are you offended by other people being fat? in the united states or uk?

[karyn]

Fatties, you need to get a grip

from sunday herald

By Joanna Blythman

IN HIS report on National Health Service spending just published, Sir Derek Wanless warns that Britain's obesity epidemic is spiralling out of control. On current trends, he says, 33% of men, 28% of women and 20% of children will be obese (in other words, extremely fat) by 2010. Now it's official: far from slowing the incidence of obesity as it pledged to do, Labour has presided over a dramatic rise, one that threatens to bankrupt the NHS. No health service, however effective or well-funded, can ever cope with record numbers of ailing citizens suffering the consequences of obesity; conditions like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

I had my own personal encounter with Britain's sprawling fat problem earlier this week while travelling back from holiday. I found myself on a full flight, sat next to an extremely fat woman whose body size exceeded the dimensions of her seat. "Would you mind if we left the arm rest up ?" she asked, explaining that she was "rather broad around the hips", an understatement of epic proportions.

Initially, I gave her the answer she wanted to hear, then hastily backtracked when I realised that this would mean enduring an eight-hour flight in an already cramped space with half of her ample frame occupying my seat. As it was, even trying to put the arm rest down proved impossible because it was constantly forced upwards by her bulging thigh. I felt sorry for the woman, certainly. She must have had a desperately uncomfortable journey. But I also felt put upon. How much longer before territorial disputes over plane seats become as commonplace as neighbour fights over Leylandii hedges ?
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Travelling through airports offers a graphic demonstration of how we have totally lost the plot with obesity. Last year, in Beauvais airport outside Paris, I observed three check-in queues. The first two, bound for Stockholm and Amsterdam, consisted of people of a generally slim or at least normal build, a bit like British people would have looked like in the 1960s, say. The third queue, bound for Prestwick, was a national embarrassment. Almost everyone was overweight. They looked out of puff, self-conscious and robbed of any vitality they might otherwise have had by the burden of dragging around all those excess kilos. In denial, too, trying to squash themselves into the those jumbo-sized jeans now designed to accommodate sizes 18-32. How the prospect of returning home - where they might blend in with the rest of the plump population - must have appealed!

This ever-expanding national girth is a reflection of our over-tolerant attitude to fatness. It is a much more comfortable social experience to be fat in the UK or the US than it is in Europe. Call it body fascism if you like, but in Europe excessive weight gain, much like excessive drinking, is socially disapproved of.

In the UK, on the other hand, being fat is so common as to be acceptable, even expected. Indeed we live in the era of fat militancy, borrowed from the US, where clothes shops catering for teenagers are taken to task for not stocking previously unheard-of sizes upwards of extra large, and where the design of everything from toilet seats to bus aisles is rapidly being scaled up to cater for greatly enlarged dimensions.

Many behaviour patterns in Britain add up to what epidemiologists now refer to as an "obesogenic" environment. Workaholism leaves us exhausted, craving recovery time rather than active leisure time. We believe that we don't have time to cook, so we live on a diet of gut-expanding processed food. Stranger Danger fears keep children imprisoned at home, glued to Game Boys and telly, not outside playing with a ball. In Scotland, a peculiarly Celtic fatalism allows us to absolve ourselves of personal responsibility for our wellbeing and look passively to the NHS to undo any damage that we may do to ourselves.

In our defence, we have been miserably let down by government. Since Labour came to power it has been in the pocket of the food industry and its advertisers, and terrified of being criticised as a nanny state if it is too prescriptive in telling people what to eat. Even with the kick up the backside delivered by the Wanless report, it would be naive to wait for the government to weigh in with public measures to save us from ourselves.

So what is going to give, other than our straining seams, if the population keeps ballooning? Even further crippling rises in national insurance contributions will be insufficient to deal with the strain on the NHS. That will leave society having to make very tough decisions. Should children so fat that their health is hopelessly compromised be taken into care to save them from "neglectful" parents who raise them on cola and takeaway? Social services have already taken three children into care on these grounds. Will we have to ration medical treatment to fat people on the grounds that their illnesses are self-induced ?

I don't mean to be entirely unsympathetic. A few people become fat for complex medical or psychological reasons outwith their control. But most people are fat just because they can't be bothered to take themselves in hand, and their lives are the poorer for it. They need to get a grip.

[keiko]

*applauds* Oh My! If I meet this man in person I will give him the biggest kiss ever.

