Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the societal pressure not to be fat does keep a good portion of the people who are not overweight or not obese from sliding up to the next level. There are many, many overweight and obese MC and UMC people who can afford heavier food, take the stairs, and probably even have exercise equipment gathering dust.

Here’s the problem…it’s inconvenient to walk or ride your bike instead of driving, if you aren’t into exercise it’s a chore. For food, products with highly processed carbs and sugar taste good. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is convenient and accessible. There are so many flavor and food options that it’s hard not to enjoy it. The only incentive people have to not get fat is societal pressure because let’s be honest the concern about distant future health issues does not push people to restrict themselves.

Short of extremely limiting food options so eating on a daily basis is boring and less appetizing, there isn’t much policy people can do. Monetary incentives might do it for some but probably not most.

You are entirely wrong. Fat shaming—which is what you are talking about—does not work. Period. It does not stop obesity. It does not cause weight loss. It does not work at all, and it’s time we we as a society recognized that.

To be perfectly honest, I work out and limit my calorie intake because with don’t want to get fat. I don’t enjoy it at all, but do it to avoid excess weight. Doesn’t that kind of mean the shame around being fat does work for some people?

This is me and almost every person I know my age. For brunch this morning I made my teens waffles and fruit smoothies. I had a spinach salad and hard boiled egg. If I didn’t care about not being fat, I would have just eaten waffles. For dinner, we made chili topped hot dogs. DH and I had grilled shrimp instead. If we didn’t care about being a normal weight we would have had chili dogs, chips and a few beers.

I also think people confuse hunger with cravings. They are very different things. Habit plays a role too. If you are used to snacking, it’s a very hard habit to break. As a former smoker, it honestly wasn’t the nicotine but the habit of always doing it at certain times. I’d still get cravings from time to time even though I was way past the nicotine addiction. I would never have quit if there wasn’t societal pressure.

I’m not saying it’s easy but if you want to lose weight the vast majority can lose weight,

Do you always ignore facts and studies in favor of your anecdotal experience or do you just have a special blind spot for obesity research?

Aside from the shaming aspect, we aren't giving enough attention to the fact that metabolism decreases with weight loss. Maintaining can be harder than losing and once you lose the first time you will never be at the same level as a naturally thin person. I once lost a significant amount of weight and maintaining it (which I did for two years) was harder than losing it. I was working out 2+ hours a day and eating around 1,000 calories. When I got pregnant with my first I gained a lot of it back, and the rest of it back when I was pregnant for my second (which also required bed rest). I've done weight watchers since and lost nothing. I still work out. I am significantly overweight.

The shaming is very real, too. Both DH and I have larger families. Our babies were born normal weight but gained weight quickly even EBF. Both of my kids had their weight flagged as problematic from about 3 months on... They already hate doctors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obese and overweight women are hungrier than their naturally thin counterparts. I have witnessed my overweight friends eating habits over the years and I can definitely see how they eat more because they are physically hungry. It’s no real accomplishment for me to be at a healthy weight when I am not hungry for more than my body requires. People need some humility and stop thinking that overweight people are needlessly eating food they are not hungry for.

I mean, it’s sad but it’s also a known thing now. People must guard against gaining weight. Parents must help their kids to stay at healthy weights. Yes, there are people who truly have disorders or are too poor to have access to good food that will gain weight no matter what, but not the current 75-80% of Americans. I was in rural NY watching an obese grandma and obese 10 yo boy buy frozen dinners and ice cream as their dinner. The store was well-stocked with produce and fresh meat. Part of it is culture, part of it is laziness, some of it is genetics. Once you are obese, it’s game over. It becomes much harder to ever be at a normal bmi again. The conversation has to shift away from losing weight to helping our kids learn to eat well and maintain a norma bmi.

If you really think that 75 - 80% of Americans have access to and can afford healthy, fresh food, you need to educate yourself beyond your current ignorance. When you take a breath from your assumptions about “culture”, go price out the differences per serving between “frozen dinners and ice cream” and “produce and fresh meat”. You seem to think you know what people can afford because you paused to sneer at them in a store.

