Fatism
Options
Replies
-
Body shaming, or people shaming in all forms is horrible.
Live and let live.
This. ABSOLUTELY this.0 -
Rant post: Today a Facebook friend posted a photo he took on his iPhone. The photo was of a larger couple carrying four pizzas down the street. The caption? "Whales left the ocean last night in search of 4 large pizzas. 2 each. No. You don't need that much. Go away fatties #nofatpeople"
This post got several likes and 'haha's. Not one person said anything in defence of this couple. I purposely didn't comment as I didn't want to start a big argument!
I mean, maybe these guys had bought pizzas to feed homeless people in the area! Or even just to feed their family - who are we to judge?
Made me wonder, what would the response have been if the post had been of two men kissing? Two nudists on the beach? An inter-racial couple? Two muslims? Two goths? (Just using these as examples!)
Why it is more acceptable in society to make fun of 'fatties' than other people that live a different lifestyle to you?
As someone trying hard to lose weight, and knowing that I have a way to go it breaks my heart to see these kinds of posts, and to hear so many fat jokes/taunts on TV and in conversation. It makes me want to give up. Some people will find faults in others, not matter what.
Don't click on these links then
http://bmdarchives.xfitflaws.com/2011/11/09/fat-acceptance-is-unacceptable/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eTKpVM5jpE
While I appreciate the point that's trying to be made here, NOT ALL OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE ARE CREATED THE SAME. Not everyone's metabolism is the same. Not everyone grew up being able to afford healthy food choices. The $1 McDonald's menu is much more affordable/satiating than $1 of vegetables for a lot of people in this country. There are undiagnosed thyroid issues and people with metabolisms that are slower than you can imagine (my BMR is 750 cal/day for example, which I paid a nutritionist to find out... how many people can afford this?). What about food allergies/Celiac's that haven't been discovered? If you can't afford veggies, chances are, you can't afford health insurance either, so none of these issues will ever be diagnosed.
None of that matters, obesity is caused by a chronic energy surplus regardless of it's healthy or unhealthy foods. So yes all overweight people are created by a chronic over consumption of calories in relation to their expenditure
Oh ok, so it's a lot less expensive to eat veggies until you're full than it is to eat cheeseburgers until you're full?
I wasn't going to join this one, but I have to say that it is less expensive to eat healthily than to eat off the $1 menu at McDonald's. Needing a "meal on the go" is just an excuse. It's not cheaper to eat off the $1 menu than it is to buy veggies and such. If a person is willing to put the effort into it, they can eat much more healthily for less money. For the cost of a McDouble, today I had a huge salad w/ 3 servings of veggies, 4 oz cooked weight of chicken breast, 3 T fresh grated parmesan, and delicious full fat dressing. The salad was much more filling and satisfying than a single McDouble. If I needed convenience, I could have a peanut butter sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread AND a banana AND a glass of milk for about $.75. That's with getting the peanut butter on sale but payng regular price for the other stuff. Plus, let's be honest here, most people eating off the $1 menu don't eat one item only. A cheap $1 menu meal is going to be at least $2, if not $3-5. For a family of 4, you're looking at probably at least $10 to eat something quick and easy. That's not cheap and it can easily buy a pound of chicken, some fresh veggies, a starchy side and maybe even something for dessert.
ETA: If you need cheap and on the go, fresh carrots are pretty darn cheap, easy, and portable. Buy a bag. Open it. Eat it. Peel it if you like, but it's not necessary. Same with celery, cucumber, apples, oranges, bananas, lots of fresh stuff.
I think what you're missing here, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, is that again, this is not convenient. This is how I eat, and this is how a lot of us eat, but we make these choices because we have the resources to do so. In Houston, at lunch time, the fast food drive-thrus are full of blue collar workers who either don't have time or resources to eat this way.
Even at 383lbs, I didn't eat fast food, but I know that the convenience of fatty foods is what is driving a lot of the obesity epidemic. As "good health ambassadors", we need to be out in our communities educating people about inexpensive, healthy, convenient food options.
