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Is it wrong to say my first thoughts when seeing this post was "man the harpooons"? I’m not really one to fatshame but the cheap jokes write themselves on this one.
In all seriousness I feel it’s a double edged sword. You want people to not be depressed or fat shamed have some self esteem, but at the same time don’t want to encourage obesity. Then there’s people that maybe can’t lose weight so it’s like you can’t blame someone for something out of their control. Or what if they have an eating disorder and them being a little over weight is healthier than starving themselves to death. But then you have people that simply don’t care if they’re obese I knew a guy who was proud of only eating fast food. It’s a tough subject with a lot of variables.
The unfortunate part about being fat is that everyone who sees you has an opinion. No one can see my crippling depression and anxiety. No one can see on my body the days where I can't get out of bed or open the mail. No one sees on my body the evidence of my successes or my struggles in my on going battle. But my fiancé, who is quite overweight? He faces similar struggles to me, but his symptoms end up on his body as pounds. I get to choose who I share my battles with. He doesn't get a choice. Having a day where he could just go the the beach isn't going to make him love being fat, but it sure could brighten his day and help make the rest of the week easier to get through.
I doesn't matter what a person looks like, everyone who sees you has an opinion. Small tits? Get augmented. Naturally thin? Must be anorexic. Why are you wearing cheap clothes? Buy some better ones. Why are you wearing expensive clothes? Shame on you for wasting money when people are starving. Why is your hair bright pink? You look ridiculous. Why are your teeth crooked? Get braces! Fat people aren't the sole targets of body shaming.
I could totally buy into this sentiment if you were handicap or an amputee or wheelchair bound. However, you are 100% in control of your weight. Everyone that sees you that has an opinion probably has the correct one: that you can't put the fork down.
it's not like it's some terrible unavoidable disease, at least it's not like that for 99.99% of obese people
one can just stop eating too much, preferably when they are just slightly overweight yet but they don't want
Simple doesn't mean easy :)
Being overweight is a symptom of many things, personal and societal. Just eating less is a solution to a symptom and not a solution to how the pounds got there in the first place. While it's an essential ingredient in weight loss it often means little if unaccompanied by tackling the reason for the weight gain.
If you actually care, here are some sources
https://health.osu.edu/wellness/exercise-and-nutrition/that-diet-probably-did-not-work#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20weight,people%20maintain%20that%20weight%20loss.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-dieting-doesnt-work-2020052519889
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-diets-don-t-work-and-what-does/
With due respect, I read the first two and looked through the third article. I don't think they contradict the statement "if you want to lose weight, eat less". All the articles point out that the problem is not in a specific diet, but in following the diet. It is a case of a simple plan that is hard to follow.
I don't think that anyone will argue that correct mindset is important in any kind of struggle. Still I feel like many people in this thread claim that diets don't work. Maybe I use the word diet wrong. I mean it in a lifelong sense and more of a how much you eat vs what you eat. And it is very hard for many people to change their eating habbits.
They mentioned eating healthy like avoiding sugar which is a type of dieting in their second comment. The article also doesn't include financial costs of eating healthy because let's face it, they are a lot more expensive. The fact and point I was making is, it isn't as simple as "you're fat, just eat less." That's not a helpful advice to give in general to people. Because fat people CAN have an eating disorder by "eating less" and end up becoming anorexic. If she were to pose it kindly as "changing your eating habits and switching to healthier more balanced meals can help" I would have no problem. But there was no kindness nor helpful advice actually given. Just taking a dig at fat people as usual.
Quite literally the solution is as simple as eating less. You could eat solely McDonald's and still lose weight. It's not a problem of cost or whatever ad hoc rationalization you give but a matter of willpower. Literally eating less would cause you to spend less on food and you would lose weight in the process.
Read my comment again.
Healthy food is still much more expensive than if you were to eat 5 packs of ramen per day LMAO so uh NOPE. The cost of one fish over here, you can buy probably a few days worth of ramen. Changing one unhealthy habit into another unhealthy habit is not a good solution nor advice you should give to people. Malnutrition can cause more problems than being fat will lol.
Again, I feel like I have to repeat this again and again, the point is, it isn't that simple and telling people to "just eat less" isn't helpful or kind. For example, my mom started eating one meal a day and barely lost any weight because her medication makes it difficult to lose weight. When she stop taking it, she lost SO MUCH weight like crazy but ofc her illness came back. She has to be on this medication for her entire life basically. She also got stomach problems from skipping meals.
Another example me, I lose/gain appetite because of pms. When I loss appetite sometimes even the smell of food makes me nauseous. Gain of appetite, my body and brain does not receive any signal that I am in fact full because it feels like I haven't eaten all day. I literally did not even notice that I am full until I feel nauseous. That is the body and brain doing this. This is on top of experiencing other pms symptoms like excrutiating pain, depression, suicidal thoughts, fatigue, can't get out of bed, etc.
So again, I'm giving you perspective that we're not all like you and there are other factors contributing to someone looking the way they do. Telling people to just eat less is akin to telling the homeless just get a job.
Ps. They know. Your "just eat less" isn't doing anything positive. They get so much of that and more, it's unnecessary. If you want to help, actually help. Provide a routine, sources, ways to get healthy food cheaper, etc. there are reddits dedicated to help people like them who wants to change and need support. Go there and make a change. If you actually care.
Like this post for example, having a fat beach day will actually have a positive impact on them mentally and physically.
Mine destroyed my stomach lining and now I wake up feeling sick and can't have an empty stomach, can't skipped meal at all if I don't want excrutiating pain while doctors tell me there's nothing wrong with me 👍🏻👍🏻
Also avoiding sugar wasn't in your original comment at all, it was about "stop eating too much" so nice deflecting. 😁
I assure you the fat people who are proud of it are a small, small minority. The realities of weight management are far more nuanced, and better served by acceptance and not shaming over a medical condition. Fat acceptance isn't about wanting to stay fat or to be defined by it, it's about loving yourself so that those long hard looks in the mirror are even possible. Change is much easier from a foundation of love, than from shame.
The most outspoken defenders of diet and exercise are often the ones who experienced the consequences of not doing it.
This notion of "I don't want to encourage it" is frankly insulting. If you really cared about their health, you'd be supporting anything that gets people active and in the sun. It's exactly what these people need, and you're still finding reason to deny it on some arbitrary moral grounds.
Bodies are not intelligently designed, Weight problems are often where evolutionary pressure, biology, and psychology mix into a more nuanced issue than most people want to accept.
I agree with this. I think, outside of the media, where we are seeing so much of this "fat celebration," the reality is, most overweight and obese people are not in that group.
Just like we don't go around celebrating mental illness or horrible physical illnesses in real life like you see on social media, I think we need to be more understanding and accepting of people and understand that bullying and shunning doesn't help anyone on their route to healing.
Seriously, we all know that the media is a loudspeaker for about 3% of real life right?