~K

[One Eyed Cat]

I'm not offended by an individual being overweight. I do recognize, however, that we have some serious health care issues. 64% of medical care is financed by govt at the federal, state, and local levels. This will increase after passage of SCHIP for kids. I think we better start planning for universal care. This has to include preventative measures and responsibility for one's health. They are equally free to decry us smokers.

JT

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

It seems like a bit of displace anger if you ask me.

Ask yourself this, even thin is there enough room on airlines for a hour or longer flight? I recall even the skinny passengers elbowing and kneeing me on flights because the seats are too small. We get mad at the fat guy next to us instead of the airlines who feel we don't need enough extra space to raise our arms. Ever eaten a meal in coach? You could be pinned between anorexic twelve year olds and it's still elbow to elbow.

Health care? While we are decrying smokers and the overweight for raising our healthcare costs, we ignore the fact that healthcare costs have been skyrocketing long before the current health issues. We get mad at smokers and fat people instead of say the businesses and governments who increase the costs regardless of how healthy we are or are not.

If 64% of healthcare is financed by the govt, why do I still pay so much? That is what offends me a lot more than someone risking heart disease and diabetes with an unhealthy diet.What about the skinny people who eat crap all the time? Do they get off the hook because they look better?

Besides, if you get a vote in my health practices because your taxes may pay for my health care, then I want all your kids to get straight A's my taxes pay for their schools.

Seriously, while I have a lot of anger to go around, there is too much to be angry at to waste it on people who don't take care of themselves.

[Jax]

I applaude the author!

Generally I find obese people to be gross. A majority of them smell, and listening to them try and breathe between the cheetos and big mack they are shoveling in is irritating.

Im a smoker, and its sad how much of an outcry there is about smoking in public places, but who has the balls to go against PC standards and outcry about the 300 pound 10 year old standing in line at McDonalds to get a second helping of fries and a hamburger while their parents are munching on their super duper size meals with an extra large fry on the side? Its disgusting, and how is that not considered abuse on the parents part?

I have been on quite a few planes, and have never had to sit next to someone who hung over their seat. Im on the smaller side and really dont have a problem with space if the person next to me is even slightly larger.

There is no way I would have sat next to that obese woman.

And the sad thing is...obese people have the nuts to laugh at me for the way I look and make comments about me. Of course while Im out walking and they are in their cars. Last time someone laughed at me it was a fat dude in a car at a stop light. I looked at him and laughed right back. He asked what I was laughing at, that I looked funny...and I retorted with "tell me, how DO you squeeze in that little car fatass?" Needless to say he then looked straight ahead until the light changed.

Stop feeling sorry for them. Im glad I never started, and this is JMO.

[One Eyed Cat]

It seems like a bit of displace anger if you ask me.

Ask yourself this, even thin is there enough room on airlines for a hour or longer flight? I recall even the skinny passengers elbowing and kneeing me on flights because the seats are too small. We get mad at the fat guy next to us instead of the airlines who feel we don't need enough extra space to raise our arms. Ever eaten a meal in coach? You could be pinned between anorexic twelve year olds and it's still elbow to elbow.

Health care? While we are decrying smokers and the overweight for raising our healthcare costs, we ignore the fact that healthcare costs have been skyrocketing long before the current health issues. We get mad at smokers and fat people instead of say the businesses and governments who increase the costs regardless of how healthy we are or are not.

If 64% of healthcare is financed by the govt, why do I still pay so much? That is what offends me a lot more than someone risking heart disease and diabetes with an unhealthy diet.What about the skinny people who eat crap all the time? Do they get off the hook because they look better?

Besides, if you get a vote in my health practices because your taxes may pay for my health care, then I want all your kids to get straight A's my taxes pay for their schools.

Seriously, while I have a lot of anger to go around, there is too much to be angry at to waste it on people who don't take care of themselves.

I'm not angry. I'm just anticipating a move towards universal health care (which is simply happening as we speak). In terms of both the obese and smokers, there will have to be at least some incentives towards preventative care. I know it isn't the major factor driving up health care costs. In any event, I refuse to personalize these issues.

JT

[Buster Friendly]

i've been fat, then skinny, then fat, now skinny again....

skinny's better. people treat you better, you make more money have more sex.

but let me tell ya folks, you're all a bunch of shallow idiots. (i am too )
(i mean this as a society wide comment, not a dig at anyone specific in this thread.)

the whole 'fat people need to take them selves in hand' additude is comical. very few doctors understand the human metabolism, let alone the general population. 'just stop eating' is a skinny person's idea of how to rid oneself of obesity. caloric restriction totally jacked my metabolism, making it 100x easier for me to gain weight for the rest of my life. i can basically only eat lean protien, and broccoli. forever. (yes, i'm exagerating, but only slightly.)

