Fat shaming…. Shaming fat people…. Shaming them for what exactly? Generally speaking we shame people for bad behaviour in an attempt to make them learn the errors of their ways and correct their behaviour in the future, like naughty school children….or politicians! Now, it is true that in the western world, there is a growing problem of obesity such that there are many scientific experts calling it a ‘ticking time bomb’ and ‘medical emergency’. But I’m not going to go into that in this article, rather I’m going to stick to why ordinary people, not scientists or doctors, are attempting to shame people into losing weight and if this approach is right or wrong. It’s WRONG! And here’s why. A 2017 survey carried out by The Health Survey for England found that 29% of adults are obese and a further 36% are overweight. The full UK report is here. Are we really to believe that 65% of the adult population of England are consciously choosing this? In fact do any sensible adults anywhere actually wish for health problems and potentially a shorter life span? Or is something else at play here, something else to ‘blame’ for the 65%? I strongly believe there is, in fact in my eyes there are two main culprits. The Food Industry The Diet Industry Again, I could go on a long rant covering these two evils but I’m going to stick the main point. I grew up in the 1970’s and 1980’s and I’m sure school kids now are just the same as back then in that the school yard can be a harsh place. Picking on the kids that stood out for various reasons but particularly weight issues. There are many social media campaigns each year to call out bullying in the school yard and school bullying should never be tolerated! Fat shaming is bullying, plain and simple. It isn’t right by kids in a school yard and it isn’t right by adults in society. If bullying the fat kids at school worked then we wouldn’t have the 65% of adults who are overweight or obese because they would have learned their ways in the school yard and corrected them. That’s not how it works! Life is far more complicated than that! Here’s what bullying does
So, tell me, after looking at this list. How is ‘Fat Shaming’ going to help overweight people with their challenges that they didn’t choose upon themselves. Here’s what will work.
People who are happy with their bodies are just fine, happiness in life is not a guarantee and so if you have it then I couldn’t be happier for you. People who are looking to change their bodies and lose weight have a much higher chance of success with the second list than the bullying approach. To anybody thinking that ‘Fat Shaming’ is okay or isn’t a problem, please read this article a second time and hopefully you’ll see that there is another approach. One that can and will achieve success. Please 'like' and 'share'
Feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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