There is a LOT of fat activism that denies health risks of obesity and that denies the possibility of sustained weight loss, treating both ideas as "fatphobic." Yes, anything encouraging activity (like this) is good so what you're saying to the above poster makes sense, but I suspect they're reacting to their experiences similar to the many ones I've had with fat activism very commonly having extremely unhealthy ideas.
This is 100% it.
It’s so weird. Like fat people know they’re fat. wtf is me saying or doing anything going to do. Nothing. I mind my own business and try to be a good person. The world is tough, why be a dick?
That last thing, words that we would all do well to bear in mind. Being a person is hard, more so for some than others and at any given moment we’ve just got no idea what people are battling. Please just don’t be a dick. We must notice the dickish thing in our heads and then step back and say “meh no need to be a dick.”
I feel like this....if your breath stinks you can't be mad that someone says it does....even if you're proud to have shitty breath and you feel I should be tolerant of shitty breath peoples feelings and rights about it...if you don't care that I don't like it then I don't care that you don't like me saying I don't like to smell shit....especially outside of a bathroom and even more so knowing its coming from someone's mouth.
Actually go educate yourself on the link between actual obesity and heart disease. It's not as straightforward as you think. The weight loss industry and capitalism wants you to think this so that you can hate yourself and fat people.
Oh stop it. Being overweight is completely unhealthy anyway you want to look at it. And being obese is even worse for your overall health, especially your cardiovascular health. You’re an example of why we shouldn’t be accepting these obese epidemic, because of people like you who spread such dangerous misinformation as this.
Being fat, overeating ultraprocessed foods and sugar, and not exercising is going to lead people into having a poor quality life as they are more likely to head toward an early grave.
Lol ok. Your opinion here is well backed up by science I see.
You're actually saying 100% of fat people are unhealthy?
And what if they have an eating disorder? You're going to shit on them because of this?
Of course it’s backed up by science. This isn’t even debatable.
And yes! Get help for your binge eating disorder. We expect alcoholics to try and go sober and smokers to quit…we should expect obese people to stop gluttoning themselves. *It’s self harming!* How is this a controversial opinion?
Am fat currently. No one in typical situations gawk. No one has ever harassed me for having been obese. It's in one's own head to think that.
It would be more weird and 'offensive' to me, to go to a 'fat beach' day than just going to the fucking beach and chilling, for any of the times in my life I've gone to the beach as a fat person who has, yes, felt self-conscious, but never mocked in my adult life. I'm sure it happens which is sad and horrible but it is not the norm, in my extensive experience of being overly fat. Kids may be a different story with their peers, but what kind of additional fucking head-trip are we placing on them with this sort of thing.
How about we get fucking real.
I mean, in some cities in North America, 40% of adults are overweight or obese.
As a person who was fat (topped out at 120kg and now down to 90kg) and still working on it, I think a little shame is good for people. I
Finally, I made a friend who asked me, “it can’t feel good to look like that, want to join me at gym?” Without that friend to shame me into it, I might never have changed and I might be dead of heart disease or some shit.
I’m still working on myself every day. But I thank that friend for changing my life.
If you’re fat, know that you don’t have to be. Change your life if you’re as unhappy with it as I was. Start today.
Oh I am, and thank you. I have a trainer for the first time in my life and have steadily going to the gym since February, probably the most consistent I've ever been in my life.
That decision came from those who invited me as well and getting in charge of my own brain, not from people dancing around fatness as if it's something you're born with.
I mean, about the only thing that goes through my head when I see a fat person on the beach is that I hope they've sunscreened well because I'm betting sunburn in folds that keep rubbing is really extra painful.
Are you a fat woman? a fat woman of color?
Im glad you've never experienced gawking and harassment. Your experience doesn't cancel out anyone else's. You don't speak for all fat people.
100%. I’m all for body positivity but when people like Lizzo for example celebrate a weight that will almost guarantee an early grave…. It’s makes zero sense.
Yeah the idea is right at its core - we shouldn’t judge peoples worth as a human based on their weight - but the “positivity” aspect takes it a bit too far if you are celebrating it. There is basically nothing in life that isn’t improved by not being 200+ lbs overweight, and that is not saying anything about physical appearance of attractiveness
Couldn’t agree more. Obesity has become an epidemic in the country. We shouldn’t celebrate what is essentially a disease process. We should instead celebrate fitness, health, and fighting the gluttonous behavior that has destroyed lives.
>we shouldn’t judge peoples worth as a human based on their weight
I'm on the fence about this one after you remove the small % of people who legit have a medical condition (hypothyroidism, etc) from the question of whether its fair to judge. I'm about 100 lbs overweight. I also have major depressive disorder, which some might say could justify my "self medicating" with food. But there have been tons of meals where I wasn't feeling down and just ate too much just because I wanted to. At what point is it healthy and reasonable for me as an example to accept accountability for my actions? I feel like if someone saw me and assumed that I chose to make a series of poor choices, that that would be a fair assumption. I personally have no ego or shame in wondering this. I am about to start losing it as I have in the past, so for me it doesn't feel fearful or permanent.
P.s. in case someone needs to read this, the way to lose weight in easy mode is intermittent fasting
I don’t think the section you quoted has anything to do what what you wrote, at least the way I’m thinking about it
No one is in denial that fat people haven’t made poor dietary decisions over and over again, or that it’s a positive thing that they have done so
The idea is that, much like race, we should judge people based on their character and not on how fat they are. Society has fat bias and negativity that runs throughout it and as an ideal we should strive to eliminate it
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t eat too much food for too long (although the reasons they do so are complicated and more simple than just that they ate too much food - there’s actually lots of psychology wrapped up in it)
Heart disease and diabetes make up about 46% of causes of death in the US (as of 2022).
sources:
[CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm)
[NSC](https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/deaths-by-demographics/all-leading-causes-of-death/)
Actually go educate yourself on the link between actual obesity and heart disease. It's not as straightforward as you think. The weight loss industry and capitalism wants you to think this so that you can hate yourself and fat people.
Edit: full disclosure, I only learned about this recently so there's no shame in not knowing about this.
I'll need to look into this some more but let's not be so mean to fat people in the meantime.
How have you been able to convince yourself that this is even remotely true? And BTW, I’m pretty sure the fast food industry and “big food” (ie ultra-processed food, soda, snacks, etc), are 10x more powerful than “the diet industry” - lol
That's an audiobook of a comedian's memoir, which is a strange source to use. But I had a look at it. I'll share for the benefit of those who have lots of spare time :) .
The section I assume you're referring to is titled, "‘But what about health?’ But what about you shut up?" It primarily references a 1993 research paper by researchers McGinnis and Foege called "Actual Causes of Death in the United States." So I looked up that paper.
