37
Has the US reached “peak obesity”?
(bigthink.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
37 points (91.1% liked)
United States | News & Politics
2003 readers
1304 users here now
Welcome to !usa@midwest.social, where you can share and converse about the different things happening all over/about the United States.
If you’re interested in participating, please subscribe.
Rules
Be respectful and civil. No racism/bigotry/hateful speech.
Post anything related to the United States.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Fatty, fatty 2X4, can't fit through the kitchen door...
That and a similar gems used to be chanted at the big kids when I was young and being big was an abnormal state.
I've mentioned before to my kids that it almost seems antiquated that a 'quarter pounder' used to be the big burger.
I'm 6'3" and float around in the 230-240 space and try to stay no bigger than that. Back when the Simpsons first started that was considered comically obese. Now it's just 'dad bod'.
So much of it is an overcorrection in the name of not hurting the feelings of fat people to the point where now not only have we stopped outwardly shaming them but we've started taking big/curvy as being natural and all-american.
As a kid who grew up fat, the taunting didn't help at all.
So did one of my daughters. It may not have been helpful in itself but think of t as a reflection of the prevailing attitudes. That being overweight is unhealthy and should be remedied. People go to great lengths today to justify and even glamorize being obese and it's frustrating as can be.
I think the problem is that so much of our self-worth is wrapped up in being physically attractive. People want to feel desirable, and feeling ugly or unwanted is a killer on your self esteem. It also disproportionately affects women, as a man's value isn't necessarily tied to his physical beauty.
If we treated obesity as a health problem, and not a beauty defect, then it would be like heart disease or eyesight. You have a daughter, so you're probably old enough to remember when wearing glasses was considered ugly and unattractive. People would rather walk around unable to see than put on their spectacles, and contact lenses became a must-have fashion accessory.
If not for the shared social trauma of fat-shaming, there would be no need for the overcorrection. People come in all shapes and sizes, and health is a relative term. Helping people get healthy is an act of medical care, not social control. It should be treated like any other condition, without judgement or stigma.
I'm going to agree with most everything here, though guys have their own critiques to deal with. Short, bald, and pudgy or scrawny muscles take a fair bit of confidence to overcome. Some compensate in more or less healthy ways depending on their own persona.
The way we deal with it as a society is a tougher question. Kids don't deal in nuance so well so trying to frame it as a health thing is hard to do without perpetuating old stereotypes. Telling them that it's wrong to bully someone but that being sedentary and out of shape is not good at the same time takes a lot of balancing. With the current culture of body positivity and health-at-every-size it can leave people scared to suggest that someone take up some sports or eat healthy for fear of being labeled as fat phobic.
Somewhat ironic additional note, I just recently joined the ranks of the spectacled. Not delayed out of vanity but out of lack of need up until now, but yes I do remember the era of 4-eyes being a thing.
That's fair, but short and bald are not health issues. And kids should be encouraged to exercise regardless of their size. A skinny kid who plays video games all day isn't living a healthy lifestyle, either. Health at every size is about setting attainable standards. The overweight kids can't climb the rope or fit into a bikini. As a society, we need to encourage healthy diet and exercise, not body shape and appearance. Kids understand that, because they haven't learned to equate sex appeal and self-value yet. It's the adults that have a hard time with it. That association is learned, and we're all better off if we don't learn it.