Why are People Judged for Being Overweight?

There is no escaping the fact that in the Western world, a slim, athletic body is preferable to one that is carrying too much weight. This is generally the case whether you're male or female, though women seem to have a harder time when they're overweight because there is still more pressure on women to conform to a particular body type than there is on men. Even though it may be true that everyone is judged by the way they look, it is also true that overweight individuals face much more negative judgement and that this can affect their whole life.

This is not an overstatement, because many overweight individuals find themselves being bullied and discriminated in every area of their life due to their size. For some, it starts from an early age, so that they are unable to enjoy school because of the constant taunts about their weight. This affects their confidence and may even contribute to further weight gain, especially if they seek comfort in food. Not everyone's weight problem begins in childhood, but for many this is the case, and they carry their weight issues and low self-esteem with them into adulthood.

Being overweight can therefore shape an individual's choices. There may be some confident overweight people, who can continue to be the life and soul of the party whatever their size, but other people struggle in social situations, worried that they are going to be picked on because of their size. Some overweight individuals therefore withdraw into their shell, too worried what other people think about them. It is one thing to say that you should just ignore negative comments, but it is an entirely different story when you're at the receiving end of them.

The trouble is that if you're overweight you're seen as a legitimate target for abuse, presumably because people have the impression that you have let yourself get into such a state, as they see it, and could easily change yourself if you wanted. The kind of people who judge you for being overweight are generally insensitive and ignorant and may be more interested in making their friends laugh than concerned about how their words could be hurting you.

In the media, overweight people are generally presented in a negative light – as being figures of fun who just sit around eating all day – whilst even serious news stories concentrate on how obesity is putting a strain on the economy and health services. There may be more overweight people than ever before, yet there still seems to be a certain degree of acceptability when it comes to judging and picking on overweight people. It's as though overweight people are less likely to be offended or something. More probably, it is that overweight people are less likely to stand up for themselves, having been subjected to abuse about their size for so many years.

How do Some People Become so Overweight?

It isn't difficult to work out why some people manage to become so overweight, since in most cases weight gain is the result of consuming more calories than the body is able to burn off. There are some exceptions, such as in the case of certain illnesses and medications, but for the majority of overweight individuals it is poor eating and exercise habits that are to blame. However, whilst it is almost understandable how someone could become a few pounds overweight, what about those individuals who end up carrying an extra 100, 150, 200 pounds or more? There surely has to come a point when you realise that you need to lose weight and so why does it takes some people so long to come to this conclusion?

Yet, losing weight isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to do and it takes a lot of dedication and motivation to actually take steps to change things. If you're not in the right frame of mind the chances are you will not succeed on your weight-loss journey. The trouble is that sometimes the motivation is lacking, especially when your family and friends never bother to mention your weight and are maybe even slightly overweight themselves. Plus, food tastes really good and it can be a challenge to restrain yourself when you always feel hungry or you turn to food when you're feeling emotional, and if you don't like exercise you have no way of burning off those extra calories.

Consequently, it is often tempting to just stop stepping on the scales, because, after all, ignorance is bliss. If you don't know how much you weigh, it is not something you have to worry about. You may notice that your clothes are beginning to get a bit tighter, but you can tell yourself that you're not really that heavy. Unfortunately, this is not a solution to the problem and if you don't know what you weigh or how much weight you've been gaining you could continue to pile on the pounds, so that when you finally do have to step on the scales you're in for a shock. Eventually, you could become so heavy that your health begins to suffer and you can no longer ignore your weight.

Clearly, the reason why some people become so overweight is because they've picked up habits that have only become worse over the years. They get so used to eating large portions at meal times and snacking on high-calorie foods that they can no longer remember a time when they did things differently. It is therefore hard to develop a healthier way of thinking about food and exercise in order to lose the weight and so instead of dealing with their weight gain at an earlier stage they may pretend that it is not an issue. There are others who make an effort to tackle their weight, but do so using fad diets that can help them lose a few pounds, but do not enable them to control their weight.

