Anyone who is overweight, especially when they are extremely
so, is likely to encounter crude and offensive remarks about their weight.
Overweight individuals are also likely to suffer discrimination in the
workplace as a result of their weight. Dealing with discrimination is just one
thing you have to get used to when society decides that you are too fat.
Unfortunately, it appears that intolerance towards overweight people is
regarded as socially acceptable, regardless of the impact it has on the
individuals concerned.
The media
One of the main proponents of negativity towards overweight people is the media. Whether in newspapers, magazines, films or on television, fat people are generally not taken seriously. Instead, they are portrayed as figures of fun, worthy of derision. There seems to be an obsession with how much celebrities weigh, so that as soon as a celebrity – usually female – gains weight she has obviously ‘let herself go’. When she then loses the weight she looks ‘fabulous’.
The public is left with the impression that the only way to be taken seriously and to be considered attractive is to be slim. The media does not promote the idea that you should accept yourself as you are, but rather that you should aspire to become someone else. Losing weight is clearly the simplest way to transform your body.
The political obsession with obesity
Whenever there is a news report on the issue of obesity, there will always be a politician or health professional to tell you how bad it is. If you’re classed as obese you are at greater risk of developing health problems which could ultimately prove detrimental to society, costing the economy millions and putting too much strain on health services.
It is no wonder people are left with a negative impression of overweight individuals when you’re made to think that being overweight automatically makes you unhealthy. Yet, it is clear that the measures to determine how obese society is becoming are flawed anyway. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is most often used to assess whether you’re overweight or not, but makes no allowances for muscle mass or the fact you may well lead an extremely healthy lifestyle.
Education, upbringing and ideas of what is normal
If you’re raised by a family where everyone is slim and in which you are taught good eating and exercise habits from an early age, weight may never be an issue for you. It can be hard to relate to how overweight individuals feel about their size when you’ve never experienced the same kinds of issues.
At school, you can find yourself picking on the fat kids, simply because your slim friends are. As a youngster, all you want to do is conform, and so you go along with this kind of bullying however you may feel about it. Unfortunately, those children who are picked on because of their weight also want to be able to conform, but are prevented from doing so.
Even though the public is continually told that there is now an obesity epidemic, being overweight is still considered to be somewhat abnormal. Thus, people are much more likely to develop negative attitudes towards overweight individuals than they are slim, healthy, ‘normal’ people.
Conclusion
It can be tough living in a thin person’s world when you’re overweight. Unsympathetic individuals will probably tell you that you could always lose weight, but that can’t erase all the nasty comments that you’ve been subject to in the past which have undermined your confidence and left you with very little self-esteem. In an ideal world, size wouldn’t matter, but as it is there are too many negative attitudes towards overweight individuals to make this situation possible.
The media
One of the main proponents of negativity towards overweight people is the media. Whether in newspapers, magazines, films or on television, fat people are generally not taken seriously. Instead, they are portrayed as figures of fun, worthy of derision. There seems to be an obsession with how much celebrities weigh, so that as soon as a celebrity – usually female – gains weight she has obviously ‘let herself go’. When she then loses the weight she looks ‘fabulous’.
The public is left with the impression that the only way to be taken seriously and to be considered attractive is to be slim. The media does not promote the idea that you should accept yourself as you are, but rather that you should aspire to become someone else. Losing weight is clearly the simplest way to transform your body.
The political obsession with obesity
Whenever there is a news report on the issue of obesity, there will always be a politician or health professional to tell you how bad it is. If you’re classed as obese you are at greater risk of developing health problems which could ultimately prove detrimental to society, costing the economy millions and putting too much strain on health services.
It is no wonder people are left with a negative impression of overweight individuals when you’re made to think that being overweight automatically makes you unhealthy. Yet, it is clear that the measures to determine how obese society is becoming are flawed anyway. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is most often used to assess whether you’re overweight or not, but makes no allowances for muscle mass or the fact you may well lead an extremely healthy lifestyle.
Education, upbringing and ideas of what is normal
If you’re raised by a family where everyone is slim and in which you are taught good eating and exercise habits from an early age, weight may never be an issue for you. It can be hard to relate to how overweight individuals feel about their size when you’ve never experienced the same kinds of issues.
At school, you can find yourself picking on the fat kids, simply because your slim friends are. As a youngster, all you want to do is conform, and so you go along with this kind of bullying however you may feel about it. Unfortunately, those children who are picked on because of their weight also want to be able to conform, but are prevented from doing so.
Even though the public is continually told that there is now an obesity epidemic, being overweight is still considered to be somewhat abnormal. Thus, people are much more likely to develop negative attitudes towards overweight individuals than they are slim, healthy, ‘normal’ people.
Conclusion
It can be tough living in a thin person’s world when you’re overweight. Unsympathetic individuals will probably tell you that you could always lose weight, but that can’t erase all the nasty comments that you’ve been subject to in the past which have undermined your confidence and left you with very little self-esteem. In an ideal world, size wouldn’t matter, but as it is there are too many negative attitudes towards overweight individuals to make this situation possible.
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