Amen. Get out of your bubble. Have you ever been outside of NW DC? Huge swaths of this city lack a decent supermarket, and processed/fast foods are so much cheaper than fresh ones. Plus, if you're a single mom with three kids and two jobs, do you have time to whip up a healthy omelet with spinach for breakfast, or make your child avocado toast and grilled fish for dinner?

I agree that the focus should be on developing healthy eating habits in the first place, but that's really hard for a lot of families to do, for many reasons that have nothing to do with "culture" or "laziness" or "genetics." The reasons reflect the policy priorities of this country.

Anonymous wrote:I don't disagree with anything in the article except that the "biggest" problem is shaming... is that really the biggest problem, or is it the stuff they're putting in our food? The article states that Americans eat fewer calories today than they did in 2003, but we're still fatter. So even if nobody was shaming us from 2003-2022, wouldn't we still have gained weight because of our food?

The shaming is used by the lobbyists for the food companies that are actually killing us to stop any productive conversation about regulation of poisonous food and the deeply harmful food supply. Food companies, taking a page from cigarette companies, publish articles and get doctors to grow that narrative. But they rely heavily on popular culture shame to push their agenda.

So I disagree with your presumption, because I think without the shaming, as a society we would be much further along in the conversation about what will really eventually have to happen to solve this issue: significant legislation and regulation. So while I don’t think the shame is the root cause, I do think it is the biggest problem because it has effectively stopped the change that really needs to happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obese and overweight women are hungrier than their naturally thin counterparts. I have witnessed my overweight friends eating habits over the years and I can definitely see how they eat more because they are physically hungry. It’s no real accomplishment for me to be at a healthy weight when I am not hungry for more than my body requires. People need some humility and stop thinking that overweight people are needlessly eating food they are not hungry for.

I mean, it’s sad but it’s also a known thing now. People must guard against gaining weight. Parents must help their kids to stay at healthy weights. Yes, there are people who truly have disorders or are too poor to have access to good food that will gain weight no matter what, but not the current 75-80% of Americans. I was in rural NY watching an obese grandma and obese 10 yo boy buy frozen dinners and ice cream as their dinner. The store was well-stocked with produce and fresh meat. Part of it is culture, part of it is laziness, some of it is genetics. Once you are obese, it’s game over. It becomes much harder to ever be at a normal bmi again. The conversation has to shift away from losing weight to helping our kids learn to eat well and maintain a norma bmi.

If you really think that 75 - 80% of Americans have access to and can afford healthy, fresh food, you need to educate yourself beyond your current ignorance. When you take a breath from your assumptions about “culture”, go price out the differences per serving between “frozen dinners and ice cream” and “produce and fresh meat”. You seem to think you know what people can afford because you paused to sneer at them in a store.

I don't disagree with anything in the article except that the "biggest" problem is shaming... is that really the biggest problem, or is it the stuff they're putting in our food? The article states that Americans eat fewer calories today than they did in 2003, but we're still fatter. So even if nobody was shaming us from 2003-2022, wouldn't we still have gained weight because of our food?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughters grew up eating healthfully, with a few snacks thrown in, and being active.
They're now morbidly obese, as adults.
I have no idea why.

My own mother can't stand to visit with us as she says she can't watch them eat themselves to death.

Well, that last line explains a lot about the pathology of your poor daughters.

I know. I feel so sorry for them that she feels this way I NEVER invite her over.

Anonymous wrote:My daughters grew up eating healthfully, with a few snacks thrown in, and being active.
They're now morbidly obese, as adults.
I have no idea why.

My own mother can't stand to visit with us as she says she can't watch them eat themselves to death.

Well, that last line explains a lot about the pathology of your poor daughters.

My daughters grew up eating healthfully, with a few snacks thrown in, and being active.
They're now morbidly obese, as adults.
I have no idea why.

My own mother can't stand to visit with us as she says she can't watch them eat themselves to death.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the societal pressure not to be fat does keep a good portion of the people who are not overweight or not obese from sliding up to the next level. There are many, many overweight and obese MC and UMC people who can afford heavier food, take the stairs, and probably even have exercise equipment gathering dust.

