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[LordSlowpoke]

Anyways, that's needing its own thread. This thread isn't the fat thread.

we're making it happen

Spoiler: so loud whispers made a post (click to show/hide)

There's a big difference between telling people obesity is hunky dory and supporting the obese in a way that isn't as likely to lead to self loathing etc.

You tell them that then. It was not too long ago that I was ranting about the preposterousness of that one particularly obese woman squaring off against a doctor over whether the term obese should be banned because it made obese people feel bad, or when I was ranting about the malicious delusions of the fat acceptance movement that preached the Darwin-award worthy notion that being obese is not a massive health risk and a gratuitous waste of resources and healthcare, or when I was ranting about how the fat acceptance movement reached the point where they were saying things like people calling them fat is literally as bad as racism.
No one should have to support the obese because obesity is not something that should be supported. Help people get fit and have the NHS try to keep them alive in an uphill battle only getting worse with each and every extra large portion of fries. 28% of British children are now obese too. Nothing disgusts me more than a parent who feeds their child troughs of fast food; it's neglect. Feel guilt and shame for an unhealthy lifestyle because it is an unhealthy lifestyle.
Much can be done to aid the obese, for one stop the promotion of food adverts that sexualize gluttony and those "calorie count" diets that promise freedom from fat yet deliver only malnutrition and dangerous weight loss, for another spend gratuitous amounts of money trying to persuade people to be more proactive against the face of their sedentary lives and promote healthy eating (at this point obese people are such a strain on this country that anything that costs lest than £5,000,000,000 is a net profit). But at the end of the day if you have working limbs and you get obese and you feel shame when confronted with your obesity you should try to change yourself instead of forcing the world to change around you. The obesity problem is already beyond the point where the majority of the UK is obese, shame is what you feel when you personally make foolish decisions; it is not something to run away from when you eat yourself to an early grave, you confront it and better yourself.

do what you will with this post

[Loud Whispers]

PTW

[gigaraptor487]

While not obese, I am overweight. I lost 5 lbs this fortnight by stopping drinking lemonade and juice and had water instead.

PTW

[TD1]

Ptw, I guess.

[WarRoot]

While not obese, I am overweight. I lost 5 lbs this fortnight by stopping drinking lemonade and juice and had water instead.

PTW

That's nothing I once lost 5 kgs by taking a shit, and I'm skinny but I do have a potbelly.

[LordBucket]

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this thread. Being obese probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world. Making fat people feel bad about it doesn't particularly make their lives better. Telling people that they should find fat people physically attractive because it would be convenient for fat people if they did doesn't really change anything.

What is there to discuss?

[WarRoot]

Is being obese the unhealthy thing, or the lifestyle that leads to obesity? How much does genetics have to do with getting fat?

[gigaraptor487]

I think obesity isn't always black and white. For example, many bodybuilders have BMIs in excess of 30 and yet they are certainly not obese.

[Playergamer]

BMI is stupid. I mean, really stupid. I'm amazed anyone ever took it seriously.

[gigaraptor487]

It is a bit like IQ. It is great for graphs, although it doesn't reflect reality accurately at all.

Shame it seems to be used a lot anyway.

[BFEL]

Well, to try and establish some rails and become a rich entrepreneur I would like to say that as a big fat fatty myself I find the concept of a "fat acceptance movement" hilarious and unnecessary, but I have to say that LW's post seemed...very hostile.

I'm particularly perplexed by his admonition of calorie counting. I mean that IS how people fight obesity, by taking in less calories. I'm on a diet myself and while I'm not calorie COUNTING, I am at least estimating my intake and attempting to take in less then average (I THINK a normal intake is 2000 a day or so?)

While there is certainly more to HEALTHY eating, when the objective is just to lose weight calories are literally the only thing worth looking at.

I think if any diets are worth admonishing its those ones that attempt to convince people they can eat whatever they want as long as it doesn't have carbs or sodium or etc.

EDIT: Oh and the "most disgusting thing" is overfeeding children? What about those parents who molest them or microwave them? Those are plenty worse I would think.

[Neonivek]

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this thread. Being obese probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world. Making fat people feel bad about it doesn't particularly make their lives better. Telling people that they should find fat people physically attractive because it would be convenient for fat people if they did doesn't really change anything.

What is there to discuss?

A thread about people and their weight issues in a non-judgmental environment? AND as a topic where fat people can be fat and like it?

[RedKing]

I think there's an issue of metabolism as well. I've always been one of those people who can pretty much eat whatever the fuck I want and my weight doesn't fluctuate more than 5 pounds around a stable weight. I'm homeostatic for the most part -- if I start to edge up in weight, I typically lose appetite. If I start to drop too low, I turn ravenous for a day.


Not everyone (okay, most people) don't have that luxury. And some have low metabolisms such to where even if they eat sensibly, they gain weight.


That said, whatever its causes, obesity *is* something to be avoided where possible. It has serious long-term health impacts.

[LordBucket]

Is being obese the unhealthy thing, or the lifestyle that leads to obesity?

Both? Being five foot and 200 pounds is going to be a problem regardless of why one is that way.

How much does genetics have to do with getting fat?

A fair amount. Some people win the genetic lottery, and have an easy time being thin, tall, beautiful, intelligent, etc. But it's counterproductive to use the fact that some people have it easy as an excuse to create problems for yourself. if someone says "Bob is naturally thin, and I'm not. That's not fair, so I'm going to gorge myself on cheesy-poofs every day and never leave the couch!" he's only hurting himself.

A lot of factors contribute to health. Genetics is one factor, yes. Behavior is a factor, yes. Finance is a factor. If you buy cheap, unhealthy food because that's all you can afford, there are consequences to that regardless of how fair it is or isn't that those are your circumstances. And there's research that suggests that things like behavior, environment and diet can alter gene expression. So someone who grows up in an unhealthy environment, might have a more difficult time even if they make healthy decisions later in life.

But whether we say of someone who is fat that "it's their fault" or "it's not their fault" or "well, it's kind of their fault, but they got unlucky and they really are trying to overcome problems that not everyone has" it doesn't change the fact that they're fat.

[FearfulJesuit]

I think a large part of the problem is the way American eating and transport habits are set up. I live on a lot of basic grains (oatmeal, rice and beans, rye toast) and dairy, and walk everywhere (sometimes five or six miles a day- my campus is very spread out). I'm already pretty thin, and my mother is actually worried I'll lose weight. It doesn't help that while food that makes you gain weight is cheap, food that makes you gain weight but doesn't make you feel like crap is a bit harder to come by. But I feel way more productive on rye toast and yogurt than I would on breakfast burritos, and it's a very very cheap diet. (I also have an ascetic streak with regard to just about everything except books. In America, that's rare.)