How is it more convenient to have to make a stop at a fast food place than it is to simply make something and take it with you? I will say it again. It's an excuse. Yes, people may need to be educated, but eating out is more "fun" than eating a peanut butter sandwich at home. I have relatives who receive governmental assistance and really just drive me crazy because they "don't have the $$" for XYZ, but they can justify spending $20 at McDonald's to feed the family because it's cheap. No, it's not cheap, it just tastes better and means they don't have to put any effort in to their food. But, it takes more effort to get in your car or walk yourself down to the local McDs than it does to put some peanut butter on some bread or cook up a box of spaghetti and add some sauce.0 -
interesting.. I just read about a woman who is unable to store energy because her body doesn't produce fat and muscles .. She is harassed and made fun of because she is "ugly" and "too skinny"
Kris Kristofferson comes to mind
Every body's gotta have somebody to look down on
A fool they can be better than at anytime they please
Someone doing something dirty decent folks can frown on
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me...
In reading the responses I am saddened to find so little support for the reality of pain that fat brings to people... Food is not a choice...but we can be healthier. We can chose to be healthier.
Bullies are bullies wherever they are..0 -
Rant post: Today a Facebook friend posted a photo he took on his iPhone. The photo was of a larger couple carrying four pizzas down the street. The caption? "Whales left the ocean last night in search of 4 large pizzas. 2 each. No. You don't need that much. Go away fatties #nofatpeople"
This post got several likes and 'haha's. Not one person said anything in defence of this couple. I purposely didn't comment as I didn't want to start a big argument!
I mean, maybe these guys had bought pizzas to feed homeless people in the area! Or even just to feed their family - who are we to judge?
Made me wonder, what would the response have been if the post had been of two men kissing? Two nudists on the beach? An inter-racial couple? Two muslims? Two goths? (Just using these as examples!)
Why it is more acceptable in society to make fun of 'fatties' than other people that live a different lifestyle to you?
As someone trying hard to lose weight, and knowing that I have a way to go it breaks my heart to see these kinds of posts, and to hear so many fat jokes/taunts on TV and in conversation. It makes me want to give up. Some people will find faults in others, not matter what.
Don't click on these links then
http://bmdarchives.xfitflaws.com/2011/11/09/fat-acceptance-is-unacceptable/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eTKpVM5jpE
While I appreciate the point that's trying to be made here, NOT ALL OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE ARE CREATED THE SAME. Not everyone's metabolism is the same. Not everyone grew up being able to afford healthy food choices. The $1 McDonald's menu is much more affordable/satiating than $1 of vegetables for a lot of people in this country. There are undiagnosed thyroid issues and people with metabolisms that are slower than you can imagine (my BMR is 750 cal/day for example, which I paid a nutritionist to find out... how many people can afford this?). What about food allergies/Celiac's that haven't been discovered? If you can't afford veggies, chances are, you can't afford health insurance either, so none of these issues will ever be diagnosed.
None of that matters, obesity is caused by a chronic energy surplus regardless of it's healthy or unhealthy foods. So yes all overweight people are created by a chronic over consumption of calories in relation to their expenditure
Oh ok, so it's a lot less expensive to eat veggies until you're full than it is to eat cheeseburgers until you're full?
1lb of broccoli is $.99, which is a considerable amount more than what $1 gets you from the dollar menu
And clearly, 1lb of broccoli is also as convenient as fast food because study after study has shown that lower income folks (who likely work more hours, likely not white collar) have higher BMIs.
http://smysp.stanford.edu/documentation/researchProjects/2010/fatteningOfAmericaPresentation.pdf
Musta been why there were so many fatties during the Great Depression because low incomes = fatness
Yes! Taco Bell was in it's heyday during the Great Depression! Who knew McDonalds has been around for 90 years? Clearly, technology hasn't made food more readily available and consumable.