Here’s the problem…it’s inconvenient to walk or ride your bike instead of driving, if you aren’t into exercise it’s a chore. For food, products with highly processed carbs and sugar taste good. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is convenient and accessible. There are so many flavor and food options that it’s hard not to enjoy it. The only incentive people have to not get fat is societal pressure because let’s be honest the concern about distant future health issues does not push people to restrict themselves.

Short of extremely limiting food options so eating on a daily basis is boring and less appetizing, there isn’t much policy people can do. Monetary incentives might do it for some but probably not most.

You are entirely wrong. Fat shaming—which is what you are talking about—does not work. Period. It does not stop obesity. It does not cause weight loss. It does not work at all, and it’s time we we as a society recognized that.

To be perfectly honest, I work out and limit my calorie intake because with don’t want to get fat. I don’t enjoy it at all, but do it to avoid excess weight. Doesn’t that kind of mean the shame around being fat does work for some people?

This is me and almost every person I know my age. For brunch this morning I made my teens waffles and fruit smoothies. I had a spinach salad and hard boiled egg. If I didn’t care about not being fat, I would have just eaten waffles. For dinner, we made chili topped hot dogs. DH and I had grilled shrimp instead. If we didn’t care about being a normal weight we would have had chili dogs, chips and a few beers.

I also think people confuse hunger with cravings. They are very different things. Habit plays a role too. If you are used to snacking, it’s a very hard habit to break. As a former smoker, it honestly wasn’t the nicotine but the habit of always doing it at certain times. I’d still get cravings from time to time even though I was way past the nicotine addiction. I would never have quit if there wasn’t societal pressure.

I’m not saying it’s easy but if you want to lose weight the vast majority can lose weight,

You may be thin, but you apparently also suffer from a cognitive impairment that prevents you from reading and retaining information.

🔥🔥🔥🔥

Anonymous wrote:The part about the author’s mother killed me. My mom always wore black pants growing up, she had probably three pairs and never wore other colors. I’ve never even seen her in a bathing suit. Swimming was just not a thing she would do. She didn’t like pictures and I have few of them with her. My mom is such a beautiful person and she always cared about her makeup and hair, but her weight was such a central part of her life that it took away from living it.

This spoke to me too. My mother was obsessed with her weight and it left me and my sister with seriously disordered eating habits. My mother called me "Little Chubby" as a child, presumably to humiliate me so that I would lose weight, and of course, I obliged. I began counting calories at age 12 and have never been able to stop. I became anorexic and bulimic at age 16 and have struggled to eat normally my whole life. Family dinners were a nightmare - my parents always commented on whether or not we were eating too much, and acted like having seconds was a moral failing.

My father is a pediatrician who - wait for it - views fat people as disgusting, lazy, and out-of-control. He's retired now, but I have no doubt he told every single overweight child who came into his office (and probably their parents, too) to lose weight. He can't go anywhere without commenting on people's weight, especially women's: "The woman sitting next to me on the plane was so fat, I barely had any room."

I feel sorry for him and his inability to see beyond people's appearance and treat them with dignity and respect. I call him out every time he makes a remark about someone's weight, but it doesn't make any difference (he's 85). I have done my best to model healthy eating habits for my kids, to show them that good-quality, well-prepared food is something to be savored and enjoyed. I never talk about calories or weight - I talk about "healthy." I don't want their self-esteem linked in any way to their eating habits or weight.

If you saw me, you'd see a normal weight (but not skinny) woman and would probably never imagine the mental energy I expend on whether or not I'm overweight. Our culture's obsession with size is shitty for everyone. I always wonder whether my life would have been a lot different if my mother hadn't called me "chubby" and my father hadn't been harshly critical of fat people.

Anonymous wrote:The part about the author’s mother killed me. My mom always wore black pants growing up, she had probably three pairs and never wore other colors. I’ve never even seen her in a bathing suit. Swimming was just not a thing she would do. She didn’t like pictures and I have few of them with her. My mom is such a beautiful person and she always cared about her makeup and hair, but her weight was such a central part of her life that it took away from living it.

I worry that this is how my daughter will remember me as well.

