Why is being fat/obese socially acceptable?

techdiver

As the title says.

Society makes a big deal of advertising the dangers of smoking and alcohol abuse.

With the smoking ban and higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol, will it ever become acceptable to come out and say to someone who is obese that they are in fact fat and need to loose weight? I have read many articles etc that claim that obesity is set to move to top spot in the scale of biggest risk to health and the leading cause of death.

It is acceptable to tell some one to cut down on the smoking and drinking but not the eating....

Any thoughts?

speedboatchase

People are getting fatter and fatter and the media is pandering to this (women's magazines celebrating "curvy" (fat) figures, the "size zero" debate, doves ad campaigns) because they realise their target audience doesn't want to be told they're making unhealthy decisions or that they should have to change. Everyone is constantly told they're great and special so we end up a nation of gluttons with inflated perceptions of our self-worth

Sykk

If they started campaigning for it you'd complain they're wasting the tax payers money..

Anyway, smoking and alcohol are addictive. Eating is a neccesity, just don't over do it. It's common sense.

Bonito

Why shouldn't it be socially acceptable? Just because someone is overweight it doesn't mean they should be out cast from society and looked down upon in any way.

Elessar

Bonito wrote: »

Why shouldn't it be socially acceptable? Just because someone is overweight it doesn't mean they should be out cast from society and looked down upon in any way.

It does, very much so.

Theta

Sykk wrote: »

If they started campaigning for it you'd complain they're wasting the tax payers money..

Anyway, smoking and alcohol are addictive. Eating is a neccesity, just don't over do it. It's common sense.

Some fat people will play the victim card and say its the foods fault for being so addictive.

Bonito

Elessar wrote: »

It does, very much so.

So just because someone is overweight you think you're better than them and have a god given right to look down at them?

NothingMan

They're really big and fat, do you want to tell them? You'll just get eaten!

AssaultedPeanut

Bonito wrote: »

Why shouldn't it be socially acceptable? Just because someone is overweight it doesn't mean they should be out cast from society and looked down upon in any way.

Exactly. Smoking and drinking too much is something that is obviously harming a person and they know it, so saying it to them isn't going to insult them. You're more likely to get "blah blah, yeah I know"

Where as with someone who is overweight, it can be for a number of reasons, not just over eating. So they're probably already very self-conscious about it, and having some tactless know-it-all pointing it out to them would only serve to hurt their feelings and possibly cause more problems

Degsy

Bonito wrote: »

So just because someone is overweight you think you're better than them and have a god given right to look down at them?

Yes,because they're fat of course.

Stephentlig

What about the super-skinny? half of them are dyin and nobody seems to focus on them.

techdiver

Stephentlig wrote: »

What about the super-skinny? half of them are dyin and nobody seems to focus on them.

I agree. This size zero thing should be frowned upon.

AssaultedPeanut

Stephentlig wrote: »

What about the super-skinny? half of them are dyin and nobody seems to focus on them.

Because looking like a clotheshorse tightly wrapped in a sheet is hawwwt, apparently:rolleyes:

Bonito

Stephentlig wrote: »

What about the super-skinny? half of them are dyin and nobody seems to focus on them.

Vice-versa situation. Just because someone has flaws in their physical appearance it doesn't give anyone the right to belittle them because of it.

If people want help it's very easily found. They have to want to help themselves, though.

bonerm

Besides the obvious costs to the exchequer, smokers impact on society by spreading their disease via passive smoking. Drinkers likewise can cause harm by getting violent when drunk or even cause harm by drink-driving.

Fattys however are usually too tired and slow to do anything to you .... except maybe let off a vicious fart if you're unlucky to get trapped in a lift with one. Hense they are more socially acceptable.

Elessar

Bonito wrote: »

So just because someone is overweight you think you're better than them and have a god given right to look down at them?

Absolutely. Obese people are lazy and overeat. Every other excuse is smoke and mirrors. They are the cause of their problem.

Degsy

Did you know that its actually illegal to sell alcohol to a person who's visibly intoxicated?
Likewise it should be illegal to sell food to a fat person.

AnonoBoy

There's just more of me to go around ladies

*jiggles blubber sexily*

Stephentlig

Bonito wrote: »

Vice-versa situation. Just because someone has flaws in their physical appearance it doesn't give anyone the right to belittle them because of it.

If people want help it's very easily found. They have to want to help themselves, though.

Not trying to belittle anyone and certainly dont agree with it either, but there is a huge difference in belittling someone and explaining to them they need help.

