Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?

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.

back then fast food was not delivered, you had to get up off the couch to change the channel, they had no video games, no pc's and being over weight was frowned upon.

"and being over weight was frowned upon" That was my point. Fat people were shamed back then. And there were fewer fat people back then.

We already shame the overweight and obese. Society is taught to dislike overweight people. Overweight/obese individuals aren't considered "conventionally attractive" and therefore are treated with disrespect. In our society, image reflects personality, and everyone ASSUMES that overweight/obese people sit on the couch and devour ice cream all day. Or that they're racked with co-morbidities and that's not the case. These individuals are lumped into a generalized category and shamed for it.
Just some examples for any naysayers:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23295503
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/12/14/study-questions-advice-given-to-obese-pregnant-women
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/10/09/big-girls-in-entertainment-one-step-forward-one-step-back/
how about this guy? http://jezebel.com/5949338/watch-this-****head-issue-a-non+apology-to-jennifer-livingston-sorry-if-i-hurt-your-feelings

"and being over weight was frowned upon" That was my point. Fat people were shamed back then. And there were fewer fat people back then.

First - I've not read all of your comments. If I'm taking something horribly out of context, I'll happily recant.

You have to be careful taking any one factor out of context. Yes, fat people were shamed. But also people were significantly more active, generally houses had only one worker, so fresh meals were more commonly put on the table. People ate out significantly less. Portion sizes were smaller. Children weren't conditioned to be sedentary over-eaters.

So while the shaming may have played a factor, it wasn't the only factor. And it may not have been a factor at all, it may just look that way from the impact of everything else. A favorite statement of mine is "correlation does not equate to causality".

Further more, the starting point was different. We weren't starting from a position where the majority of the country was already overweight. So you weren't suddenly dumping a whole lot of negativity onto the majority of the country. It's reasonable to assume that given different initial conditions, the same actions don't necessary lead to the same outcomes.

The actual article (here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hast.114/full) never says fat shaming should be used. The MSN/Today article does what all news media stories do: take a true story and then embellish/exaggerate it to make it all dramatic and sensationalize it, because the news industry's job is not to tell people what is true, but to make money. And since the public (read: you) gobbles up the most sensationalized version of any story, that is what any news organization has to do in order to stay in business.

In other words, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, an article by its title, or by what a news outlet said about it.

Here's my to cents...is you've ever been obese and by that I mean not overweight or but obese you know that you live in a world of fat shaming, especially if your a woman. From the fact that there are fat jokes EVERYWHERE and they are openly made on tv and in movies and usually towards people who are not even slightly overweight, not even 'fat'; to the images we have to look at all day in the media, ads and in stores; the clothes that you buy - again if your obese you know the **** that they call clothes, it pathetic, its like clothing companies think 'hey your fat, put this on and be happy we made something that can cover your fat, you dont deserve to look nice' ; to the way people look at you when you walk down the street and the comments that children make to their mommys about 'that really fat person'.

Life can be one big walk of shame if you let bullies like this doctor get to you. OR you can tell them all to F off and stop being sizists, thats right I said it, people who HATE fat people. We all know they exist but we are not allowed to talk about it because its permissible. Again its publicly permissible to make fun of fat people so why cant someone publicly hate them, oh wait they can and they can even be called bioethicists.

The charts for obesity list Phillip Heath, Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, Lee Haney and the Governator as obese... All Mr. Olympia, top bodybuilder in the world and considered obese by weight charts at the height of their career and at show weight. Also many professional athletes fall into the same category. The labeling of obesity with a number from a scale is ludricrous... While there are too many people that carry far too much body fat, weight and excessive fat are two different issues. The fact that this researcher wants to poke and infuriate those of us that carry more weight shows that he needs some education to accompany his credentials

If you are referring to BMI charts, that's because they are designed to test populations, not individuals.

For an individual, body fat is a much better indicator of obesity. >25% body fat for men = obese, no matter what your weight or BMI. My BMI is just a hair above the normal range, but my BF% is in the obese range. So BMI can actually lie in both directions when applied to an individual.

Did you know that people who are overweight are more likely to live longer than those underweight?

Cite, please. I doubt very much that you have any idea what you are taking about.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090625/study-overweight-people-live-longer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623133523.htm

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/

Did you know that people who are overweight are more likely to live longer than those underweight?

Cite, please. I doubt very much that you have any idea what you are taking about.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090625/study-overweight-people-live-longer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623133523.htm

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/

"Stated politely, the paper is a pile of rubbish." - best feedback from an academic on a paper I've ever read.

