Fat People's View on Skinny

[takandjive]

Thin people with quick metabolisms can get away with scarfing down burgers and fries.
and it doesn't matter, children that fat should not be eating McDonald's period. I blame this one on their parents (who are probably also morbidly obese).

I'm of the school of thought that NO ONE should eat Mickey D's, but everyone's got to splurge a little. Not having any joy in eating tends to cause binge eating.

Why does it have to be 'very, very'? One could be just 30 lbs overweight and be a health risk.

There's some evidence SLIGHTLY overweight people live longer. Myself? I'm pissed my BMI is almost 20. But my standards shouldn't necessarily be someone else's.

 

[Orleander]

why would anyone blame a kid for being fat?? Do people seriously think they had their own money, drove themselves there and ordered the food?

Those kids are fat because their parents made them fat. Their parents didn't order them a kids meal, those boys got a supersized adult meal.

My kids are slim because they walk/ride their bikes everywhere. They also quit eating when they are full instead of cleaning their plate (as I was raised) even after they are full.
My daughter gets crap from chubby friends that she is too skinny and it pisses me off. But 6 out of 10 of her friends are overweight. Quite overweight. So they are just trying to make themselves feel better by picking on the minority.

 

[takandjive]

Exactly, Orleander. The way we're raised hugely impacts the way we eat. Making fun of a child for their weight, either way, is callous.

 

[mikenostic]

Exactly, Orleander. The way we're raised hugely impacts the way we eat. Making fun of a child for their weight, either way, is callous.

I don't want to make fun of those kids, as like I've mentioned, it's not entirely their fault that they are like that. I actually feel bad for them.
What I'd like to do is walk up to their 'rents and bitchslap some sense into them.

 

[Orleander]

...Why should I feel bad about making fun of them if they are happy the way they are?

why would you make fun of them at all? :shrug:
why would you care so much if a stranger is fat?

 

[Orleander]

I don't want to make fun of those kids, as like I've mentioned, it's not entirely their fault that they are like that. I actually feel bad for them.
What I'd like to do is walk up to their 'rents and bitchslap some sense into them.

and when those children grow up to be obese?
To me its as if the parent put booze in their bottles/sippy cup and then people judge them for growing up to be alcoholics.

 

[takandjive]

I don't want to make fun of those kids, as like I've mentioned, it's not entirely their fault that they are like that. I actually feel bad for them.
What I'd like to do is walk up to their 'rents and bitchslap some sense into them.

It's not even a little bit a small child's faults s/he's fat.

 

[mikenostic]

why would you make fun of them at all? :shrug:

I'm pretty sure Roman covered that earlier in this thread.

 

[Orleander]

I'm pretty sure Roman covered that earlier in this thread.

I didn't ask for why he would do it. Why do you feel the need to do it?

 

[Enmos]

Overweight is a misleading term. I weigh about 165 lbs right now. I could theoretically go to the gym for the next year, put on 35 lbs of solid muscle and weigh 200 lbs. By my height standards, I'd be overweight then.

So it's even less than 2/3 then ?

 

[Bells]

Yes we can.

Now let's say we have a fat person who is fat because he/she is lazy. They don't care if they are fat and are perfectly happy being fat...
Why should I feel bad about making fun of them if they are happy the way they are?

Why do you need to make fun of them at all?

Why this need to try to make someone unhappy by humiliating or making fun of them?

 

[Roman]

Why do you need to make fun of them at all?

Why this need to try to make someone unhappy by humiliating or making fun of them?

Who said anything about needs?

 

[Bells]

Who said anything about needs?

I did.

I was questioning his apparent need (gleaned from the manner in which he worded the comments that I quoted) to make fun of overweight people.

The question remains. Why do we need to make fun of fat people? Or skinny people? Or anyone for that matter because of how they look or how much they weigh?

---------------------------------------------------

Would you call that child obese? Or even fat? She was 10 month old when that photo was taken and she was well within her healthy weight range. Her doctors all think that she is healthy and in no way fat or even close to being overweight. But her mother was placed in a position of having to remove her from her daycare centre because the staff there referred to her as "fat and obese", and she was concerned they would start to withhold her food in their bid to get her to lose weight. Knowing the day care centre chain involved, it wouldn't be surprised if they did try to withhold her food because of their own perceptions.

The Dandenong North mum said she was stunned when her four-year-old son, Lucca, told her staff at the childcare centre called his baby sister a "fat beast".

When she complained, a staff member explained Lucca had got it wrong - the words used were "fat and obese".

There is this perception that everyone must be skinny to be healthy. It's wrong. My father is skinny and has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I have a friend who is over-weight and he has absolutely normal cholesterol and blood pressure.

 

[Roman]

I did.

I was questioning his apparent need (gleaned from the manner in which he worded the comments that I quoted) to make fun of overweight people.

The question remains. Why do we need to make fun of fat people? Or skinny people? Or anyone for that matter because of how they look or how much they weigh?