(folks interested in learning some healthy ways to shed unhealthy body fat can find alot of good articles over at www.t-nation.com. if i'd followed the advice on this site the first time i'd lost weight-if i'd had access to it- the sight of bagels wouldn't make me gain 5lbs just for looking.)

a few weeks ago i found a few blogs about the 'fat acceptance movement', although i could totally relate to what these people have experienced (having seen it all first hand myself) i couldn't help but laugh at these poor folks, fighting for acceptance they'll never get. life's just better when you're thin, it just is. people are shallow idiots. (including me.)

part of the problem is that our super chemicalized industrialized food supply couldn't be more conducive to obesity if it had been designed that way. white flour, potatos and corn syrup are the devil, and fuck up skinny people in all sorts of interesting, though less visible ways as well. (check out micheal pollan's 'the omnivore's delimma')

yep. it sure is easy for us skinny people to be smug. until we get fat.

[GnArKiLL]

What i have a problem with this is, how fat do you have to be to be considered fat. Now if someone is seriously morbidly obese, that is a problem, mostly only to themselves though. What about everyone one else? Am I gonna be such a big problem to you people if im even just a bit overweight? There are alot of people who really need to cut down on the burgers and stuff, but then again there are also very unhealthy skinny people who REALLY need to eat a burger or two, or 5. I do agree with BF on how this whole attitude is definitely comical.

[Buster Friendly]

heh... i wanted to findout a little bit more about the author of this article, and stumbled across this- http://worldofbeer.com/features/feature-200211.html

she hates beer.

...as a side note i am told that fat people in the UK have a much tougher time than here in the US, socially speaking.

[One Eyed Cat]

Some voluptuos women I know get irked when fat women try to take on that name. It is comical, but I see nothing wrong with calling things by their proper name. I can't imagine being offended unless I was being sat on by a 500 pounder. The first paragraph is the only salient point to me.

JT

[Mr Karl]

I'm not offended, or really care, it all makes the world go round

[TheDeathKnight]

I feel bad for those people, because food is an addiction for some people. But unlike drugs, that you can avoid taking, or being around, you can't avoid food. So people who get hooked on the taste, and the feeling, sometimes can't stop. But at the same time, you have to accept the results of your behaviors and your addictions. If people want to just stay home, and get fat, that's fine. But accept what you have become. You can't expect everyone else to accomodate your size. If you need to fly, buy two seats. If you can't afford that, then find some other way to get somewhere. If you can't go somewhere because you are too big, then that's the price you pay for your behaviors. It's not the airline's responsibility to build bigger planes, with bigger seats, just because you choose not to deal with your food addiction. It really is just as easy as calorie restriction. I have a shitty metabolism, and I need to eat very few calories, in order not to gain weight. Especially since my job is behind a desk for 8-14 hours a day. Is it fun to restrict yourself to around 1000 calories a day? No. Is it easy? No. Would it be yummier to have pizza and burgers? You bet! But I force myself not to, because I do not want to be a whale. Life's not fair, and some people have good metabolisms, and other's don't. So if you have a crappy one, you will have to work harder to prevent gaining weight. I just think people get frustrated, because it's not easy. Well yeah... It's not. You may have to deal with being hungry. As if that's the most horrible thing people could ever have to experience. Whatever... haha!

[Black Spiral Dancer]

I will admit, I like women with a little meat on their bones, but not so much meat that I can't locate specific parts (Fart and give me a clue?)
My wife has been "skinny" and was never happy. Now she is a little larger than she would like so she is dieting and taking bellydancing classes to lose a little weight.
If you realise you are overweight and are wanting to do something about it, fine. But if you don't care about how large you are, then you should not expect other people to care either. If your arse is too big for a single seat on a plane, then you should be expected to pay for 2 seats to accomodate the extra girth.

[Amelia G]

And this is just one more reason I do not favor socialized medicine.

That said, I think there is some biological level on which people freak out about other people's weight. If I see someone who is morbidly obese in line at the airport, it does not make me angry and I think it is fucked that it makes other people angry.

If it impacts the individual, that is different i.e. if a lover is too heavy or too thin, I think it is reasonable to have issues and preferences there, of course.

I broke my ankle a couple years back and the bone just would not heal. I was on crutches for a long time and I had to take medication for the bone which had weight gain as a side effect. I felt being able to walk was a tad more important than vanity, but it was still a drag.

