Is People Magazine glorifying obesity or celebrating diversity?

[Anonymous]

With her large tattoos, Tess is committed to an eternal fat lifestyle. Can you imagine what the tats would like if her hyper inflated arms and legs if she lost weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glorifying obesity - seriously? Does anyone actually think that one magazine with an obese person on the cover - among the thousands of magazines with thin people on the covers - is going to make people aspire to obesity? I promise it won't. It won't even make people think that "obesity is OK," although people should think that, actually.

Obesity is not a lifestyle or a behavior or a moral failure, it's a body size. With few exceptions (none that I know of), obese people have suffered for their weight, do not want to look as they do, and have lost weight with varying degrees of success. Yet public debate about obesity assumes that fat people spend all their time binge-eating, don't care about their health or are too stupid to know how to be healthy, and are happy with how they look. Psychological research on willpower shows that it's not actually the magic key to weight loss; fat people do not score lower on self-control. It's very, very complicated biologically. Yes, the calories in < calories out equation is technically correct (absent medical issues), but it's just not that easy 95% of the time. (95%, btw, is the long-term failure rate of attempts to lose weight.)

We all have our struggles and our flaws. Maybe yours is your weight. Maybe it's something else not so good for your health - smoking, drinking too much, abusing prescription meds, driving aggressively, starving yourself, being sexually promiscuous. Maybe it's something not health-related - spending too much money, gossiping, yelling too much, cheating on your spouse, trolling online, generally being a shitty human being.

Anyway, obesity is "OK." It's as OK as any human imperfection. And I don't think that only people who can "pass" for perfect based on physical appearance deserve to be seen in public or celebrated for their accomplishments. No one is obligated to attempt to meet anyone else's definition of beauty. No one is entitled to be shielded from seeing people they consider ugly.

And honestly, if you do believe that people become obese because they've actively chosen a binge-eating, no exercise "lifestyle," so what? It's a free country and I can choose that if I want to. You are certainly free to choose differently and to teach your children differently. Exposure to someone with different values will not change your kids' values, any more than seeing a magazine with the Pope on the cover will make them convert to Catholicism.

Yes! To the whole damn thing!

[Anonymous]

I am a subscriber to People and was shocked that she was on the cover and there was an article inside gloating about her.

I think model thin women on magazine covers is unhealthy. Plus, add all the Photoshopping of their scars, stretch marks, etc. and it can seriously depress anyone who tries to aim for that particular type of beauty. It does not exist.

Yet it is extreme to go to the other side of the spectrum. While I commend "Plus Size" models for their bravery, self-acceptance as well as their lack of shame, I do not see it as a good message for society that they are held up as role models and such.

Plus Size should be considered something temporary, not permanent. Not due to aesthetics, but health in general.

If a woman's waistline exceeds 34'', then that excess belly fat can make her life span less. Other risks: diabetes, cancer, stroke, high blood pressure and heart issues.

So Rebel Wilson and all these actresses shouldn't brag they are fat and proud. How about fat but working on slimming their waistline for a longer life span....??!

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I have the magazine.

Yes, they are glorifying obesity, but what can you expect more and more Americans are. Obesity will be the next thing shoved down our throats for blind acceptance.

She can't be a size 22, I googled size 22 no way. So they are sugar coating all of it. (No pun)

She isn't healthy no one can argue that.


HTF does she do everyday basic human functions comfortably?

Pathetic, I feel pity for her. Obesity should no be encouraged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think skinny to chubby is a good range for public consumption/advertising. This lady is as gross to see as anorexics are.

The reason is, when I see an anorexic I immediately envision what she does to herself to look like that. The same with a morbidly obese person. So it's either vomiting or gorging oneself= bad advertising for anything.

I wish we'd get over shame as victimization.... Like adding " shaming" to anything makes it an official and horrible way of bullying. Just because you aren't into something didn't mean you are seeking to destroy ones psyche.

And I'm going to sound like an oldster (I'm not) but why are we fighting for our rights to not be victims for doing lousy things like being fat or promiscuous?

Because lots of us think that lifestyle choices (being fat, being promiscuous, owning guns, driving an SUV, being a saver or a spender) are just that, choices. I might not agree with yours and you might not agree with mine, but we all make our own decisions.