Many people find themselves trapped in a never-ending cycle of eating too much and gaining weight, then going on a diet and losing weight, and so they never get into the habit of weight control. It is far easier to gain weight than to lose it, which is why so many people are struggling with obesity and do not always recognise how bad their weight problem has actually become. Even when there is so much emphasis on losing weight in the media, for many people facing up to the fact they need to lose weight is really hard and losing the extra weight even harder.

Why Being Overweight Can Erode Your Confidence

It is perhaps not being overweight that erodes your confidence, as much as the way people treat you because of your size. When you're overweight it seems that many people believe that you are a legitimate target for abuse and do not hesitate to let you know what they think about 'people like you'. Being told constantly that you're fat and ugly doesn't exactly help your confidence and usually just makes you withdraw into yourself, although some people play up to their fat 'persona', making jokes about themselves before anyone else has a chance to.

These individuals may seem as though they epitomise confidence and self-acceptance, when the reality is often somewhat different. Self-deprecation may be in your nature, but when you're completely defined by your weight it becomes an issue that is increasingly difficult to escape. As far as you're concerned other people think of you as the fat, funny, cuddly one, rather than as an intelligent, attractive, sensual being. You may decide to lose weight, but even then you can struggle to shake-off the fat label, so that after losing weight you still lack confidence.

Even though you know you shouldn't worry what anyone else thinks, since many of them won't know what you're like as a person, anyway, this isn't always easy to do. Humans are social creatures and so you want to fit in with your peers and to be accepted by everyone, something which being overweight can make more difficult. When you're conscious of your size, you may avoid social situations because you're constantly worried that someone is going to make nasty remarks about your size and that the embarrassment and shame will be too overwhelming.

Avoiding the company of others only makes you feel worse, though, because this is when you start to feel lonely and what do you do when you're down and alone? The chances are you eat. Although you might feel better whilst you're eating, you have to stop at some point and then you're just left with feelings of guilt and shame. Plus, you know that bingeing on junk food all the time is only going to make it harder for you to control your weight. All of this only erodes your confidence further, especially if you continue to put on weight.

The heavier you are, the harder it becomes to find clothes that flatter figure; not that you ever really like the way you look, anyway. You hate seeing your reflection in the mirror and having pictures taken of yourself because of your size. You may find it harder to move about, because you get tired and out of breath so easily and even doing everyday, normal things like going to the shops becomes a challenge. Clearly, it is harder to enjoy life as much as you should when your weight is holding you back from doing what you want to do.

Other people's perceptions of you definitely has an impact on your confidence levels, sometimes even contributing to your weight problem. However, there are real downsides to being overweight that also undermine your confidence and make it impossible to live life to the fullest. Sometimes, when your weight has become a significant problem in your life, the only sensible option is to try to lose weight for your own sake. This won't automatically make you more confident, but at least it will be more difficult for people to attack you because of your weight.

Should You Worry About Being Overweight?

Being overweight increases the risk of certain health problems and so it is understandable why you may be worried that you're carrying a few extra pounds. However, there isn't much point spending all your time worrying about being overweight when this will do nothing to alter the situation. If your weight is bothering you, then clearly you have to take steps to lose weight. Although losing weight can be difficult, at least you will know that by shedding the excess pounds your health prospects will improve and you can get on with living your life.

It is easy to lose perspective over the issue of weight, because whenever you open a newspaper or go to a news website you will encounter a story about how obesity is destroying people's health; public health services; the economy and the country! Being a few pounds overweight is not the end of the world, but in a society obsessed with the issue of weight you can end up obsessing about it. This is usually counterproductive, though, because you spend more time worrying about your weight and less time focusing on what can be done to change things.

