Is there a stigma attached to weight?
October 7th, 2008
Hi, Everyone –
A New York Times article last week talked about the growing “fat acceptance movement” and how more attention is being paid to overall health and not just weight. It is definitely true that even a very slim person can be unhealthy, and that a healthy regimen of diet and exercise is key in maintaining overall health, not just weight. However, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject. What do you think about fat acceptance?
Dr. Snyder
Entry Filed under: Eating Healthy, Fitness
2 Comments Add your own
1. Sunday Roundup - Fats, We&hellip | October 12th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
[...] Dr. Snyder asks Is there a stigma attached to weight? [...]
2. Cindy | October 20th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
The movement has its good and bad points. Amongt he good: emphasis is put on health rather than the usual overemphasis on weight loss; people are encouraged to love themselves as they are and to stand up to the haters, of whom there are many.
There certainly is a stigma attached to being fat; having lost over 120 pounds over the past year I can personally attest to being treated differently as a nonfat person than as a fat one. When you are fat, people make nonsensical assumptions about your personality, abilities, moral values, health, and habits, to name a few. I think FA can help give people some tools to deal with the constant barrage of negativity.
What I don’t like about FA and the related Health At Any Size movement is that I feel it is not always realistic about health issues, and like any movement, it has its share of extremists who think that losing weight is some kind of copout or betrayal. I think you can want to make changes to your body without that being interpreted as self hatred.
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