy's idea. everyone seems to pretty much hate it.0
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I obviously don't think it's right to point at somebody in a grocery store, and yell "Fattie!" at them.
This article instead points out that between the convenient bad food choices which are thrown in our faces day in and day out, without proper education on what a real healthy meal looks like, people WILL get fat. Bottom line - that's the problem we are facing.
You can't tell me that there's no correlation between the availability of super sized fries and people's waist lines. Portions are getting larger, while our activity levels are decreasing. This is why 2/3rds of Americans are overweight - THERE IS A PROBLEM.
I don't think you are doing anybody any harm by telling them the truth. Sometimes it hurts, but it's also necessary.0 -
I'm not even reading it. I can just imagine. It is putting blame in the individual and no one else is taking any blame. Look at the high processed foods that grow up eating. What about people on welfare who can only afford cans of soup, kraft dinner, etc. I think as a society we should all be looking to curb obesity. People gain weight for all kinds of reasons: depression, child birth, medications, poor diet, physical limitations. I am not trying to make excuses for people, but shaming is not a good way to go about anything. Encouragement and support? Sure. People need to feel self-determined and motivated. People need to want this change for themselves, not because they are bullied into it.
You're not trying to make excuses for people but that's all you did, foods don't jump in ones mouth, nor does any one type of food make you fat. The chronic over consumption of calories makes you fat, who is in control of that? You are
People find themselves in the situation they are in for all knids of reasons. If you were taught to eat and live a certain way it can be hard to unchange that behaviour. If all you can afford is cheap processed foods, you have 5 kids to raise, and no money or time for the gym etc it can be hard. When people are just trying to survive and get through the day, it can be hard. I just don't think we should be putting these people down more. I also do not think we should be putting all the blame on the individual. If obesity is such an issue why are there more fastfood places than healthy restaurants? Why are vegtables so expensive but for 1.29 you can feed 2 people with a box of kraft dinner? What about medications that cause weight gain? What about women who give birth and then due to all kinds of reason (money, depression, time) have a really hard time getting back on track?
People don't just wake up and decide to be obese.
But clearly you woke up and decided to be ignorant.
Ah yes excuse after excuse, overeating makes you fat. ZOMG, fast food or processed foods, do they make you fat if you are in a deficit or at maintenance? Eggs, milk, cheese, ground beef, whole chickens, fresh veg is cheap, people are just too lazy to cook stuff, once again it's on the individual and you are are the ignorant one if you thing all these external factors are forcing food down their throats and making people fat
I'd to address the socio-economic theme that's recurring in this thread.
Working in medicine has made me VERY jaded as to how "the system" is used & abused; but I've learned some hows & whys of factors that play into the mix.
In economically depressed areas, ( the projects, wrong side of the tracks,the hood or whatever you want to call it) its a bit difficult to whip up say, grilled chicken breast & steamed broccoli for the kiddos when the nearest place to shop is the corner liquor store.
Access to "normal" grocery stores is more difficult in these areas, literally. (Yes, there papers, studies, etc., on the subject)
The further away that one has to travel in order to get to a store to where they can buy the foods you mention is not an excuse, it's a fact. Im certainly not trying to explain/excuse obesity or the food choices that are made; only trying to shed a bit of awareness on the the subject.0 -
Mary_bossard, that makes me so sad. As much as I hate the obesity epidemic, I hate seeing children who aren't given the best start in life or a proper chance even more.
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This^^^oh ya lets bully people into loosing weight.. that will solve everything... I mean look at how good it works in schools.
And BTW, fat-shame me, and you just might find yourself with a black eye. Or two, if I'm having a bad day.0 -
Bullying does not make for good motivation. Why, instead of saying, "Hmm, we should SHAME fat people into losing weight," wouldn't he say, "We should show admiration and appreciation for those who have lost and are losing a significant amount of weight?" Personally, I'm inspired everyday by the success stories board here on MFP. I'm not motivated by seeing someone throw a twinkie at a fat person who's making an effort to jog outside.0
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Yes because clearly I wouldn't hear you lumbering towards me and I couldn't just walk away at a quickened pace with you wheezing and trying to catch up
Out of this whole topic, I found this the most offensive. Seriously? I mean the whole conversation/argument showed what a jerk this guy is, but his last statement..wow.
