Why is there so much prejudice against overweight people in the U.S.?

Question

It just seems odd to me that even though we are at the point in this country when the majority of people are overweight people are still shallow enough to judge on outward appearances instead of looking deeper...

Answer 1

It's a good question. I have hypothyroidism, and before it was diagnosed, I was about 40 pounds overweight. The stereotype was that I was lazy and had no self-control. The truth was that I rarely ate, dieted strictly, and had a medical problem. Many "large" people actually eat less than "skinny" people. Not all thin people are healthy or in shape; not all fat people are unhealthy or out-of-shape.

I'm now at a "healthy" weight, but I'll never forget the way people treated me, or the assumptions that they made based on appearance.

Answer 2

I think the jury is in:
It's not really prejudice, but a common-sense loathing of what the overweight person has become, which nobody wants to share or be.

But this common aversion is based on some misconceptions, as are the habits of the obese as well.

There are many countries where obesity is rare, and it is not entirely genetic. Bring the same people over here and if they adopt our ways, they get fat like the rest of us.

The reason is that our general lifestyle makes us fat. It's not just a person's own habits.

Here's a prescription for obesity...

>Stress - Plenty of it here. Causes weight gain and overeating.
>Soft jobs - We've sent the physical stuff elsewhere.
>Sedentary entertainment - No calories burned.
>2 cars for everyone - 'nuff said.
>Starvation Dieting - Increases appetite and converts carbs to fat faster.
>Intense exercise - Same as above.
>Lack of time for prolonged, moderate physical activity - Fails to increase metabolism.
>Lack of time to enjoy meals - Speed eating gets more food in before body knows it's full.
>Larger meals - Once energy is replenished, the rest turns to fat.
>Fewer small meals -Moderate snacking doesn't do the above, if that's all you have and you are active.
>Sugar, fat, salt, and additives in everything - Need I say more?

All this stuff produces dysfunction, even extending to organ failure, which makes the problem worse. We weren't made for the world we've made.

Too late to put the genie back in the bottle, so the changes will have to be personal. Excess weight will make you sick if you don't do something about it now. Forget what people think. Think about yourself.

My advice to the obsese:

Check the above list, tackle the items one by one, and show everybody something to believe in.

Yes, for some people it's easy (it will be for you too, if you stick to it). For now, you will get more respect when you do something that seems hard. Don't give up... It takes time.

Answer 3

We live in a society that is very much so influenced by the media....Television, magazines, movies..... In the medias eyes the the most attractive are those that are thinner and have a certain "Look" in a way have a body that is unique and yet nice to look at. Overweight people are no different then skinny personality wise...just because one is overweight does not mean that they are lazy. If one is overweight they are looked at as being the "Other" in society and in a way is a threat to the conformity set forth by the media. Truthfully I believe it is really not how much you weigh it's how you carry yourself and treat others. Also how much must you weigh in order to be considered skinny?..... Americas obsession with weight is bringing about eating disorders in hundreds of thousands around the country.

Answer 4

I completey agree against prejudism in all situiations. Ithink the reason is that nowdays there are a lot of documentries on obesity and how going to effect you, not that it is bad because alot of them show ways to help, but some people take the wrong idea of them. They make a judgement because of your looks, this could be because if you watch TV you cannot see their personality but only their outside appearance. Some people judge people because they are obiest because they are just shallow people. They do not want to know how nice or kind you are but these people may think that your appearance reflects you personality, which it definately does not.

Answer 5

Because overweight is expression of lack of care. Most people are overweight because they eat too much. The cases of people that are overweight because of a body's dysfunction is very low, on these cases, the person easily becomes obese, their lower intakes of calories can't help them loose weight. Most people that goes on diet loose weight, while a very low number of people doesn't loose way while in a diet of low calories.
I don't think there is prejudice against overweight people, most people have gotten overweight at least once in some point of their lives. There is prejudice against obese people and that is because fat has a disgusting appearance, plus people that are obese requires more support to have something done. They have difficulty to move, so things can get delay, they are more prompt to get sick, requiring more care. I think obese people requires more patience from those who are not obese.

Answer 6

We are sometimes our own worst enemies. When a person is overweight, society belittles them which only contributes to isolation and low self esteem. Some people then eat to deal with this "depression" and contribute to the very thing that causes them pain. It's a viscous cycle. My mother was very obese and she felt she was too fat to even try to lose weight so she had this "why bother attitude" and would continue to eat too much and continue to get bigger. Its hard!

Answer 7

sure, there must be rules against it - The try for any bigotry is to attempt think of asserting issues like that approximately someones faith or colour. i've got considered it ensue inspite of medical doctors and Dentists, professional people who must be attentive to greater effective. If even they fail, what risk is there for absolutely everyone obese ever being taken care of somewhat?

Answer 8

I saw a overweight guy in Minnisota and there were teens playing basketball and he wasn't allowed to paly since of his weight. Sad I know

Answer 9

because theyre always saying normal sized ppl are anorexic and it makes us all mad so we throw it back at you...I would say becuase there is a stereotype that you guys are all lazy and eat 20 boxes of dohnuts a day..

Answer 10

Some people are just plain stupid, and making fun of others makes them feel better. Plus the media bombards us with thousands of images per day of what is considered beautiful and sexy(by their standards not mine), and stupid people believe them.