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I realize this thread is old, but here's my two cents.
I don't hate obese people. But I don't pity them either. I used to be morbidly obese myself, with a BMI of 41.4 and a peak weight of 257 lbs. That's barely morbidly obese, but it still qualifies. That was 3 years ago in the summer of 2008.
I'm now a size 2 and weigh 105 lbs. I work out 6 days a week and eat a very healthy vegetarian diet. Lap band? Nope. Gastric bypass? Guess again. Diet and exercise? DING DING DING DING DING DING!
The vast, and I mean VAST, majority of obese people are obese through their own dumb or ignorant choices. I ate and horizontal-assified myself right into morbid obesity. Nobody did it to me. I did it to myself. And I fixed it myself, and the first step on that journey was taking personal responsibility for my failures.
I hear a lot of excuses from obese people. They're not fooling me. Been there, honey. Go sell your B.S. somewhere else. Put DOWN the pizza and get your fat butt on the treadmill like I did. It DOES work.
Airlines charge extra for 2 seats to recoup the extra fuel and cost for a lost seat. it costs a lot to haul an extra 2 or 3 hundred pounds across the country,hence the extra charges on excess cargo. I completly empty my truck on long trips to save money and it sure adds up. Why haul around excess weight at a high cost. should the post office give you a break for shipping lead instead of flowers?
I don't really think there's any type of "anti-obesity" hate clubs out there, it's just that the problem of overweight people in this country has reached such epidemic proportions that amny feel something must be done. You have to remember that in all fairness, obese people cost this country billions of dollars a year sub-par at work because of their bad health. and the ones wihtout adequate--or no--health insurance also put a huge financial burden on our medical system.
But as far as prejudice from other Americans? I don't see it. In fact, since there are so many obese people nowadays, I'd say they are tolerated and accepted now more than ever before in our nation's history. I remember back in the 70's when I was a kid there might be maybe one fat kid in our class. And maybe about 10% of the whole school would be noticeably overweight. So, of course, kids being kids, some cruel joking went on at their expense. Well, that number has now more than quadrupled! Jeez, do you know that so many kids now eat themselves into diabetes it isn't even called "Adult-Onset Diabetes" anymore, and is instead referred to as "Type II Diabetes."
Surely you agree that something must be done about this. But it's not out of hate or prejudice, I assure you. Rather, it's for their own good.
I get it...We're all tied together in the same "pot!" What does this mean? It means that everyone is arguing over rising costs and blaming each other...We've been set-up by HMO's and corporations to blame each other...We're being manipulated by politicians too...Everything has become super "cut-throat" and ugly...Talk about living in a hostile and negative climate! Some people become bullies and other people become busy-bodies...We're set-up to point fingers and blame each other for rising costs. It's all about money. HMO's and corporations and politicians want us to blame each other so they won't have to take responsibility for rising costs and ongoing problems...Who will be the next scapegoat? (Or target group?) Watch out! Watch your back! It may be you!
I get it...We're all tied together in the same "pot!" What does this mean? It means that everyone is arguing over rising costs and blaming each other...We've been set-up by HMO's and corporations to blame each other...We're being manipulated by politicians too...Everything has become super "cut-throat" and ugly...Talk about living in a hostile and negative climate! Some people become bullies and other people become busy-bodies...We're set-up to point fingers and blame each other for rising costs. It's all about money. HMO's and corporations and politicians want us to blame each other so they won't have to take responsibility for rising costs and ongoing problems...Who will be the next scapegoat? (Or target group?) Watch out! Watch your back! It may be you!
I don't think it's a setup by HMO's and corporations that obese persons are more likely to require medical attention than non-obese.
I don't think it's a setup by HMO's and corporations that hospitals were forced to redesign their entryways and doorways ($$$) so that they were capable of treating morbidly obese persons who required double-wide hospital beds.
I don't think it's a setup by HMO's and corporations that double-wide hospitals beds do not cost the same as a regular hospital bed. Not only is it double-wide (more material), it's more reinforced to handle the higher weight.
None of this is "cut-throat" or "ugly". It's pure fact.