[Anonymous]

There's a difference between putting normal figure and weight people on magazines and putting clearly obese people there. I absolutely disagree with promoting obese bodies. I also disagree with the perfect people. Why not put normal every day life people with no make up on magazines for a change...THAT would be a message. But nobody wants to see that right? Yeah...

There is also a difference between loving yourself and accepting your body. Accepting your body means leaving it the way it is. That's not what should be promoted for obese people. I can love myself and still know that I am obese and need to lose weight to be healthy. And yes, I am overweight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glorifying obesity - seriously? Does anyone actually think that one magazine with an obese person on the cover - among the thousands of magazines with thin people on the covers - is going to make people aspire to obesity? I promise it won't. It won't even make people think that "obesity is OK," although people should think that, actually.

Obesity is not a lifestyle or a behavior or a moral failure, it's a body size. With few exceptions (none that I know of), obese people have suffered for their weight, do not want to look as they do, and have lost weight with varying degrees of success. Yet public debate about obesity assumes that fat people spend all their time binge-eating, don't care about their health or are too stupid to know how to be healthy, and are happy with how they look. Psychological research on willpower shows that it's not actually the magic key to weight loss; fat people do not score lower on self-control. It's very, very complicated biologically. Yes, the calories in < calories out equation is technically correct (absent medical issues), but it's just not that easy 95% of the time. (95%, btw, is the long-term failure rate of attempts to lose weight.)

We all have our struggles and our flaws. Maybe yours is your weight. Maybe it's something else not so good for your health - smoking, drinking too much, abusing prescription meds, driving aggressively, starving yourself, being sexually promiscuous. Maybe it's something not health-related - spending too much money, gossiping, yelling too much, cheating on your spouse, trolling online, generally being a shitty human being.

Anyway, obesity is "OK." It's as OK as any human imperfection. And I don't think that only people who can "pass" for perfect based on physical appearance deserve to be seen in public or celebrated for their accomplishments. No one is obligated to attempt to meet anyone else's definition of beauty. No one is entitled to be shielded from seeing people they consider ugly.

And honestly, if you do believe that people become obese because they've actively chosen a binge-eating, no exercise "lifestyle," so what? It's a free country and I can choose that if I want to. You are certainly free to choose differently and to teach your children differently. Exposure to someone with different values will not change your kids' values, any more than seeing a magazine with the Pope on the cover will make them convert to Catholicism.

Yes! To the whole damn thing!

YES to this!!!

I am technically obese, but you would probably just call me overweight based on my appearance (BMI of 30.8). I have actively tried to lose weight and I am trying to lose weight right now. For the past 6 weeks, I have tracked every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I do not eat more than 1200 calories a day. I walk at least 20 minutes every day and do 30 minutes on the elliptical 1-2/week in addition.

I have lost a grand total of 3 lbs in those 6 weeks. My thyroid is normal. There is no medical reason why I cannot lose weight. I eat whole grains and very little processed food. I eat out very rarely. My metabolism just sucks.

And I don't need other people telling me that I should be unhappy with my body and that, by my mere existence, I am setting a bad example for other people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between putting normal figure and weight people on magazines and putting clearly obese people there. I absolutely disagree with promoting obese bodies. I also disagree with the perfect people. Why not put normal every day life people with no make up on magazines for a change...THAT would be a message. But nobody wants to see that right? Yeah...

There is also a difference between loving yourself and accepting your body. Accepting your body means leaving it the way it is. That's not what should be promoted for obese people. I can love myself and still know that I am obese and need to lose weight to be healthy. And yes, I am overweight.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glorifying obesity - seriously? Does anyone actually think that one magazine with an obese person on the cover - among the thousands of magazines with thin people on the covers - is going to make people aspire to obesity? I promise it won't. It won't even make people think that "obesity is OK," although people should think that, actually.

Obesity is not a lifestyle or a behavior or a moral failure, it's a body size. With few exceptions (none that I know of), obese people have suffered for their weight, do not want to look as they do, and have lost weight with varying degrees of success. Yet public debate about obesity assumes that fat people spend all their time binge-eating, don't care about their health or are too stupid to know how to be healthy, and are happy with how they look. Psychological research on willpower shows that it's not actually the magic key to weight loss; fat people do not score lower on self-control. It's very, very complicated biologically. Yes, the calories in < calories out equation is technically correct (absent medical issues), but it's just not that easy 95% of the time. (95%, btw, is the long-term failure rate of attempts to lose weight.)

