What are your thoughts on fat acceptance?

[LadyForCamus]

I think when we hear the word, "fat" we automatically think in terms of aesthetics, and that shouldn't be the case. We should care about maintaining a healthy weight for HEALTH purposes first and foremost. Hell, we're atheists! Most of us believe we only get this one, precious life. Let's try and make it last as long as possible! Of course everyone wants to look good, but as a dietitian, I have found that people who decide to make changes for health reasons have better long term success than people who just want to hurry up and lose 50 lbs as fast as possible so that they can fit into a two-piece bathing suit when summer comes.

[Regina]

I think "body positivity" more broadly should be about accepting things people can't do anything about - like being a short man, a tall woman, skin conditions, hair loss etc. I think it should also include education on a range of "healthy" weight, and show us what normal average bodies tend to look like. By all means, educate us that these models and celebrities do not live real lives and only look like that because they're on very strict crazy diets and have time to work out 6 days a week. It can also cover things what normal genitals look like, as opposed to the ones shown in porn.

I do have a problem with the way the "fat acceptance" argument is often framed though. If we're talking about simply not being rude to fat people, and creating a more open supportive environment for fat people trying to live healthier and permanently lose weight, then by all means I support it. However, when the argument moves into denial that obesity has adverse health affects, or that it is caused by bad lifestyle habits, then yes I do take serious issue with it. That's serious misinformation to put out there. I also see it as a defeatist attitude, when you have an obese person who isn't even willing to try losing weight, they just want to blame "society" for treating them badly for being fat.

[Mermaid]

I spent my entire life hating my body because I was conditioned to believe that I was not worthy of love if I was overweight. I have always been...sturdy. Never huge, but rarely thin either. But that doesn't even matter. I know models who hate their bodies. Almost every single woman I know spends a lot of time and energy on being unhappy with their bodies.

It has taken me into my 50s to even start thinking that my value is not about my BMI. There is a lot more to me than the size of my ass. I think this is how I see "fat acceptance". Avoiding placing judgment on people (especially women and girls) and just letting people be. It's not going to create more fat people. The only thing it will do, the constant shaming and pressure, will create people who hate their bodies.

[CapnAwesome]

I think the problem with the fat acceptance movement is that it's built on lies. Fat people are not as healthy, and most certainly not as physically as fit people. It's also an insult to those of us who put in a lot of hard work exercising and eating right for some fat person to say 'oh I'm just as healthy' on what planet? Being fit takes tremendous amounts of work almost daily. It's an outrageous lie for fat people to claim they are just as fit as actual fit people.

It's also an anti-science movement, that denies basic things we know about nutrition, about calories, about all kinds of stuff. Whenever I see Atheists supporting such an overly anti-science movement, that relies on disinformation about how much genetics effect obesity (spoiler: Not all that much) and denies basic science about how someone becomes fat, and basic science about health related to obesity, I cringe.

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I think when we hear the word, "fat" we automatically think in terms of aesthetics, and that shouldn't be the case.  We should care about maintaining a healthy weight for HEALTH purposes first and foremost.  Hell, we're atheists!  Most of us believe we only get this one, precious life.  Let's try and make it last as long as possible!  Of course everyone wants to look good, but as a dietitian, I have found that people who decide to make changes for health reasons have better long term success than people who just want to hurry up and lose 50 lbs as fast as possible so that they can fit into a two-piece bathing suit when summer comes.

Absolutely! Ascetics are totally secondary. Really who cares about that? It's not that important. It's also not just about extending your life, but improving your quality of life. If you watch a show like 'my big fat fabulous life' you realize that being obese is so limiting on your life. Everything becomes harder, walking, running, anything physical you want to do.

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I think it's terrible to fat-shame people or to encourage the supermodel and extreme dieting as the norm. People should be able to feel comfortable in their own bodies no matter what because it is their body and not yours. It's not hurting you, so get over it.