Although I've now taken off most of the weight I gained then, I was honestly stunned at how unpleasant and unsupportive some supposed friends and people I generally knew were. People I was not fucking or sharing very many meals with, I might add, so these were people wholly not impacted in any way by me gaining weight and then having to diet. I did not gorge on Big Macs. I broke a bone. WTF?

Oh, and, if someone want to sit in your seat, that you paid for, on an airplane, tell them no. Being passive-aggressive about it later is just mean.

[Pull~My~Hair]

has anyone noticed the price difference between easy fast bad food compared to fresh healthy food? I have a problem spending 4 times as much on groceries in order to eat healthy...thats the hardest part for me, and it isnt like that in other countries..

[Superna]

I have to admit, I weigh more now than I did when I was pregnant ... than I ever have I honestly eat way to much junk... I know that its not good for me, but I feel compelled to stuff my face constantly. I feel guilty about it and it affects my self confidence. I'm changing this right now so I don't end up falling into this category!! I really do believe it is that easy to change... watch me

[Superna]

has anyone noticed the price difference between easy fast bad food compared to fresh healthy food? I have a problem spending 4 times as much on groceries in order to eat healthy...thats the hardest part for me, and it isnt like that in other countries..

It is expensive to cook healthy!!! I recently spent over 80 bucks on ingredients for just one meal (take into consideration... I'm feeding 7 boys.. so i did pretty good) ... but I can always get that fried chicken bucket dinner for 19.95

i wish I could grow my own food

[Pull~My~Hair]

It is expensive to cook healthy!!! I recently spent over 80 bucks on ingredients for just one meal (take into consideration... I'm feeding 7 boys.. so i did pretty good) ... but I can always get that fried chicken bucket dinner for 19.95

i wish I could grow my own food

exactly! Ive been doing this super-health diet..man ive probably spent $700-800 dollars in the last month on groceries for the house.
I finally stopped..its just not possible...most of all if you try to go organic too..that makes it just insanely expensive

[One Eyed Cat]

has anyone noticed the price difference between easy fast bad food compared to fresh healthy food? I have a problem spending 4 times as much on groceries in order to eat healthy...thats the hardest part for me, and it isnt like that in other countries..

It can cost more. If you are able to break it down into buying just whole foods in bulk though, it won't. The hardest part is switching over. You have to learn to cook everything from scratch.

JT

[One Eyed Cat]

I broke my ankle a couple years back and the bone just would not heal. I was on crutches for a long time and I had to take medication for the bone which had weight gain as a side effect. I felt being able to walk was a tad more important than vanity, but it was still a drag.

Although I've now taken off most of the weight I gained then, I was honestly stunned at how unpleasant and unsupportive some supposed friends and people I generally knew were. People I was not fucking or sharing very many meals with, I might add, so these were people wholly not impacted in any way by me gaining weight and then having to diet. I did not gorge on Big Macs. I broke a bone. WTF?

People treated you differently for gaining weight? Like talking shit? That's pretty silly. I know people treat me differently based on how I look at a given point in time though. Luckily for them, I'm a benevolent misanthropist. I just laugh it off. I seem to be on the "up" now, it teaches you not to take people's vanity seriously (albeit making it harder not to take gratuities) I'll be on the "down" soon enough.

JT

[Buster Friendly]

oh yeah, you'd better believe they treat you differently Jackie.

since i've been through massive weight gain/loss twice now, i've been able to compare notes, and there's no doubt in my mind that even being a 'little overweight' get's you dissed. shit when i was super heavy, god forbid i should get myself a candy bar, people on the street would give me looks like i was raping a stem cell in front of them. i even got dirty looks for eating fruit, or ordering salad folks just hate to see fat people eat.

i have alot of compassion for anyone trying to tackle this in their own lives, it ain't easy. eating healthy shouldn't cost us more, but unfortunately it can seem like it does, you have to know how to be smart about the food that you buy.

for instance, i can get a really decent amount of lean (99% fat free) turkey for that same $20 that that bucket of fried chicken would have gotten me. a bag of organic lentil beans, which are a fantastic source of nutrient dense calories, and will last most of a week can be between $1.30, and $2, and they only take half an hour to cook.

it helps to know what to buy organic, and what you can get away with buying that isn't sprayed too much. local farmer's markets can be a godsend this way. (i only buy my eggs, and meat from farmers i know and trust... cheap too.)

eat as organic as you can without going nuts. organic broccoli is good, any broccoli is better than mcnuggets.

and i really would urge folks to read some of the weight management articles over on www.t-nation.com, just use the search function on "metabolic repair", the 'cheat to lose diet' is also a good one, explains the metabolism very well.

good luck to folks.

