Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Stigma is More Dangerous then the Actual Fat

Sometimes I think the stigma is more dangerous to the health of fat people then the actual fat itself. Looks like a researcher agrees:

"Obesity Problem – Negative Reactions Against Obese People Affect Their Physical Health Says Study"

“Obesity is a physiological issue, but when people have negative interactions in their social world—including a sense of being discriminated against—it can make matters worse and contribute to a person’s declining physical health,” said Markus H. Schafer, the doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study. “We found that around a third of the severely obese people in the United States report facing some form of discriminatory experience, and the experience of weight discrimination plays into people’s own perspective about their weight. It seems that many people are internalizing the prejudice and stigma they feel, and it contributes to stress, which ultimately affects their health.

Maybe if they stopped beating up on fat people mentally, the stress would go down and their health would improve. I see the definition of insanity in full blown action when it comes to obesity, doing the same things OVER AND OVER that have never worked. Like all the campaigns to get the supposedly "lazy" fat kids moving and doing the "push away from the table" drumbeat. The "conspiracy theorist" in me says they are all fattening us up on purpose. Sometimes I believe this more and more watching the total stupidity at play.

Oh one thing I wonder if it takes a toll on the fat, is being told you will drop dead over and over. I am stubborn and believe one reason I am still alive, is because I depend on God to determine how long I will last. The researchers also point out the odd discrepancy, how even though obesity is growing far more vast, the stigma is not being reduced.

2 comments:

  1. I've read enough here to know about your stance on the fat acceptance movement, but I think posts like this prove you're not on opposite sides, even when you disagree with them. All of us are trying to fight against stigma and other forms of discrimination against fat people, and while saying "screw all thin people, fat is always good!" is frequently unhealthy and too extreme, I'm pretty sure it's all a reaction to years and years of stigma and mental abuse on societal and individual levels. Can we all just agree that stuff like this is bad and go from there? You don't have to love being fat to love yourself.

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    1. I agree with you some of that extreme stuff is arising out of the hurt and stigma and abuse of fat people. I can handle being united with reasonable defenses of fat people against discrimination and the like. The idealogues in my opinion hurt the whole size acceptance movement.

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