Ugh, The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance

Heaven forbid we actually treat people with dignity, regardless of our opinions of health.

Thank you, Mike.

I haven't seen a single post advocating to point at the "fat kid" and laugh. No one is trying to demonize fat people. If seeing an exhibit that promotes a healthy lifestyle shames someone then maybe they should not go to it. It's about educating people on a healthier exsistence.

The argument many are making is that the nature of the exhibit will have the effect of fostering an environment where children will ostracize obese kids and mock them. They believe (and I agree with them) that the nature of the exhibit will cause associations to be drawn between overweight kids and the villains from the exhibit, making them 'bad' or 'wrong' or 'different'. I have been trying to state that changing tone of the message would do a better job of promoting a healthy lifestyle and that the exhibit listed does not effectively promote a healthy lifestyle. I don't think anyone has said we should NOT promote healthy living.

^ This. The "villains" in the exhibit are overweight, with problems like eating junkfood and being lazy. The heros are skinny. Most people who are overweight know what it takes to lose weight, but there are other issues getting in the way. And saying to those people, who already know what to do, "All it takes is eating healthy and getting some exercise, what's the big?" is telling them that they are fat and lazy. That in and of itself is shaming, and the exhibit, and most of the "This exhibit is educational" merely perpetuate that thought pattern.

Bollocks. The issues getting in people's way, the majority of the time, are their self control. I'm perfectly fine with a sedentary lifestyle filled with crap food being demonized. It's much better than ignoring the problem or promoting it as a perfectly fine lifestyle choice.

I'm not surprised we are being forced to except any wrong life style that comes down the road.

Oh wow.

Being overweight is now being "wrong". Please explain to the class the "right" life style.

^^^ Exactly what I was thinking.

Nobody said being overweight is being wrong....... A lifestyle that leads to health problems is wrong.... And if you refuse to put overweight and obesity under that lifestyle, you are really on the wrong website...

Such a stupid thing to advocate.... Fat Acceptance? I see Fat Acceptance as a bunch of people basically saying yes they're fat, and no they're not going to do anything about it, and rather than spending all that extra energy getting their bodies in shape they form organizations trying to convince people that being fat is OK as they continue to eat themselves into an early grave.

This is the reply of a person who clearly did not grow up in poverty but wants to say they did to add credibility to their post. No one who has ever had to work two jobs just to get by would say it is just as easy to make healthy food as it is to go to McDonalds and that does not ever consider the cost.

If you really want to eat a healthy diet then it is far more expensive and time consuming than eating fast foods. In this country, a lot of people want to think they grew up poor because they could not afford to go to Mexico on spring break. Real poverty is a much different thing.

To say having no time and no money and no safe place to get exericse are not excuses to be fat is to shout oout to the world that you have never lived that life.

You have no idea what my background is or how I grew up, so I'd appreciate you not making those assumptions. I was taught not to use my circumstances as an excuse to live poorly and to always do the best with what I have, period. If you think that means I'm lying about growing up poor, whatever. Like I said, you have no idea.

If you really want a REASONABLY healthy diet and are living in poverty it CAN be done, and it's not all that hard. Canned vegetables are cheap, as are many in-season fresh vegetables, which I am aware are not available cheaply in all areas. Rice is cheap, potatoes are cheap, beans are cheap, whole chickens are cheap, as are chicken breasts in bulk. Seasonings are not cheap, but a little can go a very long way. Ramen noodles can even be made reasonably healthy if they're cooked in chicken broth (also cheap) and seasoned with salt and pepper rather than that god awful seasoning packet. Many people living in poverty also have some assistance like food stamps, and it's possible to buy reasonably healthy food with food stamps. I'm not denying that it's very difficult, if not impossible, to eat an optimally healthy diet with very little money for food.. but a reasonably healthy diet is an entirely different story.

I don't know if you live near an Ocean State Job Lot but seasonings are 89 cents a bottle there. :-)

There's one 5 miles from my work....that's awesome! I guess they really gouge you at the grocery store...

They really do. I only go to Stop and Shop/Shaws for certain sale items now

Bollocks. The issues getting in people's way, the majority of the time, are their self control. I'm perfectly fine with a sedentary lifestyle filled with crap food being demonized. It's much better than ignoring the problem or promoting it as a perfectly fine lifestyle choice.