We all have our struggles and our flaws. Maybe yours is your weight. Maybe it's something else not so good for your health - smoking, drinking too much, abusing prescription meds, driving aggressively, starving yourself, being sexually promiscuous. Maybe it's something not health-related - spending too much money, gossiping, yelling too much, cheating on your spouse, trolling online, generally being a shitty human being.

Anyway, obesity is "OK." It's as OK as any human imperfection. And I don't think that only people who can "pass" for perfect based on physical appearance deserve to be seen in public or celebrated for their accomplishments. No one is obligated to attempt to meet anyone else's definition of beauty. No one is entitled to be shielded from seeing people they consider ugly.

And honestly, if you do believe that people become obese because they've actively chosen a binge-eating, no exercise "lifestyle," so what? It's a free country and I can choose that if I want to. You are certainly free to choose differently and to teach your children differently. Exposure to someone with different values will not change your kids' values, any more than seeing a magazine with the Pope on the cover will make them convert to Catholicism.

Yes! To the whole damn thing!

YES to this!!!

I am technically obese, but you would probably just call me overweight based on my appearance (BMI of 30.8). I have actively tried to lose weight and I am trying to lose weight right now. For the past 6 weeks, I have tracked every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I do not eat more than 1200 calories a day. I walk at least 20 minutes every day and do 30 minutes on the elliptical 1-2/week in addition.

I have lost a grand total of 3 lbs in those 6 weeks. My thyroid is normal. There is no medical reason why I cannot lose weight. I eat whole grains and very little processed food. I eat out very rarely. My metabolism just sucks.

And I don't need other people telling me that I should be unhappy with my body and that, by my mere existence, I am setting a bad example for other people.

Cut out carbs and all sugar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glorifying obesity - seriously? Does anyone actually think that one magazine with an obese person on the cover - among the thousands of magazines with thin people on the covers - is going to make people aspire to obesity? I promise it won't. It won't even make people think that "obesity is OK," although people should think that, actually.

Obesity is not a lifestyle or a behavior or a moral failure, it's a body size. With few exceptions (none that I know of), obese people have suffered for their weight, do not want to look as they do, and have lost weight with varying degrees of success. Yet public debate about obesity assumes that fat people spend all their time binge-eating, don't care about their health or are too stupid to know how to be healthy, and are happy with how they look. Psychological research on willpower shows that it's not actually the magic key to weight loss; fat people do not score lower on self-control. It's very, very complicated biologically. Yes, the calories in < calories out equation is technically correct (absent medical issues), but it's just not that easy 95% of the time. (95%, btw, is the long-term failure rate of attempts to lose weight.)

We all have our struggles and our flaws. Maybe yours is your weight. Maybe it's something else not so good for your health - smoking, drinking too much, abusing prescription meds, driving aggressively, starving yourself, being sexually promiscuous. Maybe it's something not health-related - spending too much money, gossiping, yelling too much, cheating on your spouse, trolling online, generally being a shitty human being.

Anyway, obesity is "OK." It's as OK as any human imperfection. And I don't think that only people who can "pass" for perfect based on physical appearance deserve to be seen in public or celebrated for their accomplishments. No one is obligated to attempt to meet anyone else's definition of beauty. No one is entitled to be shielded from seeing people they consider ugly.

And honestly, if you do believe that people become obese because they've actively chosen a binge-eating, no exercise "lifestyle," so what? It's a free country and I can choose that if I want to. You are certainly free to choose differently and to teach your children differently. Exposure to someone with different values will not change your kids' values, any more than seeing a magazine with the Pope on the cover will make them convert to Catholicism.

Yes! To the whole damn thing!

YES to this!!!

I am technically obese, but you would probably just call me overweight based on my appearance (BMI of 30.8). I have actively tried to lose weight and I am trying to lose weight right now. For the past 6 weeks, I have tracked every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I do not eat more than 1200 calories a day. I walk at least 20 minutes every day and do 30 minutes on the elliptical 1-2/week in addition.

I have lost a grand total of 3 lbs in those 6 weeks. My thyroid is normal. There is no medical reason why I cannot lose weight. I eat whole grains and very little processed food. I eat out very rarely. My metabolism just sucks.

And I don't need other people telling me that I should be unhappy with my body and that, by my mere existence, I am setting a bad example for other people.

Cut out carbs and all sugar.

