Why do some or most people like health/fitness shaming?

Question

Yes everyone is entitled to do whatever they want with their bodies!!!  but why is it that when you comment or tell someone who is overweight or obese that they should find healthy ways to lose weight so they can be healthier result in you getting so much hate? Also if you do lose weight/get fitter or you promote health and fitness then you end up getting hate for that as well why is that?  Yes it's rude  to go up to people and say lose weight be healthy  BUT  If they come up to you or post a picture or a video where they ask you hey am I fat?, or hey how can I improve my appearance? and you answer honestly and say lose some weight and you suggest healthy nutritious weight loss diets and exercises they  hate on you! . its like a lot of people are health/fitness shaming!. I also am against the unhealthy toxic weight loss tips and trends that are circulating that encourage people to lose weight by eating tiny amounts of food and by exercising wayyy more then they need to! even the ones that are basically making women and men bulimic and anorexic, I dislike those ones too!. But  the ones that promote healthy beneficial nutritious weight loss tips and tricks I think those ones are helpful and much appreciated so I don't get all the hate they receive for simply encouraging health and fitness...

D_Bone_Steak · Accepted Answer

I got buff and the people that knew me thought I was trying to prove something. I was just tired of being a fat ass... plus I got jumped and wanted to make sure I break everyone in half if I ever get into another fight. People that didn't know me would make steroid comments or jokes and that got annoying. Getting hit on got annoying as well... I was suddenly a sexual target for frisky people. It wasn't like a good thing and to be honest, that kind of bullshit came from women that should just give up on trying and homosexuals and I'm not interested in either. It sort of sucks because you would think more people would be positive about someone getting in shape and some were... but there's been lots of times I get turned into a joke. The usual steroid jokes and whatnot.

Now there are the people that act seriously pissed off that I'm fit. Seems they feel I'm wasting time or stupid. It's just my meditation and helps me sleep... sort of just fun for me. They don't see that though and assume I'm some tryhard with some sort of complex going on. In general a lot of people just automatically assume a lot of shit. Maybe deep down they want to do it too, but never just do it and have an element of jealousy. I don't know... not my problem.

DenizLikesTennis · Accepted Answer

When I was 20, I started my fitness journey for 3 years straight. The transformation was so exciting and I'd receive lots of compliments. There were some people who didn't like it. They were like: "that's too much!". "Meathead!". Lol...

You know... now these days, I don't care how someone looks like. I don't care if you are obese, slightly fat, skinny fat, ripped abs whatever.

I can tell you that, what I understood about fitness is, to maintain a 15-18% Body fat is enough. Being ripped 6% is absolutely a waste of time and not worth it. You will be asking yourself:

"Alright... now what did I do this all for?"

I mean come on. I can make fun of you about billions/millions of other things besides being obese and also to the ripped dude.

I'd rather meet someone whose personality matches.

I've also seen obese women in tight lingerie when you go swimming.

We are always drawn to see the best things only and neglect the other things that are more important

Pinay_ako · Accepted Answer

Since Covid hit, I was overweight. But i used that opportunity to finally lose it and work on myself. I never thought I’d even make it to losing 10 pounds coz I used to give up. I remember taking a picture of day 1. Not knowing, I was going to push it all the way to 40 pounds. Nobody believed day 1 picture was me if they see me today. No need to fat or skinny shame anyone. Everyone have their own battle to fight. Don’t make it worse. You have no idea what they’re going through or how much ridicule they get just being too fat or too skinny.

BlueScorpio · Accepted Answer

I'm assuming weight is just a sensitive topic for a lot of people. Also some people could have an illness you don't know about that causes them to not loose weight easily or they could be trying but have always had issues otherwise their weight and food. Those are my guesses.

Finchie40 · Answer

Because they are insecure about themselves and have low self esteem about themselves, by shamming someone else to make themselves feel better about themselves, Exercise is good for your own self to build stamina and energy but it doesn’t make you better than someone else and when people say oh i exercise for my health , I got news for you it does nothing for your health , it helps them feel better about themselves, just because someone doesn’t go to the gym doesn’t make them a bad person , just because someone goes to the gym doesn’t make them a better person just because someone likes to eat more than others doesn’t make them a bad person vice versa People that become hypocrites of others are the biggest pieces of shit on this planet , when someone can walk around like their shit don’t stink is a piece of shit in my eyes , I knew people that worked out everyday watched what they ate and still dropped dead at a young age , so what does exercise do to your health again? exactly , Most People exercise to make themselves feel better about themselves , to boost their confidence , because they have low self esteem about themselves , , I am not saying exercise is bad but it doesn’t make you a better person