[Jax]

I just want to add a bit on what I said so noone takes it wrong.

I am shallow.

BUT, I was talking about obese, not fat. Ive dated guys with a little bit of meat on their bones. They were super comfy pillows, haha.

Hell, Ive been super skinny my whole life and people treated me shitty. Mostly those obese chicks who had to waddle to walk. So the comments and anger is on both parts. Ive finally started gaining wieght, but it takes a daily serving of 3 lbs of home made mashed potatoes and bacon gravy to keep my weight on. Its been the easiest way Ive found to gain weight so far;]

[bohoki]

they should add a fee to unhealty foods and put it in a fund for a some form of health insurance they should also add a fee to gasoline at the pump giving everyone a baseline car insurance

[Buster Friendly]

they should add a fee to unhealty foods and put it in a fund for a some form of health insurance they should also add a fee to gasoline at the pump giving everyone a baseline car insurance

bizzarely high taxation rates on ciggarets are the only thing that's been shown to lower smoking rates. could work.

here in nyc the city has been trying to get restaurants to start labeling their junkfood, and get them to stop using super unhealthy fat for deep frying.

[One Eyed Cat]

oh yeah, you'd better believe they treat you differently Jackie.

since i've been through massive weight gain/loss twice now, i've been able to compare notes, and there's no doubt in my mind that even being a 'little overweight' get's you dissed. shit when i was super heavy, god forbid i should get myself a candy bar, people on the street would give me looks like i was raping a stem cell in front of them. i even got dirty looks for eating fruit, or ordering salad folks just hate to see fat people eat.

i have alot of compassion for anyone trying to tackle this in their own lives, it ain't easy. eating healthy shouldn't cost us more, but unfortunately it can seem like it does, you have to know how to be smart about the food that you buy.

for instance, i can get a really decent amount of lean (99% fat free) turkey for that same $20 that that bucket of fried chicken would have gotten me. a bag of organic lentil beans, which are a fantastic source of nutrient dense calories, and will last most of a week can be between $1.30, and $2, and they only take half an hour to cook.

it helps to know what to buy organic, and what you can get away with buying that isn't sprayed too much. local farmer's markets can be a godsend this way. (i only buy my eggs, and meat from farmers i know and trust... cheap too.)

eat as organic as you can without going nuts. organic broccoli is good, any broccoli is better than mcnuggets.

and i really would urge folks to read some of the weight management articles over on www.t-nation.com, just use the search function on "metabolic repair", the 'cheat to lose diet' is also a good one, explains the metabolism very well.

good luck to folks.

Glad you found a situation that works. I belong to a local food co-op here so I'm pretty well set. My weight fluctuates too much. I wish I could choose a number and stick to it. I've never approached obesity or even outside "normal". Gaining and dropping 20-30 pounds without major weight training can't be good though either. You end up with a bunch of clothes that don't fit.

JT

[One Eyed Cat]

I just want to add a bit on what I said so noone takes it wrong.

I am shallow.

BUT, I was talking about obese, not fat. Ive dated guys with a little bit of meat on their bones. They were super comfy pillows, haha.

Hell, Ive been super skinny my whole life and people treated me shitty. Mostly those obese chicks who had to waddle to walk. So the comments and anger is on both parts. Ive finally started gaining wieght, but it takes a daily serving of 3 lbs of home made mashed potatoes and bacon gravy to keep my weight on. Its been the easiest way Ive found to gain weight so far;]

I noticed you made the distinction. I have an odd metabolism as well. I think part of it is just the fact that it is just as difficult for you to maintain a given weight. It's bound to piss you off if folks at the opposite end make light of that.

