Fat activists protest diet industry

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 3:35am

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/02/fat.activism.ap/index.html

Interesting issue.

I know that some people have health reasons for their weight. I know that some people will never be able to be thin--it's just not the body God gave them. I know that even if someone is heavy, obese, or morbidly obese, it isn't MY place or anyone's to make fun of them or treat them with disrespect.

However, I know that most people do not have an excuse for their weight. That most Americans eat crap and way too much of it. That most Americans are not active in the least. I do not think it is a bad thing for society to say that poor eating habits and lack of activity are bad. I know that I was heavy because of these very things. And, our grandparents' generation wasn't this heavy.

An example: I get people all the time who complain that a particularly theatre's seats are too small. The lobby is too small. Or, that there are too many stairs--how dare there not be an elevator??!! Well, the theatre was built when people didn't have these problems.

So, where do we go from here on this issue?

Posted: 8/3/04 at 3:45am

I'm not sure what to make of the thought that 'fatness is a natural human characteristic.' I guess it is if what you find natural is the complete proliferation of junk food and a sedentary lifestyle.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 5:35am

Dismayed that Medicare has finally classified obesity as a disease??? Oh, please. I'm all for people having self-esteem, but my guess is, that when push comes to shove, not many of the activists will refuse coverage of their medical tests and bills by Medicare or other insurance when obesity is the qualifying diagnosis that permits payment.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 8:40am

Fat activists?? PUH-LEEEEEZE.

Treat all people with respect but let's be real about our health.

It's all cool with me if someone wants to avoid exercise in favor of cramming their face full of crap and washing it down with a Diet Coke (NO ICE!). It's cool with me as long as they don't end up oozing their blubber over my armrest to my space on the plane.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 8:54am

Did I read it right that they are getting upset that an airline makes them pay for two seats if they are too big to fit into just one? Now, I am not the skinniest person around, but I am siding with the airline on this one.

[mominator]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 9:01am

Amen Zola and popculture!

[Plum]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 9:27am

Look- there are "overweight" people who are perfectly healthy and at their ideal weight. But at the point when you take up two airline seats, I think there's a problem. In some cases, it might be not entirely the person's fault- they might have hypothyroidism, for instance- but it's not good for anyone.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 9:29am

If you have a proven medical condition that causes you to be the size of a house on 1000 calories a day, then it's a whole different matter, and if you can prove said condition, you'd probably find airlines a titch more accommodating. But if you take up two seats because you've eaten your way to being as wide as you are tall, then it's nobody's problem except your own.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 9:34am

As someone who enjoys eating crap and LOVES diet coke (ice, please!), I also side with the airlines. Yes, I could stand some more exercise and to cut down a bit - I could stand to lose a few, no question. However, my weight is my problem. If it ever got to the point where it inconvenienced others, then I would have to pay for it, and not expect others to accommodate me.
The majority of overweight people are in that position because they put themselves there. The people who are overweight for medical reasons are few and far between.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 9:57am

i am ashamed of all of you people. this is a civil rights case pure and simple. these poor people are being discriminated against because of a medical condition. a disease recognized and codefied by the ama and the nih. to callously discriminate againts these larger americans is no different than separate water fountains and keeping marriage as the privilege of heterosexuals. would you support discrimination against those born with mental problems? would you support discrimination against those born with the wrong genetalia for their true gender? i put it to you people, isn't his an indictment of all those who are different? i am shocked, shocked and amazed to see so many who argue for equal rights for all citizens so quick to denigrate those among us who are differently abled with the curse of obesity. for shame.

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:01am

papa - you don't think that the 'codification' has anything to do with the pharmaceutical or insurance industries, do you?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:02am

shhhh, d, this is the whale support thread, don't confuse the issue with reality, dammit.

Updated On: 8/3/04 at 10:02 AM

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:02am

Oh shut UP. You are not born with the curse of obseity. It's not a case of discrimination. Very very very very VERY few of the people who are morbidly obese can claim they are that way through no fault of their own, and for those few it's a different matter, like I said in my previous post. For people who got to the morbidly obese stage through laziness and overeating, well stop blaming everyone else, stop eating and start exercising. It worked for me.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:03am

I have to agree about the airline seats....I was once crammed against the window of the airplane by a VERY overweight passenger. Fortunately, there happened to be one...just one...empty seat left on the plaine which I was able to use.

Suffering from back trouble, I shutter to imagine what my back would have felt like after being tourqued for several hours.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:10am

Papa, some of your sarcasm just dripped on me. I licked it off and it tasted good. Maybe I'll order a whole pint!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:11am

hmmm, now why does that sound familiar to me?

they're lazy and if they would just take responsibility of their lives they would be able to change them. why should we have to pay for and suffer for things that they could fix themselves if they would just get up off their lazy butts and do something, huh?

i mean please, this is a natural consequence of the utter embrace of the abdication of responsibility for anything at all levels of our society (and yes, boys before you freak, gw should have said something sooner about the poor post war planning at the very least). but for years now, activists have been finding someone else to blame for every ill that befalls a person, so why should it not have followed it's logical course and include obesity? could not food be just as potent an addiction as drugs or liquor? and let's look at the science, they have found the "fat" gene, so why do we fight the progress of these medical breakthrus?

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:12am

Nice rant, papa, but you missed the point. The activists are saying that obesity is NOT a medical condition. They appear to be taking exception with obesity being accepted as a medical diagnosis which impacts on what tests and procedures are covered. Call me crazy, but this seem a lot like shooting yourself in the foot. Now, I'm the first (or at least the second) in line to agree that people should be judged on substance, not form. And I think it's terrific that someone who looks aberrant to the accepted cultural standards of looks still feels good about him/herself. But, in most cases, people also have to accept responsiblity for their "state of being". To be sure, there are many acceptions where medical conditions and/or medications make it difficult, if not impossible, to lose weight(...I'm thinking of some of the immunosuppressive drugs, prednisone, things like that...), but *these* aren't the people who are arguing that obesity is not a health issue. Bottom line: the majority of people packing extra pounds do so because of things which are ultimately a choice issue...food choices and exercise. In my case, my unwanted pounds may be directly attributed to chocolate, in many forms, and the Dunkin'Donuts" seasonal special, the very fabulous Lemon Burst donut.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:13am

Oh hell Z, order a gallon. You need to put on a few pounds.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:16am

Actually I don't, SOMMS. According to the official US guidelines, I'm overweight. My bodyfat levels are really low, but muscle is heavier than fat, so that puts me in the fatty-fatty-bo-batty category. Waist size = 30 and I'm overweight. Go figure.

By the way, I went to get a pint of the best stuff, but Star Jones was there and bought out the place.

Updated On: 8/3/04 at 10:16 AM

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:18am

So that's what happened to MMS

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:18am

good lord, flit, you can't blame them for their warped thinking! all that fat clouds the logic circuits of the brain! which is the fault of mcdonald's and the other members of the fast food industrial complex. you should watch super size me and you'd understand the peril in which our society finds itself in its war against the corporations.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:19am

Zola, according to the US Body Mass Index charts, you're actually normal weight, so that might be the best one to go by.

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:19am

papa - Slight disagreement on the addictive qualities of food. While alcohol and drugs have proven chemical addictive qualities, food I see as purely psychological. Bit of a difference to me.

But I absolutely agree about the 'natural progression of things' in a society that has abandoned personal resposibility.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:20am

I'm heading out to Krispy Kreme. Can I get anyone anything?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:20am

Wasn't there some guy who sued McDonalds because it made him fat?