Recently, I came across a post that blew me out of the water. Seriously it was the most disgusting combinations of words that I have read in a looong time.
“Top 10 Reasons Why the Fat Acceptance Movement Should Be Ashamed of Itself.“
Don’t worry about clicking the link to improve traffic, I used DoNotLink. The content, however, may just anger you though. Roll up your sleeves, y’all. Let’s dig into this bullshit!
First and foremost, this author equates the Fat Acceptance (FA) movement with Health at Every Size® (HAES). While many of the elements coincide, they are not the same thing. FA is about not only accepting yourself at whatever size you are, but also about making fat people acceptable in society (e.g., working on ridding society of thin privilege). This is where Fativism comes into play. HAES is an ideology giving tenets about how one should feel and act with regards to their body. It gives a person the tools to accept oneself as they are. But for the sake of argument, let’s assume (wrongly) that they are the same thing.
10. The Fat Acceptance Movement is Anti-science
Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.
Because 50+ studies aren’t good enough for you? Here are just a few:
- Naturalistic weight reduction efforts predicted weight gain and onset of obesity in adolescent girls
- Intentional weight loss predicted accelerated weight gain and risk of overweight
- Dieters gain more weight during pregnancy
- Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals is related to BMI in a nationwide sample of 1601 mid-age New Zealand women.
- List of intuitive eating-related studies
- This paper evaluates the evidence and rationale that justifies shifting the health care paradigm from a conventional weight focus to HAES
- Among people who have ever been overweight or obese, just 4.4% have lost 20% or more of their starting weight and kept it off for one year
- Face-to-face format finds people still gain weight anyway
- Reviews the science of the failure of LTWLM (long-term weight loss management) and how most weigh management programs essentially ignore the overwhelming body of research
- This comment that lists various quotes from studies that shows the futility of LTWLM is well-accepted in the research community
Of course, these studies and others don’t jive with your idea of the world, so obviously WE are turning “a blind eye to the overwhelming medical evidence,” as you say.
This particular bullet goes on to quote the Fat Nutritionist:
“I’d like to say something about how much fat people eat. I, personally, would be neither surprised nor offended if it were somehow proven that fat people, on average, eat more than thinner people. Of course, this hasn’t been proven, and if it were, there would be exceptions and outliers â€" but if it were found to be the general case, it wouldn’t surprise or offend me in any way.” (Emphasis from the offending article.)
This was taken from Michelle’s post titled “If I eat more than you, it’s for one simple reason.”  You see, Michelle goes on to say that it doesn’t matter if fat people eat more than thinner counterparts because “If I overeat, it’s an occurrence relative only to myself, not to the thin person next to me” because you can’t compare watermelons to apples. Just because you knew this one person’s aunt’s cousin’s son who lost a ton of weight by starving themselves or, conversely, got “huge” from sitting around all day eating whole pizzas and drinking 2 liter sodas doesn’t mean that every fat person does this.
9. Because It’s Un-empowering, Dispiriting and un-America
Oh really, what? What the what what??
The FAM [Fat Acceptance Movement] adheres to an ideology that our bodies are unmalleable, unchangeable, and something to accept.  This is a denunciation of the American way. In this country we believe in pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and carving out a better life than that to which we were born.
What kind of jingoistic, dog-whistling piece of absolute filth…??? No, I’m done, that’s some bullshit right there. Next!
8. Because the FAM Promotes Laziness, Overeating, and Unhealthy Behavior
One of FAM’s central tenets “accepting and respecting the natural diversity of body sizes and shapes†shrouds tacit approval of bad behavior. While it’s true that not every individual is the same, each individual can be characterized as either obese or not obese. Each individual has the capacity to be either thin or obese.
This tenet is actually part of HAES, and the next two tenets directly conflict with what the author said by their own volition.
- Accept and respect the natural diversity of body sizes and shapes
- Eat in a flexible manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite
- Find joy in moving one’s body and becoming more physically vital
What part of “eat until your body says you are full” and “move in a way you enjoy” sounds anything like “lazy,” “overeating,” or “unhealthy”? Oh wait:
While it’s true that not every individual is the same, each individual can be characterized as either obese or not obese. Each individual has the capacity to be either thin or obese. To say otherwise is disingenuous. To accept an obese body as normal is to accept the behaviors that lead to such a state. (emphasis mine)
Oh, you aren’t actually talking about laziness, overeating, or unhealthy behaviors. You are talking about how you don’t like fat people to actually feel good about themselves. If a fat person is fat, it’s because they made themselves fat. Gotcha.
7. Because the FAM Promotes Disease
Being obese leads to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, stroke, kidney problems (End Stage Renal Disease), fatty liver disease, and pregnancy complications. Obesity impairs the normal functioning of the body. Obese people have excess adipose tissue (fat) that causes the overproduction of leptin. Leptin regulates food intake and energy expenditure. Too much leptin results in abnormal food intake and energy regulation.
I am pretty sure you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. First of all, non-fat people get these diseases whether they stay not-fat or become fat. Second, even if a fat person becomes non-fat, they will still have many of these diseases, because you can’t just become not diabetic or not arthritic or escape from genetic diseases. Next, leptin controls satiety, or the feeling of fullness. Specifically, the more leptin you have in your bloodstream, the less hungry you are. What you are describing is ghrelin, the hunger hormone.
