The 'Fat Acceptance' Movement

Options
How do you feel about the Fat Acceptance movement? After looking at a few blogs, I don't understand why it's celebrated whereas Pro-Anorexia websites are vilified. Both are unhealthy extremes.

http://ineedfatacceptance.tumblr.com/post/58380727000/i-need-fat-acceptance-because-everyone-should-wear#notes

It's like a brilliant satire, with people complaining that their doctors' are "body shaming" them by discussing their risk of heart disease.
«13456714

Replies

  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    Options
    Fat women have the right to feel good about themselves, just like everyone. However they need to stop "normalizing" being overweight, glorifying it even. First of all they are shaming every other body type while whining about being body shamed which is beyond annoying. And second of all they are huge "health at any size" advocates. I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    Options
    To a certain point, being overweight is not a problem. In that sense, mocking the marginally "fat" is awful. Women or men who are a little bit chubby and fully happy with how they look at their lifestyle, as well as their health - both proven and perceived - deserve to be celebrated just as much as "athletic" and "fit" people.

    I don't feel that obese people should be mocked either, I'll make that clear, but I really don't think it should be deemed acceptable in any sense if it significantly affects or potentially will affect your health.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,568 Member
    Options
    I think everyone should be accepted for who they are not based on appearance - that being said I don't think it's good to promote being unhealthy - to each their own - if someone is happy being overweight good for them they are adults and know the risks. I can't respond either way - really good for them but also this doesn't send a good message to our younger generation about the benefits of living a healthy and fit lifestyle.

    As far as doctors "body shaming them" I know myself that even at a healthier weight and I thought I was okay (160 lbs and a size 8/10) my doc was telling me to lose weight. Doctors do what they are supposed to do - tell us to lose weight when we are over weight.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
    Options
    Interesting, I watched a show called "my 600lb life" where it documented a lady who was once an advocate for being severely obese. Her intentions were to spread the word of loving yourself no matter what size. As the show is titled, she climbed to be over 600lbs, of which her tune changed when she could hardly walk and started to notice the horrible consequences to being morbidly obese.

    Anyone can love themselves at any size, I would just prefer to be healthy.
  • Vegan_85
    Vegan_85 Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    As far as doctors "body shaming them" I know myself that even at a healthier weight and I thought I was okay (160 lbs and a size 8/10) my doc was telling me to lose weight. Doctors do what they are supposed to do - tell us to lose weight when we are over weight.

    The thing is, my doctor recently told me to put on weight - which I did. I upped my calories to between 2,000 - 3,000 a day. The Fat Acceptance movement's proponents have this idea of being persecuted. It really does work both ways. Being underweight is as bad as being obese, and most doctors are really frank about it.

    There's a subcategory on tumblr called 'Fatshion.' While I obviously agree that women should be able to find clothes in their size, it's a bit weird that it's acceptable, whereas photos of skinny women come under the term 'thinspo' and are banned.
  • jkestens63
    jkestens63 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.
  • 5thbidness
    5thbidness Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    size is not a reliable indicator of health, at any point on the spectrum.
  • 5thbidness
    5thbidness Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.

    nor does the blood panel of a thin person relay any information regarding bone density. what's your point?
  • jenifr818
    jenifr818 Posts: 805 Member
    Options
    tagging to read later during work break. I don't see this ending well, for what it's worth.
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
    Options
    What I truly don't understand is why everyone is so focused on labels. I mean seriously, whether you are gay, straight, fat, skinny, male, female, black, white, orange or purple, we are all people. Labels are what is wrong not the people being labeled.

    It is one thing to not be supportive of an unhealthy lifestyle but another thing to not be supportive of that person who might be leading it. It is wrong to define people by how they look regardless of what is the defining factor. I have been "defined" my whole life and I never actually fit into any category I was put into by those people and I strive to not do the same to others.

    It is each individuals responsibility and business to figure out if they are healthy. Carrying extra weight does not automatically mean unhealthy, just as being thin does not automatically mean you are healthy. Each person is different and each person has different things to work on. Some are just more visible than others. So both sides are wrong in my opinion. No one should be shamed for anything by someone else because you have no idea what got them to this place to begin with. But on the flip side, a doctor telling you that you need to lose weight for your health is not "fat shaming". That is a doctor doing his job to protect your health.
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.

    nor does the blood panel of a thin person relay any information regarding bone density. what's your point?

