I don't like fat acceptance sheerly for the fact that it seems to take away hope. I mean, if I were overweight or obese, I'd be pretty discouraged by stories about how "so and so has a healthy, normal diet, exercises every single day, but she's still 300 pounds and always will be, because that's just the way it is...it's just how her body was made to be." That's pretty demoralizing, no?
This isn't meant as a slight to Orangey in any way but can we establish on this thread what is fat and what isn't? Like, a peer accepted standard. Because, 180 is "obese" for most women in the US. 180. Not 300. Those "fatties" that everyone on the web/news is talking about, those disgusting people who can't get their act together, who have NO self control, those ugly cows who can't stop shoving food in their faces 24/7, in my mind they're talking about everyone over 180. 300 is an entirely different ball park. 300 isn't even morbidly obese. 300 is super obese.
Is that what people think when they say "fat"? Are they thinking of super obese? Or, are they thinking medically obese? Because I've always taken fat and all the vicious and cruel comments about fat to mean anyone who is at or above the medical standard of "obese;" a weight of over 30% based off a calculation using that and their sex and height. So, like this girl
http://www.mybodygallery.com/photos-34714-body-shape.htm?StartAt=1#.UcJ9DPmTg74
Is that what we're talking about? Can we establish some kind of standard? Are we talking about anyone overweight and up? Because overweight is anything above a bmi of 25% based on the calculation (that is, no other measurements need to be taken or factors included to establish an increase in your insurance rates), so that's anything at or over 150 for the average woman in America. Is that "fat?" Like this girl:
http://www.mybodygallery.com/photos-32260-body-shape.htm?StartAt=29#.UcJ_GvmTg74
Because, frankly, I think that "overweight" (medical definition) is okay and even "obese" (medical definition) can be okay for some people. Morbidly obese though, maybe for football players or weight lifters or some other sport that requires a lot of weight, and super obese...that's just unfortunate.
However; I think that sugar is basically like alcohol. It's okay occasionally in very small doses. Having it often, or even regularly, turns it into poison. And, just like alcohol, some people have low tolerances for it, some people have better tolerances for it, but very few people can drink like a fish without it doing serious damage. Ectomorphs, of which there aren't a lot, are the high tolerance people, mesomorphs can probably handle a little. Most of us are endomorphs, we're low tolerance people.
Also, as someone studying psych (MA, not BA) I'd like to point out that punishment/negative sensation only works to
extinguish a behavior, not create behaviors. This can get really complicated because humans are complicated. Because people who are big receive punishment/negative sensation (shaming, being ostracized, dirty looks and comments from strangers), they are essentially receiving punishment for all their behaviors, even the good ones. Also, by punishment you can get someone to stop eating (maybe entirely) but only through positive and negative reinforcement can you create desired behaviors (eating lots of veggies and fruits, eating only whole foods, exercising regularly, getting out and walking around, self care). Our society is WOEFULLY lacking in any ability to offer healthy positive and/or negative reinforcement. Instead we end up creating and atmosphere where getting thin means you'll get to eat fun foods again, and eating poisonous sweeteners is seen as the reward for being thin; that's why a teen eating an 800 calorie cinnebon can look on in disgust at a 300 pound person eating the same thing (when neither of them should be, my gosh). Also, a lot of big people have said "f*ck it! I'm not waiting until I reach a weight goal to eat "fun" foods again!" A problem being the addictive food being used like a carrot on a stick. They (sweeteners) should be seen as it is, very tasty poison, and all people should be discouraged from eating it or foods including them with any kind of regularity and getting outside and walking and talking with friends and gardening and eating whole food should be praised.
We should emphasize the weight A LOT less and the positive pro-social behaviors A LOT more.