First, it's not really up to you what I do with my life. Second, I'm really happy for you that you have the self confidence right now to look at yourself, say "Poo, I probably ought to slow down eating this crap and move around a bit more, I'm filling out a bit around the middle". Really, I am. That's not sarcasm. I'm glad that you are there. My point is that a lot of people are not there, and telling them that their self-control is the problem is, again, calling them lazy. It's not going to make them feel better, it's not going to make them deny the one thing that they can rely on to give them comfort, and it's certainly not going to motivate them to get up and move around.

If you'd spent your entire life being told your "insert body part here" was horrifically ugly and you should be ashamed of it, you'd believe it. If I've spent my entire life being told I'm just lazy, imaging how good I'd feel about myself, how motivated to take care of myself, how inspiring that must be for me. My self-worth would be rock bottom. Why would I bother to change it?

Listen, I don't care what you do with your life. And I do get it that going through life being mocked for your body would not be fun. Obviously you would bother to change it or you wuldn't be on this website.

I see things very black and white. If your fat and want to be healthy then work out and eat healthy. If your fat and want to stay fat then keep on trucking. There is an obesity problem and a little education wouldn't hurt anyone. Not like we are legislating laws that say fat people should be put in concentration camps with the coaches from the "Biggest Loser". No one is saying you mut listen to healthy messages.

I think the exhibit would have been fun. The only change that I think may have needed to happen was that they should have had obese and skinny children in the group of children who do nothing but eat and watch tv all day. Just because a kid is skinny does not mean he/she is eating a well balanced diet. I think it should have went that route. It is ridiculous though that this organization exists. I may go to their website and look.

Edit: okay, I went to their website. I understand why they exist: So that fat people don't get discriminated against or lose their jobs cause they are overweight, etc. (BTW, I know I am fat which is why I am learning how to eat better and change my life. So I use the word Fat a lot. Fat Fat Fat Fat) Then it goes too far. Calling people "a larger size" or calling it size acceptance doesn't make being overweight any healthier. You can't tell me every overweight person has a glandular problem. I am fat because I ate like a pig. This organization pisses me off. Of course we should not discriminate against anyone due to their weight. However, you can't go around and say that it is alright to be overweight considering all the health problems obesity can cause. Yes, as the website states, we all come in different shapes and sizes, but that does not mean that you should want to stay that way. just because you are happy being overweight does not mean you are healthy.

It's nice to see honesty. I wish more people could face the truth like this. Good luck to you :-)

Such a stupid thing to advocate.... Fat Acceptance? I see Fat Acceptance as a bunch of people basically saying yes they're fat, and no they're not going to do anything about it, and rather than spending all that extra energy getting their bodies in shape they form organizations trying to convince people that being fat is OK as they continue to eat themselves into an early grave.

Have you gone to their website and looked at their mission or are you just going off their choice of title?

Yeah. Because their vision statement: "A society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality in all aspects of life" is something to look down upon. If you have made choices the poster disapprove of you don't deserve dignity or equality.

Such a stupid thing to advocate.... Fat Acceptance? I see Fat Acceptance as a bunch of people basically saying yes they're fat, and no they're not going to do anything about it, and rather than spending all that extra energy getting their bodies in shape they form organizations trying to convince people that being fat is OK as they continue to eat themselves into an early grave.

Let me make sure I understand you. If people don't want to lose weight, or can't, they don't have a right to dignity and equality? And it's okay for Disney to portray fat as unhealthy and skinny as healthy, even though we all know it's not true, because it should make fat people want to change. "Cause we all know that the skinny kids always eat healthy and the fat kids never do. Disney's Epcot display should not portray all the "good" people as skinny and all the "bad" people as fat. We all know that isn't an accurate portrayal of reality.

NAAFA doesn't say anywhere on it's site that it's or it's member's are "saying yes [we're] fat, and no [we're] not going to do anything about it." They're saying that they should not have to lose weight in order to be given dignity and equality. That these are two separate things, and one of them--someone else's weight--is none of your business.

Bollocks. The issues getting in people's way, the majority of the time, are their self control. I'm perfectly fine with a sedentary lifestyle filled with crap food being demonized. It's much better than ignoring the problem or promoting it as a perfectly fine lifestyle choice.

First, it's not really up to you what I do with my life. Second, I'm really happy for you that you have the self confidence right now to look at yourself, say "Poo, I probably ought to slow down eating this crap and move around a bit more, I'm filling out a bit around the middle". Really, I am. That's not sarcasm. I'm glad that you are there. My point is that a lot of people are not there, and telling them that their self-control is the problem is, again, calling them lazy. It's not going to make them feel better, it's not going to make them deny the one thing that they can rely on to give them comfort, and it's certainly not going to motivate them to get up and move around.