Context for those that didn't read - the quote is saying that the initial research, stating that obesity has a lower rate of morbidity, is a pile of rubbish. In addition, there are some very compelling arguments as to why it is a pile of rubbish.

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.

lol notsureifserious.jpeg inform me oh wise one what BF should everyone be?

There's no reason everyone should have the same BF%. For women a BF% in the 20's is healthy so it would be ridiculous to tax them for being in the heatlhy range.

its ridiculous to think that. go to a doctor and ask what is healthier 20% or 12%. that thought process alone is the reason why the US population is at a higher rate then anywhere else. why strive to be what you should when you can argue being fat is ok. please stop trying to argue being fat is ok

Can you point me to statistics that show an increased risk of disease for women with BF% in the 20's?

Having fat on your body is generally not the same as "being fat" Usually when someone says someone is fat it's because they have too much fat. A BF% in the healthy range is not "too much".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA

Can you point me to statistics that show an increased risk of disease for women with BF% in the 20's?

Having fat on your body is generally not the same as "being fat" Usually when someone says someone is fat it's because they have too much fat. A BF% in the healthy range is not "too much".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA

I can't get to youtube right now, but will try to remember to check that out tonight. In the meantime:

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/estimating-body-fat-percentage-topic-overview

Experts differ in their opinions about what is a healthy percentage of body fat. In general, 10% to 25% body fat is considered healthy in an adult man, and 18% to 32% body fat is considered healthy in an adult woman. Above or below this level is usually considered unhealthy and could put you at risk for health problems.

Percentage of body fat will vary between different population groups. Your age, sex, and activity level will also affect your percentage of body fat. For example, endurance runners have less body fat than swimmers. People living near the North or South Pole generally have more body fat than people living in more moderate temperature zones.

Remember that percentage of body fat, by itself, doesn't tell whether a person is healthy or unhealthy. The location of the fat is also important. Body fat around your stomach can put you at risk for more health problems than if your fat is around your hips, buttocks, and thighs instead.

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.

People are predisposed to addictive behaviors. Some more than others. Binge eating is an addictive behavior. Binge eating and smoking are both dangerous behaviors that have a heavy addiction component. Both are unhealthy; both cannot be reversed by shaming. The only thing you do when you shame someone or insult them is make their convictions stronger. You make the half-pack-a-day smoker into a pack-a-day one...you make the 300-pound binge eater into a 400-pound one.

But let's be serious: putting food in your mouth is a controllable behavior. Just like putting a cigarette into your mouth is. Whether you become addicted is somewhat a matter of genetics. Whether you chose to change is a matter of motivation. Binge eaters, smokers, drug abusers, alcoholics and gamblers are not so different.

I am so hungry right now.

In my experience, shaming made me have a defeatist attitude which led to emotional binge eating. I am beginning to think that the reason so many more people are obese is the standard American diet, not because society doesn't shame fat people enough. It is sad that highly processed, chemical ridden food is more affordable than real food, right from the farm, that people ate a hundred years ago and were healthy. There is something there that doesn't make sense.

THIS! Every word of it. American obesity epidemic happens to coincide with the advent of FDA's standard food pyramid and very cheap corn and wheat based foods. You can plot the curve and see it clear as day. FDA food pyramid, processed, pre-packaged foods, and way too much wheat/corn based carbs.

And yes, shaming makes it worse, not better.

Since I happen to believe that most obesity is caused by over eating starchy carbs, grains and processed foods, I really disagree with this idea. It's not as if, in our society, fat folks aren't already ashamed, unhappy and depressed. It's not like they (we) want to be fat, or something. The issue is that we are eating foods that make us fat and not eating foods that make us slender. And no amount of fat shaming will help until we change our understanding of diet and nutrition.

So, you think if people were told to eat more fiber, switch processed grains and sugar for whole grains, vegetables and fruit, and to eat more healthy fats and lean protein that would solve the problem.

Gee, it's amazing that no one has thought of that before. :indifferent:

Hell yes. better than handing them a cookie and a gold star! It's high time to quit coddling people. It is NOT OKAY to be obese. it is NOT OKAY to be 100# and trying to lose another 15#.

Holding their hand obviously isnt working, time to crack the whip.

But it isn't okay to stomp all over them and make them feel more like crap. There is a difference between motivating and bullying/shaming them.

Telling someone to stop make excuses and just do it is - this is motivating.

Telling someone they are worthless or disgusting and if they want to fit in they need to lose weight - that's shaming and not something I know I'd respond to.