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Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
#1
Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
What's up with this fat acceptance movement? I'm not going to be politically correct on this and I'm not afraid to offend people, so here it goes:

My girlfriend is very thin and also fit, she is actually underweight on a BMI scale despite the fact that she looks pretty healthy and her medical checkups turn out fine - Everyone, whether it's family friends or family keeps telling her that she needs to eat and that only dogs go for bones, etc. Honestly, the reason why this bothers her and me is because she was underfeed by her biological parents as a child and they didn't take properly care of her, she has memories of her parents fighting and doing drugs while she was left starving and dirty (she was adopted later) - Everytime someone tells her how skinny bitches are annoying, and how skinny people need to eat, she is reminded of horrible childhood experiences and traumatic teenage year phases (like it happens with most adopted kids when they find out about being adopted) - I'm not the kind of person who supports shaming without constructive criticism, I'm not going to go near fat people and tell them to lose weight, or that they should eat less, just like I don't tell a horribly dressed person that they have poor fashion taste even if it is what I mentally think is true.

The worst part here, is that unlike smokers and alcoholics who are not only taxed on a very high rate (specially in Europe, just imagine paying extra 3.50€ for each pack of smokes and multiply it by 30 years or so of smoking and see how much money that is) but frequently admit that they made poor choices and have unhealthy habits, the fat acceptance movement is seeking to openly promote the idea that obesity and being overweight is fine and healthy, and a lot of their idealisms are based on the idea that people, specially straight men, must feel attracted to fat and frequently obese women. This is just idiotic and it's not going to work. I think the problem with eating is that everyone eats, so it's easy to eat too much, while smoking is something that is not necessary for survival and you can just quit. I still smoke a few cigs a day, and I think it's a terrible habit, I'd advise anyone to NOT smoke and I don't intend to promote non-smokers privilege - In fact, if the rhetoric used for fat acceptance was used for smokers it would be ridiculed right away - Why is body weight a special case?

I don't think not being attracted to fat people is that cultural as people say it is - The truth is we can find examples of art and beauty depicting thin people since the Romans, and even so the fat beauty has only been around when people were super poor and it was considered a sign of wealth. Even if we look at chubby chasers, the majority of these people are looking for folks (specially men looking for women) with a few extra pounds and frequently more fat on the ass, boobs and other body parts they find important - Very few people are actively wanting to date obese folks unless they're obese themselves and can't find a better partner.

I think obesity and fat are health issues that should be addressed and treated like any other public health concern by a matter of coherence, and so I find it idiotic that there's a fat acceptance movement kinda like if there was a smokers acceptance or alcoholics acceptance movement. I don't wish to control people's lives and I don't want to tell them what to eat, it's entirely up to you, but promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and then claiming those who don't agree are brainwashed, culturally restricted and oppressors is just stupid. Grow up.

I have 10 extra Kilograms (22 pounds on average) that I gained over 3 years and I plan to go back to my normal weight, which is less 10-15 kilograms (154 pounds, more or less 70kilograms) - The reason I gained weight is merely because I was lazy and to be honest I started dating, my girlfriend is quite hot and so I stopped caring about my body too much because I don't need to attract women. I'm going back and I know I won't regret it. I know being fat is complicated, there's many variables and problems people face - But to what degree is it really genetic, and how much can we influence our weight?
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you

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#2
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
The thing that pisses me off the most is when I see obese kids, especially young ones. Sure, some of them may have a medical condition, but no way all of them do. It's trash parenting and it's a form of passive abuse like smoking all over them.

I agree that trying to say being unhealthily overweight is healthy is just denying reality. I don't think anyone should be mocked or offered unsolicited "advice" no matter what their weight though.
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#3
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
(October 23, 2015 at 9:32 am)robvalue Wrote: The thing that pisses me off the most is when I see obese kids, especially young ones. Sure, some of them may have a medical condition, but no way all of them do. It's trash parenting and it's a form of passive abuse like smoking all over them.

I agree that trying to say being unhealthily overweight is healthy is just denying reality. I don't think anyone should be mocked or offered unsolicited "advice" no matter what their weight though.

I agree with this - We have to keep in mind that adolescents and teens frequently eat at school for lunch and may use their parents' money to eat unhealthy food, so it's not always the parents' fault, but letting your child get morbidly obese without doing anything about it is just horrible, kinda like allowing your pets to get fat and obese - My dog doesn't eat much, I always leave food for her but she eats when she needs to and doesn't get fat, but I had dogs who would eat as much food as you put on the plate and never stop so people need to control things.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you

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#4
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
If the kids are proving they can't be trusted and are eating crap with money the are given, I think parents should stop giving them money and make them a packed lunch instead. I've heard too many parents blame their children, who are basically still entirely dependent on them.
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#5
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
This whole fat acceptance movement is simply wrong. I think this should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: It is never okay to belittle, shame, or otherwise make fun of somebody because of their weight. However, society does not need to condone and coddle obese individuals "for just being who they are". Obesity skyrockets an individual's chances of acquiring a smorgasbord of maladies and diseases. Couple that fact with the number of obese people in the U.S. alone and you begin to have an idea of why insurance is so ridiculously high (one factor among others, but a factor nonetheless). Obesity not only affects those who are actually obese; their poor health and lifestyle choices affect the rest of us financially as well, and those poor choices, especially in nutrition, are typically passed on to children if they have any.