I'm always seeing these fat programs on the tele for losing weight and not once did I ever see a t.v program of someone needing to put it on.

Pax Christi
Stephen

Kiera

bonerm wrote: »

Fattys however are usually too tired and slow to do anything to you .... except maybe let off a vicious fart if you're unlucky to get trapped in a lift with one. Hense they are more socially acceptable.

That is a load of bollox!

ocokev

At last a thread I can sink my teeth into.

Sykk

Kiera wrote: »

That is a load of bollox!

I take it ur 19 stone? :P

Kiera

Stephentlig wrote: »

Not trying to belittle anyone and certainly dont agree with it either, but there is a huge difference in belittling someone and explaining to them they need help.

I'm always seeing these fat programs on the tele for losing weight and not once did I ever see a t.v program of someone needing to put it on.

Pax Christi
Stephen

Oh really? Isnt there one on Channel 4 that tries to make a fat person lose weight and a rake gain some?

Bonito

Elessar wrote: »

Absolutely. Obese people are lazy and overeat. Every other excuse is smoke and mirrors. They are the cause of their problem.

I've never heard such tripe. Whatever amount someone chooses to eat and what their lifestyle choices are is none of your business and you'd have to have a pretty sad life to belittle an obese stranger that you pass in the street. Thinking you're better than someone just because they weigh more than you? That's petty and ridiculous.

Kiera

Sykk wrote: »

I take it ur 19 stone? :P

Nope no way near it but i'm not a size 10 either

AssaultedPeanut

Stephentlig wrote: »

Not trying to belittle anyone and certainly dont agree with it either, but there is a huge difference in belittling someone and explaining to them they need help.

I'm always seeing these fat programs on the tele for losing weight and not once did I ever see a t.v program of someone needing to put it on.

Pax Christi
Stephen

Supersize Vs Superskinny is always on Channel 4.

happyfriday

Kiera wrote: »

Oh really? Isnt there one on Channel 4 that tries to make a fat person lose weight and a rake gain some?

Supersize Vs Superskinny!! Not sure I agree with their methods though!!

EDIT: Ah crap to late!

Bonito

Kiera wrote: »

Oh really? Isnt there one on Channel 4 that tries to make a fat person lose weight and a rake gain some?

Super size V Super Skinny? Again these are people who have asked for help with their weight/physical appearance. Some people are happy being overweight. I'm sure they've happier lives than the bitter small minded folk that think they've a right to snarl down their nose at them just because they happen to weigh more than them.

Stephentlig

Kiera wrote: »

Oh really? Isnt there one on Channel 4 that tries to make a fat person lose weight and a rake gain some?

*typing from his cave* there is? well if there is then its just one program that trys to create a balance, there are plenty of programs out there that just focus on the overweight and couldnt care less about making programs that focus only on the skinny.

Rodar08

Yes! To put it simply. There should be penalties for this just as there are for smoking and alcohol in the form of high taxes on high fat etc. but the campaign as a whole needs a lot of consideration first.

There was a meeting of After Hours on the 17th of this month and the first reply to the info about times, dates and location of the meeting was by an AH mod who wrote 3 words - in capital letters - NO FAT CHICKS. There absolutely needs to be more done in making people aware of the risks associated with high fat in our diets but the problem is that while you can say that smoking smells disgusting and damages our health there is a fine line when discussing someone's weight or personal appearance. As impatient as we might be about it and we'd rather take the overweight people by the shoulders and give them a good shake the truth is that it has to be dealt with delicately. If not then what is the difference in bullying?

Take this for an example .... If there is a poster beside a bus stop, a huge billboard, with a picture of a horrible side effect from smoking such as discoloured finger nails or teeth the smoker standing there can act as disgusted at the poster as any other on looker because they can hide that they in fact are actually a smoker. They can close their mouth or put their hands in their pockets. If a similar poster is put up of an obese person and an obese person is standing there among the crowd of onlookers they can't temporarily shrink to avoid the desperate embarrassment they are feeling in that moment. It is humiliating for them. Therefore the problem can not be dealt with in the same way as smoking or alcohol.

People by nature can be cruel and some have a great knack of demeaning another person if they are any way inferior to themselves. It is a tough one to tackle and the right approach needs to be considered carefully.

It has been proven that obese/overweight people are that way for reasons other than being greedy fat pigs!! Depression, loneliness, addiction, physical disability etc. etc. So to bandy around an idea for this is only touching on a far greater and bigger scale problem. There are a lot of things to consider before you can rid the world of fatties. Have a nice day.