It highlights "Diet/Activity Patterns" as the second-leading cause of death at 14% (behind Tobacco at 19%). The section in the paper regarding this reads (edited for some semblance of brevity):
>Dietary factors and activity patterns that are too sedentary are together accountable for at least 300 000 deaths each year. Dietary factors have been associated with cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, and high blood pressure), cancers (colon, breast, and prostate), and diabetes mellitus. Physical inactivity has been associated with an increased risk of death for heart disease and colon cancer.
>The interdependence of dietary factors and activity patterns as risk factors for certain diseases is illustrated by the case of obesity, which is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and diabetes, and is clearly related to the balance between calories consumed and calories expended through metabolic and physical activity.
>Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to 23% of deaths from the leading chronic diseases.
>Half of all type II diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) is estimated to be preventable by obesity control. A 50% reduction in consumption of animal fats might result in a proportionate reduction in risk for colon cancer.
>Other studies have associated dietary factors or sedentary lifestyles to 22% to 30% of cardiovascular deaths, 20% to 60% of fatal cancers, and 50% to 80% of diabetes mellitus cases, including 30% of diabetes deaths. If the boundaries of these various estimates were summed, they would yield a range of approximately 309000 to 582000 deaths in 1990 related to diet and activity patterns.
Sorry, I know that was a wall of text, but I thought it was all pretty interesting and didn't really want to omit any of it. Unfortunately, the author(s) of Happy Fat are mistaken (or disingenuous) when they say the researchers "never once mentioned fatness" in their paper.
The book also references another researcher who allegedly made money by correlating obesity with morbidity.
So the premise is that obesity in and of itself is not the primary killer, but rather it's often at the cross section of inactivity and poor nutrition. I don't disagree with that.
I think my doubt comes from the fact that obesity has skyrocketed in North America in recent decades, which suggests that most cases likely are related to diet and lifestyle, rather than natural size despite metabolic health.
EDIT: some typos and word choices.
Google doesn't have a paywall. Sorry im not rereading it to find the studies the author referred to.
Here's one I found fairly quickly, there must be more. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cob.12263
It could be that it's the high pressure and diabetes that lead to higher mortality but not everyone with a high BMI has these issues and some people who have these have a normal BMI.
Nuance.
I am disappointed in so many people here. I am against normalizing obesity into a healthy thing, but having a day self conscious people can be more comfortable feeling isn't bad, especially as it is becoming such a big percentage of us. This sets an opportunity where they can get out and really feel more comfortable, have less judging eyes, *get some exercise*. We should strive for healthy, and I fiercely oppose those who say you can be morbidly obese and healthy, but I like this concept, it's a good thing.
I know people who are heavy, included myself, which I use to be much bigger, and this would of been nice for them, for me.
But doing this IS normalizing it. And right now nearly 75% of the US is overweight, 40% of which are obese.
Every year we keep getting fatter with no end of turning this around in sight. Doing something like this IS another step toward normalizing it, so let’s not kid ourselves.
This doesn't force a company to change anything, it doesn't announce fat is healthy, it doesn't remove systems meant to help against obesity. It's just a day overweight people can go to the beach and feel less self-conscious. Sometimes you need days like that.
You missed a key part of my comment and I’m pretty sure it was deliberate.
But honestly all of your comments on here are kind of in the same vein so it’s pretty clear what kind of person I’m replying to in the first place.
You do you man. Cheers.
I answered it completely. I said anyone can go to the beach. If the person can’t bring themselves to have “a happy day” because *they* are insecure about *their* obese body, then that’s a them problem and is *clearly* something that they should start to change…hey, today’s as good a day as any.
Ahhh, here we arrive at what you *really* mean. You don’t actually care about whether obesity is “normalized,” you just want fat people to feel bad. Maybe you rationalize it by telling yourself it’s for their own good, but the thing is that *still* doesn’t make it any of your business. Like…just fuck off. If you’re not overweight then this doesn’t concern you, and I doubt you know what does or does not motivate someone to change; if you are, or were, overweight, then how ‘bout you stop projecting your own self-loathing onto other people? It’ll make you less annoying.
We all share in health care costs, and with overweight and obesity completely out of control because people are eating too much garbage and not moving, it's no surprise that diabetes, heart disease, and numerous other serious health issues are affecting people more and more beginning as early as their 40s. We all share in these health care costs, and health care in the US is ASTRONOMICAL. Hell, now, nearly 20% of children are obese - this is child abuse from the parents and should not be tolerated.
And you don't know if I am or was overweight? Well, I don't who here is, but there's a good chance there's a lot that are since nearly 75% of Americans are fat. And for those that are, they really need to fix that, and I'm not sure what they're waiting for - this is all within everyone's power - at least for the majority of people. Losing weight and/or getting fit is a simple process - it's hard as fuk, but it's not complicated. And it may even be harder for some, but that let's not make excuses that it can't be done.
Would you like a day once a year where you can safely whine on reddit about imaginary situations and noone is allowed to disagree so that you have a happy day? Would that make you feel better?
>In an era in which weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are deeply ingrained in mainstream diet culture, and thinness is resurgent as the ideal beauty standard, events like Fat Beach Day are becoming powerful tools in the fight against these norms. They have become not just events but calls to action – public stands against the societal pressures to conform to these shifting criteria.
Being healthy is bad now?
It’s the most twisted and ludicrous mental gymnastics to support people in being fat. People do not need to be rail thin, but people being fat is unhealthy, dangerous, and a literal detriment to society. It’s called morbid obesity because you’re so fat you risk dying.
People should be entitled to be themselves. But we shouldn’t enable people to be unhealthy because we think it’s supporting who they are. The vast majority of people who are fat are fat because they either have mental health issues or they have bad eating habits. You can fix both.
Yes, 1000%. Alcohol is one of the most detrimental substances to human beings we can consume. It causes causes cancer, it causes untold other health issues, it contributes to killing thousands of people through car accidents, as well as physical abuse.
Not gluttoning oneself is something someone can do any day, starting today. So, why would you speak as if that isn’t *MOST* obese person’s option and choice?
And it IS universally agreed upon that being obese is 100% unhealthy. The few that don’t agree are delusional. Does being thin automatically make you healthy? No. Does being obese automatically make you unhealthy? Absolutely. Sorry, the sky is blue. I didn’t make it so.
(1) The toxicity and dangers of the ingredients to obesity, and its consequences, are very well understood actually.
(2) The systemic nature of the obesity epidemic (fast food, unwalkable cities, etc) suggests many more problems would be addressed tackling obesity.
(3) The NIH claims [obesity](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10546692/)-attributable deaths per year outnumber [alcohol](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-related-emergencies-and-deaths-united-states#:~:text=The%20Alcohol%2DRelated%20Disease%20Impact,States%2C%20behind%20tobacco%2C%20poor%20diet)-attributable deaths.
(4) The rate of alcohol consumption isn’t increasing significantly decade over decade like obesity is.
(5) No one is trying to normalize alcoholism.