Indeed, if you're feeling down about your weight, it may be food that you use to comfort yourself. Obviously, this is only going to lead to more problems, since you can't continually eat whatever you feel like without expecting to pay the price. If you binge on junk food on a regular basis, you will consume more calories than your body can burn so that you end up gaining weight. Thus, you could find yourself with a real weight problem that is actually worth worrying about. If you're a hundred pounds overweight then you have a legitimate reason to worry about your weight.

If, on the other hand, you're only just overweight you shouldn't worry too much about your weight, particularly when this may leave you feeling miserable and more inclined to make poor decisions when it comes to your diet. Instead, you should focus on doing something about your weight, so that it doesn't become a problem. It is obviously going to be easier to motivate yourself to lose weight when the goal posts aren't that far away.

At the end of the day, it is a good idea to be proactive and take steps to lose weight if you feel that it could become a problem. What you don't want to do is worry about your weight needlessly when it may not even be that much of an issue. Although being overweight can lead to health problems, it doesn't automatically mean you're going to experience those problems. That is why you should focus on living a healthier life by eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly, so that, hopefully, controlling your weight won't be so difficult and you won't ever need to worry about it again.

Why Being Overweight Can Raise Self-Esteem Issues

Self-esteem is important because it is how you feel about yourself that affects your well-being and the ways in which you interact with other people. Unfortunately, your self-esteem can take a battering when you’re overweight because there are many people who believe that being overweight makes you a target for abuse. If you were overweight as a child, the bullying and taunts often start from there, and so you grow up not liking the way you look and obsessing about your weight. It doesn’t stop when you grow up, either, though, and so you continue to be negative about yourself.


Being bullied as a child
With a significant proportion of the population considered to be overweight or obese, being fat is apparently becoming normalised. However, it is easy to dispute this assertion when so many overweight children suffer at the hands of bullies. Children have a tendency to gang up on anyone who is perceived to have a ‘weakness’, as it stops them from being bullied. There is no consideration of how overweight children actually feel inside or the implications of such abuse for individuals’ self-esteem as they get older.

Living in a fat-phobic society
Obesity is one of the most pressing public health issues throughout the developed world and so media coverage of the issue of obesity and of obese individuals tends to be negative. On the one hand, fat people are portrayed as posing a threat to society because they are costing the economy billions, while on the other hand they are generally seen as figures of fun, often being poked fun at because of their weight. When you’re overweight and confronted with the idea that obesity is completely bad, it’s no wonder if your self-esteem suffers and you become even more self-critical.

Images of impossibly thin people
Alongside the negative associations with obesity, overweight individuals have to contend with attractive, slim individuals on their television screens and in magazines. Every inch a model or actor gains or loses is documented and ordinary men and women find themselves comparing their bodies to those of individuals who are paid to keep in shape and look good. They beat themselves up for failing to be perfect, even though there is no such thing and, unsurprisingly, their constant exposure to such images does their self-esteem no favours.

Conclusion
It is evident that being overweight can definitely raise self-esteem issues for people when this is a society that is preoccupied with the issue of weight. Unfortunately, when you suffer from low self-esteem it seems to make tackling your weight even harder to do because you don’t believe in yourself enough to bother trying to do anything about it.

Should Children Watch Less Television?

It certainly seems that professionals within the medical field believe that children should be encouraged to watch less television, especially if they are overweight. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidelines for health workers to tackle children's sedentary lifestyles through their parents. Clearly, it is parents' repsonsibility to ensure their children are doing enough exercise, but often children spend too much time watching television and not enough time outdoors keeping active, which makes it harder for them to maintain a healthy weight.

Doctors and other medical professionals can only do so much, no matter how supportive they are. They can suggest that children keep track of how much exercise they're doing and encourage parents to walk with their children to school, instead of driving them, but ultimately, it is up to the indviduals concerned to recognise what the problem is and to tackle it.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2473093/Overweight-children-watch-TV-Health-watchdog-urges-parents-cut-screen-time.html