Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/

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.

“libertarian paternalism.” That seemingly oxymoronic phrase refers to policies that make an explicit effort “not to burden those who want to exercise their freedom,” but nonetheless try to “infuence choices that will make choosers better off, as judged by themselves.”[15] Such policies aim at “self-consciously attempting to move people in directions that will make their lives better. They nudge.” Removing trays in cafeterias reduces the amount of food people will eat, effectively making it more troublesome to get the food, but not denying it to them. Putting the fruit at eye level and the fatty foods on the bottom shelves makes a difference as well. Mayor Bloomberg's effort to reduce beverage cup size counts as a nudge tactic also.

None of the social pressure tactics will directly change the conditions of poverty that make so many people susceptible to obesity, or will necessarily induce the food and beverage industries to change their deleterious ways. But they can change the background pressures—creating a potent force for public opinion, making it easier to use government to bring forth necessary regulations and prohibitions, shaming delinquent industries, and leaning on the public to take the problem more seriously.

The need is for a bottom-up approach to create and sustain a truly effective antiobesity campaign that matches the necessary top-down structural efforts. One obvious target would be the large number of people who are unaware that they are overweight. They need, to use an old phrase, a shock of recognition. Only a carefully calibrated effort of public social pressure is likely to awaken them to the reality of their condition. They have been lulled into oblivious-ness about their problem because they look no different from many others around them. They need to be leaned upon, nudged, and—when politically feasible—helped by regulations to understand that they are potentially in trouble. They should not want to be that way, nor should others.

What I am suggesting—empow-ering the victims, not blaming them, and that individual responsibility is necessary—has its risks. But if the individual and public health impact of being overweight and obese is dangerous, then it is hard to imagine any kind of strong and effective efforts that will not meet resistance. The failure of efforts to date to make much difference suggest that a change of strategy is necessary.

Okay, I read the original paper that inspired the article posted. What I quoted above is what stood out to me. The original author was not about saying "You're fat and stupid and lazy" or making fun of fat people, he was simply arguing that people need to be nudged and made aware of the reality of their situations and empowered to change. I don't know how many people I've known who have been shocked and outraged to find out they were clinically obese because that can't be right - they are just a little "pudgy" or have "a few extra pounds", etc. I also don't know how many overweight/obese people I know who say "I just can't lose weight no matter how hard I try." Well, talking about obesity and educating people can help change this. We cannot be ignorant of our reality if we ever hope to change.

ETA: What's wrong with making it more burdensome to be obese than not? If this lesson was learned earlier in life and in the weight gain process, people would probably be more cognizant of their situation and reality. I can honestly say that it was easier for me to keep gaining weight when Old Navy and other stores started having sizes higher than 20 available. Fifteen years ago, I said I'd never let myself get so big that Old Navy's clothes didn't fit...guess what? I didn't but their clothes got bigger and so did I. No, that's not an excuse and I'm not blaming anyone, but I really didn't "wake up" until I was in the biggest size at most stores and realized I had no shopping options left.

More sidewalks and bike lanes really do curb obesity. But then again, it is easier to blame the victim (or at least cheaper).