Done it. Did South Beach diet religiously. Did not eat any refined sugar or as much as a piece of fruit for a month. Lost zero pounds. My doctor doesn't know why I can't lose weight. Neither does the nutritionist I worked with, to whom I provided detailed food diaries.

I am a smart, educated person. But people who look at me see someone who they assume just has no willpower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obesity is unhealthy and should not be celebrated, just like any addiction.

+1

[Anonymous]

Who are you people who think that People magazine is a "celebration"? So much drama over a magazine cover. The model got a contract and People thought it was newsworthy. I read the article and didn't see anything about how to pack on the pounds so I can also be a size 22.

Discuss it with your children if you think they are in danger of getting fat by looking at a magazine. They probably shouldn't be looking for role models in People magazine as a rule of thumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glorifying obesity - seriously? Does anyone actually think that one magazine with an obese person on the cover - among the thousands of magazines with thin people on the covers - is going to make people aspire to obesity? I promise it won't. It won't even make people think that "obesity is OK," although people should think that, actually.

Obesity is not a lifestyle or a behavior or a moral failure, it's a body size. With few exceptions (none that I know of), obese people have suffered for their weight, do not want to look as they do, and have lost weight with varying degrees of success. Yet public debate about obesity assumes that fat people spend all their time binge-eating, don't care about their health or are too stupid to know how to be healthy, and are happy with how they look. Psychological research on willpower shows that it's not actually the magic key to weight loss; fat people do not score lower on self-control. It's very, very complicated biologically. Yes, the calories in < calories out equation is technically correct (absent medical issues), but it's just not that easy 95% of the time. (95%, btw, is the long-term failure rate of attempts to lose weight.)

We all have our struggles and our flaws. Maybe yours is your weight. Maybe it's something else not so good for your health - smoking, drinking too much, abusing prescription meds, driving aggressively, starving yourself, being sexually promiscuous. Maybe it's something not health-related - spending too much money, gossiping, yelling too much, cheating on your spouse, trolling online, generally being a shitty human being.

Anyway, obesity is "OK." It's as OK as any human imperfection. And I don't think that only people who can "pass" for perfect based on physical appearance deserve to be seen in public or celebrated for their accomplishments. No one is obligated to attempt to meet anyone else's definition of beauty. No one is entitled to be shielded from seeing people they consider ugly.

And honestly, if you do believe that people become obese because they've actively chosen a binge-eating, no exercise "lifestyle," so what? It's a free country and I can choose that if I want to. You are certainly free to choose differently and to teach your children differently. Exposure to someone with different values will not change your kids' values, any more than seeing a magazine with the Pope on the cover will make them convert to Catholicism.

Yes! To the whole damn thing!

YES to this!!!

I am technically obese, but you would probably just call me overweight based on my appearance (BMI of 30.8). I have actively tried to lose weight and I am trying to lose weight right now. For the past 6 weeks, I have tracked every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I do not eat more than 1200 calories a day. I walk at least 20 minutes every day and do 30 minutes on the elliptical 1-2/week in addition.

I have lost a grand total of 3 lbs in those 6 weeks. My thyroid is normal. There is no medical reason why I cannot lose weight. I eat whole grains and very little processed food. I eat out very rarely. My metabolism just sucks.

And I don't need other people telling me that I should be unhappy with my body and that, by my mere existence, I am setting a bad example for other people.

Cut out carbs and all sugar.

Done it. Did South Beach diet religiously. Did not eat any refined sugar or as much as a piece of fruit for a month. Lost zero pounds. My doctor doesn't know why I can't lose weight. Neither does the nutritionist I worked with, to whom I provided detailed food diaries.

I am a smart, educated person. But people who look at me see someone who they assume just has no willpower.

It's not about what you eat. It's all about how much you eat. Portion control. It's not rocket science. It's willpower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are you people who think that People magazine is a "celebration"? So much drama over a magazine cover. The model got a contract and People thought it was newsworthy. I read the article and didn't see anything about how to pack on the pounds so I can also be a size 22.

Discuss it with your children if you think they are in danger of getting fat by looking at a magazine. They probably shouldn't be looking for role models in People magazine as a rule of thumb.

I agree. She's there because it's news. As a pp said - this isn't Women's Health or Cooking Light. She's a person who is in an unusual situation (getting a modeling contract at her size) and they did a story on it.

So much overthinking.