It seems almost like the never ending debate as to whether people agree or disagree with the message alongside the picture above. Some strongly feel as though we should not be coddling obese people in this country or anywhere else for thinking that accepting their obesity and willfully maintaining it as some type of standard of beauty should be applauded over that of trying to obtain optimal health. Others would say this is a classic example of trying to shame someone for their obesity rather then help and/or it should be none of anyone's business what someone does with their own body. Which camp are you?
Regardless of what side you fall on, when it comes down to the numbers on a reality that cannot be changed, there is an epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and all sorts of weight related illnesses that continues to rise. These very preventable diseases can be stopped if a person is willing to take charge of their obesity through diet, exercise, and in extreme cases, surgery in conjunction to diet and exercise. Knowing this, and stats that also point out that this generation may not outlive it's predecessors, why would we want to encourage behavior that could potentially lead to ones early death or parrot the ignorance of ones health to younger generations?
On the flip side, I think people should support the notion that people should be body positive with the caveat that, body positivity should involve not just acceptance of beauty coming in all shades, with wrinkles, small butts, freckles, different sizes, etc, but that is also promotes actual health at its core. NO you don't have to be a size two to be healthy, but you also can't sit there and say you're healthy if you're chugging 40 oz slurpies everyday and going through 2 pizzas, and not exercising. Why aren't we encouraging young men and young women in particular to have so much self love, that they honor their bodies by trying to obtain or maintain good health? This is not a new concept and it should not be one that people find offensive.
It is not enough to say, what that person does does not affect you. When David or Karen has an obesity related heart attack and can't work anymore, several people are affected; their families who may depend on them financially and emotionally, a job who would be down an employer, their employers insurance which must raise rates for everyone, that person's friends, and even strangers who may have benefited from the work that person did. And that's just one person who can affect dozens, if not hundreds of people.
I think we absolutely should get on board with altering the message to the promotion of health on a global scale. This does not need to involve shame as shaming someone rarely works. We need to promote health programs which offer things like discounted gym memberships, free health and weight loss classes, and school health programs. We need more community programs which seek to get entire communities devastated by the affects of obesity to be more involved with each others health. In many urban areas, this needs to include easily accessible parks and bike and walking paths, and much more access to fresh food. Simply calling someone a fat pig is not going to accomplish any of that.
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