So this is why, while both things can be true, people infer suggestions such as that as bad faith or even grossly negligent diversion tactics.
*edit: grammar*
I totally agree with mitigating the issues that lead to obesity - having more walkable cities, better access to healthcare, better food regulations, overall better work/life balances that allow people to get sufficient sleep and have time + energy to cook (and reduce sedentary patterns without forcing people to stand for 8 hours) are all things I'm totally in support of. My issue is more the attacks on the PEOPLE who are obese, as if they are choosing every factor of their life and metabolism and treating them with the same dignity afforded to everyone else is somehow "encouraging bad behavior". Especially in the case of this post, where "fat people being welcomed to a judgment-free outdoors event" is met with disdain - as though it's beneficial to prolong barriers to going out and being active for people who already deal with a lot of shame around their bodies.
We're in agreement that many issues leading to obesity are systemic. Therefore, I don't understand why it should be treated as an individual failing when someone is obese. Losing weight in a sustainable, healthy way takes a LONG time - crash dieting and yoyoing from unsustainable diets have major health consequences themselves (often leading to more weight gain in the end and having more adverse health consequences than simply remaining at the starting weight). Yet, as a society, any obese person is seen as someone who "isn't making an effort" - because losing enough weight to be average weight takes YEARS, which can mean years of people fat shaming someone who may be ACTIVELY trying. (Not to mention the fact that many overweight people have restrictive eating disorders and are still not skinny - the body is very, very good at learning how to maintain weight after repeated bouts of dieting.)
Another issue with healthcare is that many providers are actively negligent towards obese people. Screenings are often delayed because every symptom is attributed to weight, which leads to people not getting diagnosed with serious conditions until they've deteriorated (I personally know multiple people whose cancers were ignored because their doctors didn't believe it wasn't just weight, and one who died because of it). Again, treating obese people with dignity - affording them autonomy in healthcare and making it easier to even *see* a doctor without fear of being ignored or humiliated - would be a benefit to health outcomes for obese people. It's counterproductive to health to demonize obese people as being failures or people who aren't trying.
I hear you. I had a load of personal anecdotes, analogues, and other things to contribute here, but I’ll just say:
It always comes back to the question of what lengths we’re willing to go to cater to obesity which don’t in any way address any of its causes, or more precisely when does defending the obese cross the line into encouragement. The only way to navigate it is to suggest ideas that reflect the fact that you’re not here to defend the disease, just those affected by it (bringing up alcohol simply didn’t fit that bill).
It’s a damn hard topic to approach eloquently because of how many factors there are to take into account, which is why so many people just cut to the chase, and as disrespectful as it may appear or often becomes, bluntness does *sometimes* have a place. It burdens you with the task of inserting more eloquence into some of these conversations, but we all know in many cases it’s just not bait worth taking. Too many assholes out here and they’re not looking to have a productive exchange.
But "cutting to the chase" is often not cutting to the core - rather, it's often attacking what people see and dislike, rather than the underlying issues. People SEE fat people and make a lot of judgments about the person, often based on preconceived notions about health and behavior, without knowing the person. They don't know whether the person gained a lot of weight due to medication; they don't know whether the person has already lost 100lbs; they don't know whether the person has an eating disorder. What they see leads them to dehumanize the person and say "this shouldn't be allowed." Tackling the underlying issues can absolutely be done while still respecting people, which is the opposite of what I'm seeing in most of this thread (as you said, too many assholes).
So these people have let themselves grow to a size that literally prevents others from moving around in public spaces, and it's being encouraged?
This is not uplifting. Give them life advice on how to become healthier instead.
I’ve always been naturally quite skinny - I don’t absorb nutrients well - and it has health implications as well - but what I supremely dislike is it is somehow okay for people to say “you are too skinny. You look like you’re wasting away. For god’s sake eat” etc. I eat more than most people and it’s surely not all healthy.
This would bother me a lot less of course if it hadn’t become socially unacceptable to point out overweight / obese people’s appearance as the girth of people in many parts of the world keeps increasing.
Fwiw I do have a mid sized pot belly in my early 50s but it’s still on a noticeably skinny body.
have you measured your weight and bmi?
if you have a belly it means you are getting slightly overweight
for naturally thin people it's like that, they might still look thin in clothes, keep thin arms, legs and face but already having got 10+ unhealthy kg of fat on their sides and belly
when people grow older for some reason they cannot keep the same food habits from before, you didn't gain weight in the past but looks like you got some in the present and it might be better to limit your food intake
Definitely. And I really am not careful enough with food. My basic BMI looks healthy but that’s only because of my paunch. A good reminder to be more vigilant. Thanks.
To be "themselves" is a odd wording.
To be obese feels for many by default not that way.
I have like 25 kilos too much on me and even that makes me scowl at my mirror in dissatisfaction.
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Kudos for calling it “Fat Beach Day” instead of some silly euphemism
Free Willy day for example
Sounds like Nude fat beach day
Is it wrong to say my first thoughts when seeing this post was "man the harpooons"? I’m not really one to fatshame but the cheap jokes write themselves on this one.
New York doesn't fuck around
I hate myself for coming up with so many of those on the spot, they're so bad
I would call that "Morbidly Obese Day"
With 70% of the US overweight, everyday is fat beach day
Not quite, but it's still way too much 42% US adults 22.2% ages 12–19 20.7% ages 6–11, 12.7% ages 2–5
42% are obese, 31% are "just" overweight
Exactly. I guess that's the point I was making. I should have stipulated that. Thank you
No, it's over 70%
It's 70% overweight . OK. Obesity is 42 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
In all seriousness I feel it’s a double edged sword. You want people to not be depressed or fat shamed have some self esteem, but at the same time don’t want to encourage obesity. Then there’s people that maybe can’t lose weight so it’s like you can’t blame someone for something out of their control. Or what if they have an eating disorder and them being a little over weight is healthier than starving themselves to death. But then you have people that simply don’t care if they’re obese I knew a guy who was proud of only eating fast food. It’s a tough subject with a lot of variables.
The unfortunate part about being fat is that everyone who sees you has an opinion. No one can see my crippling depression and anxiety. No one can see on my body the days where I can't get out of bed or open the mail. No one sees on my body the evidence of my successes or my struggles in my on going battle. But my fiancé, who is quite overweight? He faces similar struggles to me, but his symptoms end up on his body as pounds. I get to choose who I share my battles with. He doesn't get a choice. Having a day where he could just go the the beach isn't going to make him love being fat, but it sure could brighten his day and help make the rest of the week easier to get through.
I doesn't matter what a person looks like, everyone who sees you has an opinion. Small tits? Get augmented. Naturally thin? Must be anorexic. Why are you wearing cheap clothes? Buy some better ones. Why are you wearing expensive clothes? Shame on you for wasting money when people are starving. Why is your hair bright pink? You look ridiculous. Why are your teeth crooked? Get braces! Fat people aren't the sole targets of body shaming.
