It’s normalized in the US to be fat. All the people around are fat too, so they are rarely shaming. You’ll fit right in.
If you’re the only fat one in the group (like when you go to most of Asia) they usually make sure you know - repeatedly - that you’re the fat one. It’s a pretty big incentive to not be that one.
If everyone else is fat too, then why bother (aside from the million health and happiness reasons)
Could also be the enshittification of our food and culture including:
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Demonization of “fat” in foods leading to “fat free” foods being considered healthy when fats are actually good and necessary in the diet which leads to over consumption. (Don’t get me started on the sugar and corn lobby)
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Hyper processed food removing micronutrients necessary for our brains to tell us we’re full.
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Hyper processed foods being cheaper than whole foods
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Hyper processed foods being super addictive and unwilling at the same time.
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Food deserts making fast food and convenience store food the only easily accessible food in many areas.
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The lack of knowledge/skills with respect to home cooking and the deemphasis of “home economics” type knowledge in general…
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The lack of free time required to both cook and pass on those skills
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The growing understanding of how perfluorinated materials (PFA, PFOA, PTFE) fuck with our body chemistry including contributing to obesity. Don’t get me started on how much companies like DuPont hid and lied about that stuff (and still are).
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Sedentary lifestyle…
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There’s more but I hope you get the point
Basically what I’m saying is people were fat before “fat shaming” was looked down upon and late stage capitalism is frequently pulling the levers behind the curtain in many areas including this. You’re also talking about “fixing” the outcome instead of preventing the cause which is several orders of magnitude more difficult. The US has abundant wealth but that hasnt specifically translated to better health outcomes. And do you really think middle schoolers have evolved to the point where they don’t bully fat kids? There are very few obese people (both children and adults) out there who don’t feel shitty about how they look regardless of who tells them they should feel that way.
The point of trying to inhibit fat shaming and bullying of all kinds is so people don’t become reclusive and anti-social, pick up bad habits (such as drug addiction and eating disorders), kill themselves, decide to kill others in mass shootings and the like. Also, just don’t be a cunt and make fun of people.
Demonization of “fat” in foods
Yeah, this is the worst. When someone asks for dieting advice, I recommend high fat and high fiber, because both will help you feel fuller on the same amount of calories.
Hyper processed foods being cheaper than whole foods
I don’t think that’s actually true. It does seem to be true for restaurants and packaged foods, but cooking is almost always cheaper than buying the equivalent product in a highly processed form. The problem is that people seem to want easy, fast solutions, and buying something is easier than cooking.
Which gets into…
Sedentary lifestyle…
This is the real killer. We seem to put way too much emphasis on sedentary activities and time saving instead of doing the things that our bodies were designed for. We drive to work to sit on a chair, and then we eat already prepared food in front of a TV or desk to play games or watch something. There’s almost no walking anymore, much less running.
Consider replacing sedentary activities with enjoyable, active ones, such as:
- cycling instead of driving to do errands - maybe work is too far, but most live within a couple miles of a grocery store, library, or some other destination
- instead of watching TV, consider listening to an audiobook while walking/jogging/working out
- consider a standing desk for work/play; at the very least, get one that’s configurable so you can alternate
I beat my primary fat shamer so badly I caused a TBI. Spent a week in jail and some time out of school. Upon my return, no one had a negative thing to say about me, let alone my weight. Since I was no longer stressed worrying about bullies, I started doing more activities, making friends, etc. lost a bunch of weight. No diet change.
Beat the fuck out of bullies.
Congratulations, and I appreciate the fairytale style moral of the story.
Nothing fairy tail about it. I had a record and was on years of probation because I did a lot more damage than I thought I did. It was actually a very painful part of my life that had nothing to do with my weight and everything to do with an abusive family on top of dealing with bullies. People who fat shame would find something else to shame people for if no one was overweight. They’re just little bullies who want to justify being shitty people. I took one out, but nearly became one in return.
It’s a public heath crisis that’s being completely ignored.
We have an abundance of energy dense processed foods that we use inactive transport to purchase in bulk that we then overconsume and waste vast amounts while plenty of people go hungry in a daily basis.
The result is that we have health systems at breaking point (especially socialised healthcare systems outside the US) with an increasing dependence on pharmaceutical or surgical solutions to deal with the symptoms but never the root cause.
In my area specifically only 32% of the population isn’t considered overweight or obese. It’s very depressing.
I thought my area was different, but then I checked the data and we’re not too far off the median. The CDC states something like 30% of my state (Utah) is obese, which is quite surprising given how outdoorsy we are generally in this state.
I don’t know the solution here, other than not becoming obese myself. I personally am right at the border between normal and overweight, and I’m trying to drop a bit to stay on the healthier end of the spectrum. What’s odd is that most people call me “skinny” or “thin,” when I’m actually almost overweight.