*quality
Finally! Someone speaking sense about this issue.

Obesity is a real health problem in the first world and for most people, it's down to lifestyle choices (laziness, eating/drinking too much), and I say that as someone who loves their food and would never be described as skinny

At the same time, being an asshole to people won't help them. Inspiration and encouragement are the keys.

After a period of enforced inactivity, I put on a bit of weight at the start of the year. Then I read this and the first two pages described me exactly.

So I ran.

1. That attitude is precisely why fat shaming is still more acceptable than say racism or homophobia, because many people see obesity as being entirely the fault of the fat person. And yeah models take flak for being too skinny but at the end of the day I'd bet they still don't take as much hate as fat people, and eating disorders are just as damaging as obesity.

2. If you agree that overeating and obesity can be symptoms of other problems then how do you imagine shaming everyone into submission will work? It's like going to the doctors office and discovering that he's prescribing penicillin for everything. Shaming can work in some cases but if you've got someone who's up to their eyeballs in shame and self loathing then after piling on more you might as well top it off with a tombstone for all the good it will do.
Obesity is a complex problem and in general people hate complex problems, they want simple 'one size fits all' (ahem) solutions. If you want to PREVENT obesity then you'll have to start thinking outside the box that is fat shaming.
Oh, and America got started down this road long before this generation, this is the culmination of generations of bad eating.

Yeah, I've seen references like this. It's crap. A quick Google search turned up articles where fat people were motivated to lose their weight because of fat shaming. There was a recent article in our local paper that made a similar point. You can always find a study to support your view. I prefer the evidence of my own eyes.
Obesity has soared in one generation because we now refer to fat women as BBW. Manufacturers of planes and cars, clothing are now designing for heavier people.
Acceptance of fat has led to the current crisis (and I do acknowledge the role of the fast food industry which I compare to the tobacco industry).
Remember how cigarette smoking was once seen as glamourous? Not any more... it was re-branded as a disgusting vice that took its toll on your health, your looks, your breath and people (like me) dropped the habit so that in one generation it's the exception rather than the rule.
Sure, there are hardcore smokers who will never be cured. And some fat people are always going to stay fat rather than develop some willpower. But it should never be accepted or promoted somehow.

@MichaelL
In regards to fat shaming or what you might call "tough love" as an effective way to help deal with obesity. Just two links of many.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/fat-shaming-weight-gain_n_3670560.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/fat-shaming-actually-increases-risk-becoming-or-staying-obese-new-f8C10751491

etc..

A couple of points in no particular order:

1. Fat shaming is akin to a criminal act in North America. Part of the whole 'abdication of personal responsibility' that has evolved over the past few decades. Ironically, it's okay to hate on skinny models for promoting a body type that often induces eating disorders in those trying to achieve it. What's good for one end of the spectrum is apparently not okay at the other...

2. I agree that overeating leading to obesity can be a symptom of other issues. That said, we're in full blown crisis mode. Obesity isn't just about fat... it's about heart disease, diabetes, and other related medical issues. Health care is going to crumble under the weight of it all - no pun intended.

It's a case of 'the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few'. If fat shaming PREVENTS a new generation of obesity, then the price as a society is worth it.

We should provide programs for those struggling with obesity NOW but we need to adopt a tough love approach.

It's part of my larger belief that by protecting stupid people from themselves we virtually guarantee our eventual extinction.

Rant over... and moving on... thx.

Okay, I feel a rant coming on...

Overweight men = obese
Overweight woman = BBW

Fat on anyone is not attractive and maybe we need to get back to fat shaming. A medical crisis is unfolding because we're too afraid to hurt people's feelings.

Obesity kills more US citizens than terrorism.

Alcohol kills more people than pot.

Religious extremism kills more americans than Edward Snowden.

Choking on food kills more humans than serial killers.

Car crashes kill more children than pedophiles.

What's your point here?

but yeah, ironic because I won't eat there again...but because fast food = unhealthy food still, good on them. gays can now die early from obesity just like us straights

I leave it to the good people of videosift to decide if this "prank" is amusing.
Do we find the obese family in the next booth, ramming as much food as they can into themselves, amusing? To me it is visually disgusting, morally reprehensible, and utter gluttony.

@ChaosEngine

I see what you're saying. I wasn't trying to reduce everything about a person to environmental factors. Certainly our choices have a huge impact on how we turn out. Instead I was disagreeing with the specific notion that personal preferences are primarily choices. Certainly we choose which preferences to nurture and how much to nurture them, though. I love Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream, but I don't eat it every day because I'm skirting obesity (statistically speaking for my weight and height) as it is.

Yeah, for the second part I think I just got thrown by how you worded it.

I'm generally of the opinion that adults should be able to do whatever drugs they please. Obviously, they should not be doing anything that requires a clear head (driving, doing surgery, looking after kids, etc), and I'd like to think that there would be regulations around the safe production of said drugs (similar to food safety).