Ah so maybe it isn't low incomes but decision making? If it was low incomes Haiti would be the fattest nation ever, but yet they are not0 -
While I appreciate the point that's trying to be made here, NOT ALL OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE ARE CREATED THE SAME. Not everyone's metabolism is the same. Not everyone grew up being able to afford healthy food choices. The $1 McDonald's menu is much more affordable/satiating than $1 of vegetables for a lot of people in this country. There are undiagnosed thyroid issues and people with metabolisms that are slower than you can imagine (my BMR is 750 cal/day for example, which I paid a nutritionist to find out... how many people can afford this?). What about food allergies/Celiac's that haven't been discovered? If you can't afford veggies, chances are, you can't afford health insurance either, so none of these issues will ever be diagnosed.
Don't get me wrong, it has taken me 24 out of 28 of my years to figure out what my problem was with losing weight, but to judge the entire populous of overweight/obese people with that type of ridiculous blanket is ridiculous. It would be more helpful if we attempted to help each other through education than poke fun.
And just for reference, at my highest weight, I weighed 383lbs. I now weigh 168 and my goal is 150, which is still 10lbs overweight for my height (but 10lbs below the top of a healthy BMI). I am borderline allergic to gluten and dairy (which I had to figure out on my own), have a bad case of hypothyroidism (which I have paid to have figured out and am now on expensive thyroid meds), have worked out my whole life (even at 383lbs, I hit the elliptical every day for an hour AND did weight training), and have a slow metabolism (which also cost me $ to figure out).
Take the energy you'd use at poking fun of someone and reform the healthcare system OR be a lobbyist against corn & diary subsidies.
Don't judge until you know the whole story.
Edited to say: Hypothyroidism also doesn't appear to have put you at such a high weight. You admit very freely on your profile that you gained weight from poor habits early in life, to the point that you gained back all the weight (and some) from a lap band surgery you had done. I am always the first person to say that until someone has experienced the hell that is thyroid issues (let alone the adrenal issues that always seem to come along with it), they can't speak on the difficulty in losing weight. I am on here because of weight gain that did not come from overeating; it came from prolonged high cortisol that did in fact cause fat gain at low calories. So I am one of the "minorities" that gained weight without overeating (my habits used to be incredibly unhealthy because of a history of anorexia, but that's a whole other topic).
People with a medical reason for obesity are often the least accepting of their own obesity, and usually work even harder than most to be healthier. Just some food for thought.
Particularly when many of us who gained weight medically do so rather quickly... there's no getting used to it, just a desperation to get back!0 -
Rant post: Today a Facebook friend posted a photo he took on his iPhone. The photo was of a larger couple carrying four pizzas down the street. The caption? "Whales left the ocean last night in search of 4 large pizzas. 2 each. No. You don't need that much. Go away fatties #nofatpeople"
This post got several likes and 'haha's. Not one person said anything in defence of this couple. I purposely didn't comment as I didn't want to start a big argument!
I mean, maybe these guys had bought pizzas to feed homeless people in the area! Or even just to feed their family - who are we to judge?
Made me wonder, what would the response have been if the post had been of two men kissing? Two nudists on the beach? An inter-racial couple? Two muslims? Two goths? (Just using these as examples!)
Why it is more acceptable in society to make fun of 'fatties' than other people that live a different lifestyle to you?
As someone trying hard to lose weight, and knowing that I have a way to go it breaks my heart to see these kinds of posts, and to hear so many fat jokes/taunts on TV and in conversation. It makes me want to give up. Some people will find faults in others, not matter what.
Don't click on these links then
http://bmdarchives.xfitflaws.com/2011/11/09/fat-acceptance-is-unacceptable/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eTKpVM5jpE
While I appreciate the point that's trying to be made here, NOT ALL OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE ARE CREATED THE SAME. Not everyone's metabolism is the same. Not everyone grew up being able to afford healthy food choices. The $1 McDonald's menu is much more affordable/satiating than $1 of vegetables for a lot of people in this country. There are undiagnosed thyroid issues and people with metabolisms that are slower than you can imagine (my BMR is 750 cal/day for example, which I paid a nutritionist to find out... how many people can afford this?). What about food allergies/Celiac's that haven't been discovered? If you can't afford veggies, chances are, you can't afford health insurance either, so none of these issues will ever be diagnosed.
None of that matters, obesity is caused by a chronic energy surplus regardless of it's healthy or unhealthy foods. So yes all overweight people are created by a chronic over consumption of calories in relation to their expenditure
Oh ok, so it's a lot less expensive to eat veggies until you're full than it is to eat cheeseburgers until you're full?
