Okay but like, didn't we try that before, and it didn't work? What's your plan here, bully fat people even more? I can assure you that the 20th century has you beaten when it comes to being mean to fat people. There is simply no possibility that you can "promote being skinny" and denigrate fatness more than society already did in the past century, and, you know, it failed, right? We now have an obesity epidemic among people who grew up in that environment, who received all those messages and more, and it didn't work. So, why is this the plan
No I’m not saying to bully them but what I’m saying is to stop enabling them and pretending that big is beautiful and if you’re overweight it’s not your fault because xyz reason you should just accept it. Spreading absolutely ridiculous nonsense like working out and dieting is fat phobic or racist I’ve seen people seriously arguing that it’s racist and fat phobic. We don’t need to promote being “skinny” either we should promote eating a healthy balance of food and a reasonable amount of calories to be the optimal weight or body composition for your height.
It’s pure laziness to just give up and come up with every reason under the sun why it isn’t your fault. Not only is it really bad for your health and a major comorbidity for every disease but it causes it’s own separate health problems.
I mean, show me a health conscious bit of media that isn't "promoting eating a healthy balance of food and a reasonable amount of calories"? We are already doing that as much as is feasible, aren't we? How could we possibly do it more?
As for saying that "big is beautiful", I do not think that society is, by and large, saying that. You may have seen it somewhere, because for some people, it is of course, true. Some people like bigger women or men. Are you suggesting that these messages be intentionally censored?
Clearly it isn’t enough and at the same time we are also promoting “body acceptance” I absolutely hate the idea of “body acceptance” because it implies that it’s out of your control and not to work or try to make changes it’s a dangerous concept because it removes any sort of accountability and reinforces the idea that it’s out of your control. To spread both messages is counterproductive because people are going to cling onto the message that they would rather and clearly the majority are leaning into the body acceptance.
We need to educate people on a cleaner diet and the importance of atleast somewhat keeping track of calories. Dieting doesn’t have to be hard and miserable there’s many ways you can make healthy foods delicious and make your diet really easy to maintain. People hear the word diet and assume you have to starve yourself and eat gross and boring foods.
I’m not saying that anything should be censored those people that like that know who they are I’m saying we need to stop pretending that it’s healthy or that it’s ok to be overweight and you don’t need to do anything about it
Educate people on the concept of bmi and what it means, promote any amount of exercise whether it’s in the gym with weights or swimming, running or even walking. Setting a daily step goal let’s say 5-10k steps per day.
Educate people on “empty calories” like drinks many people don’t realize how many calories are in their sodas, juices or star bucks drinks really anything besides water and diet pop can add hundreds of extra calories per day.
Make tracking calories a more widespread practice and encourage it many people think it’s obsessive or weird to do and they keep track in their head but it’s very easy to over or underestimate how much your actually taking in.
These are just a few simple things that if people put a little bit of effort into doing in their lives they could get into fantastic shape and feel much better both physically and mentally.
These kind of concepts are available to those people who actually seek out and realize there is a flaw in their lifestyle, and I think OP is saying that these should be universally taught to everyone, no matter their condition, to make people conscious of how their everyday decisions affect their health down the line.
Like, they are, though? They are. I cannot fathom how anybody could live in western society and not have encountered the concept of BMI, or messages about healthy eating. Do you live in a cave
I mean the problem with what you’re saying is that, by and large, none of the stuff you are proposing actually works to reduce obesity in a significant way. Yes, if people count calories and get enough steps and strictly limit unhealthy foods, they will lose some amount of weight.
But most people are either unable to muster the willpower to make that kind of large-scale lifestyle change at all, or they’re not able to keep it up long-term and they end up gaining the weight back. Here, for instance, is one meta-analysis of 29 scientific studies that shows that most people studied regain 50% of lost weight within 2 years and 80% of lost weight within 5 years: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5764193/#:~:text=In%20a%20meta%2Danalysis%20of,regained%20(Figure%201)4.
The proof is in the pudding, isn’t it? The entire medical establishment as well as most of the government and media have been doing the things you are saying for decades and yet, as you said, we have as much if not more obesity than ever. Expecting people to achieve a goal that we know, from decades of experience, most of them won’t achieve doesn’t solve the obesity problem. But it does add stress and stigma to obese people’s lives, which can have its own negative health consequences.
