Opinions on the fat acceptance/ body positivty movement

Anonymous #1

do you agree, if so why? If not why?

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Reply 1

999tigger

Original post by Anonymous

do you agree, if so why? If not why?

Why are you anonymous and whats your view?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by 999tigger

Why are you anonymous and whats your view?

Im anon coz I have a lot of obese friends who follow and surpport this movement, and with alll due respect I am scared for thier lives, I do not want them to have a early grave, but every time the I bring up the fact that I am on a diet and the healthy benefits of wieghtloss they get angry at me, and say i am fat shamming

Reply 3

Megxn0

Original post by Anonymous

Suggesting a healthy diet is all you can do if you’re genuinely concerned about them. But tbh, it’s not really anyone’s business or responsibility to get some to eat healthy

Reply 4

999tigger

Original post by Anonymous

I think within reason it is a good thing. You will find a lot of overweight people have low self esteem, so something that helps with them feeling better about themselves rather than ashamed is a good thing imo. It increases the chance they can then make a decision to want to improve their health after that.
Dont believe in the denial aspect or saying its all healthy, but neither is someone who is completely depressed.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

Original post by Megxn0

Suggesting a healthy diet is all you can do if you’re genuinely concerned about them. But tbh, it’s not really anyone’s business or responsibility to get some to eat healthy

I guess, but I just wanted to help them

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post by 999tigger

But the fat accpetance movement has turned into something else now, it endoreses unhealthy eating habits and promotes thin shaming, I was in a gc and said I had dropped 6lbs and was then kicked out

Reply 7

username4910484

Why is OK for extreme obesity to be promoted as being healthy/ positive when considered wrong to promote being underweight?

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 8

JaseyB

The sooner this movement ends the better.

Reply 9

Napp

Nothing wrong with 'self love' and all that but trying to make out some 25 stone lassie is healthy is patently absurd. The idea of glorifying eating yourself to death on the alter of political correctness is just odd.

Reply 10

squeakysquirrel

Original post by Anonymous

do you agree, if so why? If not why?

How did it become acceptable to be overweight. I cannot think of any reason why being fatter is better. Sure when you are young it doesn't look so awful, but if you don't lose the weight as a younger person, you are likely to just get more obese as an older person.

Let me list some of the issues:
- diabetes
- arthritis
-heart disease
- shorter lifespan
-high blood pressure
- difficulty sleeping - sleep apnoea.
- gastric reflux

Yes I accept that some people who are thin get these too.

But the covid 19 situation polarised it for me. More likely to die if obese. Probably less likely to get an intensive care bed. I cared for a grossly obese - about 20 stone - woman in ITU last month. It was awful. She was so difficult to turn. She had pressure sores on her rear end. It was hard for us as healthcare workers to care for her properly. I think many of us have put on a little bit of weight during lockdown. Time to get the excess off. I will be fat shaming my patients in future - for their own benefit

Reply 11

Jamie_1712

No it’s a load of rubbish. Fat people already put enough unnecessary strain on the NHS and now it’s being encouraged it’s only going to get worse. To all those people saying we should encourage healthy lifestyles not healthy bodies, what does that even mean? I’ve taken a history from a morbidly obese patient in my first year at medical school and he said his diet is perfect and that he exercises everyday. It’s obviously a lie, but no as long as he thinks it’s healthy it’s fine... It’s as if people want others people to die at the age of 50 from a heart attack.

Reply 12

Anonymous #2

Promoting obesity isn’t good or healthy but promoting the current “ideal” body isn’t healthy either. We need to promote healthy lifestyles but not extreme dieting or diet products. We need to teach people that you can be healthy while having a bit of a tummy and unhealthy when stick thin. Health and weight are related but not directly all of the time. I’m a bit on the overweight side but I’m significantly fitter then a few of my skinnier friends because I’ve been swimming for years. This is randomly structured and stuff because I have a lot of thoughts but what I do know is the body positivity movement can go do far but at the same time we live in a world where when I was 13 I couldn’t buy clothes in the same places as my friends when I was 70kg which destroyed my confidence.

