So, I posted this on Facebook a while back (I started writing this in June 2013):
I wonder if the increase in childhood obesity has a weak correlation with the programs to reduce bullying?
Originally it was based on a stupid line on an episode of 8 out of 10 cats, a crazy comedy show with Jimmy Carr and a bunch of other comedians. It got me thinking about how there’s strange correlations between so many things and it’s surprising where the data shows how things are linked.
I’ll admit that I commonly joke about many different topics, but this time I was actually being serious and just asking the question. I was accused of fat shaming, which is a new one for me…
Throughout my life I’ve been bullied for being:
- taller
- smarter
- a loner
- related to the school principal
Amongst many other things.
All these things are things that had nothing to do with my own activities - maybe being a loner was a lack of effort - but for the most part it was genetics or luck. It certainly wasn’t my choice to be taller, or who my dad was. I certainly didn’t study to be naturally smarter, if anything it led me in the opposite direction.
A couple of weeks ago I read a fantastic article by Doctor Karen Hitchcock - Fat City : What can stop obesity? It’s just one of many articles written by a professional in the field, explaining some real home truths about overweight people in general.
Barring a statistically insignificant number of cases, being overweight is nothing more than caloric imbalance in the subject’s diet. Eat more than the body requires, it’s going to stay.
I’ll agree wholeheartedly that it’s not easy to be at a healthy weight. I’m at least 20kg overweight, even more if you use the BMI scale. I eat out of habit, because I feel bad, then make terrible choices and I don’t do any real exercise. But I don’t blame anything but myself and my choices.
Fat is beautiful
I believe that a person can be beautiful in spite of being morbidly obese, sure. Beauty’s subjective, but I don’t think anyone should promote being overweight as some kind of acceptable goal.
Fat people can be healthy
No they can’t.
Just like the facts are in on global warming, overpopulation, the shape of the planet and whether you’ll attract more flies with honey or vinegar, science has come to a conclusion; If you’re morbidly obese, you’re going to have a shorter life, more medical complications and a variety of other problems.
The only way to avoid these complications is to not be obese. A very very simple concept that can be terribly difficult to achieve.
I’ve got it easier than some, it’s true. I’m a rich(ish) white guy so I can afford to buy raw ingredients and spend time cooking them after spending more time exercising. I have a tall person’s metabolism - even if it has slowed markedly since I was 30. I haven’t any major medical conditions - other than that whole whiplash thing.
But y’know what? I’ve had to work my ass off to lose weight, I’ve changed my diet markedly, I’ve taken up running and doing push ups and just generally getting out and doing more. The running nearly crippled me, injuring my feet and throwing out my hip joint more than once. Push ups aggravate my whiplash and are incredibly hard for someone with no upper body strength. I’ve taken time off work due to both.
It’s not easy, no one says it is. But it’s a choice, and it might be the best one you make. As I said in the title, I don’t care what you think you know; accept reality and stop finding people who agree with your falsehoods.