JT

[grebo]

if your chubby and happy, thats cool
if your huge and unhealthy, thats bad
if your too skinny thats gross too

did anyone notice that micheal moores latest film Sicko is about health care and hes probably gunna be needing it in a few years when his weight starts making him sick

id like to see what everyone here looks like in 20 years when their metabolism starts slowing down with age
as they said in red dwarf
"When you're younger you can eat what you like, drink what you like, and still climb into your 26" waist trousers and zip them closed. Then you reach that age, 24-25, your muscles give up, they wave a little white flag, and without any warning at all you're suddenly a fat bastard" ~ Rimmer

[VoltaireBlue]

this is where I consider myself very very lucky. I am at the age where I should have started gaining some weight because my metabolism should be slowing down. It isn't. I have gained a total of seven pounds since moving to the south because I just can't say no to some fried chicken with mashed potatoes and country gravy. I just can't..... the other part where I'm lucky is that I was taught to cook at a very young age, so now I am extremely proficient at cooking fron scratch. I was also raised very poor(money wise), so I know how to pinch a penny so tight that it screams. I deffinetly know how to shop for a bargain.
I can feed ten very hungry people for 25-30 bucks, and yes, it is healthy and tasty food. I did it twice a week in highschool, as I have five brothers and two sisters. I have never spent more than 100 bucks a week on basic grocceris for both the boy and I.... shit, I even fed scar and myself one night for less than six bucks, and it was all made from scratch.....
I'm rambling, sorry..... I guess my point is that it is totally possible to eat healthy, and not go broke in the proccess. you just have to know how to shop, and then menu plan for the week based on what's on sale. It's not hard. even chicken goes on sale for 59 cents a pound.... eating healthy is NOT expensive.

[VoltaireBlue]

[QUOTE=Buster Friendly]
for instance, i can get a really decent amount of lean (99% fat free) turkey for that same $20 that that bucket of fried chicken would have gotten me. a bag of organic lentil beans, which are a fantastic source of nutrient dense calories, and will last most of a week can be between $1.30, and $2, and they only take half an hour to cook.

it helps to know what to buy organic, and what you can get away with buying that isn't sprayed too much. local farmer's markets can be a godsend this way. (i only buy my eggs, and meat from farmers i know and trust... cheap too.)

eat as organic as you can without going nuts. organic broccoli is good, any broccoli is better than mcnuggets.

[=QUOTE]


YES!!!!! this is what I'm trying to say!!!!!! good for you buster!

[VoltaireBlue]

exactly! Ive been doing this super-health diet..man ive probably spent $700-800 dollars in the last month on groceries for the house.
I finally stopped..its just not possible...most of all if you try to go organic too..that makes it just insanely expensive

you need shopping lessons. if you want you and I have a date at nature's when I am in PDX in late nov-early dec. I will totally show you how to eat healthy and only spend 50 bucks a week, okay maybe seventy....but yes, even at natures.

[VoltaireBlue]

It is expensive to cook healthy!!! I recently spent over 80 bucks on ingredients for just one meal (take into consideration... I'm feeding 7 boys.. so i did pretty good) ... but I can always get that fried chicken bucket dinner for 19.95

i wish I could grow my own food

you need some family sized recipes..... message me I know a bunch. I'm not aroun d here that much lately, but I'll make it a point to be, and check my private messages.

[Mainline_Iodine]

The biggest thing that annoys me are the people that have rolled the overweight line and are still rolling and they then consider their obesity a handicap. They aren't handicapped, they are lazy. True I just spent all summer working outside, doing manual labor at the hell hole know as walmart(I hate em too, but got to eat). I have gotten to the point of an extreme dislike towards people that are highly overweight. I find it disgusting to see them walking around in sweat pants that are too small and have their rolls hanging out of their clothing. I shouldn't have to see that whenever I go out in public.
Also, I sure as hell don't want to be paying for their health costs because they refused to do anything about their weight. Yes, there are legtimate health problems that make weight control hard or impossible, but easily 85% of the people I had to see over the summer were the size they were because they don't care about their size. The worst was the lady that worked at the same store I did who felt like she had a right to give me shit for my apperance even though she could barely, I mean barely, haul her self to her feet out of a chair.

[Xochitl]

I guess I get annoyed at how we don't see obesity as a major health problem. We see a ton of advertising for the dangers of smoking but really benign ones for the dangers of obesity.

We don't do much anymore as our work is automated, even our leisure is what watching TV? We don't walk much & how often do we even see kids out playing anymore? At least in my part of the world I don't. We forget that 100 years ago, people did a lot of physical work in & out of the home, our portions of food were much smaller, we ate at certain times & only then, instead of now where food is out everywhere all the time. Most of all the food wasn't processed like it is now either.

I worked with a team of cardiologist for awhile & it was frustrating to see it everyday. People who were told by their doctors to start living a healthy life & they just didn't listen (these people were often the first to sue when someone died though). Often after painful cardiac procedures they would want to eat cheeseburgers & grill cheese sandwiches & would often get angry if we gave them a fruit cup & a tuna sandwich!! Most of our patients were there because of their weigh, not because of smoking. I had enough & left but I am sure it is still the same.