BTCMoon · Answer

The narcissism following fitness influencers is alarming. This is coming from someone who has built a physique over the last decade that turns heads. It's weird to me that anyone who builds a physique simultaneously becomes a life coach. Eating at a caloric deficit, and going to the gym 5 days a week is impressive, but what does that have to do with overall success and life in general? Not much. I think people become fed up with fitness crowd because of these people who have such a disconnect to the rest of the world. Their cheesy quotes, and their attention grab selfies. Their condescending so called wisdom on life. Yes, a lot of people will be bitter when they see someone who worked hard and looks better than them. This is natural and I've had people hate more for no reason other than my physique. Having said that, I think the large majority of "fitness shaming" is based around the idea of what I just mentioned. A lot of these fitness influencers are fucking annoying lol

Blackmamba5061 · Answer

This has been gaining a lot of attention as of late and I have always said don't ask a question you don't want an honest answer to. I'm not saying fat shaming is alright. It's honestly a shitty thing to do. But I also shouldn't have to agree that someone looks good just because they are overweight. You have two ends of a spectrum. You can be proud of you body while also admitting that you aren't God's gift to humanity. or you can be the opposite. Being fat isn't something to be proud of. With that said you can be fat and still love yourself. The problem is that these things are being confused with one another. The idea was to say I'm fat and I'm okay with it not I'm fat and I'm proud and just as beautiful as the next person. Most people don't like fat people but that's doesn't mean you have an odd one out. Now you also shouldn't be freaking stick thin. I just think that the media is a load of crap that just pushes the extremes of each end of the spectrum. You now have the obese models and then you have the sticks.

ohsheeT · Answer

See this is one of the life lessons that we are all supposed to learn this is one of the life lessons we're supposed to learn why we're here answering and asking questions why do we feel the need to shame anybody about anything why do we feel the need to be negative why do we need to call them out why do we need to make them feel something that we have no right trying to make them feel why do we want to create drama why do we want to judge somebody This Is The Life Lesson we're supposed to learn we're not meant to do any of that we're meant to be one with ourselves to find ourselves Were Meant to stay away from those things we're meant to be positive we're meant to help people when you can become one with yourself and everything else on this planet with each other that is happiness that is pure happiness because you have no negatives no drama no judgment no thinking about anybody giving you a hard time it's pure Bliss it's pure happiness that's why we're here this is what we're supposed to understand and become one with the universe no matter what color you are no matter how big you are no matter what you look like no matter what kind of car you drive what kind of clothes you wear no matter what kind of food you eat it doesn't matter that's your choice and that's what it's all about it's your choice it's your happiness and I want to be happy for you because that's all that matters we all get to choose who we want to be by the things we say and do it's nobody else's business it's hard enough just to run our own lives why are we trying to run somebody else's life

hahahmm · Answer

Because society was better off when we had shaming. Most people were in way better shape compared to today. Now you have a lot of people who are just lazy and blame their issues on others instead of taking personal responsibility. Lot of people these days have 10 health issues caused by their own bad choices but they cry victim and want you to feel sorry for them and act like it was just random chance that got them into their situation.

Now there's some people I think genuinely have a genetic issue and I'm not talking about them. But that is RARE.

TruthBringer · Answer

It's called a coping mechanism. Seeing someone in good shape or get told to focus on their health are reminders of their own flaws & insecurities. So in order to cope with the unsettling feeling, they throw shade in an attempt to silence any criticism or reminders that they. What's funny is that when they hit their 40s or 50s, they'd WISH they listened to people telling them to get healthier. Because by that age, often their health has deteriorated to a point that they are unable to actually make a change even if they wished to. I've actually spoken with seniors who admit to have regretted not taking criticisms about weight and health seriously.

So in short: Insecure people who chose to be losers start getting mad and health/fitness shame. Whereas the ones with a winner's mindset actually get to work.

RangerBlue22 · Answer

Some people rather hear a feel good lie vs the ugly truth.

I agree nobody should approach random overweight people and tell them they need to eat better and exercise. But if a overweight person especially overweight women ask dumb loafed questions like “do I look fat” they got to quit expecting to hear feel good lies.

I won’t outright tell a heavy girl that she looks crap and needs to stay away from the sweets and soap operas. I will give her constructive advice though.

The biggest problem I’ve noticed for heavy people is consistency. They might try hard for a week or two then give up. They need to be exercising at least 5 days a week and watching their diets for 6 days (with one day). The exercise they do doesn’t need to be grueling but it need to be “fun challenging”. They should be be slightly uncomfortable, sweating yet not in agony.

Death_To_Stress · Answer

Food is basically the only addiction impossible to hide from strangers, so self-riteous keyboard cowards feel permitted to be the hateful assholes they secretly wish they weren't. It's a self-validation mechanism for broken people at the expense of others.

You won't see those same judgmental fucks screeching about alcoholism in a post showing friends at a club or bar last night or gambling addiction when someone shares pics of their Las Vegas trip.

Hypocritical narcissism is the fucking worst!

Sixgunsound · Answer

It is far easier to talk about weight than it is to do some thing about it. In the modern era, there seems to be a culture of talking the talk but not walk in the walk, so when you combine that with the culture of anything goes and resistance to shaming for anything, you get a majority of people who aren’t healthy aren’t trying to get healthy and whose justification strategy involves defeating or removing the opponent from the field rather than accepting constructive criticism. Almost anybody could be doing better, I know I certainly could be, but it’s harder for people to hear that and have to face themselves in the morning than it is to be a keyboard warrior.