Kiera

Bonito wrote: »

Super size V Super Skinny? Again these are people who have asked for help with their weight/physical appearance. Some people are happy being overweight. I'm sure they've happier lives than the bitter small minded folk that think they've a right to snarl down their nose at them just because they happen to weigh more than them.

I doubt these people that have such strong opinions on the internet would ever dream of saying all this to a fat persons face

techdiver

Bonito wrote: »

I've never heard such tripe. Whatever amount someone chooses to eat and what their lifestyle choices are is none of your business and you'd have to have a pretty sad life to belittle an obese stranger that you pass in the street. Thinking you're better than someone just because they weigh more than you? That's petty and ridiculous.

I don't agree with belittling people, not at all. It is however damaging to a persons health to continue to overeat and under exercise. It is however even quite difficult to try to explain this to some one.

My example was when I pilled on weight no one commented on it, in fact when I told people what I weighed, they would always say - "Ah shur you carry it well", or "you don't look fat though, you look well built". All of this was crap, I was fat and those comments were social sugar coating.

douglashyde

We have a tax on smoking and on alcohol because those things cost our healthcare system money. Lots of money..

So how do you tax food? You can't.

So what you now have is fat people costing our healthcare money and not contributing anything extra.

However on the thread topic - I would not consider being fat/ovese socially acceptable.

ibarelycare

No one should be too fat, no one should be too skinny, rah rah rah!

Bonito

Rodar08 wrote: »

People by nature can be cruel and some have a great knack of demeaning another person if they are any way inferior to themselves. It is a tough one to tackle and the right approach needs to be considered carefully.

It has been proven that obese/overweight people are that way for reasons other than being greedy fat pigs!! Depression, loneliness, addiction, physical disability etc. etc. So to bandy around an idea for this is only touching on a far greater and bigger scale problem. There are a lot of things to consider.:)Have a nice day.

That's all I needed.

orourkeda

I'm fat and I couldn't give a flying f*ck what anyone thinks of my appearance anymore.

I often wonder if it says more about the person making the remark than the person to whom it's being made. It displays a certain narrowmindedness in my view. Besides, poor lifestyle isn't always to blame for obesity. Sometimes it's beyond the persons control.

Elessar

Bonito wrote: »

I've never heard such tripe. Whatever amount someone chooses to eat and what their lifestyle choices are is none of your business and you'd have to have a pretty sad life to belittle an obese stranger that you pass in the street. Thinking you're better than someone just because they weigh more than you? That's petty and ridiculous.

Oh here we go.

Way to put words in my mouth. When did I say I would belittle a stranger on the street?

But yes, I do think I am better than obese people. Do you know why? Because I eat healthily and exercise regularly at the gym. I respect myself enough to look good, and not put my body under the multitude of stresses and problems that come with being inactive and overweight. It's not the extra flab that make obese people unappealing, it's their carelessness and lack of decency and respect to themselves.

Canis Lupus

dementedsoul wrote: »

Where as with someone who is overweight, it can be for a number of reasons, not just over eating.

It has everything to do with over eating unless they have a genuine medical condition.

In regards to the OP smoking harms others in confined spaces as well as the smoker plus the effect of smoking related illness on the NHS.

Drinking also causes harm to 3rd parties through fighting, criminal damage etc and again the burden on the NHS through drink related illness (and the cost of pumping stomaches, stitching people up etc).

Obesity really just affects the over eater at this time however seeing as obesity is on the rise then it'll have an impact on the NHS and then it's totally open season on fatties imo. I'm not really sure what the current impact obesity is already having on the NHS but it'll only increase through heart issues and diabetes etc.

Finally. I reeeally do get pissed off with this growing "celebrating curves" trend where companies are trying to pander to fat women so they'll buy into their product. Magazines crowing about putting a 'larger lady' on the cover and then you have that tard Gok Wan making fat women comfortable and dressing to hide their bodies rather than educating and attempting to get them to live healthier lifestyles... There is a program on C4 on Wednesdays called Supersize vs Superskinny which is breaking the trend and trying to tackle both extremes. It's quite an interesting watch.

Theta

Obesity costs the state half a billion a year they reckon. Drinking and smoking are in someway (not all) covered by taxes, obesity is not.

bonerm

bonerm wrote: »

Besides the obvious costs to the exchequer, smokers impact on society by spreading their disease via passive smoking. Drinkers likewise can cause harm by getting violent when drunk or even cause harm by drink-driving.