However, this kind of generosity should not get in the way of talking about health concerns. Obesity obviously causes problems, and at some point there should be a public awareness of this. Just don't be an asshat about it.

What about when someone lies about the science involved in weight gain? I mean, I don't care about someone's body, I care about the information that is put out there.

[Jesster]

What about when someone lies about the science involved in weight gain? I mean, I don't care about someone's body, I care about the information that is put out there.

I kind of covered that, in a way. Science can be discussed and corrected without shaming people.

I think it's terrible to fat-shame people or to encourage the supermodel and extreme dieting as the norm. People should be able to feel comfortable in their own bodies no matter what because it is their body and not yours. It's not hurting you, so get over it.

However, this kind of generosity should not get in the way of talking about health concerns. Obesity obviously causes problems, and at some point there should be a public awareness of this. Just don't be an asshat about it.

[WinterHold]

*SPOILER ALERT: THE WALKING DEAD*

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Obesity is a very wrong thing. Consuming food and drinks without limit is called "profusion".
Smokers are said to be killing themselves; but obese people do the same.

Consuming food while others starve is irresponsible. Personal freedom stops when others are hurt; and if people just stopped for a moment to realize that their soda drinks and fast food had their materials collected by poor hungry children in Asia; maybe they'll eat less.

The problem is not just obesity; it's excess spending. It's a planet where the poor collect materials for the powerful to spend. Let it be food; money; makeup; shopping





Do you think fat people look bad? From my perspective; they all look fat. The majority; at least.

So make it a cause. Don't be fat on anything.

[Joods]

Not sure if this was already mentioned (didn't feel like wading through 8 pages of back and forth to find out) but....

Not everyone that is obese is that way because they ate too much. There are medical conditions which cause people to be obese.

Being stressed out can cause someone to gain weight.
Having insomnia or not getting enough sleep can attribute to weight gain.
Psychological trauma that leads to someone using food to comfort oneself, can lead to weight gain. And yes - while food is there, it is NOT the main factor or cause. It is the catalyst. The trauma is the main factor.

There are medicines that cause people to gain weight. I work with a person who is on chemo and steroids for an auto-immune disorder that I can't even pronounce. It causes her to gain weight. People keep asking her when her baby is due. She's not pregnant. Her youngest is six years old. But so that she can live, she has to take a pill form of chemo, daily.

People need to consider all the reasons to why someone is obese and not just contribute it to over-eating or eating the wrong thing.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The thing that bothers me is smokers are taxed up to their fucking eyeballs on tobacco products, while fat people are not when it comes to unhealthy food. Tax the hell out of them. I am sick and tired of smoking being socially unacceptable while being obese is.

A can of Coca Cola should cost £10 and a big sharing size bag of crisps should cost £25. That will teach them, and while we are it, they should be denied certain operations on the NHS until they stop their junk food habit.

Oh, and ban junk food in public places and inside pubs. If smokers can't enjoy a fag with their drink, fatties shouldn't be able to enjoy crisps or whatever. Go outside in the cold.

If someone is sitting next to me enjoying his tasty platter of whipped cream and gravy, it does me no harm. On the other hand, the thoughtless cunt who sits next to me with a lit cigarette is a real danger to my health.

This seems to be a pretty significant distinction.

Boru

[pgrimes15]

2. Junk food is literally made from junk .....

Errr ..... do you understand the meaning of the word literally in this context ?

[Little lunch]

Over eating is part addiction, part mental health disorder.
Fat shaming will possibly help some personalities to lose weight, but the majority will gain nothing from it, maybe even get worse.
Cigarette smoking is also addictive, perhaps the most addictive drug in the world.
So my thoughts are...why shame either of them?
If you can't shame a fattie from over eating then why think you could shame a dirty smoker into quitting?
And if you don't think over eating hurts anyone else, just look at their fat kids.
And in twenty years, look at the 'all grown up' fat kid's even fatter kids.
I find that even more sickening then passive smoking.