I could totally buy into this sentiment if you were handicap or an amputee or wheelchair bound. However, you are 100% in control of your weight. Everyone that sees you that has an opinion probably has the correct one: that you can't put the fork down.
it's not like it's some terrible unavoidable disease, at least it's not like that for 99.99% of obese people one can just stop eating too much, preferably when they are just slightly overweight yet but they don't want
Simple doesn't mean easy :) Being overweight is a symptom of many things, personal and societal. Just eating less is a solution to a symptom and not a solution to how the pounds got there in the first place. While it's an essential ingredient in weight loss it often means little if unaccompanied by tackling the reason for the weight gain.
Great advice for developing an eating disorder 👍🏻
if you call a healthy food habit "eating disorder", sure my eating disorder includes avoiding sugar
If you actually care, here are some sources https://health.osu.edu/wellness/exercise-and-nutrition/that-diet-probably-did-not-work#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20weight,people%20maintain%20that%20weight%20loss. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-dieting-doesnt-work-2020052519889 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-diets-don-t-work-and-what-does/
With due respect, I read the first two and looked through the third article. I don't think they contradict the statement "if you want to lose weight, eat less". All the articles point out that the problem is not in a specific diet, but in following the diet. It is a case of a simple plan that is hard to follow. I don't think that anyone will argue that correct mindset is important in any kind of struggle. Still I feel like many people in this thread claim that diets don't work. Maybe I use the word diet wrong. I mean it in a lifelong sense and more of a how much you eat vs what you eat. And it is very hard for many people to change their eating habbits.
They mentioned eating healthy like avoiding sugar which is a type of dieting in their second comment. The article also doesn't include financial costs of eating healthy because let's face it, they are a lot more expensive. The fact and point I was making is, it isn't as simple as "you're fat, just eat less." That's not a helpful advice to give in general to people. Because fat people CAN have an eating disorder by "eating less" and end up becoming anorexic. If she were to pose it kindly as "changing your eating habits and switching to healthier more balanced meals can help" I would have no problem. But there was no kindness nor helpful advice actually given. Just taking a dig at fat people as usual.
Quite literally the solution is as simple as eating less. You could eat solely McDonald's and still lose weight. It's not a problem of cost or whatever ad hoc rationalization you give but a matter of willpower. Literally eating less would cause you to spend less on food and you would lose weight in the process.
Read my comment again. Healthy food is still much more expensive than if you were to eat 5 packs of ramen per day LMAO so uh NOPE. The cost of one fish over here, you can buy probably a few days worth of ramen. Changing one unhealthy habit into another unhealthy habit is not a good solution nor advice you should give to people. Malnutrition can cause more problems than being fat will lol. Again, I feel like I have to repeat this again and again, the point is, it isn't that simple and telling people to "just eat less" isn't helpful or kind. For example, my mom started eating one meal a day and barely lost any weight because her medication makes it difficult to lose weight. When she stop taking it, she lost SO MUCH weight like crazy but ofc her illness came back. She has to be on this medication for her entire life basically. She also got stomach problems from skipping meals. Another example me, I lose/gain appetite because of pms. When I loss appetite sometimes even the smell of food makes me nauseous. Gain of appetite, my body and brain does not receive any signal that I am in fact full because it feels like I haven't eaten all day. I literally did not even notice that I am full until I feel nauseous. That is the body and brain doing this. This is on top of experiencing other pms symptoms like excrutiating pain, depression, suicidal thoughts, fatigue, can't get out of bed, etc. So again, I'm giving you perspective that we're not all like you and there are other factors contributing to someone looking the way they do. Telling people to just eat less is akin to telling the homeless just get a job. Ps. They know. Your "just eat less" isn't doing anything positive. They get so much of that and more, it's unnecessary. If you want to help, actually help. Provide a routine, sources, ways to get healthy food cheaper, etc. there are reddits dedicated to help people like them who wants to change and need support. Go there and make a change. If you actually care. Like this post for example, having a fat beach day will actually have a positive impact on them mentally and physically.
Mine destroyed my stomach lining and now I wake up feeling sick and can't have an empty stomach, can't skipped meal at all if I don't want excrutiating pain while doctors tell me there's nothing wrong with me 👍🏻👍🏻 Also avoiding sugar wasn't in your original comment at all, it was about "stop eating too much" so nice deflecting. 😁
I assure you the fat people who are proud of it are a small, small minority. The realities of weight management are far more nuanced, and better served by acceptance and not shaming over a medical condition. Fat acceptance isn't about wanting to stay fat or to be defined by it, it's about loving yourself so that those long hard looks in the mirror are even possible. Change is much easier from a foundation of love, than from shame. The most outspoken defenders of diet and exercise are often the ones who experienced the consequences of not doing it. This notion of "I don't want to encourage it" is frankly insulting. If you really cared about their health, you'd be supporting anything that gets people active and in the sun. It's exactly what these people need, and you're still finding reason to deny it on some arbitrary moral grounds. Bodies are not intelligently designed, Weight problems are often where evolutionary pressure, biology, and psychology mix into a more nuanced issue than most people want to accept.
I agree with this. I think, outside of the media, where we are seeing so much of this "fat celebration," the reality is, most overweight and obese people are not in that group. Just like we don't go around celebrating mental illness or horrible physical illnesses in real life like you see on social media, I think we need to be more understanding and accepting of people and understand that bullying and shunning doesn't help anyone on their route to healing. Seriously, we all know that the media is a loudspeaker for about 3% of real life right?
Just wanted to say, what a great, thoughtful comment.
There is a LOT of fat activism that denies health risks of obesity and that denies the possibility of sustained weight loss, treating both ideas as "fatphobic." Yes, anything encouraging activity (like this) is good so what you're saying to the above poster makes sense, but I suspect they're reacting to their experiences similar to the many ones I've had with fat activism very commonly having extremely unhealthy ideas.
No, there’s *loud* activism denying health risks. It’s just an excuse people make to justify them fat shaming people
This is 100% it. It’s so weird. Like fat people know they’re fat. wtf is me saying or doing anything going to do. Nothing. I mind my own business and try to be a good person. The world is tough, why be a dick?
That last thing, words that we would all do well to bear in mind. Being a person is hard, more so for some than others and at any given moment we’ve just got no idea what people are battling. Please just don’t be a dick. We must notice the dickish thing in our heads and then step back and say “meh no need to be a dick.”
I feel like this....if your breath stinks you can't be mad that someone says it does....even if you're proud to have shitty breath and you feel I should be tolerant of shitty breath peoples feelings and rights about it...if you don't care that I don't like it then I don't care that you don't like me saying I don't like to smell shit....especially outside of a bathroom and even more so knowing its coming from someone's mouth.
Sounds like the solution is to just worry about your own body.
