Should being fat be socially unacceptable

[redcard]

See this is my point.

Why shouldn't it? after all, being fat is a choice, like smoking, doing drugs or choosing to have children...all of which are often discriminated against. Should we encourage another choice?

I am totally sure that we should not be pressured into conformity for aesthetic reasons and the thought of doing so repulses me. I'm not talking about attractiveness here but for a better healthier society, should us fatties be shunned into action, rather than be allowed to make excuses and hide behind a veil of conscience and politeness?

here's a scenario; two chaps...lets say identical twins. Both wonderful guys, both caring intelligent, capable and articulate. In fact both identical in every single way except that one is fat...really fat, like stop in the street and stare fat... the other watches what he eats and is slim, fit but no better a person.

which would make a better Father?...remember they are both the same in every way except weight.

Your scenario is bunkum and has nothing to do with reality.

Which is better, the father who can play sports with his kid, or the one who can't?

Simple, isn't it.

 

[jonny jeez]

As to the OP, I was heartened at the weekend to read that Jamie Oliver's schools crusade is actually delivering significant and tangible results:

this is interesting because on the one hand we support those like Jamie and his crusade and agree that some people food choices are daft. Whilst at the very same time we defend the very same people who are the subject of his attention and provide excuses for their choices.

should we not make up our minds?

 

[tyred]

I completely understand (and thank you for sharing your own personal experience, I don't think you are being selfish at all but I do think you are giving consideration and perspective to the question...so cheers) Perhaps, therefore, you are most qualified to answer the question that i am struggling with myself.

You are spot on, smoking eating, drinking (and the addition of drug) taking are all support systems that we sometimes "fall" back on and can all to easily become habit forming. So, my question is, in much the same way that "society" has made it easier...or perhaps more important... for smokers to stop smoking, could she also make it easier for those who fall to overeating as a vice...not to.

by simply making it embarrassing.

I know what you are thinking, it would be like hell for those who already struggle with their weight. But isn't it irresponsible to defend those who make a choice that is bad for them and ultimately leads to an early grave.

Smokers are massively discriminated against, they are taxed treated and segregated like no other member of society and yet we are happy to maintain this discrimination on the grounds that its "good for them".

PS, I am and have never been a smoker.

No, because by embarrassing someone, you will make them even more unhappy and probably add to their problems. The smoking thing is slightly different because it is possible to stop smoking completely, it is not possible to stop eating completely, so as long as you are around food, there is always a possibility of consuming too much of it. Some food may be healthier than others but you will still be fat if you overeat.

 

[yumpy]

Combine over-consumption and under-exercise and the result is inevitable. Sat in a US airport a few years ago and the general size of those guys was quite shocking.

I was a kid in the 60's. Only time we got in a car was to go on holiday or on Sunday pm to drive around countryside with 2 old aunts and stop for an ice-cream. Some survey recently showed 70% of journeys in Liverpool by car were 1/2 mile or less (or something equally dire - I forget the exact details)

I don't think its complicated, but how we fix it is something else. Worst thing is going along with the idea that hiding behind the 'I choose to be overweight - its my right' type stuff is a reasonable attitude. Especially when the world of work is rife with incredibly detailed health and safety legislation. We've got some bonkers double standards and paradoxes at work.

 

[postman]

I went out with a fat girl as she described herself,not me.She was kind, considerate thought of other people.Her sisters were all slim and better looking,her brother was the tallest in the family.But she took after her dad and mother who were built like Les Dawson.She was the youngest.For some reason she got the bum deal.And i know she was upset by it.So fat does not always come by over eating.

 

[jonny jeez]

Your scenario is bunkum and has nothing to do with reality.

Which is better, the father who can play sports with his kid, or the one who can't?

Simple, isn't it.

I didn't suggest it was realistic.

Are you saying the thinner father who can play with his kids, makes a better father?

in which case, would he not also make a better employee, leader, worker...for the same reasons (which are that he will live a longer, happier, healthier life)

is that the point you are making?

 

[smutchin]

Why shouldn't it? after all, being fat is a choice, like smoking, doing drugs or choosing to have children...all of which are often discriminated against. Should we encourage another choice?

First, I disagree that being fat is a "choice" in the way you mean.

Second, even if it is a choice, that's not the same as it being a legal requirement nor even a legitimate condition of your terms of employment in most jobs - obviously you'd need to be physically fit to do certain jobs, like being a firefighter perhaps, but for most jobs, it's irrelevant. I could do my job perfectly well even if I were ten stone overweight.

If you want to encourage another choice, there are much better ways to do it.

d.

 

[redcard]

I went out with a fat girl as she described herself,not me.She was kind, considerate thought of other people.Her sisters were all slim and better looking,her brother was the tallest in the family.But she took after her dad and mother who were built like Les Dawson.She was the youngest.For some reason she got the bum deal.And i know she was upset by it.So fat does not always come by over eating.

So what was her excuse?

 

[smutchin]

here's a scenario; two chaps...lets say identical twins. Both wonderful guys, both caring intelligent, capable and articulate. In fact both identical in every single way except that one is fat...really fat, like stop in the street and stare fat... the other watches what he eats and is slim, fit but no better a person.

which would make a better Father?...remember they are both the same in every way except weight.

The fat one. What you didn't know is that secretly the thin one is a paedophile involved in an international child porn ring.

d.

 

[postman]

I went out with her for around fourteen months.She never in that time over ate or even drank beer.She smoked more than i liked,she did say it was some hormone problem.I had no reason not to believe her.We were close if you get the meaning.

 

[jonny jeez]

No, because by embarrassing someone, you will make them even more unhappy and probably add to their problems. .

I agree it will make them feel awful..."Hell" is the word i chose to describe it.

And in the here and now, the short term, this will be true.

But in the long run, would it not be great to know that our grandchildren would need no encouragement to make good food choices, simply because it is socially unacceptable to not do so and that firms that supply bad choices will fail immedialtey

 

[172traindriver]

So what was her excuse?

I mentioned in a previous post, what if it was a genetic problem?

 

[jonny jeez]

The fat one. What you didn't know is that secretly the thin one is a paedophile involved in an international child porn ring.

d.

Ah, but they are the same in every other detail so that makes them both filthy peado's

 

[toroddf]

Being fat is socially unacceptable. You are barely considered for jobs and have to rely on local outbreaks of black death to get a job you are (over)qualified for. Social exlusion is a big factor in a fat person's life. Which means having the fridge as your only friend in life. The fridge and the sofa. Real friendship.

I have been getting NHS treatment against my own obesity and social exlusion is the norm among the obesity patients. For most of us, life is something we observe from a far distance.

But obesity is treatable..... by every individual. It is a lifestyle gone mad illness. I don't have any excuses for my obesity and neither am I a victim. I just have to get on with it. But as it is now; I am socially exluded. It is down to me to get socially included again.

 

[jonny jeez]

Second, even if it is a choice, that's not the same as it being a legal requirement
.

its only a leagal requirement because we choose to make it so.

taking drugs (at least some) is illegal...many argue it shouldnt be and at one stage it wasnt. as was driving without a seatbelt, or using a mobile when at the wheel.

But on top of all of that we have been "re-educated" ( insert whichever adjective or verb you wish) at great cost (publishing, advertising etc) to accept that these things are just awful. So the people in charge realise the power of social pressure