"...and fat people are the witches..."

[AngelV]

From WTOPnews.com (http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=106&sid=239673):


Fat Activists See Diet Industry Draining
Updated: Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 - 2:26 PM

By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Unashamed of their size, fed up with fat jokes, and angry at the national obsession with dieting, overweight activists are mounting a feisty protest movement against the medical establishment's campaign against obesity.

"We're living in the middle of a witch hunt and fat people are the witches," said Marilyn Wann of San Francisco, a militant member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. "It's gotten markedly worse in the last few years because of the propaganda that fatness, a natural human characteristic, is somehow a form of disease."

The association, known as NAAFA, holds its annual convention starting Wednesday in Newark, N.J., bringing together activists for social events and workshops on self-acceptance, political advocacy and the "fat liberation" movement.

"I hope we can be a viable force of sanity in the midst of hysteria," said NAAFA spokeswoman Mary Ray Worley of Madison, Wis. "I've found allies in all kinds of unexpected places, but overall there's a lot of animosity. Some people act like obesity is the next worst thing after terrorism."

The convention comes as the movement is scrambling to counter federal government pronouncements that obesity is a "critical public health problem" costing more than $100 billion and 300,000 lives per year.

Jeannie Moloo, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman who counsels overweight clients at her nutrition practice in Sacramento, Calif., empathizes with the activists' fight against bias, but says they should be wary of oversimplifying obesity-related health issues.

"Some people can be overweight all their lives and not end up with diabetes or heart disease or hypertension," Moloo said. "But the majority are probably going to develop one of these life-altering conditions."

Fat-acceptance groups were dismayed when federal officials announced last month that Medicare was discarding its declaration that obesity isn't a disease. The policy change will likely prompt overweight Americans covered by Medicare to file medical claims for treatments such as stomach surgery and diet programs.

"Obesity is not a disease," insisted Allen Steadham, director of the Austin, Texas-based International Size Acceptance Association. "All this does is open the door for the diet and bariatric surgery industries to make a potentially tremendous profit."

Most fat-acceptance activists endorse the concept of eating healthy food and exercising regularly, but they oppose any fixation on losing weight and contend that more than 95 percent of diets fail. They also decry the rapid growth of stomach-shrinking surgery; the number of such procedures has quadrupled to 100,000 annually since 1998.

Wann depicts bariatric surgery as "stomach amputation" that imposes anorexia on patients and exposes them to long-term risks. Kelly Bliss, a self-described "full-figured fitness instructor" from Lansdowne, Pa., predicts that future generations will disapprovingly look back on stomach surgery as "comparable to lobotomies."

Bliss, who coaches clients by phone and in fitness classes, subscribes to a philosophy called "health at every size" _ preaching that health, fitness and self-esteem can be achieved independent of weight.

"There's a war on obese people, and I'm treating the casualties _ people whose hearts are being ripped out," Bliss said.

NAAFA and others have tried to combat what they see as rampant discrimination against fat people, but progress has been sporadic. Southwest Airlines, for example, resisted protests targeting its policy of requiring large passengers to purchase a second ticket if they can't fit in a single seat.

"People want to fight for their rights, but there's a lot of shame involved," Steadham said. "It takes a whole lot of determination to stick through it to the end."

A few cities, including San Francisco, explicitly outlaw weight discrimination. Michigan is the only state to do so, but its Civil Rights Department said only five of 1,696 job discrimination complaints filed in 2003 involved weight.

Walter Lindstrom, a San Diego attorney specializing in weight-discrimination cases, said overweight plaintiffs usually must prove that acts of bias against them are covered by federal laws prohibiting discrimination against disabled people.

"These cases are more difficult from a proof standpoint, and also because you're dealing with a very unpopular class of clients," Lindstrom said. "Juries are generally disgusted with your average size-related plaintiff. You have to get past that, and have them see the plaintiff as someone with a true medical problem."

Many fat-acceptance activists were heartened by this year's publication of "The Obesity Myth" by University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, who contends that diet promoters, drug companies and weight-loss surgeons have whipped up an irrational panic over weight.

Campos shares many of the activists' views but says their effectiveness has been limited.

"The movement has found itself marginalized by drawing its membership and leadership from the far extreme of obesity," he said. "It will be more successful if it can attract the two-thirds of Americans who are being told by the government that they weigh too much _ the I-want-to-lose-20-pounds crowd who are starting to feel a certain amount of resentment from the constant haranguing they're getting."

[bluelupis]

If you're Mexican and fat you can be part of NAFTA NAAFA.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by bluelupis
If you're Mexican and fat you can be part of NAFTA NAAFA.