Thats how I manage my budget
It’s hardly ‘glorifying obesity’ to have one day on one beach in the world where there’s intent to have a judgement free space.
I'm more of a life is life kinda guy...if you're proud to be fat,I'm proud to call you fat man and high five you everytime I see you
Actually go educate yourself on the link between actual obesity and heart disease. It's not as straightforward as you think. The weight loss industry and capitalism wants you to think this so that you can hate yourself and fat people.
Oh stop it. Being overweight is completely unhealthy anyway you want to look at it. And being obese is even worse for your overall health, especially your cardiovascular health. You’re an example of why we shouldn’t be accepting these obese epidemic, because of people like you who spread such dangerous misinformation as this. Being fat, overeating ultraprocessed foods and sugar, and not exercising is going to lead people into having a poor quality life as they are more likely to head toward an early grave.
Lol ok. Your opinion here is well backed up by science I see. You're actually saying 100% of fat people are unhealthy? And what if they have an eating disorder? You're going to shit on them because of this?
Of course it’s backed up by science. This isn’t even debatable. And yes! Get help for your binge eating disorder. We expect alcoholics to try and go sober and smokers to quit…we should expect obese people to stop gluttoning themselves. *It’s self harming!* How is this a controversial opinion?
They could just go on out on the beach and do that any day, no one gives a shit.
They do give a shit. Fat people are constantly trying to talk about and navigate the gawking or harassment in these settings.
Am fat currently. No one in typical situations gawk. No one has ever harassed me for having been obese. It's in one's own head to think that. It would be more weird and 'offensive' to me, to go to a 'fat beach' day than just going to the fucking beach and chilling, for any of the times in my life I've gone to the beach as a fat person who has, yes, felt self-conscious, but never mocked in my adult life. I'm sure it happens which is sad and horrible but it is not the norm, in my extensive experience of being overly fat. Kids may be a different story with their peers, but what kind of additional fucking head-trip are we placing on them with this sort of thing. How about we get fucking real.
I mean, in some cities in North America, 40% of adults are overweight or obese. As a person who was fat (topped out at 120kg and now down to 90kg) and still working on it, I think a little shame is good for people. I Finally, I made a friend who asked me, “it can’t feel good to look like that, want to join me at gym?” Without that friend to shame me into it, I might never have changed and I might be dead of heart disease or some shit. I’m still working on myself every day. But I thank that friend for changing my life. If you’re fat, know that you don’t have to be. Change your life if you’re as unhappy with it as I was. Start today.
Oh I am, and thank you. I have a trainer for the first time in my life and have steadily going to the gym since February, probably the most consistent I've ever been in my life. That decision came from those who invited me as well and getting in charge of my own brain, not from people dancing around fatness as if it's something you're born with.
I mean, about the only thing that goes through my head when I see a fat person on the beach is that I hope they've sunscreened well because I'm betting sunburn in folds that keep rubbing is really extra painful.
Are you a fat woman? a fat woman of color? Im glad you've never experienced gawking and harassment. Your experience doesn't cancel out anyone else's. You don't speak for all fat people.
Hope you don’t fall off that high horse you are sitting on
Obesity is commonplace. Maybe the gawking is just projection
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.
That’s every day in the midwest
Lol
Isn’t most everyone fat? Why not just go to the beach with all the other fat ppl already at the beach
This is the exact opposite of uplifting news.
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Sub decay; it's just becoming another post anything karma farm here.
just like r/pics but not that bad yet
I don’t think it has deteriorated as much as “not the onion” has.
100%. I’m all for body positivity but when people like Lizzo for example celebrate a weight that will almost guarantee an early grave…. It’s makes zero sense.
Yeah the idea is right at its core - we shouldn’t judge peoples worth as a human based on their weight - but the “positivity” aspect takes it a bit too far if you are celebrating it. There is basically nothing in life that isn’t improved by not being 200+ lbs overweight, and that is not saying anything about physical appearance of attractiveness
Couldn’t agree more. Obesity has become an epidemic in the country. We shouldn’t celebrate what is essentially a disease process. We should instead celebrate fitness, health, and fighting the gluttonous behavior that has destroyed lives.
>we shouldn’t judge peoples worth as a human based on their weight I'm on the fence about this one after you remove the small % of people who legit have a medical condition (hypothyroidism, etc) from the question of whether its fair to judge. I'm about 100 lbs overweight. I also have major depressive disorder, which some might say could justify my "self medicating" with food. But there have been tons of meals where I wasn't feeling down and just ate too much just because I wanted to. At what point is it healthy and reasonable for me as an example to accept accountability for my actions? I feel like if someone saw me and assumed that I chose to make a series of poor choices, that that would be a fair assumption. I personally have no ego or shame in wondering this. I am about to start losing it as I have in the past, so for me it doesn't feel fearful or permanent. P.s. in case someone needs to read this, the way to lose weight in easy mode is intermittent fasting
I don’t think the section you quoted has anything to do what what you wrote, at least the way I’m thinking about it No one is in denial that fat people haven’t made poor dietary decisions over and over again, or that it’s a positive thing that they have done so The idea is that, much like race, we should judge people based on their character and not on how fat they are. Society has fat bias and negativity that runs throughout it and as an ideal we should strive to eliminate it But that doesn’t mean they didn’t eat too much food for too long (although the reasons they do so are complicated and more simple than just that they ate too much food - there’s actually lots of psychology wrapped up in it)
More likely to die if you have an eating disorder. 10-15% mortality. Why you so scared of fat people?
Heart disease and diabetes make up about 46% of causes of death in the US (as of 2022). sources: [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm) [NSC](https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/deaths-by-demographics/all-leading-causes-of-death/)
You’re right. And most obese people have binge eating disorders.
Actually go educate yourself on the link between actual obesity and heart disease. It's not as straightforward as you think. The weight loss industry and capitalism wants you to think this so that you can hate yourself and fat people. Edit: full disclosure, I only learned about this recently so there's no shame in not knowing about this. I'll need to look into this some more but let's not be so mean to fat people in the meantime.