Phoenix98 · Answer

Because we live in an era where it’s socially acceptable to basically promote people killing themselves slowly.

And where promoting healthy living is abuse and hurting people’s feelings.

Its pretty fucked up when you think about it.

Part of the reason I became a personal trainer was to give hope to and help people who wanted to change but didn’t know how or didn’t have the motivation.

a lot of people want to get healthy but don’t know how to do it and lack the motivation and lose hope.

people just need someone to give em push and be in their corner helping them and motivating them and letting them know it is possible.

PeteBy · Answer

I don't judge or offer advice. Each person is different. But! Some of the worst people out there are the 'Ok, ya, I have a smoothie shake breakfast and look at my body darling, you should try it...'

FOOK OFF! Frankly because your husband drives a posh car and bought you one and let's you loose with his cards. Doesn't make you miss perfect. Just makes you look a bit of a tart tbh!

Get a fooking job and that'd make the pounds fall off much quicker sweetcheeks!

Sun_Kim-Ai · Answer

I went from around 80kg

Why do some or most people like health/fitness shaming?

To 61 now.

Had people asking if I had gotten sick or had stopped eating. I knew I was fat and even laughed at the jokes people made at me. Then I decided to lose weight and had people get offended by that.

Dingsbums · Answer

Many reasons. One being that a lot of people don’t want ur help and never asked for advice and then people pushing their own lifestyle on them feels like an attack.

then also the usual stuff. They failed themselves or don’t have what it takes or are afraid of change or the truth. Jealousy anger the typical internet hater.

then there r a weird group of people who have such a strong case of cognitive dissonance that they believe being fat can be healthy and not wanting to be fat or losing weight is fatphobic. Can’t help those woke people that’s for sure.

TheSpaceGnome · Answer

People do not like being wrong or acknowledging their flaws or mistakes.

They should get over that though, you need to to self improve.

Likewise, it's good to point out signs of diseases to those who are afflicted or in danger of being afflicted, and being polite (while nice), does not always light that fire under their ass to change.

I feel like politeness on the topic is far more appropriate in situations where they are sick by means that were beyond their control/not their fault.

hyperben · Answer

I figure you can tell people what they want to hear and be liked (even though you may be encouraging something negative), you can tell them the truth and be hated for it in the short term or you can just say nothing at all, keep your thoughts to yourself and maintain the status quo.

if its someone I care about I will always to try to support them to become healthier, id rather try then lose them than appease them and see them suffer.

TDDMS · Answer

The reason being is several fold. Firstly, the bulk of people who are fat or are land whales are lazy. They lack discipline. Also, when someone loses weight they become more attractive to the opposite sex, hence a person who is physically fit will have more opportunities and a larger pool to choose from for sex and relationships. 900 lb land whales on the other hand. . . . no. Because of this, fat asses see healthy people as competition.

art84 · Answer

My nephew is skinny and my mom tells that him needs to eat as he looks skinny. I used to be skinny as a kid and gained weight as a teenager and adult. I never been shamed for being 180 pounds but a doctor told me to lose weight. So now I been working out but not taking it to the extreme. I think it's fine to lose weight but some people take to extreme measures like taking pills or starving themselves.

NWPFPB · Answer

Envy. It doesn’t matter if you become healthier, more fit/buff, wealthier, more successful, happier, or anything else that betters yourself.

There will be people, sometimes including close friends and family, who will start to act strangely towards you. This could include one or more of the following: mocking you, creating drama and blaming it on you, downplaying your achievements, whining about how you don’t spend enough time with them, telling you and/or others that the only reason you achieved “x” is because you are superficial/sociopathic/selfish/not focused on “what truly matters.”

Ignore. It. All.

Expect to lose people from your life, and expect to have to make the tough choice to cut people out of your life who display these signs of envy when you do achieve something great that took time, effort, drive, and consistency.

It’s a “crabs in a pot” mentality.

Supportive friends and family will always choose to celebrate your achievements

blissinanarchy1 · Answer

In all honesty yes, there are plenty of douchebag gym bros. But there are plenty of people like myself who see elderly people and overweight people putting in that work, and I will literally come up to you and encourage you, stranger or not.

Anonymous · Answer

I've been there I use to weigh over 400.. It's because fat is simply unhealthy. I Do not shame them though unless they happen to be someone who complains that there is no one for them, and subsequently list someone who is a body builder, perfect 10.. Sorry if you're barely a 2 you're not entitled to a 10.. Nor are you allowed to complain when no one wants you due to weight.

Why do some or most people like health/fitness shaming?

Most Helpful Opinions

What Girls & Guys Said

Why do some or most people like health/fitness shaming?

Most Helpful Opinions

What Girls & Guys Said

We're glad to see you liked this post.