I think what is the culprit is a lot of mental illness. People use food as a drug, cheap often (especially the bad food) and you won't go to jail or get arrested for eating. Hell you won't even get in trouble with your religious leaders for it. More & more unhappy people in the world.

Still, it is up to whoever has the issues to begin dealing with them, like with any illness. I find it really annoying that vanity sizing is what clothing manufactures are doing instead of being honest with customers. I really hate the comments I get about my weight on a constant basis often with a follow up squeeze of my stomach or frame. I doubt I would be able to do that to a larger person, unless I want to get knocked out. I have talked to other thinner people who express the same frustration. Yes, I do have a fast metabolism but I also don't eat junk, I have no sodas in my fridge, or candy. I do eat out a lot but I try to keep it balanced with salads and better food. I also walk 3 times a week. Most of all I MAKE time for that. I do hope that we start making people take some responsibility for their lives instead of making excuses for them.

[Mr Karl]

yep, as soon as you stop respecting your metabolism it'll show you who's really in charge

[Amelia G]

The biggest thing that annoys me are the people that have rolled the overweight line and are still rolling and they then consider their obesity a handicap. They aren't handicapped, they are lazy. True I just spent all summer working outside, doing manual labor at the hell hole know as walmart(I hate em too, but got to eat). I have gotten to the point of an extreme dislike towards people that are highly overweight. I find it disgusting to see them walking around in sweat pants that are too small and have their rolls hanging out of their clothing. I shouldn't have to see that whenever I go out in public.
Also, I sure as hell don't want to be paying for their health costs because they refused to do anything about their weight. Yes, there are legtimate health problems that make weight control hard or impossible, but easily 85% of the people I had to see over the summer were the size they were because they don't care about their size. The worst was the lady that worked at the same store I did who felt like she had a right to give me shit for my apperance even though she could barely, I mean barely, haul her self to her feet out of a chair.

I agree that a woman who lives in a glass house has some nerve giving you grief about what you look like.

That said, I do not think it is any more reasonable to be pissy that someone else is overweight than it is for someone else to be pissy about purple hair or piercings or tattoos or black clothing or whatever.

Then again, I've never been inside a Wal-Mart and I hear it is scary.

[Mindgames]

That said, I do not think it is any more reasonable to be pissy that someone else is overweight than it is for someone else to be pissy about purple hair or piercings or tattoos or black clothing or whatever.

Ahh but it is - we're not all expected to fund additional healthcare for people with purple hair (apart from those poor victims of the explosion at the Allied Nebraska Cosmetics and Livestock Rendering plant). Personal preference is fine until it imposes on others, just as with music or fashion you have the right to express yourself but not to force everyone in your county to listen to the same tune. Self-imposed poor health, whatever the cause, should go hand-in-hand with acceptance of responsibility for all the costs or restrictions it imposes. I have no problem with someone wanting to be 450lb if they really insist on it, but if it's their choice then they should accept the costs and live with the fact the world isn't built quite the right shape for them. Everyone would think it stupid to campaign for higher doors in public buildings so folks with mohawks don't have to duck, so why not apply the same opinion to plane seats for the gravitationally-enhanced?

Then again, I've never been inside a Wal-Mart and I hear it is scary.

braaaaaaiiinnnnsssss......... uuuuuuuuuhhhhhh..........

[Buster Friendly]

. Self-imposed poor health, whatever the cause, should go hand-in-hand with acceptance of responsibility for all the costs or restrictions it imposes. I have no problem with someone wanting to be 450lb if they really insist on it, but if it's their choice .......

aah, see this is more 'skinny people think'...

do you really think that there are more than a scant handful of individuals who 'choose to' or 'want to' ...and by that i mean, ACTIVELY want to be 450lbs. (who aren't say 8ft. tall?)

folks who have never been more than 20-50lbs. overweight really have no idea what's involved in successfully losing, and keeping off that kind of poundage.

oh, it's a 'lifestyle choice'... just stop eating, or just stop eating 'junk'.

there's no motherfuckin' 3 week magic diet, or pill that will remove 100lbs. off a person's frame, and it's depressingly difficult for most people. got news, that gastric bypass surgery doesn't have a great record for keeping folks at a healthy weight either.