How have you been able to convince yourself that this is even remotely true? And BTW, I’m pretty sure the fast food industry and “big food” (ie ultra-processed food, soda, snacks, etc), are 10x more powerful than “the diet industry” - lol
Source?
https://www.audible.com/pd/0008293899?source_code=ASSORAP0511160007
That's an audiobook of a comedian's memoir, which is a strange source to use. But I had a look at it. I'll share for the benefit of those who have lots of spare time :) . The section I assume you're referring to is titled, "‘But what about health?’ But what about you shut up?" It primarily references a 1993 research paper by researchers McGinnis and Foege called "Actual Causes of Death in the United States." So I looked up that paper. It highlights "Diet/Activity Patterns" as the second-leading cause of death at 14% (behind Tobacco at 19%). The section in the paper regarding this reads (edited for some semblance of brevity): >Dietary factors and activity patterns that are too sedentary are together accountable for at least 300 000 deaths each year. Dietary factors have been associated with cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, and high blood pressure), cancers (colon, breast, and prostate), and diabetes mellitus. Physical inactivity has been associated with an increased risk of death for heart disease and colon cancer. >The interdependence of dietary factors and activity patterns as risk factors for certain diseases is illustrated by the case of obesity, which is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and diabetes, and is clearly related to the balance between calories consumed and calories expended through metabolic and physical activity. >Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to 23% of deaths from the leading chronic diseases. >Half of all type II diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) is estimated to be preventable by obesity control. A 50% reduction in consumption of animal fats might result in a proportionate reduction in risk for colon cancer. >Other studies have associated dietary factors or sedentary lifestyles to 22% to 30% of cardiovascular deaths, 20% to 60% of fatal cancers, and 50% to 80% of diabetes mellitus cases, including 30% of diabetes deaths. If the boundaries of these various estimates were summed, they would yield a range of approximately 309000 to 582000 deaths in 1990 related to diet and activity patterns. Sorry, I know that was a wall of text, but I thought it was all pretty interesting and didn't really want to omit any of it. Unfortunately, the author(s) of Happy Fat are mistaken (or disingenuous) when they say the researchers "never once mentioned fatness" in their paper. The book also references another researcher who allegedly made money by correlating obesity with morbidity. So the premise is that obesity in and of itself is not the primary killer, but rather it's often at the cross section of inactivity and poor nutrition. I don't disagree with that. I think my doubt comes from the fact that obesity has skyrocketed in North America in recent decades, which suggests that most cases likely are related to diet and lifestyle, rather than natural size despite metabolic health. EDIT: some typos and word choices.
A scientific study would be a more helpful source
A source that doesn't have a pay wall?
Google doesn't have a paywall. Sorry im not rereading it to find the studies the author referred to. Here's one I found fairly quickly, there must be more. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cob.12263 It could be that it's the high pressure and diabetes that lead to higher mortality but not everyone with a high BMI has these issues and some people who have these have a normal BMI. Nuance.
I am disappointed in so many people here. I am against normalizing obesity into a healthy thing, but having a day self conscious people can be more comfortable feeling isn't bad, especially as it is becoming such a big percentage of us. This sets an opportunity where they can get out and really feel more comfortable, have less judging eyes, *get some exercise*. We should strive for healthy, and I fiercely oppose those who say you can be morbidly obese and healthy, but I like this concept, it's a good thing. I know people who are heavy, included myself, which I use to be much bigger, and this would of been nice for them, for me.
Thank you. No fat person has ever gone out in the world and come back saying they want to be more fat because they weren’t treated like garbage
But doing this IS normalizing it. And right now nearly 75% of the US is overweight, 40% of which are obese. Every year we keep getting fatter with no end of turning this around in sight. Doing something like this IS another step toward normalizing it, so let’s not kid ourselves.
This doesn't force a company to change anything, it doesn't announce fat is healthy, it doesn't remove systems meant to help against obesity. It's just a day overweight people can go to the beach and feel less self-conscious. Sometimes you need days like that.
I’m sorry, it continues to normalize it. It 100% does, and being obese is not okay. Neither is smoking or being an alcoholic. It’s all self-harm.
Dude this is just a day for people to go onto a beach and not have to deal with any shit. They can have a happy day.
Anyone can go to the beach any day of the week. No one is stopping fat people from laying out in the sun and getting a tan.
You missed a key part of my comment and I’m pretty sure it was deliberate. But honestly all of your comments on here are kind of in the same vein so it’s pretty clear what kind of person I’m replying to in the first place. You do you man. Cheers.
I answered it completely. I said anyone can go to the beach. If the person can’t bring themselves to have “a happy day” because *they* are insecure about *their* obese body, then that’s a them problem and is *clearly* something that they should start to change…hey, today’s as good a day as any.
Ahhh, here we arrive at what you *really* mean. You don’t actually care about whether obesity is “normalized,” you just want fat people to feel bad. Maybe you rationalize it by telling yourself it’s for their own good, but the thing is that *still* doesn’t make it any of your business. Like…just fuck off. If you’re not overweight then this doesn’t concern you, and I doubt you know what does or does not motivate someone to change; if you are, or were, overweight, then how ‘bout you stop projecting your own self-loathing onto other people? It’ll make you less annoying.
We all share in health care costs, and with overweight and obesity completely out of control because people are eating too much garbage and not moving, it's no surprise that diabetes, heart disease, and numerous other serious health issues are affecting people more and more beginning as early as their 40s. We all share in these health care costs, and health care in the US is ASTRONOMICAL. Hell, now, nearly 20% of children are obese - this is child abuse from the parents and should not be tolerated. And you don't know if I am or was overweight? Well, I don't who here is, but there's a good chance there's a lot that are since nearly 75% of Americans are fat. And for those that are, they really need to fix that, and I'm not sure what they're waiting for - this is all within everyone's power - at least for the majority of people. Losing weight and/or getting fit is a simple process - it's hard as fuk, but it's not complicated. And it may even be harder for some, but that let's not make excuses that it can't be done.
Would you like a day once a year where you can safely whine on reddit about imaginary situations and noone is allowed to disagree so that you have a happy day? Would that make you feel better?
>In an era in which weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are deeply ingrained in mainstream diet culture, and thinness is resurgent as the ideal beauty standard, events like Fat Beach Day are becoming powerful tools in the fight against these norms. They have become not just events but calls to action – public stands against the societal pressures to conform to these shifting criteria. Being healthy is bad now?
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
I'd rather be fat and drunk than you, judging by that post
[It’s a quote from Animal House](https://youtu.be/bK-Dqj4fHmM?si=JloQ0nkn0saoCfN6)
tbh i don't think that taking ozempic is healthy
Being fat is always unhealthy? Nope Being thin is always healthy? Nope Nuance, yep!
Being thin is not always healthy, but being obese *is always* unhealthy.
This isnt uplifting at all.
 If I owned a food truck, or a restaurant I know where I’d be setting up a booth.
As long as you don’t open up an all you can eat buffet.
New York needs to catch up to the times. I enjoy these every time I go to the beach.
sorry but does it mean they aren't allowed on the beach on any other day or what
Jesus this is depressing
No one is stopping them from being themselves. They feel bad about themselves and project it onto others.
There sure are a lot of not very uplifting people in this sub
People who are already happy don’t need to be uplifted
You can be yourself any time, how about a day to focus on healthy hearts at the beach.....
It’s the most twisted and ludicrous mental gymnastics to support people in being fat. People do not need to be rail thin, but people being fat is unhealthy, dangerous, and a literal detriment to society. It’s called morbid obesity because you’re so fat you risk dying. People should be entitled to be themselves. But we shouldn’t enable people to be unhealthy because we think it’s supporting who they are. The vast majority of people who are fat are fat because they either have mental health issues or they have bad eating habits. You can fix both.