The part about the author’s mother killed me. My mom always wore black pants growing up, she had probably three pairs and never wore other colors. I’ve never even seen her in a bathing suit. Swimming was just not a thing she would do. She didn’t like pictures and I have few of them with her. My mom is such a beautiful person and she always cared about her makeup and hair, but her weight was such a central part of her life that it took away from living it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the societal pressure not to be fat does keep a good portion of the people who are not overweight or not obese from sliding up to the next level. There are many, many overweight and obese MC and UMC people who can afford heavier food, take the stairs, and probably even have exercise equipment gathering dust.

Here’s the problem…it’s inconvenient to walk or ride your bike instead of driving, if you aren’t into exercise it’s a chore. For food, products with highly processed carbs and sugar taste good. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is convenient and accessible. There are so many flavor and food options that it’s hard not to enjoy it. The only incentive people have to not get fat is societal pressure because let’s be honest the concern about distant future health issues does not push people to restrict themselves.

Short of extremely limiting food options so eating on a daily basis is boring and less appetizing, there isn’t much policy people can do. Monetary incentives might do it for some but probably not most.

You are entirely wrong. Fat shaming—which is what you are talking about—does not work. Period. It does not stop obesity. It does not cause weight loss. It does not work at all, and it’s time we we as a society recognized that.

To be perfectly honest, I work out and limit my calorie intake because with don’t want to get fat. I don’t enjoy it at all, but do it to avoid excess weight. Doesn’t that kind of mean the shame around being fat does work for some people?

This is me and almost every person I know my age. For brunch this morning I made my teens waffles and fruit smoothies. I had a spinach salad and hard boiled egg. If I didn’t care about not being fat, I would have just eaten waffles. For dinner, we made chili topped hot dogs. DH and I had grilled shrimp instead. If we didn’t care about being a normal weight we would have had chili dogs, chips and a few beers.

I also think people confuse hunger with cravings. They are very different things. Habit plays a role too. If you are used to snacking, it’s a very hard habit to break. As a former smoker, it honestly wasn’t the nicotine but the habit of always doing it at certain times. I’d still get cravings from time to time even though I was way past the nicotine addiction. I would never have quit if there wasn’t societal pressure.

I’m not saying it’s easy but if you want to lose weight the vast majority can lose weight,

I take it you did not bother to read the article linked by OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the societal pressure not to be fat does keep a good portion of the people who are not overweight or not obese from sliding up to the next level. There are many, many overweight and obese MC and UMC people who can afford heavier food, take the stairs, and probably even have exercise equipment gathering dust.

Here’s the problem…it’s inconvenient to walk or ride your bike instead of driving, if you aren’t into exercise it’s a chore. For food, products with highly processed carbs and sugar taste good. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is convenient and accessible. There are so many flavor and food options that it’s hard not to enjoy it. The only incentive people have to not get fat is societal pressure because let’s be honest the concern about distant future health issues does not push people to restrict themselves.

Short of extremely limiting food options so eating on a daily basis is boring and less appetizing, there isn’t much policy people can do. Monetary incentives might do it for some but probably not most.

You are entirely wrong. Fat shaming—which is what you are talking about—does not work. Period. It does not stop obesity. It does not cause weight loss. It does not work at all, and it’s time we we as a society recognized that.

To be perfectly honest, I work out and limit my calorie intake because with don’t want to get fat. I don’t enjoy it at all, but do it to avoid excess weight. Doesn’t that kind of mean the shame around being fat does work for some people?

This is me and almost every person I know my age. For brunch this morning I made my teens waffles and fruit smoothies. I had a spinach salad and hard boiled egg. If I didn’t care about not being fat, I would have just eaten waffles. For dinner, we made chili topped hot dogs. DH and I had grilled shrimp instead. If we didn’t care about being a normal weight we would have had chili dogs, chips and a few beers.

I also think people confuse hunger with cravings. They are very different things. Habit plays a role too. If you are used to snacking, it’s a very hard habit to break. As a former smoker, it honestly wasn’t the nicotine but the habit of always doing it at certain times. I’d still get cravings from time to time even though I was way past the nicotine addiction. I would never have quit if there wasn’t societal pressure.

I’m not saying it’s easy but if you want to lose weight the vast majority can lose weight,

You may be thin, but you apparently also suffer from a cognitive impairment that prevents you from reading and retaining information.