I’ve been wanting to blog on size acceptance and health for quite a while. I’ll just start by mentioning this study that shows fat discrimination to be (1) bad for everyone, but (2) particularly bad for women. Of course this all makes sense with society’s focus and scrutiny often being on the female body. From the nytimes:
Overall, the study showed that weight discrimination, particularly against women, is as common as racial discrimination. But the researchers also identified the amount of weight gain that triggers a discriminatory backlash. They found that women appear to be at risk for discrimination at far lower weights, relative to their body size, than men.
Discrimination just sucks in general. Because we as a nation are soooo focused on being thin thin thin and shedding pounds and pant sizes, we forget what true health is and instead begin projecting unnatural body size standards on everyone. We end up with all sorts of negative health effects from this –eating disorders, disordered eating, depression, fat discrimination, etc. Fat discrimination is socially acceptable these days and bottom line, no one ever deserves to be discriminated against.
Filed under: discrimination, fat
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I think that what’s particularly dangerous about this particular prejudice is simply that it hasn’t been talked about as a prejudice yet. Identifying an attitude as such is arguably the first step in working against that prejudice, and I just don’t think it’s been given very much prominence at all. In a psychology of prejudice class I took last year, only a few pages of a very big book were spent on this one. Meanwhile, it seems that this prejudice is one that’s very acceptable.
Research has shown that overweight people are often viewed as lazy, unintelligent, weak-willed, morally inferior, unattractive, and unlikable, particularly because being overweight is viewed as something that is completely controllable, and apparently, easy to avoid (according to my psych textbook). These attitudes are even held by parents of overweight persons, particularly those of females–a 1994 study showed that overweight college-aged females are less likely to get financial help from their parents and therefore can have a harder time paying for college. Yikes.
Think about all the sitcoms on tv that feature an overweight woman as a main character. Now think of all the sitcoms that have an overweight male. How about the combination of overweight man with tiny wife?
One of the really disturbing things about fat discrimination is how it leads to a vicious cycle of self-hatred –> overeating –> more self-hatred. Thus, someone who might be overweight (but not unhealthy) might feel depressed, overeat, and then find him/herself in a place where he/she has become unhealthy. Fat discrimination does not encourage healthy habits or positive change–in fact, it does the exact opposite.
Another factor of this cycle is economic. People of size are less likely to be promoted or to receive raises–and having a lifestyle conducive to weight loss costs money. Thus, people who might want to work out in order to feel stronger, lower blood pressure, etc. cannot afford a gym membership, or might not live in a neighborhood that is safe to walk/run in. Also, healthy foods are the most expensive things at grocery stores. (Seriously–getting the recommended number of fresh fruits/veggies a day is wicked expensive.)
I think the best way to encourage health is not by stigmatizing those who have gotten caught up in a culture where people are forced to sit in a tiny cubicle for 9 hours a day and in a car for 2 hours a day and whose bodies reflect that. Instead, we need to make sure that healthy foods are affordable, that workplaces offer employees enough breaks so that they have time to get some activity (and don’t feel dead at the end of a day), and that school and workplace cafeterias have healthy options. Health will follow–perhaps it might mean weight loss as well, but perhaps not. (After all, I know a lot of skinny people whose habits are very unhealthy, and they would benefit from a health-focused program too.)
Did that make sense? I dunno–I’m really tired . . . but this is an interesting topic that I know very little about, and so I want to participate in discussion. Okay–my blathering will cease . . . now.
I’d consider myself a supporter of the fat acceptance movement. If anyone’s unaware of what that is, read this:http://kateharding.net/but-dont-you-realize-fat-is-unhealthy/ It’s a good post to start out with, then read Kate’s other stuff if you’re interested or link over to other fat acceptance blogs from her site.
The main thing I get out of the fat acceptance credo is that fat is not unhealthy in an of itself. Bottom line. Those who are titled overweight or even obese are not always unhealthy. It’s hard to separate those two things in your mind, fat and health, but it’s important if we actually want to be a health-conscious nation. Truly being health-conscious is going to require a serious look at the way we frame health and weight loss. Today, commonly understood is the equation: shedding pounds=getting healthier. While weight loss may be a side effect of increased health, it certainly is not a means to that end. Like Femme mentioned, a lot of skinny people engage in unhealthy activities. We need to separate the activities that make one unhealthy from what we think an unhealthy person looks like. Leading a sedentary lifestyle and eating tons of junk food is unhealthy–FOR PEOPLE OF ALL SIZES. Also, acceptance is key to the ‘fat acceptance’ movement (duh, right?). The idea that every human being should be treated with dignity and respect even if they’re overweight, obese, healthy or unhealthy is central to the movement.