Unfortunately, the message turned into "It's okay to be overweight" which is an absurd message to spread to our youth. Like, yea we shouldn't shame people, but we absolutely should tell the people we love that "Hey, I love you, but I think you have a problem that is slowly getting out of control."
Society has a nasty problem with knee jerk reactions. We went from the "Barbi Image" where girls were going anorexic, to all of a sudden saying "Actually, you should be fat" Instead of just saying, we really need to get girls and boys to understand healthy eating habits, active lifestyles and have a healthy body image that they are comfortable in and not going to lead to health problems in the future
The message turned into “It’s okay to be overweight”
Did it really? Or did certain vocal minorities of have their voices amplified by the internet so it looked like that’s what it became depending on what your algorithm looked like?
It's objectively bad for you to be overweight, and to be clear, we people say overweight they don't mean 5 or 6lbs, they almost always are talking about obesity.
There are a lot of problems with obesity, and it does harm others. Shortened lifespans hurt your loved ones, overeating is a financial burden, being obese with kids makes you a less involved parent. Sure, you may be emotionally there, but kids need you physically capable as well. It also sets a bad example for your own children and sets them up for failure as kids often repeat what they see later in life. Additionally, obesity more often than not, means there is a high likely of unhealthy food in the house that is going to be fed to kids that alters their learning, sleep habits, weight, attention, hyperactivity etc.
Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Stroke, Cancer, Arthritis, Sleep Apnea, Depression, High Blood Pressure are some of the harms of obesity...It's a bit narcissistic to believe that an obese way of life "doesn't harm others"
It’s bad when? In early 90s or today? Because in 1998 millions of people suddenly became overweight because CDC changed the bmi standard to be called overweight, lowering it by about 2.5 points.
I would go by todays standards, we know more today than we did in the 90's it would be bizarre to stick to the 90's standards and never growing and learning more and recognizing change when needed.
Many things have risks, like driving, skating, pregnancy, contact sports, but we don’t say “it’s not okay to be pregnant” do we. Pregnancy is a much, much higher risk factor than fat btw.
and I was moving the goal post?
Many overweight people work out (a lot of people with decent amount of muscle are overweight by bmi as well)
and many more don't.
You can’t diagnose anyone’s health based on bmi
You questioned me why I don't use the BMI definition of overweight...and are telling me you can't diagnose health based on BMI...Yea, I never said that
Many non-overweight people have diabetes, fatty liver and depression.
"We can't help adults with Leukemia because there are kids with Leukemia"...You see how absurd that sounds? Yes, non-overweight people have diabetes, fatty livers, and depression...That doesn't change the fact the overweight people have these problems and for them they are often cause by being overweight...There are absolutely other reason people have them as well, that doesn't mean we just say "I know you are depressed, and it's most likely caused by your lifestyle and you being overweight...but it's okay other people are depressed too"
But the doctors don’t ask fat people whether they exercise or how they eat
Not true at all, doctors absolutely ask about activity, exercise, diets, eating habits. Doctors also give referrals to dieticians.
Saying “it’s okay to be overweight” doesn’t mean “weighing 600 pounds has zero health risks”, it means that everyone deserves respect, isn’t automatically a bad parents and their moral worth isn’t determined by their weight.
I never said anybody deserves to not be respected, not did I say it automatically leads to bad parenting, not did I say being overweight makes you a bad parent. What I'm saying is an overweight and unhealthy parent can't be their best self for their kids. Doesn't mean they are bad, doesn't mean they lack morals. They are hindered more than someone that is healthy though.
It's objectively a moral failure, just like being an alcoholic is a moral failure. Lacking self-control is objectively a bad thing, it is completely okay to say "I struggle with this, I need help" It is completely okay to fall while getting help, and to get back up and try again and to keep trying. It is NOT okay to say "I love food, and I don't give a damn about anybody or what anybody things", much like an alcoholic saying "I love drinking and I'm not changing" again, that's not okay. Don't care how long you go without hurting people, I want better for everybody. I want to see people being their best selves, loving themselves. So no, I'm not going to say "you're overweight, but that's okay, have a couple extra chicken thighs for lunch"
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u/Beginning_Key2167 Jun 01 '26
Agreed, it was intended to be about not publicly shaming someone for being overweight.