(rebloggable by request)
This is a very common opinion. It’s a bad interpretation of bad weight loss marketing. A 40 billion dollar weight loss industry is certainly going to try and convince you being fat is the worst thing ever.
It’s not.
In fact, I can think of a million things worse than being fat.
Like having really short arms and an insatiable need to masturbate.
Having fifty nipples… all on your face.
Getting 10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife.
And so on.
Health is very complicated. Being overweight can increase certain health risks… but that is only one variable in a very large health puzzle. It is possible to be fat and healthy. Ernest Borgnine just died at the ripe old age of 95. He was fat all of his life.
My best friend was trim and fit… he died at 24.
Fat people are not any more lazy than skinny people. I have known plenty of useless skinny folks. And I know my father is one of the hardest working people on this planet, despite the extra pounds.
Fat people don’t disregard healthy diets or exercise tips. Many of them try every diet they can find. They get gym memberships. They get workout tapes and gadgets. But despite considerable effort, they are unable to keep the weight off. It is much much much harder for a fat person to lose weight than it is for a skinny person to remain skinny. I believe 2 in 1000 diets are successful. Some fat people have a better chance of being eaten by a shark.
I remember when I was on a very strict diet. I was losing weight. Things were looking up. But the hunger was nearly unbearable. It hurt. It was physically painful. If I ate enough to appease the hunger, I would not lose any weight. In fact, if I messed up even a tiny bit on my diet, I would gain weight back. Have you ever done anything without making any mistakes? Yet skinny folks always say, “They should just eat right and exercise” like it is the easiest thing in the world. It’s like walking up to Sisyphus and saying, “That boulder doesn’t look very heavy.”
All of that said… here is the part where you pissed me off.
“If an obese person is told that they are fat…”
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
OBESE PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE FAT AND DO NOT NEED TO BE TOLD.
Not once will you tell someone they are fat and they will respond, “Holy shit, you’re right!” Telling someone they are fat is shaming. It is bullying. It is never helpful. You are not going to improve their health and you might even make it worse. Being fat might shorten your lifespan, but being depressed will make the years you have really suck.
Ultimately, fat people must solve the health puzzle on their own. People butting into that process are just rude. The body will usually tell you when something is wrong. A trusted doctor can tell you if your weight is an issue and if action should be taken. But even if that person is unable to reach the perfect picture of health… that’s okay. A truly healthy person is incredibly rare. Fat people still have a life to live and they are worthy of seeking contentment. If people stopped being jerks, that would be a lot easier.