Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess what bothers me about your posts, esp. the second one, OP, is that you seem to view fatness and fat people as entirely self-willed -- as if they just sit down to unhealthy food 3 times a day because they want to be obese, having made that decision. ing fat people alone.

Not OP, but most overweight people do have some say over their size. If they're not choosing healthy food and exercise, that is a matter of will or, if they're a very small child, *maybe* not knowing better. Most people do not have medical conditions or special circumstances making them fat.

DUH.

Eating junk food is a matter of will. Gaining weight from eating junk food, and losing weight when you are obese, are highly complicated matters of metabolism, genetics, access to healthy foods, luck, and a whole range of other factors. And losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is hard.

Not that complicated really. Barring some serious medical issues it's a matter of calories in and out.

Wrong. It is not simply a matter of how many calories you consume and burn. It has more to do with the "kind" of calories you are getting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess what bothers me about your posts, esp. the second one, OP, is that you seem to view fatness and fat people as entirely self-willed -- as if they just sit down to unhealthy food 3 times a day because they want to be obese, having made that decision. ing fat people alone.

Not OP, but most overweight people do have some say over their size. If they're not choosing healthy food and exercise, that is a matter of will or, if they're a very small child, *maybe* not knowing better. Most people do not have medical conditions or special circumstances making them fat.

DUH.

Eating junk food is a matter of will. Gaining weight from eating junk food, and losing weight when you are obese, are highly complicated matters of metabolism, genetics, access to healthy foods, luck, and a whole range of other factors. And losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is hard.

Not that complicated really. Barring some serious medical issues it's a matter of calories in and out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess what bothers me about your posts, esp. the second one, OP, is that you seem to view fatness and fat people as entirely self-willed -- as if they just sit down to unhealthy food 3 times a day because they want to be obese, having made that decision. ing fat people alone.

Not OP, but most overweight people do have some say over their size. If they're not choosing healthy food and exercise, that is a matter of will or, if they're a very small child, *maybe* not knowing better. Most people do not have medical conditions or special circumstances making them fat.

DUH.

Eating junk food is a matter of will. Gaining weight from eating junk food, and losing weight when you are obese, are highly complicated matters of metabolism, genetics, access to healthy foods, luck, and a whole range of other factors. And losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is hard.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP.

As an initial matter, I haven't posted a response yet on this thread. I'm sure it angers some that there are others who are writing that they, too, struggle with these questions. But those are posts by strangers, not by me. And I think it goes to show there are serious questions here.

As I mentioned in my first post, I am a healthy weight. I eat very well, exercise. I agree that some skinny people are less healthy than fat people who exercise, but is anyone really suggesting that fat people who exercise are healthier than skinny people who exercise. I hope not because that's absurd. Obviously there are benefits to controlling weight that are separate and apart from just eating well (and honestly if you're eating and exercising well you are probably controlling your weight). As I said, I am by no means a size 2.

But I do worry that this whole "big is beautiful" movement that has sprung up is dangerous to young people today. I don't want my son to have the delusion that being overweight or obese is anything but unhealthy. That's all it is.

I of course would never call someone fat or accept my child doing so. But as one other poster mentioned, really, isn't the fact that I wouldn't call someone that or allow him to do so a sign of the problem. It's the truth, isn't it? The substance in their body that makes them bigger is called "fat," yet we are in such a pc culture now about weight that you can't call a spade a spade without being a "bully."

What I fear is that my son will say something inadvertent, not that he will say something purposefully mean (like calling someone "fat and ugly.") Let's say he gets made fun of in the lunch room for eating vegetables and hummus instead of potato chips, and when asked why he eats those things he says he's eating that way so that he does not become fat. In light of the current response schools have toward bullying, I could imagine if one of those taunting him was overweight or obese that he would get in trouble for it. That is my concern - not that he would call someone fat to their face - that's just stupid.

I am grateful to the poster who asked if anyone wanted to have a serious conversation about these issues. I think the responses make clear my point. We are so damn pc now, fat is beautiful, people who are skinny are the freaks, and if you say boo about the health issues with being overweight and obesity you are a bully.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm sorry but do you people really not consider your weight when making food choices? Do you not realize the amount of time and money the food industry spends trying to get you to eat salt, sugar, and fat? The crazy rise on obesity in this country (for those who don't see it please exit the bubble and read a newspaper from time to time you will hear all about it, yes even among children). It's absurd to suggest in our society that recognizing those facts and being vigilant about maintaining a healthy weight makes you have an unhealthy view about weight. It's all part and parcel of the issue I'm raising here: that every consideration is paid to making fat people feel normal when being fat is anything but normal.

OP, if you're a prosperous middle-class mother (like most of DCUM) who has trouble maintaining her weight, you should talk to your doctor. Otherwise, just serve healthy food, don't force your child to eat if he isn't hungry, and let your son go in for active play. Discuss his weight and growth with his pediatrician and only his pediatrician.

Don't get overinvolved in weight issues; you are more likely to cause a problem than to solve one.

Anonymous wrote:
There is no way this poster is a physician.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm sorry but do you people really not consider your weight when making food choices? Do you not realize the amount of time and money the food industry spends trying to get you to eat salt, sugar, and fat? The crazy rise on obesity in this country (for those who don't see it please exit the bubble and read a newspaper from time to time you will hear all about it, yes even among children). It's absurd to suggest in our society that recognizing those facts and being vigilant about maintaining a healthy weight makes you have an unhealthy view about weight. It's all part and parcel of the issue I'm raising here: that every consideration is paid to making fat people feel normal when being fat is anything but normal.