What is wrong with fat shaming?

What I think is wrong with it is that I don't think 'shaming' people is the best way to get them to abandon what is most-likely a comfort-seeking behaviour.

Oh, a tax on 'fatty food'.
That doesn't work.

Fat doesn't make you fat.

Eating more than you expend makes you fat.

Why is it OK to look down on or try to correct alcoholics, druggies, gambling addicts and so on but fat shaming is a no no? Stuffing your face with ****y food 24/7 is not only bad for your own health but it also affects society as a whole in many ways (healthcare costs etc).

How will you know whether they are making an effort to lose weight or not? What even is "fat-shaming" then? I am confused.

Even when I wasn't on a diet, I ate less than my healthy, slim friends, and I bet many other fat people are like this too...

Fat doesn't make you fat?



You'd be right if we lived in an active society however we live in a sedentary society, office based and sitting in a car or bus to get to work. People need something that will fill them up but have as few calories as possible. Calories don't fill you up, the sensation of a filled stomach does, as does the taste of fat and sugar.

People aren't going to suddenly start exercising and the majority of overweight people can't even count calories or control their portion size anyway so asking them to do that won't work.

Forcing them to eat vegetables and fish from a cost point of view would be more effective.

ok cool.

all fat people have hypothyroid.

use some common sense, and you'd infer that pretty much 99% of people who are fat chose to be fat.

The idea that it's completely OK to be whatever weight you want, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. Because that's never the case, bad eating habits in parents result in bad eating habits in their children, which are much harder to turn around later in life. It is also of course a massive, easily preventable burden on national healthcare. No one is saying bullying is the way forward (at least I'm not), but there needs to be a massive increase in education regarding nutrition, fitness, and health. Why aren't kids taught this stuff from a young age in school? I can't think of a single reason not to

You fail to think of the strain on the NHS in 30+ years time when people haven't kicked their old habits, are fat, and have heart disease or whatever.

All that money spent on patients which could have been avoided easily.

No, fat by itself doesn't make you fat.

Consult a year 7 biology textbook.

Energy in > energy out = more energy i.e. food in body ->weight gain

No, fat by itself doesn't make you fat.

Consult a year 7 biology textbook.

Energy in > energy out = more energy i.e. food in body ->weight gain

Why is it OK to look down on or try to correct alcoholics, druggies, gambling addicts and so on but fat shaming is a no no? Stuffing your face with ****y food 24/7 is not only bad for your own health but it also affects society as a whole in many ways (healthcare costs etc).

I agree with OP.

People should be 'fat-shamed' because what you eat is a choice.

And bad choices deserve to influenced towards good choices.

There's nothing wrong with telling someone kindly they have a weight problem but if I went up to someone and called them a fat **** or whatever, I feel like that's the kind of thing that damages people psychologically... a bit of respect goes a long way. They're still a person, even if they do have a problem.

I didn't fail to think of it, I simply realise that shaming people is not a solution to that.

"Avoided easily", how so? Millions of overweight people are suddenly meant to band together for the sake of the nation's extrapolated healthcare expenses? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I highly doubt there are many individuals who care. Smokers don't lose any sleep at night worrying about their effect on the NHS. Nor do most people sit around panicking about their impact on climate change.

People always jump to the "strain on the NHS"-argument, but I'm rather dubious about that being anything more than a convenient excuse for them to moan about fatties.

It's not that simple. A calorie is not a calorie. The body processes each in a distinct way, and these differences have real implications for weight management.

For example, there are differences in the energy cost to metabolize fat, carbs, and protein. There is the effects of lowering calorie intake on BMR (less intake lowers your BMR to a degree which in turn means the net loss in calories isn't linear), there are effects on the brain such as protein reducing appetite, and you also have effects from vegetable consumption such as it's reduction on calorie uptake in the gut.

Plus, it's more carbs than fat.

There's a difference between being a bit fat and being obese.

I'm sick of seeing people thinking they can instruct others on how to run their lives. If they want to get fat and stuff their face all day, then let them. It's only acceptable to start getting your knickers in a twist if it legitimately starts affecting you personally.

The idea that it's completely OK to be whatever weight you want, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. Because that's never the case, bad eating habits in parents result in bad eating habits in their children, which are much harder to turn around later in life. It is also of course a massive, easily preventable burden on national healthcare. No one is saying bullying is the way forward (at least I'm not), but there needs to be a massive increase in education regarding nutrition, fitness, and health. Why aren't kids taught this stuff from a young age in school? I can't think of a single reason not to



This kind of attitude is part of the problem, people genuinely thinking their "genetics" or "bone structure" is why they are fat and thus thinking it is out of their control. You weren't eating less than your slim friends, that is a fact. You decided to do something about which is fantastic it but many others would believe they are unable to change their weight and so continue to live unhealthily even if they didn't want to. That's simply down to a lack of education, those of us who train regularly and eat properly know that it's easily possible for any person to lose weight, so the problem is mainly down to the average person knowing **** all about how the body works

As a rule of thumb, my statement is correct.
What you said may be true, but it's hardly a significant factor in determining whether someone gains weight.

Gaining weight requires consistent overeating over an extended period of time.

I didn't mean shaming in a ''haha you're a fat azz'' way, I meant it as in society and the media telling fat people it's just fine being fat and they should be comfortable in their skin even though it has an awful effect on their health and society. We don't do that for alcoholics, druggies or smokers. So why do we do it for fatties?

I agree wholeheartedly, being obese is not a healthy way of life and shouldn't be actively encouraged. It's just, you know, your lovely education programme and health awareness campaign isn't exactly what springs to mind when I hear "fat-shaming".

I suspect that's not what the OP means.

But it doesn't suggest or prove in any way that a fat tax wouldn't work. What alternative do you propose? Asking people to kindly count their calories won't work. Less than a fifth of adults eat five portions of fruit and veg a day despite a mighty expensive decade long government campaign.