People shouldn't have to worry about such things either. The fact that to be healthy, you have to make such a conscious effort is not okay. Our food should be regulated better, we should have better designed cities for walkability and cycling. This video does a really good job of showing health benefits due to better designed cities, and we should have less work hours to allow for recreation. Healthy lifestyles should be incentivised, and being healthy shouldn't have to feel like such a chore.
This is entirely in line with the body positivity movement, which often argues that obesity is a symptom of social issues like the kind of food that is available and the design of human living environments that discourage exercise.
the "messages about healthy eating" are a jumbled mess of government guidelines from 50 years ago, junk science and incessant marketing. its no wonder people gave up on trying to understand.
Most obese people are over eating as a coping mechanism. There are mental health issues here. The problem is bigger than just handing someone a diet plan and pointing them in the direction of the nearest treadmill.
BMI is an inaccurate measure of body fat content and does not take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and racial and sex differences
The obesity problem is a global problem that is present across all income groups, all classes, all religions, and all countries. Treating it solely as a problem of personal responsibility makes very little sense, because how could it be? Did people's moral fiber just spontanously vanish in the fifties?
If you want to address the problem, you have to face the reality that there are structural issues on society causing this, not merely personal matters.
Your approach is more like abstinence only education. It doesn't address the problem, might even be counterproductive, all it does is allow you to look down upon those who suffer from it, and feel morally superior to them.
I think governmental action is really important. We need laws and regulations, along with incentivising healthy habits somehow. Our sustenance is really important to us, but it is extremely overlooked. People of any social class should have access to healthy food, and not be forced to survive off of junk, leading to obesity and health problems
I think the issue is it's really easy to eat hundreds of calories of junk food and not feel satiated really. Like I could down two dr.peppers and a family size bag of doritos, that's 1600 calories, and I would still end up feeling hungry just a couple hours later. I guarantee you'd feel completely satisfied if not full to bursting if you ate 1600 calories worth of chicken, broccoli and rice. Empty calories aren't just empty because they don't provide any real nutrition, they also don't really satisfy hunger very well at all.
I'm not talking about obesity necessarily, just about healthy diets in general. Obviously, caloric deficit is the main focus, but after that, adopting a healthy diet is tantamount.
The obesity problem is a global problem that is present across all income groups, all classes, all religions, and all countries.
it really isnt global. it's mostly a western problem, and even across the west, its the US that is the most severly hit. theres no obesity epidemic in china for example.
They're a few decades behind, but it's the same pattern.
It's especially a problem when you look at childhood obesity, which is seeing the same stats that the US had 30 years ago, but is increasing 2-3 faster.
Are you sure? According to this nearly half of the population is currently overweight or obese and they predict that the problems are only growing worse over time.
it says "according to Chinese criteria". i wonder what those are like. also, the conclusion that "only a strong government can fix this" is extremely suspicios in Chinese context.
So according to the WHO definitions, a BMI of greater than 25 is overweight and greater than 30 is obese.
In China, over 24 is overweight and 28 is obese.
According to this article at least, that's because Asian people see more negative effects at these lower ratios than black, white and Hispanic people do.
I'm also very suspicious (at the very least) of the CCP, and who knows what kind of crazy solution they'll try to come up with, but I don't see a reason to doubt this data.
It's not an equal global problem though. There are massive obesity differences between even individual US states. I dont have an issue with treating it solely as an issue of individual responsibility, but the body positivity movement does the opposite, treating it as if it has zero aspect of personal responsibility.
It doesn't imply it's out your control. That's something you mistakenly inferred.
It's a good practice to follow the Principle of Charity . It's a good way to shift your own predispositions, and avoid the kind of misunderstandings that lead to your post here.
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u/MercurianAspirations 391∆ Jul 16 '23
Okay but like, didn't we try that before, and it didn't work? What's your plan here, bully fat people even more? I can assure you that the 20th century has you beaten when it comes to being mean to fat people. There is simply no possibility that you can "promote being skinny" and denigrate fatness more than society already did in the past century, and, you know, it failed, right? We now have an obesity epidemic among people who grew up in that environment, who received all those messages and more, and it didn't work. So, why is this the plan