1lb of broccoli is $.99, which is a considerable amount more than what $1 gets you from the dollar menu
And clearly, 1lb of broccoli is also as convenient as fast food because study after study has shown that lower income folks (who likely work more hours, likely not white collar) have higher BMIs.
http://smysp.stanford.edu/documentation/researchProjects/2010/fatteningOfAmericaPresentation.pdf
Musta been why there were so many fatties during the Great Depression because low incomes = fatness
Yes! Taco Bell was in it's heyday during the Great Depression! Who knew McDonalds has been around for 90 years? Clearly, technology hasn't made food more readily available and consumable.
Why do people say that it's cheaper to eat at fast food restaurants than it is to buy food from the grocery store? ITS NOT. This is coming from someone who was poor for most of their childhood. My Mom NEVER bought us fast food. Not because she was concerned about our health, but because it was cheaper to buy ingredients for something that would last us a few days!! It would have cost her AT LEAST 15 dollars to feed our entire family for ONE MEAL at Mcdonalds. Even if we all chose things from the dollar menu. 15 dollars is enough to buy ingredients for a meal that could last a few days. I don't know what poor people you guys know that are going to Mcdonalds everyday. That stuff is NOT cheap. Sure, it costs 1 dollar for A TEENY TINY BABY BURGER that doesnt even keep my 6 year old niece full for longer than an hour lol. If anything, I think more people go to fast food restaurants because it's CONVENIENT. Not because it's cheaper.0 -
Particularly when many of us who gained weight medically do so rather quickly... there's no getting used to it, just a desperation to get back!
Exactly!0 -
Let me start with I am overweight...and so happy to say "merely overweight" having been obese for so long. My issues were LEARNED by a family of obese people with poor eating habits. I also had to learn to exercise because although I was taught how to work hard, as we all know now hard work is not the same as working out (well, MAYBE if you are landscaping or doing construction).
I had to teach myself how to treat myself well: making better food choices most of the time and exercising.
My husband is a nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit, and 80% of his patients are there because of obesity related disease...80%. That being said, is it okay to taunt people? No.
I am a big proponent of courtesy; however, I also feel (I am a high school Science teacher) it is my place on Earth to help educate people that are lacking education. I make a huge effort to teach my students and my own chidren and family about how to eat better and exercise. I also INSIST that my students and children treat each other with courtesy...NOT respect. I don't think you can respect strangers because you must earn respect. BUT EVERYONE CAN BE COURTEOUS AND COURTESY BREEDS RESPECT.
One of the major points NOT addressed has been addiction...smoking, eating, drinking...all addictions. DEAL with the underlaying issues first folks...0 -
While I appreciate the point that's trying to be made here, NOT ALL OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE ARE CREATED THE SAME. Not everyone's metabolism is the same. Not everyone grew up being able to afford healthy food choices. The $1 McDonald's menu is much more affordable/satiating than $1 of vegetables for a lot of people in this country. There are undiagnosed thyroid issues and people with metabolisms that are slower than you can imagine (my BMR is 750 cal/day for example, which I paid a nutritionist to find out... how many people can afford this?). What about food allergies/Celiac's that haven't been discovered? If you can't afford veggies, chances are, you can't afford health insurance either, so none of these issues will ever be diagnosed.
Don't get me wrong, it has taken me 24 out of 28 of my years to figure out what my problem was with losing weight, but to judge the entire populous of overweight/obese people with that type of ridiculous blanket is ridiculous. It would be more helpful if we attempted to help each other through education than poke fun.
And just for reference, at my highest weight, I weighed 383lbs. I now weigh 168 and my goal is 150, which is still 10lbs overweight for my height (but 10lbs below the top of a healthy BMI). I am borderline allergic to gluten and dairy (which I had to figure out on my own), have a bad case of hypothyroidism (which I have paid to have figured out and am now on expensive thyroid meds), have worked out my whole life (even at 383lbs, I hit the elliptical every day for an hour AND did weight training), and have a slow metabolism (which also cost me $ to figure out).