If you'd spent your entire life being told your "insert body part here" was horrifically ugly and you should be ashamed of it, you'd believe it. If I've spent my entire life being told I'm just lazy, imaging how good I'd feel about myself, how motivated to take care of myself, how inspiring that must be for me. My self-worth would be rock bottom. Why would I bother to change it?

(To the hypothetical person you are speaking of)
This is why: To prove to others and MAINLY yourself that NO you are not lazy, and NO you are not ugly. The self defeated attitude doesn't hinder anyone else but yourself. It isn't what other people call you, but what you answer to. You can't depend on others for motivation, it comes from yourself. And there are many of people on this site that wouldn't necessarily say they are motivated every day, and sometimes they feel like *kitten* and don't want to continue but they do. You can't wallow in self pity forever, eventually you are going to have to change it. And i personally won't feel sorry for somebody that feels sorry enough for themselves. I can be sensitive to obesity, but i cant be sensitive to self defeated attitudes. That's just lame.

This country has gone to hell. God forbid we should set good examples! Instead we practice "acceptance" so no one has to do anything hard. Nothing great was achieved without hard work and it's no surprise that we are falling behind in every single category.

Faaawk.

Exactly.
A few years back I read an article in a parenting magazine showing the results of a poll done many years ago as opposed to a current one. What did the parents want now? For their children to be "happy". The older poll showed "good character" to be what they most wanted for their children. There really is a difference.

So you're saying fat people have bad character?

...ffs I hit reply instead of quote... Anyway, no it's not a real organization to the person who asked. xD It's from an episode of Family Guy.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) most certainly is a real organization and they have been around for more than 30 years.

http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/about/index.html

I would encourage anyone to eat healthier and to lose weight if they need to. I think the point that is being missed by all of you is that a great deal of society think it is OK to discriminate and speak disparagingly to overweight individuals. Yes I am overweight and work on my weight. I was also slimmer and hotter than most of you when I was twenty. I've been on both sides. Having taught school, many of you may have overweight children who you will struggle with getting them to eat healthy and surprise know they don't eat a lot of junk food but still struggle with their weight and self esteem. I know I am going to get a lot of trash from this post; but look at your title It says basically UGH to anyone who says they are accepting themselves the way they are. Obesity is not just a matter of controlling what you eat. I have not lost weight in a year. Essentially I have been told that I have reduced my metabolism to a starvation mode. I can't bring myself to eat the amount I am told I should eat. I still remember a lecture from a co-worker about I needed to stop eating fast food to lose weight. She did not believe that I had not eaten a hamburger in two years. It is so much that peopel feel free to dump on you when you are overweight. You need to walk in someone's shoes before you feel so free to discriminate and especially where people go to get help for obesity. Maybe you need to join shallow , I flatter myself.com.

There's a reason people get judged for being fat, and it's because it's bad for them and not normal. I'm not saying we all need to be a size zero or have washboard abs, but we don't need an association to promote unhealthy behaviors -- it's ludicrous! There is also a big difference between being "a little fat" and "obese." "A little fat" is my cousin who enjoys pizza and beer a couple nights a week. He probably couldn't run a marathon, but at least I don't have to worry about him getting type 2 diabetes. "Obese" is my other cousin who I'm seriously worried about because he's not even 25 and at the rate he's going, I doubt he'll make it to 40, and that makes me sad. He can't even walk across the room without getting totally winded. I accept my cousin and love him for who he is, but I do not support his lifestyle choices. Any mature adult should be able to understand why I'm not in favor of Carl's Jr. super size meals at 2 a.m. every night of the week, he certainly does. If you ask me, The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is only doing one thing, advancing stupidity.

I think I'll go start the "National Association to Advance Smoking to a Pack-Day per American" or maybe the "National Association to Promote Drunk Driving."

This country has gone to hell. God forbid we should set good examples! Instead we practice "acceptance" so no one has to do anything hard. Nothing great was achieved without hard work and it's no surprise that we are falling behind in every single category.

Faaawk.

Exactly.
A few years back I read an article in a parenting magazine showing the results of a poll done many years ago as opposed to a current one. What did the parents want now? For their children to be "happy". The older poll showed "good character" to be what they most wanted for their children. There really is a difference.

So you're saying fat people have bad character?

Nope. You hear what you want to hear.