163kg, down to 84kg ±3 now (no longer overweight), knock on wood.
I know all about this. That is why this condescending behavior is so awful.
I know all about this. That is why this condescending behavior is so awful.
(I could also stand to lose several stone.)
- They are both self imposed, chronic problems
- They both induce a myriad of known health issues
- They both are readily solvable using known methods and by building healthy habits over time
It is really imperative that obese people lose weight, in the same way that it's important that smokers stop smoking. You would never say someone is being "smoker shamed" by being told to stop smoking, that they are being "smoker shamed" by being told that their smoking is causing health problems, or that they are being "smoker shamed" by being told that smoking is not that attractive. Why should it be different for obesity?
This difference makes me think that people view obesity as some inherent characteristic of themselves like race or sex. This simply does not have to be the case. I think if people knew how straight forward it was to lose weight by applying validated diet methods over time, there wouldn't be all this nonsense and controversy about "fat shaming".
I was pretty slim until about 23, so my identity was always firmly rooted in a healthy weight range. I never felt defensive over being overweight; sensitive, certainly, but I was also my biggest critic (no pun intended).
Then again, maybe it's something entirely different!
A person who is overweight isn't inherently a "fat person", they're a person that hasn't discovered and applied the methods and systems to be at a normal weight; A person who has no strength isn't inherently a "weak person", they're a person that hasn't discovered and applied the methods to be strong etc.
Once a problem is framed like that, solving it is simply a matter of research and applying known methods. You don't need to change your identity, you just need to change your systems.