Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?

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  • Midnight444
    Midnight444 Posts: 23 Member
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    The world is way too sensitive these days.

    Word.


    Maybe you aren't sensitive enough... :tongue:
  • Kdame84
    Kdame84 Posts: 1
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    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.
  • only_5mom
    only_5mom Posts: 28
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    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.
  • Bumdrahp
    Bumdrahp Posts: 1,314 Member
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    I am so hungry right now. :(
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2013/01/24/16664866-fat-shaming-may-curb-obesity-bioethicist-says?lite

    Found this interesting little article.

    A bioethicist thinks that since being nice to obese people isn't helping, maybe a bit of shaming might do the trick. (That's a very concise summary, though)

    Thoughts?
    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.

    THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We need an education on what healthy meals look like!!!
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    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.
  • jennyrebekka
    jennyrebekka Posts: 626 Member
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    20 yrs of living with my Mother, and another 13 living with a jerk of a husband (who i have since kicked to the proverbial curb) - and 100 more lbs on my frame would prove this theory wrong
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    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:
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    I lived with a dad that had a fetish for SBBWs and only admired severely heavy women.The way he treated them made me want to lose weight.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    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.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
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    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.

    And in my case, I have insulin resistance. I was always hungry, as in stomach growling in pain levels of hunger, no matter how much I ate. Doctors just assumed I had no control. Finally, a doctor listened to me, did a blood test, confirmed it, treated it, and I'm losing weight now.

    So yeah, I'm not a special snowflake; I'm just saying that in my case, it wasn't JUST lack of willpower or self-control. So it was doubly frustrating. I wanted to stop eating so badly, but every time I'd try to go two hours without food, I was dizzy from hunger.

    You don't know anyone until you've been there, and even then, everybody is different. Stop putting a blanket over everyone and using one label.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    Agreed 100%. These cheap nutritionally deficient processed foods have additives in them that are highly addictive, making you crave more of it when you eat them. Unfortunately there's no quick fix to this problem, as there are several factors involved. All we can do is educate ourselves on good nutrition, stick to it, and get off the couch in the meantime.
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
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    Where the hell have they been? Obese people have been shamed, taunted, and bullied for years.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    Cubbies, that's wonderful news. I'm glad to hear you found a solution and something that worked for you. I bet you feel great!
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    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.
    Well, the FDA certainly hasn't. My doctor still tries to tell me that 55% of my diet should be carbs, including corn and wheat. And frankly, it costs far more to eat an actually healthy diet due to the insanity of how we subsidize food in this country .... which is based on the FDA's damn food pyramid, among other things. That and the corn lobby is ridiculously powerful. On top of that, wheat and corn and sugar (not sugar alcohols, but sucrose and fructose) are addictive. And every single thing you buy in the store that is packaged contains those things. Beyond that, you get massive cravings due to insulin and glucose and how it works in your body.

    But, of course, you already knew all that, right?
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Many people seem to be talking as though there are only two alternative - coddling or shaming. This is a false dichotomy.

    I agree that we should not coddle. But that doesn't mean we should shame.

    "It's ok to be fat" needs to be replaced with "You aren't less of a person because you are fat, but it impacts your health, and it impacts the bottom line of the country as a whole. You need to lose that weight, and we're here to help you do it."

    Unfortunately, as with most things, true solutions don't fit catchprases.
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    And in my case, I have insulin resistance. I was always hungry, as in stomach growling in pain levels of hunger, no matter how much I ate.
    Cubbies, that's awesome that you got it figured out. It is likely that most obese people are insulin resistant. Not only do we get hungry every couple of hours, but we crave the foods that contribute to insulin resistance, obesity, blood sugar spikes and crashes, etc. It is a horrific addiction that people who've never experienced it cannot understand. Shaming makes you depressed and unhappy, which contributes to the addictive behavior.

    Side note, the increase of clinical obesity in this country coincides with the rise of the idea that salt and fat and beef/pork/etc is bad for you and wheat and corn are good for you. You can map the lines on a chart and see it clear as day. just saying.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    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

    I'm fine with not vanity sizing. A number is a number. But stop making allowances on public transport? You mean seats big enough to accomodate people who need a place to sit. Sorry, that's straight up sizism. You're not human enough to deserve a seat if your *kitten* is a certain size? **** that ****. People are people. We need to treat each other with a basic level of respect and dignity regardless of physical appearance.

    Okay, I'm really not trying to be rude when I say this, so I will say it as nicely as I can-- while I agree that it's sad and humiliating that my ex-girlfriend had to pay for two seats on her airline flight (because she weighs nearly 400 pounds), the fact is that if we are TOO accommodating, no one will have motivation to improve their health. And the cold, hard truth is that if you can't fit in a seat designed for one normal-sized person you are probably at an unhealthy weight. When I couldn't ride Raging Bull three years ago with my friends because I couldn't get the bar down far enough, it was embarrassing and I wanted to cry, but I didn't consider the ride to be "sizeist" because I didn't fit on it.

    It's true that there are some people who are overweight and truly cannot do anything about it because of medical conditions, and that breaks my heart, but MOST people can lose part of that excess weight if they are committed to doing so. It's not "sizism" to not make seats designed for size 30+ butts. It's being hopeful that we will never NEED seats that are size 30+ on a broad scale, that that becomes the new "norm" for the world. See the difference? I am NOT advocating body shaming and disagree with the OP that it can be helpful, but there is quite a large grey area between body shaming and encouraging people to remain at their unhealthy weights by making it easy for them to continue their daily lives at said weight.

    +1 and this is coming from a person who just moved from morbidly obese to merely obese after a year of hard work. I agree that we are becoming TOO accomodating. There is no reason that everyone as a whole should have to "pay" because people feel that they should be given special treatment simply because they are obese, and yes, we are having to pay when people are given an extra seat for free on the airline or public transport or they start putting fewer seats on the transports because the seats are bigger. Fewer paid for fares + higher fuel costs = higher fares for all. Saying NO, we won't change the size of our seats on the airplane or the bus or the roller coaster or NO we won't give you extra room for free is not the same as bullying people. Obese people don't deserve to be bullied or treated poorly, but they also do not deserve special treatment simply because they are obese. I would LOVE to have more leg room on an airplane because I'm tall with super long legs...I don't get a free seat in first class simply because of this fact, and my height is something I CAN'T control.
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
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    I don't think obesity should be as acceptable as it is right now, but, at the same time, being shamed could do a lot more harm than good to a lot of people.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    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.
    Well, the FDA certainly hasn't. My doctor still tries to tell me that 55% of my diet should be carbs, including corn and wheat. And frankly, it costs far more to eat an actually healthy diet due to the insanity of how we subsidize food in this country .... which is based on the FDA's damn food pyramid, among other things. That and the corn lobby is ridiculously powerful. On top of that, wheat and corn and sugar (not sugar alcohols, but sucrose and fructose) are addictive. And every single thing you buy in the store that is packaged contains those things. Beyond that, you get massive cravings due to insulin and glucose and how it works in your body.

    But, of course, you already knew all that, right?

    I knew some of it. Though I do not agree that it's more expensive to eat healthy. Unless a person is eating nothing but pasta, it is quite easy to switch from processed prepackaged foods to more natural foods without spending more.

    I have no idea what your doctor tries to tell you. And I'm not really sure what the FDA recommends. But I don't believe anyone in today's society would believe that a recommendation for getting 55% of your calories from carbs would mean you are being told to eat processed foods or sugar. People eat these things because they like them and they are convenient.

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