LOL! You're on a roll (ha!) today!

[Necromancer]

Originally posted by AngelV
Fat Activists See Moving too Much as Draining
Updated: Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 - 2:26 PM

By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer



How do they get away with printing stuff like that?

[despondent]

These activists are simply in denial. I do think that there is an extreme push towards thinness and I don't think bariatric surgery is the way to go. I do agree that there are some larger people than are relatively healthy, but these people are sending the message to extremely overweight and obese people that it is OK. While I'm not a member (but have known those that were), walk into an OA meeting (Overeaters Anonymous) and listen to those people. They were really suffering because of their condition, both physically and emotionally. The NAAFA is equivilent of a group that stands up for the rights of drunks or other addicts.

[DaysWithoutEnd]

Originally posted by bluelupis
If you're Mexican and fat you can be part of NAFTA NAAFA.
LOL, nice one. You deserve a star for that.
If only i had such powers... *sigh*

Seriously though, this is pretty stupid.

[wileE]

Maybe they should march on Washington. Get a little exercise.

What a joke.

[aqualou]

I was hoping it would be the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance & Tollerence. Then when asked if you're big boned, you can say

"Naa . . . Fat"

[Phreon]

It only matters if you're big boned in the right places.


Phreon

[postfeminist]

wileE lost a little bit of soul when he said
Maybe they should march on Washington. Get a little exercise.

yeah, being shitty about fat people is really funny. wileE, i thought you were cool. now i'm sad.

if you really think that's funny, read this. (http://msg.woxy.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17169)

[pearl5001]

Originally posted by wileE
Maybe they should march on Washington. Get a little exercise.

What a joke.

wileE: my guess is that you've been relatively thin all your life, right? Then you really couldn't know just how far reaching the ridicule and shame can be for someone who is larger than the general public.

Good Self-esteem is a really hard target to hit for someone in that situation, so I salute the BBW's and FA's (that's Big Beautiful Women and Fat Admirers) who are making a stand.

[AngelV]

From Tufts University's Health & Nutrition Letter (http://healthletter.tufts.edu/issues/2004-07/weight.html) (July 2004):


Yes, But Is Weight Loss the Be-All and the End-All?

Take a look at these four questions.

1. What is your dream weight?
2. What is the weight at which you’d be happy—not as ideal as dream weight but still something you’d be glad to achieve?
3. What is the weight you’d find acceptable—not something you’d be terribly happy with but which you could live with if it were your current weight?
4. What is the weight at which you’d feel disappointed—it’s less than you weigh now, but it would still leave you feeling very unsatisfied?


Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania asked these very questions of a group of obese women beginning a weight-loss program. The average dream weight amounted to a loss of 69 pounds—32 percent of the women’s current body weight. The weight loss the women would have found merely acceptable was 55 pounds—a 25 percent weight change. And the weight loss that would have been disappointing was 37 pounds—17 percent of their body weight.

After 48 weeks, almost an entire year, half the women did not achieve even their “disappointed” weight.

Heather Bell, MPH, RD, a nutrition therapist at the Tufts-New England Medical Center, isn’t surprised. “In reality,” she says, “it’s hard for some people to lose even 10 percent of body weight, never mind being able to keep it off.” Granted, as most people have heard by now, even small changes in weight, say, 5 to 10 percent of body weight—and sometimes less than that—can often produce significant improvements in cholesterol levels, blood sugar, blood pressure, and other medical indices of health. But that can be small comfort to people who have a certain body size in mind.

The problem, Ms. Bell says, is that “we frequently focus on weight to the exclusion of everything else. Particularly in this culture, there is a temptation to over-focus on weight.” And that means that even clients who lose enough weight to become healthier but still weigh more than what they consider ideal “are likely to feel frustrated, likely to feel disappointed, likely to feel like they’ve failed, which means they may then give up on all those health-enhancing behaviors because they didn’t accomplish what they were ‘supposed’ to.”


Rest of the article (http://healthletter.tufts.edu/issues/2004-07/weight.html)

[tobedawg]

Postfem posted what my thoughts were on the subject...

So.... I guess I don't need to post anything more..

[BigSugar]

i'm currently so fat, i can no longer fit into my grandiose dreams of world domination! now THAT'S fat.

but i can fit in my new car! :) so i got that going for me. you know, which is nice.

[Necromancer]

Originally posted by wileE
Maybe they should march on Washington. Get a little exercise.

What a joke.

Evidently that loosley translates as "JEHOVAH!"

[bluelupis]

Originally posted by Necromancer


Evidently that loosley translates as "JEHOVAH!"