    The point is that it's still not healthy?
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.

    nor does the blood panel of a thin person relay any information regarding bone density. what's your point?

    The point is that it's still not healthy?

    Being too thin and being too overweight are both bad. If you're overweight and working on improving your health, I applaud you. I have all the respect in the world for you. I'm just saying that a sedentary person at 300 pounds preaching health is delusional. If you're underweight or recovering from an eating disorder and working to gain weight, I applaud you as well.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    Options
    This is such a controversial topic and I have mixed feelings about it.

    Fat acceptance as in not judging people based solely on their weight, or treating them differently because of it? Sure.
    Fat acceptance as in not recognizing that it is in fact a health issue that people should do something about? Again, not because of looks but because of health? I disagree. Obesity is a problem, and a doctor telling a patient they need to lose some weight is not body shaming.

    I also disagree with "fat acceptance" being comparable to embracing one's race, sexuality, etc. Not the same thing in the slightest.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Options
    This is such a controversial topic and I have mixed feelings about it.

    Fat acceptance as in not judging people based solely on their weight, or treating them differently because of it? Sure.
    Fat acceptance as in not recognizing that it is in fact a health issue that people should do something about? Again, not because of looks but because of health? I disagree. Obesity is a problem, and a doctor telling a patient they need to lose some weight is not body shaming.

    I also disagree with "fat acceptance" being comparable to embracing one's race, sexuality, etc. Not the same thing in the slightest.

    ^^
  • 5thbidness
    5thbidness Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.

    nor does the blood panel of a thin person relay any information regarding bone density. what's your point?

    The point is that it's still not healthy?

    she was attempting to draw a correlation between a fat appearance and poor health. i was using parallel sentence structure to illustrate the fallacy of doing so. making the assumption of health conditions solely based on someone's appearance (and, frankly, i'm not sure why a random observer would bother...) is faulty reasoning.

    ETA "solely"
  • JojoEffeckt164
    JojoEffeckt164 Posts: 146 Member
    Options
    dooooooooooh! Of course we shouldnt bully fat people... I think this is clear to everybody.
    BUT we shouldn´t accept it because everyone of us pays for their diseases thru his or her health
    insurence (at least in Germany where everybody has to have one). That way fat people harm society.
    If she will pay for all her diseases on private reciepe... Fine... Go on and ruin yourself"
    The woman on the page you gave us is sick! You can see that... She needs no acceptance...
    What she needs is HELP!
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    Options
    I'm sorry, but if you're over 30 pounds overweight you're not healthy.

    Wrong! I am considered overweight by 40 lbs. my blood pressure, labs (cholesterol, blood sugar), heart function are absolutely perfect according to my doctor. He has told me that if I choose not to lose another pound I will be perfectly fine. That is because I exercise daily and try to eat healthy most of the time. Now I cannot generalize and say this would be the same for every active 50 year old carrying an extra 40. BUT you also cannot generalize and say anyone 30lbs overweight is unhealthy. Individuality....

    As for fat acceptance, it's like anything else. If fat people, gay people, black people, mentally retarded people etc. etc. etc. don't stand up for themselves and say it's ok to be who I am, no one else is going to do it for them. And blah blah blah we all have to pay into the health system that deals with some of their health problems. Just add it to the list.... The drinkers, the teen parents, the families that have 6 kids but neither parent works, there is a ton of people biting into the support pie. It's part of being in a developed country. Rather have that than live in a third world country where no one gives a crap for each other and it's a daily battle to survive.

    You blood panel doesn't tell you how much pressure is being put on your joints, or what visceral fat is doing to your organs.

    nor does the blood panel of a thin person relay any information regarding bone density. what's your point?

    How is her point not obvious, and where did she say anything about thin women being healthy? Don't be mad that she is right even if it pertains to you.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    Options
    This is such a controversial topic and I have mixed feelings about it.

    Fat acceptance as in not judging people based solely on their weight, or treating them differently because of it? Sure.
    Fat acceptance as in not recognizing that it is in fact a health issue that people should do something about? Again, not because of looks but because of health? I disagree. Obesity is a problem, and a doctor telling a patient they need to lose some weight is not body shaming.

    I also disagree with "fat acceptance" being comparable to embracing one's race, sexuality, etc. Not the same thing in the slightest.

    ^^

    +1
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
    Options
    People shouldn't be made fun of or ridiculed based on appearance. That being said, I don't think being fat should be promoted either.