All that said, there are negatives to a drug even as benign as marijuana. Smoking it has many of the same health risks as tobacco, it can also lead to psychological problems and even obesity (lack of motivation coupled with munchies).

I still think that it's up to the individual to make that decision, but do it with open eyes.

Well, I'll certainly grant you obesity as being the fault of GMOs, but only in that they've made foods cheaper and more abundant and thus obesity is easier to attain.

I thought the links beginning to surface for all the other conditions were the fault of human CO2 emissions, or vaccinations, or the NWO...

Back to being serious though, my big, big trouble with 'linking' or blaming GMO for health problems or, well, anything, is a complete absence of any scientific evidence and studies supporting said statements and claims. The glaring absence of such evidence really, really sets of my skepticism meter when bold claims against GMO products are stated as matter of course. It sounds to me much more like new things scare me talk than reasoned factual argument.

Are any of the cattle, chickens and pigs raised today 'natural', or are they so far removed from their original species by centuries of human directed selective breeding to be deemed man-made? Truth is there arguably never was such a thing as non-GMO Canola. It was invented as a derivative of Rapeseed by a university about 2 hours from me in the seventies. Talking about GMO products as though, oh no, we've never done anything like this ever before in human history so be very cautious just seems ignorant to me.

@bcglorf
totally agree,
unless you wish to consider the massive rise of:diabetes,hypertension,heart disease,cancer,mental illness,obesity etc etc.

the connections linked to GMO's and its possible harmful effects to mammals and the environment,along with the surrounding ecosystems are beginning to surface.

turns out those company sponsored studies may not be as upfront and truthful as we were lead to believe and there might actually be a reason for concern.

@JiggaJonson

You may not have said that people lack self-control, but the article you posted indicated as much; that when it comes to food portions, people have difficulty curbing their appetites, and it's simply not true -- and it's seems like a facile excuse for not taking responsibility for oneself.

No one I know who actually wants to lose weight "eats less and exercises" (and I would add "eat healthfully" to that, as well). In fact, I don't know anyone who eats healthfully and exercises regularly and appropriately who is "overweight." (If you know anyone, feel free to put them in touch with me.)

I don't want to get all technical here, but obviously someone who has moldy intestines, "leaky gut," fatty liver, and the resulting blood sugar imbalances may have a difficult time losing weight. And, by no means do I think eating McDonald's is a good idea for any health-conscious person, but individuals need to take some responsibility for educating themselves about their own health. This isn't McDonalds' responsibility.

And yeah, the low fat craze was a bad idea (as I frequently pointed out to many in the 90's), but that's what you get when you trust certain "authorities" to tell you what to do and how to live (especially when it comes from the government and its cronies at the AMA).

If you eat healthfully, your body will tell you when to eat and when to stop. Only a messed up metabolism encourages overeating. For example, the insulin-adrenailne roller-coaster will, of course, have an effect on a person's capacities for immediate self-control. This is why people who binge tend to do so on sweets, wheat, and other no-so-great "foods." Do you know anyone who binges on broccoli? I do not.

So I agree that you need knowledge of what to eat, and this is something that often varies from person to person as we all have different biochemistries, but there are common elements to what more likely agrees with most everyone's health.

(Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice here, as I have not been licensed by the medical "authorities" to misinform you, but in case you want to know more about the reasons for obesity, I encourage you to check this out for more information: http://www.majidali.com/the1.htm)

@Trancecoach

I never said people don't have self control, but if it were as simple as "eat less and exercise," no one would be unhealthy or obese. Instead, we're looking at a majority of the population that's overweight.

http://www.nourishinteractive.com/system/assets/general/images/nutrition-facts/portion-control-larger-portions.png

I'm not saying that it's the only reason for weight problems, but as the original article I posted points out "No one eats one and one quarter of an apple." Portion size increases provide correlative data that coincide with weight problems in developed countries. I've yet to see any data that suggests that people in the world, collectively, suddenly have less self control.

I'm no dietician, but I'd say that the low-fat food crazes of the 1980s and 90s played a role as well: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/low-fat/

Typical low-fat options replace the fat (and protein in some cases) with sugar which is burned quicker by the body.

I could go on and on, but I stand on the position that it's NOT just a simple matter of self control. AND even if it is, people have varying levels of self control that need to be accounted for: http://cess.nyu.edu/caplin/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Measuring-Self-Control-Problems.pdf

Surely, you don't think everyone has the same level of self control as you?


Edit: One last thing, sometimes people rely on food labels to restrict their diet and come up short because nutrition facts are often unreliable: http://nutritionovereasy.com/2011/04/can-you-trust-the-nutrition-facts/ Self control without good information is a bad mix.