---------------------------------------------------

Would you call that child obese? Or even fat? She was 10 month old when that photo was taken and she was well within her healthy weight range. Her doctors all think that she is healthy and in no way fat or even close to being overweight. But her mother was placed in a position of having to remove her from her daycare centre because the staff there referred to her as "fat and obese", and she was concerned they would start to withhold her food in their bid to get her to lose weight. Knowing the day care centre chain involved, it wouldn't be surprised if they did try to withhold her food because of their own perceptions.



There is this perception that everyone must be skinny to be healthy. It's wrong. My father is skinny and has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I have a friend who is over-weight and he has absolutely normal cholesterol and blood pressure.

Blah blah blah.

I bet you've got a huge ass, huh Bells?

Why do you need chocolate?
Or french fries?

 

[Bells]

Blah blah blah.

I bet you've got a huge ass, huh Bells?

Why do you need chocolate?
Or french fries?

Yep. Of course it is.

Good comeback there Roman. Can always count on you to go the way most puerile.

I don't need chocolate or french fries. Why would I "need" to?

I'll change the question since you seem to have such issues with the word "need".

Why do people want to make fun of others for their weight?

 

[Roman]

Why would I "need" to?

Right. Why would you "need" to?
To characterize Mike's tendency to mock others as a need is to use a fallacious argument.

Here's your argument:
Bells: Why do you need to do this?
Mike: Well I don't need to.
Bells: Then why do you do it? Don't do it if you don't need to.

There are plenty of things we do that we don't NEED to do.

Why do people want to make fun of others for their weight?

My hypothesis.

 

[Bells]

Right. Why would you "need" to?
To characterize Mike's tendency to mock others as a need is to use a fallacious argument.

Here's your argument:
Bells: Why do you need to do this?
Mike: Well I don't need to.
Bells: Then why do you do it? Don't do it if you don't need to.

There are plenty of things we do that we don't NEED to do.



My hypothesis.

How does it benefit the whole?

Why does it bring happiness? Does humiliating and making fun of someone because of their weight bring happiness to the whole? Does it maximise everyone's happiness?

Bentham is probably turning in his grave.

 

[Roman]

How does it benefit the whole?

I would have linked utilitarianism if it was at all relevant.

I would have linked:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_maximization_problem

But most people see math and glaze over.

 

[Roman]

Here's another one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_Modelling

 

[Randwolf]

I am right now truly deeply happy...well not fully.

Truly, deeply happy, but not fully? Maybe you need to get more in touch with your inner-self, Draqon, there seems to be some disagreement amongst your personalities at the moment...

I'm not saying I particularly like the sight of an obese woman, but who I'm I to judge them ?
I never understood why some people feel the urge to insult and humiliate people that are somehow outside the norm.

Exactly, Enmos. Personally, I am somewhat repulsed by the sight of morbidly obese people, especially if they "accent" their weight - such as the women in the 'bikini photo'. On the other hand, I am not here to judge them. Also, I highly doubt that most (if any) obese people choose this for themselves. If they had a magic wand, I am quite confident that they would slim down, but many factors enter into clinical morbid obesity. If it were a simple matter of "will power", I think most overweight people would conquer the issue simply to avoid the abuse society dumps on them. This is clearly not the case - weight loss "schemes" and related products continue to generate huge profits.

Obese people, for the most part, do not desire to be overweight. Apparently, conventional dieting and exercise simply don't do the job. Why? I don't know. Genetics, lifestyle, hormonal imbalances, etc. probably all play a part. While I would not deliberately offend someone because of their weight, I have to admit that I would discount certain types of relationships with the grossly overweight. This may be unfair, but I am human. So, for example, sex with any of the women in that bikini picture would be out of the question - quite simply, little willy wouldn't cooperate.

I do believe society in general discriminates beyond basic sexual preferences. Prejudice in areas such as employment, friendship or even simple courtesy is patently unfair. In short, it is just sad, and says much about mankind's juvenile behavior...

Not in the U.S., where 2/3 people are clinically obese.

Where did you get that ratio, Mike? Granted, obesity is definitely a large problem in the U.S., (pun intended) but your percentages are way off:

Source for quotes:
Obesity rates vary with ethnicity in the United States
Summarized by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
5/23/2008

From 1960 to 2000, the proportion of the US population classed as obese went up from 11 percent to 28 percent among men and from 16 percent to 34 percent among women

Even if you expand this definition from "obese"to "overweight" you only hit 66% amongst some minority groups, not all Americans in general:

As many as 75 percent of African American, Hispanic and white men were either overweight or obese. And more than 60 percent of white women fell into this category. But only a third of the Chinese Americans were overweight. The researchers say that overall, more than 50 percent of African American women, 40 percent of Hispanic women, 30 percent of African American and Hispanic men and 30 percent of white men and women could be classed as obese. But only five percent of Chinese Americans are obese.

In conclusion, there is a world of difference between "pleasingly plump" and morbidly obese. The former may be a matter of choice and still within the sphere of "healthy", while the latter is a clinical problem deserving compassion, research and treatment.