My opinion, shaming is not the way to go. Most people that are obese have underlying emotional and mental abuse attributed to thier predicament, me included. When I was a young teenager, I was maybe 20-30 pounds overweight, however because of the bullying/shaming I recieved in highschool and because bullying and shaming was also part of my home life from my sister and brothers I became withdrawn and found a friend in food. It was the one thing I took comfort in.
Now fast forward to me as an obese adult. I have been obese for the better half of my 30's, I'm now thirty seven, because of those scars from childhood and even adulthood from coworkers, I find it hard not to get out of that mentality that I'm not worthy enough to have a better life outside of being that little fat girl that grew up to be that big fat woman.
Six years ago I lost 120 pounds putting me at my lowest weight since highschool. Weighing 180 pounds, took me out of the obese category and put me into the overweight category, and I was determined to get to my goal weight, but with another failed chance at getting pregnant (infertility issues) I let my world crumble back in on me. It is so easy to backslide and start believing those things that you were told since you were a lil kid. The shaming and bullying stays with you. And if you are not strong enough you start believing all that cruel stuff and drown in it.
I'm trying to lose weight again, and I'm going to. Not because shaming or bullying has made me stronger, but because I refuse to believe that I'm not worthy of something more, something better..something healthier. I don't need to be told that I'm a fattie, I just need to be told that I'm worthy.0 -
My husband, when faced with people who make rude comments, always tells people:
1. When the famine hits you'll be first to go
2. You should really eat more than 2 crackers for breakfast.
3. You're just nasty because you're hungry
I can go on and on. So no, I don't think fat shaming would help. In fact, I think it might get your car key'd.
Skinny-bashing isn't nice either, and keying a car is illegal. So, really, you guys aren't much better in this situation.0 -
The world is way too sensitive these days.
Translation: It's not my fault when I say something that's out of line, offensive, or hurtful! It's the OTHER person's fault for being so darn sensitive. Why, oh WHY can't I just say whatever I want without experiencing any negative consequences?
Wish I could like a comment.0 -
Positive reinforcement is better than
Positive punishment which is better than
Negative reinforcement which is better than
Negative punishment.
Positive and negative, inconsistently applied, yields the best results for behavior modification.0 -
The only reason why I chose to be proactive before I actually became overweight or obese was the fact that boyfriend told me that I need to lose weight and run. So I did. I think it's pretty ****ing ridiculous for girls to get offended when their S.O tells them they are chunky and need to lose some.
Get the **** off the couch, stop being lazy and browsing the internet for eight hours a day and go outside and run. That's what I did and I lost nine pounds already. Light, tough love constructive criticism is FINE, but bullying and calling others a fat piece of **** or disgusting is just cruel and inhumane. There is a line where it's love, and where its just bullying.0 -
If someone tried to shame me in to losing weight, I'd tell them to take that pedestal they're standing on and shove it up their *kitten*.
Nutrition education and a positive support system may curb obesity. And help people feel good about their existence on this planet too.0 -
This is his great idea? How about teaching nutrition and healthy eating? How about teaching exercise programs to kids and encouraging good sportsmanship. I didn't understand how nutrition and exercise affect your health until just a few years ago.
It's amazing how dumb some smart people can be.0 -
personally I do not think bullying of any kind is a good idea. making someone feel worse about themselves then they already do is not the answer!0
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People I love and care about are considered obese and never in a million years would I call them fat. Especially since they are very active and eat very healthy. So there is also an assumption that the person is a lazy unehalthy slob, which is not the case either.
How can one "eat very heatlhy" and be obese? Certianly you could eat too much foods that are generally considered "healthy" and become obese from doing so, but that would not be "healthy eating". A heatlhy diet is one that would be expected to improve or maintain health. Obesity would not be expected to do either.
Saying someone eats too much and/or moves too little is not the same as calling them a lazy unhealthy slob.0 -
but a 99% tax on all those over 12% BF... two things will occur, the will lose weight themselves, or they will be so heavily taxed they will not be able to eat those loose weight that way...no excuse to be fat its a personal choice a poor one that that. being fat is like being a drug addict you choose the lift style if you dont like the way your treated change yourself not others.
Being under 12% fat is not ideal for many women.0 -
Did anyone else actually read the paper?
He didn't actually suggest we arm school kids with sticks and send them out to taunt the "fatties"...
Shhh! You'll get in the way of the embittered bickering. Which is kind of ironic since people in this thread are shaming each other for their opinions on both sides of the coin. 0
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