Take the energy you'd use at poking fun of someone and reform the healthcare system OR be a lobbyist against corn & diary subsidies.
Don't judge until you know the whole story.
Edited to say: Hypothyroidism also doesn't appear to have put you at such a high weight. You admit very freely on your profile that you gained weight from poor habits early in life, to the point that you gained back all the weight (and some) from a lap band surgery you had done. I am always the first person to say that until someone has experienced the hell that is thyroid issues (let alone the adrenal issues that always seem to come along with it), they can't speak on the difficulty in losing weight. I am on here because of weight gain that did not come from overeating; it came from prolonged high cortisol that did in fact cause fat gain at low calories. So I am one of the "minorities" that gained weight without overeating (my habits used to be incredibly unhealthy because of a history of anorexia, but that's a whole other topic).
People with a medical reason for obesity are often the least accepting of their own obesity, and usually work even harder than most to be healthier. Just some food for thought.
Particularly when many of us who gained weight medically do so rather quickly... there's no getting used to it, just a desperation to get back!
Correct. I gained weight from overeating which was due to having a 750 cal BMR, which I found out about only recently! There are people on this site ("experts") who say that you MUST eat 1500 or 2000 or x number of calories/day. These are the same "experts" who say that it's just as easy and/or inexpensive to cook and pack a lunch.
I may or may not be an isolated case, but my point is that none of you know the particular situation of any overweight/obese person. Even though you think you may be able to blame it on x, y, or z, you need to understand the reality of the world we live in which is that:
1. health care is expensive, and increasing in cost due to obesity (cyclical)
2. healthy eating is oftentimes inconvenient and possibly more expensive (at least perceived this way)
3. people do not take personal responsibility for themselves
4. the government subsidizes the wrong food groups (corn, dairy) and
5. as much as you think you're an expert on good health, weight loss, etc., educate those around you instead of being so judgmental.0 -
What that person just did was be very rude...Simply unfreind.........0
-
Well, it's been nice talking to you guys but I think this thread is doomed now lol.
0 -
Particularly when many of us who gained weight medically do so rather quickly... there's no getting used to it, just a desperation to get back!
Correct. I gained weight from overeating which was due to having a 750 cal BMR, which I found out about only recently! There are people on this site ("experts") who say that you MUST eat 1500 or 2000 or x number of calories/day. These are the same "experts" who say that it's just as easy and/or inexpensive to cook and pack a lunch.
I may or may not be an isolated case, but my point is that none of you know the particular situation of any overweight/obese person. Even though you think you may be able to blame it on x, y, or z, you need to understand the reality of the world we live in which is that:
1. health care is expensive, and increasing in cost due to obesity (cyclical)
2. healthy eating is oftentimes inconvenient and possibly more expensive (at least perceived this way)
3. people do not take personal responsibility for themselves
4. the government subsidizes the wrong food groups (corn, dairy) and
5. as much as you think you're an expert on good health, weight loss, etc., educate those around you instead of being so judgmental.
You have to keep in mind that there's no need to pejorative to people who talk about certain amounts of calories. You, and me, I guess, are in a minority... that doesn't make science wrong, or those people wrong.
Anyway, why is your BMR so low? That seems more pituitary than thyroid... and what thyroid meds are you on?0 -
I guess the point I was trying to make was that it seems more socially acceptable to judge/tease/taunt/hurt/insult fat people than it is to be racist, homophobic etc ... at least in some parts of society. The Facebook post proves it.
epic fail. racism is far more socially acceptable than you will ever know.0 -
If you have spent any time around a group of young men (20's, early 30's range in general) you know a lot of jokes go on about overweight women. It happens all the time whether you hear about it or not... it's not right or nice but it happens. Having had many guy friends, I've heard some pretty mean stuff said in jest and I've sometimes addressed it, but it's just the way it is. You can either worry about what everyone else says while snickering behind your back or you can try to take care of yourself for you and be the best you can be. If people really want to poke fun, I'm sure there's something about anyone they could find funny. The world can be cruel. I shall keep my pizzas.0
-
You can either be the person who "doesn't want to start anything" or the voice of change.
