Ehh. I think when people advocate for body positivism considering obese people, they aren't saying being obese is necessarily "healthy" (at least if you're the sane majority). They're rather arguing that we should stop shaming obese people. It's impossible to really become healthy if we're pushing people to hate themselves. Mental health is just as important as physical.
For example, I was a chubby kid. My mom would call me her "little piggy" and compare me to my thin cousins. After I had an eating disorder and dropped forty pounds in high school - everyone applauded me. I was "healthy" despite the fact that I was anemic, my hair was falling out, and my teeth were rotting from frequent vomiting. Nobody cared about my "health" despite the fact that nobody also ever saw me eat solid food. With therapy and determination, now I'm in college and I eat again! I immediately gained those pounds back. I'm not considered overweight, but I exercise and eat well not because I care about how much I weigh - but because I love myself.
And that's the answer to obesity. Not calling them "300 pound cows" but rather understanding that unhealthy relationships with food are a result of mental illness and self-hatred, not just laziness (unless you consider things like depression laziness which is a debate for another day). The first step is teaching those people to love themselves which /is/ saying that they're beautiful and worthy of love regardless of weight. Let's separate food from calories. Healthy food helps you feel good, jogging while feeling the wind rush past your face is spiritual freedom, hiking is exploring parts of the world you never would have otherwise - all of these things are treating your body like you truly love it. When you love yourself, you treat your body better, and you tend to lose weight if you're grossly over-weight.
I do appreciate how you separate "obese" from "chubby". Some people are naturally "chubby" even if they exercise and eat well. Nobody is naturally obese.
I think fat acceptance is bullshit - but it wasn't always
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Ehh. I think when people advocate for body positivism considering obese people, they aren't saying being obese is necessarily "healthy" (at least if you're the sane majority). They're rather arguing that we should stop shaming obese people. It's impossible to really become healthy if we're pushing people to hate themselves. Mental health is just as important as physical.
For example, I was a chubby kid. My mom would call me her "little piggy" and compare me to my thin cousins. After I had an eating disorder and dropped forty pounds in high school - everyone applauded me. I was "healthy" despite the fact that I was anemic, my hair was falling out, and my teeth were rotting from frequent vomiting. Nobody cared about my "health" despite the fact that nobody also ever saw me eat solid food. With therapy and determination, now I'm in college and I eat again! I immediately gained those pounds back. I'm not considered overweight, but I exercise and eat well not because I care about how much I weigh - but because I love myself.
And that's the answer to obesity. Not calling them "300 pound cows" but rather understanding that unhealthy relationships with food are a result of mental illness and self-hatred, not just laziness (unless you consider things like depression laziness which is a debate for another day). The first step is teaching those people to love themselves which /is/ saying that they're beautiful and worthy of love regardless of weight. Let's separate food from calories. Healthy food helps you feel good, jogging while feeling the wind rush past your face is spiritual freedom, hiking is exploring parts of the world you never would have otherwise - all of these things are treating your body like you truly love it. When you love yourself, you treat your body better, and you tend to lose weight if you're grossly over-weight.
I do appreciate how you separate "obese" from "chubby". Some people are naturally "chubby" even if they exercise and eat well. Nobody is naturally obese.