What else do you have, author?
Among experts there is absolutely no critical or recognized debate about whether obesity is unhealthy. Universally, all experts agree that obesity without a doubt or prevarication leads to serious disease.
Oh really? There is perfect consensus in the scientific community that being fat is unhealthy? It is universally accepted?Â
For example, obesity causes heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States and the world.
No. Just no. Not only is heart disease caused by a variety of different health problems, it affects people of ALL SIZES.
Being fat may be strongly correlated to heart disease, but you know what else is strongly correlated?
That’s right, suck it.
6. Because Obesity is 100% Curable
*sigh* let me guess where you are going with this. Being fat is not a disease, just like being tall or not having big enough balls are not diseases. Sure, you can “cure” each by expensive cosmic surgeries, but it is not a sickness.
Diseases don’t generally gift their hosts with health benefits, one of which is longevity. If you don’t believe me, look it up.
5. Because the FAM’s Encouragement to Accept Yourself is Deceptive
Listed as the first step in FAM manual, accepting yourself is as self-deceptive as it is self-destructive. The first step should be: identify the problem or more accurately admit that you have a problem with food. Self-awareness is crucial when attempting to fix a problem or cure a disease.
Oh I see what you did there. All fat people everywhere gorge on food, which is why they are fat. If they would just admit to themselves that they eat too much, then they can begin fixing themselves to be socially acceptable. Obviously every fat person is a food addict. Silly me.
4. Because FAM’s Advice to Trust Yourself is Wrongheaded
Would FAM advise someone suffering from anorexia or bulimia to trust themselves? Would it provide the same advice to someone suffering from a heroin addiction or alcoholism? An obese person has gone off the tracks and is a state of utter disrepair. The individual’s internal sensors have short-circuited. Relying on your own judgment in such an altered state is foolhardy. Obtaining advice from a trained medical professional and following that advice is paramount. (emphasis mine)
- “Learning to Trust Myself in Eating Disorder Recovery” by Patricia Lemoine. (Eating Disorders)
- “Intuitive Eating: Learning to Trust Yourself Again, Part 2” by Eating Disorder Hope
- “3 Ways to Trust Your Body and Trust Yourself” by Lisa Ryan (Eating Disorders)
- “Learning How to Trust Yourself Again” by Promises Treatment Center (alcoholism)
- “Addiction, Recovery, and Self-trust” by Marc from Memoirs of an Addicted Brain
- “The Importance of Trust in an Alcohol Treatment Program” by Vista Taos Renewal Center
Ahem, I’m just going to leave these here. NEXT!
3. Because FAM Puts Too Much Emphasis on Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is something that is earned. And it can be. Just like each individual has the power and ability to make real change in their lives. They can choose to do so and the reward… you guessed it is self-esteem and positive results. The FAM is blissfully ignorant on this point.  The FAM merely asserts that each person has the right to high self-esteem regardless of their behavior.
Building self-esteem is incredibly important, especially to people who have devastatingly-low amounts. Self-esteem is not earned nor is it a privilege to be taken away simply because a person is fat. Feeling like you are worthy and valued as a person can never do harm; to take these away is incredibly detrimental. Saying that a person’s worth and value depends on their size is really shitty.
2. Because FAM Ignores That Behavior Equals Result: We are what we repeatedly do
Good habits equal good outcomes. Bad habits equal bad outcomes. Engaging in repeated bad behavior day in and day out leads to nothing but sorrow and failure. It is the small steps taken every day that can lead a person from darkness into the light. This article is not meant to be disheartening or cause dismay. Rather it is to point out the irrationality of the FAM and to suggest, humbly an alternative. And that alternative is that small, positive steps can produce dramatic productive results.
1. Because Accepting an Obese Body as Normal or Healthy is Purposefully Harmful
Ah, FINALLY we get to the point. Fat people should be ashamed of themselves because they are fat, because they aren’t thin, because fat people are KILLING AMERICA. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!@#%)*&!!! You see, at this point the author quotes some figures, says fat people are an “epidemic,” and then calls for said “epidemic.”
To turn back the tide there can be no acceptance that obesity is normal because to do so would be to hammer another nail into the coffin of America. Recognizing obesity as a disease is perhaps the first great step. But what comes next is harder. The eradication of the disease. Much like the eradication of other diseases what comes first is education and then action. (emphasis from the author)
You see, only by accepting that we fat people do not deserve to feel worthy or valued, that we are diseased and need to be cured, that we are addicts unable to trust or be trusted, and that we are being deceived by “disingenuous charlatans posing as prophets” who use anti-science to promote an epidemic that is destroying America and the WORLD, only then can we fat people truly heal and recover! Only then, by making small steps, can we too be not-fat.
Filed under: DT, DW, ED, EX, FH, FN, FP, FS, Media Monday, WL, WLS
- Repost by plussizebabydolldress.blogspot.com - Source::http://fiercefatties.com/2014/10/06/because-reasons/
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