Wha? I might be a drunk but that made entirely no sense what so ever.


Hey folks didn't we argue the fat people issue in the Cedar Point restrictions thread some time back? Either way, carry on.

[Necromancer]

Originally posted by bluelupis


Wha? I might be a drunk but that made entirely no sense what so ever.


As in something that when you say it, you will get stoned by an angry mob.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by bluelupis
Hey folks didn't we argue the fat people issue in the Cedar Point restrictions thread some time back? Either way, carry on.


I didn't really intend for these articles to start an argument or anything...just wanted to post a couple of items I found interesting. Here you have one group saying "dieters lay off" while another is saying "lower your weightloss expectations and you'll be happier." It seems to me that some middle ground needs to be reached.

[bluelupis]

Originally posted by Necromancer


As in something that when you say it, you will get stoned by an angry mob.

Gottcha. :)

[bluelupis]

Originally posted by AngelV



I didn't really intend for these articles to start an argument or anything...just wanted to post a couple of items I found interesting. Here you have one group saying "dieters lay off" while another is saying "lower your weightloss expectations and you'll be happier." It seems to me that some middle ground needs to be reached.

I agree, Angel. I was simply being a burn out and was unsure of where I saw that thread. Here or over yonder. Ya know what I find hilarious? As time goes by here in the US of A we as a population are being broken down further and further into little sub groups that are in supposed oppostion to like thinking peoples who just differ in some small way and therefore come up with their own group and a new fucking acronym to cunfuse the hell out of us. Just what an opposing country loves! Seperation from the inside! It all reminds me of PCU. That movie cracked me up. Yes it was a bit lowbrow but I still laughed and George Clinton's "Stomp" was riduculous!! I was shakin my ass all over the room.

[tobedawg]

As in something that when you say it, you will get stoned by an angry mob.

Phleaze!!

There are people that agree with your opinions and there are people that will disagree with your opinions.. That's the way that life is...

If you feel your viewpoint is right, then stand by it.. but don't act like you are a "victim" just because someone disagrees with you or presents a different viewpoint that might challenge the way that you think..

[Necromancer]

My opinion on this is the same as yours, tobedawg.
However, I respect other people opinions, and won't jump all over some one who says something I disagree with.

[wileE]

Originally posted by postfeminist


yeah, being shitty about fat people is really funny. wileE, i thought you were cool. now i'm sad.


I am sorry you feel that way.

I don't have a problem with people being overweight. I do have a problem with people who are seriously overweight to the point where they have health problems (maybe not now, but they will soon enough). And I have a problem with people who are overweight and don't do anything about it(heck, I have a problem with anybody who complains about something, but doesn't do anything about it). Do they need to do something about it? I think they would be much happier if they did.

There are points to the article that I agree with and there are those I don't. One thing that never gets mentioned is that the gov't keeps lowering the guideline for what they consider 'overweight'. Hence, the huge increase in obesity. Is there a witchhunt? Sure. Are people overweight? Yes. 20 or 30 lbs overweight is no big deal. 50 or more is.

I have all the respect in the world for someone who is overweight and has TRIED to do something about it. Postfeminist, I have been reading that thread and commenting on it. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope it works for you (and everybody else).

Yes, I am thin and have been most of my life. I managed to catch myself when starting to pack on the pounds and do something about it. It's a lot of work, but well worth it in my opinion.

Hopefully, I didn't dig a deeper hole for myself.

[Duemellon]

It's a shame that the sensibilities of those who view themselves as overweight r so vulnerable.

... now who do we hav to blame that on?

I'll agree that it seems strange that the US has a sweeping obesity problem but Samoans don't. Go fig. I'm not sayin the natural state of man is being that weighty, but I also kno that our society is rather fuckd up on what it xpects from it's ppl.

The weight of conformity is quite oppressive.

[ICONOCLAST420]

Americans have an obesety problem because we are one of the softest, cosseted candy-ass societies on the planet, Most obese people (not all) work in sedentary office jobs, drive an air conditioned SUV to work, and pay an illegal alien $2.00 to cut the grass and dont do anything themselves if they can get someone else to do it for them. This is why carb cutting is so popular, its easier than exercise. Get a job that involves heavy lifting in the heat and you will be amazed at how fast you will lose the weight.

[pearl5001]

On my way home from work, I decided to do some research to allow some of my thinner compatriots to 'walk a mile in my shoes'. Searched for FAT SUIT on Yahoo and was met with more than 1.6M results. Yikes!

Turns out, most were:
1. lamenting the fact that thin, beautiful actresses were donning fat suits instead of using actual overweight people
2. the proliferation of the law suit happy nation in which we live
3. stores selling fat suits
4. reactions from people who have worn a 'fat suit' for anywhere from 1 day to several weeks.