There is a big difference in wanting to incite change and poking cruel fun at someone. "I'll just abuse and make fun of this specific group of people and that will cause them to change and become acceptable"........0 -
Particularly when many of us who gained weight medically do so rather quickly... there's no getting used to it, just a desperation to get back!
Correct. I gained weight from overeating which was due to having a 750 cal BMR, which I found out about only recently! There are people on this site ("experts") who say that you MUST eat 1500 or 2000 or x number of calories/day. These are the same "experts" who say that it's just as easy and/or inexpensive to cook and pack a lunch.
I may or may not be an isolated case, but my point is that none of you know the particular situation of any overweight/obese person. Even though you think you may be able to blame it on x, y, or z, you need to understand the reality of the world we live in which is that:
1. health care is expensive, and increasing in cost due to obesity (cyclical)
2. healthy eating is oftentimes inconvenient and possibly more expensive (at least perceived this way)
3. people do not take personal responsibility for themselves
4. the government subsidizes the wrong food groups (corn, dairy) and
5. as much as you think you're an expert on good health, weight loss, etc., educate those around you instead of being so judgmental.
You have to keep in mind that there's no need to pejorative to people who talk about certain amounts of calories. You, and me, I guess, are in a minority... that doesn't make science wrong, or those people wrong.
Anyway, why is your BMR so low? That seems more pituitary than thyroid... and what thyroid meds are you on?
What IS wrong is presenting oneself as an expert and making blanket statements (which I've seen often in my 18 months on this site) like "no one should be eating under 1800 calories/day". This simply is not true and could cause people to be totally mislead. What should be said is, "you need to figure your BMR so you know how many calories to consume" or "check with your endocrinologist/primary care dr./etc".
After seeing 4 endocrinologists, a bariatric surgeon, and multiple nutritionists over the last 10 years or so, no reason has been given for my low BMR, aside from a low functioning thyroid. I'm on a liquid thyroid med and I switched recently, so I don't remember the name offhand. I was on Armour and then Synthroid (both much less expensive), but I wasn't metabolizing those (ie I was on 30 grains of Armour/day). The liquid has helped dramatically.0 -
I may be a little late to this convo and sorry if this was already said but there is a great quote about this situation:
Great minds talk about ideas, average minds talk about events, and small minds talk about people – Eleanor Roosevelt0 -
This is coming from a fat guy who is now at 260 from a start of over 320+.
They are fat people who should not be eating that!
Let's be honest, there is no defense for being fat. The people who say they are OK with being that way are lying to themselves.
I'm almost 100 lbs lighter than you. Should I then have the divine to right to say to you that you are obese and need to lose weight and you have no defense for being 260, forget the fact that you were once 320+??? how would YOU like it if someone said that to you????
those 60lbs you sweated and worked so hard to lose become totally irrelevant if that person thought like you.
P.S..I take it all back if you are a 7 foot centre playing in the NBA0 -
I pose this question: why is it more acceptable to criticize people who smoke but not people who overeat?
Because people can die from second hand smoke. I never heard of anyone dying because I was fat.
Edited to correct spelling.
No but as a nurse who has to pull and tug on overweight people who cannot/will not move themselves when they need medical care, I CAN be injured. That in itself irritates me to no end.0 -
This post got several likes and 'haha's. Not one person said anything in defence of this couple. I purposely didn't comment as I didn't want to start a big argument!
Maybe others didn't post for this same reason. I dunno.. However, if this person,, you're "friend" has such strong feelings to post the picture and make fun.....does he/she really consider you a friend or does he feel the same way toward all "fatties"..........
it's an issue. We all struggle with something. Some struggles are more visible - smokers who want to quit, overweight folks who want to lose, etc. None of us are free from issues - we need to surround ourselves with those who support us in our efforts to improve ourselves in whatever our challenges are -- and keep those that don't far enough away to not cause us harm or pain.
It was a very hurtful post -- and as you said, who knows why they had the pizzas..........football party for several friends.....family.........church event............let him throw the first stone..........
just my opinion. I'm not in the world to inflict pain on anyone.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions