Thoughts on the “glamourizing/normalizing” obesity vs body positivity conversations

ninerbuff wrote: »

SunnyBunBun79 wrote: »

It depends on culture as well...many cultures define extra weight as a symbol of wealth etc...and some cultures like Japan have rules about being under a certain weight especially in a corporate world. Airplanes used to have much bigger seats in the past though , nowadays its just about making more money with more passengers so even people at a healthy weight find it uncomfortable with such little space in an airplane seat. When I see someone obese or overweight ( I am very overweight myself ) I just think, that they know how big they are , and that they are probably wanting to do something about it...and either don't have the motivation or are in an unhealthy environment at home or mentally. For me it was circumstantial depression, so I needed to pull myself out of it somehow, but with no one supportive around me I came to MFP! This whole community , if it was a city or a country, would have such mentally and physically supportive and healthy citizens!

I find the community here supportive as long as the person who needs it actually is accepting. I've seen some that search out for support, is given solid advice, then react negatively back because they aren't hearing what they want. Personally for me, I ain't got time for that. There are so many more people that want help and to
go outta my way to try to assist someone, who asked for it but rejects the advice.....................good luck.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Maybe I have just been lucky enough to have met the soundly informative and friendly ones Haha! It was an adventure for me as well at first, having so many contradictory opinions and advice thrown at me, and I admit I listened to the ones that had the best 'lose weight fast' results. That was 7 years ago! I see a lot more sound advice nowadays on MFP. Sometimes the seed has been sown and even though it looks like someone doesnt like what they hear...they will eventually learn... either the easy or the hard way...Ive also learned to be picky with the friends I choose on here. If people like you and so many others with sound advice didnt stick around, MFP wouldnt be what it is today .

For me, it’s the “healthy at any size” campaign that bothers me. There is sound research that being overweight or underweight can seriously affect health outcomes.

I believe in “beauty at any size.” And that all people need to be treated with respect; feel valued and be heard.

I really think the "healthy at any size" slogan means two different things, one which I disagree with, and one which I think is positive.

The one I disagree with: (1) The health claims re obesity have been exaggerated and are just based in prejudice. The gov't should not make combating obesity an aim, as that just stigmatizes people. This is IMO untrue, so bad for that reason alone, and I also think it's harmful.

The one I think is positive: (2) (This should perhaps be called "healthier at any size" but I've definitely seen it discussed under the "healthy at any size" label.) No matter how obese you may be, you can start working on things today that will improve your health, and there are ways to focus on health other than simply losing weight (although losing weight is not discouraged). Those would include increasing activity, eating a more healthful diet (say cutting out some low nutrient high cal foods and/or adding in more vegetables or whatever else is lacking in the diet), and working on food issues (such as binging behaviors or all or nothing thinking or emotional eating). In many cases, I see this idea as helpful for people who are so frustrated with dieting and past failures that they are ready to give up entirely, and by some RDs who believe that focusing more on just weight and eating less tends to be unsustainable or lead to unhealthy things like self-hatred-driven crash dieting. I think this also goes along with the "body positivity" movement, which I don't think means "I should not try to make my body healthier," but the opposite.

People in camp (2) don't at all want to discourage people from losing weight, and typically think that if one focuses on these healthier practices one will lose weight if one is obese, although the goal is generally not some specific aesthetic. They also recognize that if one has a variety of things one could focus on and improve health, it is okay to pick one other than "getting to a healthy weight" as the one to prioritize right now.