It’s no secret that US society is obsessed with youth and beauty. “Beauty” focuses on a fairly narrow range of characteristics, including a slim body. There’s little representation of plus-sized people in media, film or advertising. The tacit–and sometimes blatant–message seems to be that heavy people are somehow worth less than thin. It’s crazy, it’s devastating, and it hurts people. The body positive movement arose out of a revolt against our society’s incredibly narrow view of beauty and health. Fat-shaming became a real problem in the US, leading to a massive push-back that on the part of a few, involved an attempt at re-packaging medical obesity healthy.
The idea that a person can be healthy at any weight gained credence in the body positive movement, to the point where for some activists and supporters, losing weight came to be viewed as a lack of positive body image or even self-loathing. An emphasis on accepting one’s body exactly like it was overtook the reality of obesity’s dangers
People are worthy of respect, period. Everyone, regardless of size or weight, ability or disability, everyone’s body and being are worthwhile, deserving of love. Unfortunately, people worthy of respect and love die every single day far too young because of disorders and illnesses either caused by obesity or exacerbated by it. No amount of personal worthiness or self-respect can negate the dangers of being morbidly obese. Saying that losing weight is a sign of low self-respect is akin to saying that having a broken leg placed in a cast is a lack of love for one’s body.
The question then comes, is obesity really dangerous? Is it as healthy as being at a weight determined to be optimal, and who determines that? First, society doesn’t get to make the call as to what is healthy. Medical research points to healthy weight ranges that are far from the beauty ideals of society.
The idea that a person can be healthy at any weight simply isn’t true. Obesity is time and again closely associated with devastating illnesses, such as coronary artery disease. It’s the number one factor associated with Type I diabetes and high blood pressure, and worsens arthritis and a host of other illnesses. It can also harm fertility. In some cases, it makes pre-existing conditions like these worse; other times, obesity causes the disorder.
Sometimes, people have strong positive health indicators, although they’re obese. It’s not a situation that can last indefinitely, as being severely overweight eventually does enough harm that health is chronically bad. It’s just a matter of time.
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