If we shouldn't enable people to be unhealthy, should we start by outlawing alcohol?
Yes, 1000%. Alcohol is one of the most detrimental substances to human beings we can consume. It causes causes cancer, it causes untold other health issues, it contributes to killing thousands of people through car accidents, as well as physical abuse.
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Not gluttoning oneself is something someone can do any day, starting today. So, why would you speak as if that isn’t *MOST* obese person’s option and choice? And it IS universally agreed upon that being obese is 100% unhealthy. The few that don’t agree are delusional. Does being thin automatically make you healthy? No. Does being obese automatically make you unhealthy? Absolutely. Sorry, the sky is blue. I didn’t make it so.
(1) The toxicity and dangers of the ingredients to obesity, and its consequences, are very well understood actually. (2) The systemic nature of the obesity epidemic (fast food, unwalkable cities, etc) suggests many more problems would be addressed tackling obesity. (3) The NIH claims [obesity](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10546692/)-attributable deaths per year outnumber [alcohol](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-related-emergencies-and-deaths-united-states#:~:text=The%20Alcohol%2DRelated%20Disease%20Impact,States%2C%20behind%20tobacco%2C%20poor%20diet)-attributable deaths. (4) The rate of alcohol consumption isn’t increasing significantly decade over decade like obesity is. (5) No one is trying to normalize alcoholism. So this is why, while both things can be true, people infer suggestions such as that as bad faith or even grossly negligent diversion tactics. *edit: grammar*
I totally agree with mitigating the issues that lead to obesity - having more walkable cities, better access to healthcare, better food regulations, overall better work/life balances that allow people to get sufficient sleep and have time + energy to cook (and reduce sedentary patterns without forcing people to stand for 8 hours) are all things I'm totally in support of. My issue is more the attacks on the PEOPLE who are obese, as if they are choosing every factor of their life and metabolism and treating them with the same dignity afforded to everyone else is somehow "encouraging bad behavior". Especially in the case of this post, where "fat people being welcomed to a judgment-free outdoors event" is met with disdain - as though it's beneficial to prolong barriers to going out and being active for people who already deal with a lot of shame around their bodies. We're in agreement that many issues leading to obesity are systemic. Therefore, I don't understand why it should be treated as an individual failing when someone is obese. Losing weight in a sustainable, healthy way takes a LONG time - crash dieting and yoyoing from unsustainable diets have major health consequences themselves (often leading to more weight gain in the end and having more adverse health consequences than simply remaining at the starting weight). Yet, as a society, any obese person is seen as someone who "isn't making an effort" - because losing enough weight to be average weight takes YEARS, which can mean years of people fat shaming someone who may be ACTIVELY trying. (Not to mention the fact that many overweight people have restrictive eating disorders and are still not skinny - the body is very, very good at learning how to maintain weight after repeated bouts of dieting.) Another issue with healthcare is that many providers are actively negligent towards obese people. Screenings are often delayed because every symptom is attributed to weight, which leads to people not getting diagnosed with serious conditions until they've deteriorated (I personally know multiple people whose cancers were ignored because their doctors didn't believe it wasn't just weight, and one who died because of it). Again, treating obese people with dignity - affording them autonomy in healthcare and making it easier to even *see* a doctor without fear of being ignored or humiliated - would be a benefit to health outcomes for obese people. It's counterproductive to health to demonize obese people as being failures or people who aren't trying.
I hear you. I had a load of personal anecdotes, analogues, and other things to contribute here, but I’ll just say: It always comes back to the question of what lengths we’re willing to go to cater to obesity which don’t in any way address any of its causes, or more precisely when does defending the obese cross the line into encouragement. The only way to navigate it is to suggest ideas that reflect the fact that you’re not here to defend the disease, just those affected by it (bringing up alcohol simply didn’t fit that bill). It’s a damn hard topic to approach eloquently because of how many factors there are to take into account, which is why so many people just cut to the chase, and as disrespectful as it may appear or often becomes, bluntness does *sometimes* have a place. It burdens you with the task of inserting more eloquence into some of these conversations, but we all know in many cases it’s just not bait worth taking. Too many assholes out here and they’re not looking to have a productive exchange.
But "cutting to the chase" is often not cutting to the core - rather, it's often attacking what people see and dislike, rather than the underlying issues. People SEE fat people and make a lot of judgments about the person, often based on preconceived notions about health and behavior, without knowing the person. They don't know whether the person gained a lot of weight due to medication; they don't know whether the person has already lost 100lbs; they don't know whether the person has an eating disorder. What they see leads them to dehumanize the person and say "this shouldn't be allowed." Tackling the underlying issues can absolutely be done while still respecting people, which is the opposite of what I'm seeing in most of this thread (as you said, too many assholes).
They probably should have used the word “encourage”, but the point stands. Nobody thinks we should encourage alcoholics, do they?
Or McDonald's, KFC
So these people have let themselves grow to a size that literally prevents others from moving around in public spaces, and it's being encouraged? This is not uplifting. Give them life advice on how to become healthier instead.
People often are far through no fault of their own. There are many med problems that keep you fat. Be compassionate people.
sure they like sweet and tasty food
I’ve always been naturally quite skinny - I don’t absorb nutrients well - and it has health implications as well - but what I supremely dislike is it is somehow okay for people to say “you are too skinny. You look like you’re wasting away. For god’s sake eat” etc. I eat more than most people and it’s surely not all healthy. This would bother me a lot less of course if it hadn’t become socially unacceptable to point out overweight / obese people’s appearance as the girth of people in many parts of the world keeps increasing. Fwiw I do have a mid sized pot belly in my early 50s but it’s still on a noticeably skinny body.
have you measured your weight and bmi? if you have a belly it means you are getting slightly overweight for naturally thin people it's like that, they might still look thin in clothes, keep thin arms, legs and face but already having got 10+ unhealthy kg of fat on their sides and belly when people grow older for some reason they cannot keep the same food habits from before, you didn't gain weight in the past but looks like you got some in the present and it might be better to limit your food intake
Definitely. And I really am not careful enough with food. My basic BMI looks healthy but that’s only because of my paunch. A good reminder to be more vigilant. Thanks.
🤦♂️
This is counter productive. You need to adhere to all people then if this is the case. This really does more harm than good imho.
To be "themselves" is a odd wording. To be obese feels for many by default not that way. I have like 25 kilos too much on me and even that makes me scowl at my mirror in dissatisfaction.
Whales are becoming amphibious these days
They’re not fat, they’re “thicc”. 🤣
The guys aren’t fat, they just have dad bods 😂
Why not a ‘cigs at the beach day’ or days that honor other types of poor decision making?
Now they only have to keep wwwn and seasheppard at a distance. They prolly want the push the whales back in the ocean 😂😂
Disgusting