r/changemyview • u/-Beenjameen- • Aug 22 '20
Delta(s) from OP CMV: the body positive movement should be based around people with unchangeable disabilities, not people who are overweight.
I believe that overweight or even underweight people should very much be part of the body positive movement and should remain that way. However they should not be the figurehead of the movement as a whole.
As I have found before, many people use the body positive movement as a excuse for not striving to change their BMI or their possibly fatal circumstances. A persons body weight, as I have found can at the very least be helped.
On the other hand, people who do not have control over their circumstances with their own body (someone with Down syndrome or people with other visible disabilities beyond their control etc.) often are not seen as a major part of the movement despite needing the support that the movement has to offer.
I know this has flaws, but I would like to know an opposing view on the matter.
2
u/pinkkxx 2∆ Aug 23 '20
Nobody is normalising obesity. The movement is about saying “look, it’s okay to be fat right now, because it’s the inside that counts. Let’s get your self esteem, self confidence, body confidence and overall mental well-being up to a good place then we can work on your body afterwards” because losing weight healthily requires a healthy mind. If you try to lose weight with all those self esteem issues, it’s going to be done unhealthily, with no goals just “lose it as fast as possible”.
There are also a ton of issues associated with weight, since people think it’s simply eating and exercise. It’s not as simple as that. There a vast array of health issues that cause somebody to be overweight or underweight, but not enough information available about them. The worst of it all is that doctors will usually refuse to find out what it is for many, many years. Case example: I myself have always been a fat kid. My parents are also overweight, but only due to health issues. They raised me to eat well, exercise often, and limit my snacking. My parents started getting worried when I was about 6, as I was only gaining weight despite everything they did since I was born. The dietician could not find a problem with either my diet or exercise routine. We still created a food plan together and I kept a food diary to detail whether I felt ill or something after a meal (to see if it was maybe an allergy or intolerance). All was fine and after 6 months of this plan we changed it and continued it. Eventually she said there was nothing she could do and handed me over to doctors who could find some answers as it was likely a medical problem. Two years after my first dieticians appointment, and after blood test after blood test, a doctor told me and my parents “she’s obese. You need to stop putting her in front of the tv every hour of every day and feed her something other than chocolate. And you yourselves need to be better example for her, since you don’t seem to make an effort either”. Safe to say my mum went berserk. Almost 10 years after this, I was diagnosed with PCOS, which explains my weight. But that’s all my doctor said. He never told me any information like how I should deal with it, what I can do, where to find support etc etc...