How many commercials have you seen trashing cigarette smokers? A lot. If a similar commercial were made of an obese person who neglects to exercise (or, hell, even move at all) and eats high-calorie, processed foods, the proverbial shit would hit the fan and outrage would sweep across the country, a million chubby hands raised in protest.

This is one of those issues that really sticks in my craw. Obesity is not healthy, it is not "just who you are", it isn't "being comfortable in your own skin", or any of that other bullshit. It's a serious public health concern as you mentioned, and it can be overcome by education on the importance of exercise and decent nutrition. But first, it has to be approached as a problem and not treated like it's some condition that people are powerless to change, or that it's just part of who they are.
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~ Benjamin Franklin
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#6
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
(October 23, 2015 at 9:49 am)Strider Wrote: This whole fat acceptance movement is simply wrong. I think this should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: It is never okay to belittle, shame, or otherwise make fun of somebody because of their weight. However, society does not need to condone and coddle obese individuals "for just being who they are". Obesity skyrockets an individual's chances of acquiring a smorgasbord of maladies and diseases. Couple that fact with the number of obese people in the U.S. alone and you begin to have an idea of why insurance is so ridiculously high (one factor among others, but a factor nonetheless). Obesity not only affects those who are actually obese; their poor health and lifestyle choices affect the rest of us financially as well, and those poor choices, especially in nutrition, are typically passed on to children if they have any.

How many commercials have you seen trashing cigarette smokers? A lot. If a similar commercial were made of an obese person who neglects to exercise (or, hell, even move at all) and eats high-calorie, processed foods, the proverbial shit would hit the fan and outrage would sweep across the country, a million chubby hands raised in protest.

This is one of those issues that really sticks in my craw. Obesity is not healthy, it is not "just who you are", it isn't "being comfortable in your own skin", or any of that other bullshit. It's a serious public health concern as you mentioned, and it can be overcome by education on the importance of exercise and decent nutrition. But first, it has to be approached as a problem and not treated like it's some condition that people are powerless to change, or that it's just part of who they are.
As I said, I don't hate fat people and I have fat friends and relatives, I also don't make assumptions about their intelligence, job, who they are as a friend, etc - I just assume that they take more calories than they burn. The attractiveness part I find staggering, there's this group of tumblr activists, mostly women but also some men, who want society to convince itself that not being attracted to fat people is fatphobic and that every bit of happiness and hardwork other people put into fitness is "internalized fatphobia" - Now, there are some people who really hate fat people, the kind of folks who see a fat person and scream "HEY FATTIIEEE", but most people who criticize fat for being unhealthy are not this kind of person - Moreover, it bugs me that everyone who is thin is assumed to be privileged and everyone who is fat is automatically discriminated against when in fact many of it is just a disadvantage of being fat - For example, not finding clothes that don't fit you because you are too large is not a form of discrimination, it's just companies catering to demand and doing what they do best - I can't find super large shoes for NBA athletes on normal stores, and the same happens with clothing.

Even if being fat didn't cause diabetes and all those diseases, at least we need to admit that your mobility, romantic life and personal life are affected by it and people should try to feel better about themselves. I don't doubt some fat people may be genuinely happy, and that's fine, but nothing convinces me that someone who is obese and has trouble just standing on their feet are happier with their bodies than someone who is average...
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you

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#7
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
Thin or fat, I don't think people actively want or like to be stuck on either side of this spectrum. But due to more reasons than one, not everyone can have that perfect body. But the main problem arises when other people try to play shrink and impose their beauty standards on others. No matter your intentions, you are gonna end up sounding thin/fat shaming if you approach someone with unsolicited advice without actually knowing them or their situation well enough.

Being fat is not healthy. Being too thin is not healthy. And the people who are either of these know that well enough without having others to rub it in all the time.
Quote:To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.
- Lau Tzu

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#8
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
People can't help who they find attract and who they don't. They can keep their opinions to themselves until asked, though. If everyone did this, I think it would solve a lot of these image problems.

Statements like, "You should find people with characteristic X attractive" are nonsensical.
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#9
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
(October 23, 2015 at 10:29 am)robvalue Wrote: People can't help who they find attract and who they don't. They can keep their opinions to themselves until asked, though. If everyone did this, I think it would solve a lot of these image problems.

Statements like, "You should find people with characteristic X attractive" are nonsensical.

Excepting beefy, hairy, older gentlemen, of course.

Tongue
 The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it. 




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#10
RE: Rant about weight, fat acceptance, obesity and health
(October 23, 2015 at 10:29 am)robvalue Wrote: People can't help who they find attract and who they don't. They can keep their opinions to themselves until asked, though. If everyone did this, I think it would solve a lot of these image problems.

Statements like, "You should find people with characteristic X attractive" are nonsensical.

Attractiveness is besides the point. If the internet has shown us anything is that there are people out there who like ANYTHING. What is an issue is health. Being heavy has many issues not least of which is extra pressure on the joints. I'm not large but a few extra pounds makes all the difference to my runs and ability to recover how people who weigh stones and stones more than they should are just making life hard for themselves. 
I am too lazy to let myself get too overweight.



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