Reply 13

squeakysquirrel

Original post by Anonymous

You are not the problem. As you say you are a bit overweight but not obese . You exercise. We are facing an obesity and diabetes time bomb if we don't address the issue. Diabetes can cause all sorts of other problems such as blindness , amputations, kidney failure etc. I have to my shame been watching a hideous programme in the BBC about fat Welsh youngsters. They almost treat their awful obesity like a badge of honour.

Reply 14

CoolCavy

Volunteer Team

People saying its socially acceptable have clearly never had 'fat' screamed at them multiple times in the street, faced bullying or healthcare workers making absolutely any tenuous links to your weight they possibly can. Come in for an ear infection? Have you thought about losing weight?
Peoples weight is not any of your business, god forbid larger people feel positive about themselves for a nanosecond. People who are overweight know they are overweight, shaming them achieves absolutely nothing aside from making them comfort eat more.
People are not concerned for their health, they just like their 5 minutes of feeling morally superior and since ripping into fat people is so socially acceptable they go for that.

Original post by squeakysquirrel

I will be fat shaming my patients in future - for their own benefit

Expect complaints then about your patient manner then, doctors should be working with patients in diet or exercise programmes not belittling them or making them feel worthless by calling them gross or shaming them.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 15

squeakysquirrel

Original post by CoolCavy

Yes it is my business - I am a healthcare professional and work with patients all the time. It is my job. As I said the Covid situation has polarised things for me. Just down the corridor from my office is the dialysis unit -many of those patients in there are diabetic and overweight. This reduces their chances of a kidney transplant. I would not sit back and allow a patient to drink themselves to death, why would I sit back and allow a patient to eat themselves to death.

Reply 16

CoolCavy

Volunteer Team

Original post by squeakysquirrel

I am aware you are a healthcare professional, I am taking generally about 99% of the populate who enjoy speculating on the reasons someone is overweight and shaming them for this because it's the done thing nowadays.
My nan was on dialysis, I've seen the effects just as much as anyone has. I've also seen the effects of medical professionals shaming and bullying patients for their weight. Your 'fat shaming' approach wont be benefiting your patients they will just choose to see someone more understanding who works with them and their existing conditions and medications to draw up an appropriate diet an exercise programme rather than calling them gross and discussing their end of life care publicly.

Reply 17

Andrew97

Entertainment Forum Helper, Debate & Current Affairs Helper

I don’t think it’s accurate to say there is fat (or body weight acceptance)

Fat is still used as a primary insult towards people of a larger weight and you often see on stories with plus sized models derogatory comments on their weight, so there’s shaming going on there.

That’s not to say I think it should be encouraged. Where there is a significant health risk caused by a persons weight, doctors should be working with patients in order to rectify these issues. Screaming “you fat (insert swear word)” or acting like there is no problem will not make a difference. The first reaction, shaming, will likely make the issues worse and possibly even leave to mental health issues.

Reply 18

squeakysquirrel

Original post by CoolCavy

I am not going to go in like a tank on them, but I have to advise them that they need to lose weight. What I have been saying to patient for the past few years is something like.... " if you lost a little bit of weight, you might be able to come off the metformin and the antihypertensives and possibly the proton pump inhibitors....." This will usually lead to a discussion about how they might do that. I am now going to be a bit more emphatic.

I cannot tell you how distressing it was to see the morbidly obese woman in ITU. She was not for resuscitation had she arrested. She was younger than me and had pressure sores.... something that should not be happening these days.

If we get a second spike, these people will not be treated and medical staff have already had to make decisions based on size.

Reply 19

Ðeggs

Fat acceptance and body positivity are different things. I agree with body positivity, everyone should feel confident and happy with their own body. But people who are fat or morbidly obese I think should aim to “become healthier”, whether that’s changing what they eat or trying to lose some weight.