The Fat Acceptance Movement… Thoughts??

There's a difference IMO between making public, general posts or something, or ... as happened to an overweight friend of mine ... having a stranger take food out of her grocery cart because it wasn't healthy enough.

Yeah. Seriously.

People are people regardless of the amount of fat they have on their bodies, and people should be accepted for who they are in terms of thoughts, feelings, personality, etc.

However, I am not about to be accepting of unhealthy lifestyles. The U.S. needs to set new food standards to push for healthier, cleaner options in stores and restaurants, for healthier portion sizes at restaurants, and for healthier food advertising.

To be accepting of fat is to say that I was okay with gaining weight and to be okay with the health problems that went along with it. This is my life and I refuse to accept that being fat and unhealthy is a standard I should be living with. I refuse to accept that my lifespan can be shortened by eating in an unhealthy and fattening manner. I want my lifespan to have longevity.

That's why every weekend now, I stock up on vegetables and fruits at the food store instead of cookies and ice-cream and pastries. That's why I've been trying new raw vegetables and fruits that I've never before given a chance. That's why I cut out soda and juices completely and stick to water, milk, and tea. That's why I've set my body into motion

That's why I joined this site, to stand up for myself in a Healthy Living Acceptance Movement.

None of this is to say that fat people are bad people. I'm overweight myself and I think I'm a good person, but I'm an unhealthy one.

What I'm saying is that I've been working to change that for my own wellbeing, and if our culture was more accepting toward healthier eating and smaller portion sizes, it would make my Healthy Living movement a lot easier on me.

To say I'm okay with the Fat Acceptance Movement is to say that things should remain going in the direction they're going, and I don't think that's fair to the people working so hard to save their own lives by reversing the effects this fat movement has on our health. This is like the fight against smoking. I know plenty of smokers who are great people, but their habits aren't helping anyone, including themselves. Unhealthy lifestyles in general are polluting our people, decreasing their lifespans, making them sick, and settling them into poor conditions of living while their friends and family around them watch in agony. I simply cannot stand for this.

I don't think the fat acceptance movement is about accepting unhealthy lifestyles. (I didn't start the movement, nor do I do much to support it other than say on this message board that I agree with it... so maybe I'm not the best person to reply).

But IMO, it's about accepting that we all come in different shapes and sizes. A fit size 16 woman should be looked at as just as beautiful as a fit size 2. Obviously we shouldn't be glorifying the extremes that are never healthy... If someone is 500 pounds, they shouldn't be content and accept it (and they should receive respect, support, and help to get healthy).

I think if smoking were still cheap, socially accepted, and as strongly advertised as our junk food is today, the number of smokers would never have decreased and would probably still be increasing. Likewise, if junk foods were heavily taxed, socially unacceptable, and if all of the junk food ads (and weight loss "diet" ads) disappeared from TV and magazines, obesity wouldn't be as much of a problem. I'm not necessarily calling for more taxes or legislation on food, I just find it to be an interesting comparison. In general I don't think the majority of people will change if they are not forced in some way to do so whether it be economically or socially or maybe even a health scare. However, I know a lot of people who have health problems or have family members with health problems relating to obesity and they are still not motivated to change.

That's interesting. I do think it's a little different since food is a necessity and it's a choice about type as opposed to whether or not to purchase it. Since fast food is cheaper, I think one of the major motivating factors is price. If they were to increase prices through taxes, I think it would definitely be interesting to see the effect it has (although I would personally be against any such tax).

I guess it depends on what your idea of the FAM is and everyone seems to have a different definition. To me it's simply accepting the fact that a) you're fat and b)it does not define you as a person. If you asked me to describe myself the word fat wouldn't even make the top 10. I'm hardly delusional, I'm well aware that I'm fat, but I'm also a good friend, a wonderful wife and mother, a great cook, I'm funny, I'm smart, I have a moderate amount of musical ability...the list goes on. The fact that I'm (currently) fat has no more to do with my personality than my blue eyes or my freckles.

For me it's about separating a physical issue from someone's worth as a human being. The fact that fat people were generalized as lazy overeaters a few times in this thread makes me sad. Sure some of them probably are but they're also smart and funny and wonderful parents and talented, creative people.

I'm for accepting the PEOPLE who are fat and being able to look past it at who they are... it's the FAT that I can't regard as acceptable, not with a national health crisis arising from it.

We do have a dual problem in the US, on the one hand we are becoming too materialistic, shallow, superficial... but on the other hand too many of us are also becoming overweight and obese. Both are severe problems, it's just that one is spiritual in nature and the other is physical. We have every ability to fight both battles at the same time, and we should.

Here's the bottom line, guys. It is not YOU job to police anyone's body or their choices. It doesn't matter what they are doing. IT. IS. NOT. YOUR JOB. You have no business telling anyone how they should be eating.

If you wouldn't accept it for yourself, that's fine. Then don't do it yourself. You're not some great hero who's come in and giving this overweight person brand new information. Chances are, they've heard it before.

But again, and I can't say it enough. IT IS NOT YOUR JOB.