...it takes a shitload of work.

fat people don't get any free pass with me, i fucking can't stand them.

guess what?

i can't stand weakly hollow bird chested sniffling pasty pale sickly skinny folks either.

in fact, fuck you all very much. you two faced baboonass lumps.

when i was fat i had to work 5x as hard as anyone else just to get shit on, and thought of as lazy, when i was skinny i got told i'd be fat again, and dumb motherfuckers thought they could intimidate me because they outweighed me by 3lbs.

shit when i'm skinny i get a never ending constant supply of fucking assholes trying to sabatoge me by offering me doritos, barbeque, and getting all snotty when i wouldn't eat it with them like i was the fuck up. 5 solid years of that shit, then when i finally caved, and got back the weight i was a fucking fatass loser again... this LITERALLY affected my paycheck.

now i'm skinny again (and as my buddy said when i asked him how his army ranger training was going "Telling you how much it sucks, doesn't even begin to compare to how much it sucks, so I'm not going to tell you about it.") and i fucking can't stand any of you assholes.

seriously, skinny people need to shut the fuck up about what fat people should do. you should hear the kind of horseshit advice i was being constantly given... am STILL being given by people who've never had more than 5 extra pounds on their bodies... i ought to get a fucking doctorate in Nutrition just so i can say "Is your name Dr.Skinnyasshole? No? Then Shut the Fuck Up, and quit trying to give me advice."

yeah, as a social issue obesity sucks for healthcare.

ever been denied a job because they didn't want you on their insurance rolls? i shit you not it happens all the time.

and just what the fuck do our genius doctors have to say to a fat person who comes through their doors?

"Oh, you should lose some weight."

REALLY???

They sent you to medical school, just for that... hmm.



man i hate fat people, and skinny people. FTW whoo-hoo...

you're all secretly scared just because you know that when you go to sleep the fat people are going to eat you...

[Buster Friendly]

gee i'm a dumbass...

hey folks, you can go ahead and ignore the above counterproductive rant if you like... or you can laugh at what an idiot i am if that suits you better. sorry.

[One Eyed Cat]

I agree that a woman who lives in a glass house has some nerve giving you grief about what you look like.

That said, I do not think it is any more reasonable to be pissy that someone else is overweight than it is for someone else to be pissy about purple hair or piercings or tattoos or black clothing or whatever.

Then again, I've never been inside a Wal-Mart and I hear it is scary.

Do you believe a private health insurance company should have the right to refuse coverage to the obese? Or to raise their rates in line with what obesity related illness costs us folks who have conditions we could not control? My friends have died of leukemia, of heart disease, and of cancer unrelated to behavioral choices. I have an illness existing since childhood. If the rest of society is unwilling to pick up the burden of the price of the obese, why should we?

JT

[Amelia G]

Do you believe a private health insurance company should have the right to refuse coverage to the obese? Or to raise their rates in line with what obesity related illness costs us folks who have conditions we could not control? My friends have died of leukemia, of heart disease, and of cancer unrelated to behavioral choices. I have an illness existing since childhood. If the rest of society is unwilling to pick up the burden of the price of the obese, why should we?

JT

(1) In the United States, we don't pick up the tab for the obese.

(2) When I need medical care, I pay for it, if I can. If I can't pay for it, I don't get it.

(3) I know firsthand that weight gain can be a side effect of medical problems, rather than the cause of them.

(4) I agree with Buster Friendly. In my experience, a lot of people will try to sabotage any special diet -- whether it is restricted calories or low fat or low carb or vegetarian or high protein or low glycemic index or whatever. I do not know why it makes some people beserk if everyone else does not eat the same way they do, but apparently it does.

(5) I am a productive member of society. I've taken off most of the weight I put on when I had all the problems with my ankle. But not all of it. I wish I had the luxury to just spend time on myself for six months, spend lots of time selecting and preparing food, and working out, and getting really fit again, but I have responsibilities and demands on my time. And different people need to work different amounts for the same gains. That goes for both mind and body. 800 calories a day and an hour of cardio and an hour of weights three times a week with a trainer might get person A totally ripped over the course of a year and knock only a few pounds off person B and it might completely emaciate person C. We are all different.

(6) Because different people's bodies have different needs and different responses and different people have different demands on their time, it is also silly to say that fitness is cheap. It is going to cost in resources -- time, money, dedication. If you substitute time for money, that is still costing a resource.

(7) Should private insurance companies be able to deny coverage to people with low IQ? Stupid people are much more likely to horribly injure themselves than intelligent people. If the genotype for risk-taking gets mapped out, should they be able to be denied for that? Oh yeah, private insurance companies will almost never fully take care of the individuals who pay their salaries, no matter what has been paid in, because they are profit-motivated and not motivated to take care of anyone for anything.