Fattys however are usually too tired and slow to do anything to you .... except maybe let off a vicious fart if you're unlucky to get trapped in a lift with one. Hense they are more socially acceptable.

That's all true but we still have to look at them... Give me passive smoke any day.

NothingMan

I picture everyone on here looking like this.

Degsy

orourkeda wrote: »

Besides, poor lifestyle isn't always to blame for obesity. Sometimes it's beyond the persons control.

Its a very simple equation..Calories taken in exceeding calories used up=deposition of fat.
If you dont eat more caloroes than your body uses you wont get fat,if you do..you will.

orourkeda

douglashyde wrote: »

We have a tax on smoking and on alcohol because those things cost our healthcare system money. Lots of money..

So how do you tax food? You can't.

So what you now have is fat people costing our healthcare money and not contributing anything extra.

However on the thread topic - I would not consider being fat/ovese socially acceptable.

The difference here is that you cant give up eating. (Unless you plan on developing another eating disorder)

Smoking and alcohol consumption are habits. Eating is a necessity.

Bonito

Elessar wrote: »

Oh here we go.

Way to put words in my mouth. When did I say I would belittle a stranger on the street?

But yes, I do think I am better than obese people. Do you know why? Because I eat healthily and exercise regularly at the gym. I respect myself enough to look good, and not put my body under the multitude of stresses and problems that come with being inactive and overweight. It's not the extra flab that make obese people unappealing, it's their carelessness and lack of decency and respect to themselves.

I bet you still say to yourself "jaysus look at that fat bítch/bastard over there." You may not walk up to them and say it to their face, I doubt you'd have the balls to TBH.

I wouldn't allow myself to associate with such small minded people thinking they're better than somoene just because they look better in a physical nature. I'd rather be friends with a few fatties who know how to have the craic and don't belittle and begrudge people based on how they look.

orourkeda

Degsy wrote: »

Its a very simple equation..Calories taken in exceeding calories used up=deposition of fat.
If you dont eat more caloroes than your body uses you wont get fat,if you do..you will.

My point is that not everybody who is obese can attribute their obesity compltely to overeating. There are people who suffer from certain medical conditions that result in weight gain. It isnt always their fault.

Your point is like saying that everyone who drinks too much is an alcoholic. This isnt always the case either

Bonito

Bonito wrote: »

I've never heard such tripe. Whatever amount someone chooses to eat and what their lifestyle choices are is none of your business and you'd have to have a pretty sad life to belittle an obese stranger that you pass in the street. Thinking you're better than someone just because they weigh more than you? That's petty and ridiculous.

You might aswell use the same logic on a meth addict. Do you think you're better than a druggie?
If ya do, your a hypocrit and your point is moot.. If you don't, then fair enough.

Stephentlig

I know plenty of healthy chubby lads, not a bother on them.

I think though that when they get older their biggest problem is high blood pressure ( at least thats my narrow view of it at the moment ).

Some people I know actually do runs and marathons and they are quite the chubby people, and they never lose that much weight, some people are just created by the Lord to be plump and Jolly ( runs for cover)

Theta

Bonito wrote: »

"jaysus look at that fat bítch/bastard over there."

I say that all the time to myself im not going to lie to you. I still have overweight friends. Just because I have an opinion doesnt make me narrow minded.

minidazzler

orourkeda wrote: »

My point is that not everybody who is obese can attribute their obesity compltely to overeating. There are people who suffer from certain medical conditions that result in weight gain. It isnt always their fault.

This is a regular thing on AH it seems, defence of the some people.

Maybe it's not some people's fault. But I would argue that for most people it is their fault.

I know some people who claim it's genetic, yet none of their grand parents are even overweight.

I like big girls and all, but I really don't think that obesity should be tolerated at all.

Bonito

Deleted User wrote: »

You might aswell use the same logic on a meth addict. Do you think you're better than a druggie?
If ya do, your a hypocrit and your point is moot.. If you don't, then fair enough.

I don't look down upon anyone based on their lifestyle choices. If someone chooses to do drugs, no matter how soft or hard those drugs are, I simply don't associate myself with them because I don't like drugs. What they choose to put in to their bodies is their choice. Should they choose to ask for help in the future good on them. If not then fair enough, I'm not going to look down at them. It doesn't mean I am better than someone who uses drugs it just means that I'm not on the level with them and they wouldn't be my idea of good company.

Stephentlig

Theta wrote: »

I say that all the time to myself im not going to lie to you. I still have overweight friends. Just because I have an opinion doesnt make me narrow minded.

it could make you narrow minded though should your opinion be proven wrong :pac::P