My motivation had been the number of 'fat suit' mini-documentaries that I've seen over the years, and my intention had been to disount people who exaggerate the amount pf ridicule felt when wearing the fat suit. It's bad, but it's not that bad. After reading this 'Fat Like Me' article about spending 2 weeks being obese, I realized that I have experienced many of the same things - like routinely being seated next to the kitchen when dining out with other fat friends or having people check out my grocery cart. I just don't equate all of the bad things that happen to me with my being fat and never will.

ASIDE: once while shopping for healthy foods (fruits, fiber, etc), a thin, attractive female checked my cart and commented that she really needed to be eating like me instead of buying the frozen pizza and chips in her basket. Glorious!

http://www.naafa.org/press_room/fat_like_me.html



This next article is pretty long, but well researched. The passage below touches on the vulnerable sensibilities of us fatties. Yeah, we're a little touchy about others' perceptions, but we get by. :)
http://www.gurneesupport.com/ftp/Obesity-%20The%20Last%20Bastion%20of%20Prejudice.pdf
An obese person is as normal, psychologically, as anyone else. "The long-standing belief that obese
persons suffer disproportionately from emotional disturbances has been shown to be incorrect. In two of
(Moore and colleagues) studies obese persons actually had lower levels of psychopathology than their
non-obese counterparts (in a study of 1660 people in midtown Manhattan)."3Further, medical science has been able to demonstrate that morbidly obese persons are psychologically
normal in all respects except for some traits that are caused by social prejudices. "Emotional problems
specific to obese persons do exist, but they are now seen as consequences of the prejudice and
discrimination directed against obese persons."3 Therefore, the seriously obese are mentally as normal as lean individuals and, where they behave otherwise, it is either a normal human response to prejudicial
treatment or a reflection of a similar incidence of mental disorders which are experienced by the non-
obese population. Their large size and related diseases are a manifestation, phenotype, of their genetic
inheritance which all humanity is heir to.

Food for thought (no pun intended).

[classicgrrl]

Originally posted by Duemellon
It's a shame that the sensibilities of those who view themselves as overweight r so vulnerable.

... now who do we hav to blame that on?

I'll agree that it seems strange that the US has a sweeping obesity problem but Samoans don't. Go fig. I'm not sayin the natural state of man is being that weighty, but I also kno that our society is rather fuckd up on what it xpects from it's ppl.

The weight of conformity is quite oppressive.

well arent you just clever. :p

however the above statement is very true. I dont think I would have such an issue with my weight if I wasnt bombarded with images of the physcially ideal every hour of every day since I was nigh on 1 yr old.

we've brought the obesity issue on ourselves. Hell, we fucking created it.

[despondent]

Originally posted by ICONOCLAST420
Americans have an obesety problem because we are one of the softest, cosseted candy-ass societies on the planet, Most obese people (not all) work in sedentary office jobs, drive an air conditioned SUV to work, and pay an illegal alien $2.00 to cut the grass and dont do anything themselves if they can get someone else to do it for them. This is why carb cutting is so popular, its easier than exercise. Get a job that involves heavy lifting in the heat and you will be amazed at how fast you will lose the weight. word! I'm 31 and because of my physcially active job, I'm in my best physical shape since I was 20.

[pearl5001]

Originally posted by classicgrrl
we've brought the obesity issue on ourselves. Hell, we fucking created it.

There was a Discovery Health show on last night about Obesity (heck, pick a night - there is probably an obesity show on Discovery- whether it is finding a way to combat it through surgery, natural means, or dealing with needed cosmetic surgery after) and they stated that most women are 5'6", 150 lbs or more yet most models are 5'9", 110-120. No wonder young girls grow up with the "OMG -I'm fat" mentality when actually they are normal.

To some extent, being fat all my life has made it easier where body image is concerned. Fat IS normal for me, so I've never obsessed about what I should look like.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by pearl5001


There was a Discovery Health show on last night about Obesity (heck, pick a night - there is probably an obesity show on Discovery- whether it is finding a way to combat it through surgery, natural means, or dealing with needed cosmetic surgery after)

Yep, I watched this show previously. Carnie Wilson is the narrator. It's made by the same folks who did "Big as Life."

Discovery Health is a major supporter of various organizations who are working to get the word out about nutrition and combatting the rising levels of obesity in the U.S. Earlier this year they sponsored a "National Body Challenge," where folks went to Discovery stores to weigh-in and participate in a 12-week program focusing on exercise and nutrition.