It's pure fact that it uses more energy (fuel, electricity, etc) to transport more weight - whether in a car or in a plane or in an elevator. It's physics.
Bringing up that fuel and medical costs are high, in general, is just a red herring. The issue we're discussing is the unnecessary added expenses (not just pennies here and there) that obese persons cause. And, unlike smoking, there's really no conflicting studies concerning this.
There was a time when it wasn't hatred, but considered a freak show. Now it is hated, but also because the population has gained the tendency to be obese (largely because of food/exercise habits, and what is being sold at the counters). Only a matter of time before we make the Wall-E world a reality. Then there will be no hatred, and all will be fine! Kind of going from obesity for amusement purposes to hatred to "normal".
I just don't feel contempt and resentment towards "bigger" people...Their size doesn't bother me. I grew up in an era when it was ok to have curves. In fact most people didn't want to appear too thin. Back then being thin meant that a person might be poor or sickly...Then "Twiggy" came along and changed everything. And young women across the country started starving themselves so they would be thin too...Anorexia and bullemia became big health problems...I'm glad that we don't all look the same. I don't want to live in a "cookie cutter" type of world. I don't hate and loathe "bigger" people. I don't need to make fun of them....Airlines need to provide adequate seating for all of their customers. It's unrealistic to assume that we should all be the same size!
See, this pc crap needs to end. At what point is the person sitting next to you too big? 700 lbs? If they need to take up 3 seats they should have to pay not the rest of us. I didn't make that person fat so I shouldn't have to suffer in any way for their personal choices.
It's called indulgence.Eating, drinking, smoking, drugs, etc. Too much of any of them is a bad thing.
Let's do the math here. Example person weighs 300 lbs (truly obese). If it takes 4000 cal to equal a lb of fat and you need 1500 to maintain your weight guess how long this person had to over eat to be 150 lbs over weight plus retaining that extra body fat. This didn't happen over night it happened over a long period of time. A big mac has 600 cals. Eating an extra 3 of them a day would take you quite some time to gain 150 lbs even if you did squat all day long.
Articles about obesity have been flooding the media. I can't turn on CNN lately without them going on and on about the deleterious effects fat people are having on our insurance rates.
People are actually suggesting the obese be refused certain kinds of foods at restaurants...imagine that...are we going to have to have cards with our daily BMI listed before can be seated by the maitre d'? Will my wife and I have to step on a scale before we are allowed into a restaurant? What kind of society are we turning into?
And the wave of disdain being unleashed on the obese is staggering. News shows love to depict fat tummies and rears walking by, and suggestions are made that Congress has to step in.
I don't give a damn is someone wants to pudge out, and I'm sure as hell not worried about health costs because of fat people. If Congress really wanted to help the public they would put the screws to the lawyers and come up with strict limits on malpractice lawsuits. My $85 annual medical checkup in 1995 is now $450 in 2009. That's to pay for all the people my doctor had to hire for his backoffice paperwork and his malpractice insurance.
It doesn't have a damn thing to do with obese people and health insurance premiums...that's a red herring folks, and we are being told it's okay to hate fat people because it's all their fault.
This is evil, vile stuff that this country is being sold.
You're right, people are so full of hate for anything these days, they must not like themselves too much, some will not be happy until we are all clones of one another.
Of course when the news has nothing much to say it will start talking about overweight people, gay people or something people hate to keep them watching.
When people hear it over and over again, it becomes accepted to them, they don't question it, they don't use their brains anymore, they go along with the crowd, is really sad things have come to this, shameful.
I get it...We're all tied together in the same "pot!" What does this mean? It means that everyone is arguing over rising costs and blaming each other...We've been set-up by HMO's and corporations to blame each other...We're being manipulated by politicians too...Everything has become super "cut-throat" and ugly...Talk about living in a hostile and negative climate! Some people become bullies and other people become busy-bodies...We're set-up to point fingers and blame each other for rising costs. It's all about money. HMO's and corporations and politicians want us to blame each other so they won't have to take responsibility for rising costs and ongoing problems...Who will be the next scapegoat? (Or target group?) Watch out! Watch your back! It may be you!
How right you are.
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How right you are.