It is very true of today that when one walks amongst a huge crowd of people of all the different age and sizes, it will strike immediately that the thinner, slimmer person is better looking, perhaps more active and even beautiful, whereas the fatter, heavier-looking person is slow, dull and unattractive to the eyes. This viewpoint is associated with years and years of psychological conditioning about the views on fat and thin people and how one’s weight is associated with their personal attributes and abilities. This is the viewpoint propagated by the writer Mary Worley in her article that society is more concerned with the fact that being thin relates to self-discipline and being upright in caring for one’s body whereas a fat person is considered contemptuous and lacking the resolve in caring for his body. (Worley). This argument lies true today because the world is filled with weight-loss regimes and how to take care of one’s body to match the ideal body of a model that made it to a magazine’s cover.
The fact lies that society has certain perceptions about the fat people amongst them, and the first thing that any thin person would say to a fat one is ‘you need to lose weight.’ This becomes a part of their conversation, in fact, people would then sit together and share their regimes and tips on how to lose weight. How often would they ask fat individuals whether they are fat biologically or are they so by choice? I agree with Worley’s statement because she speaks from a realistic point of view. Society consists of the age-long concepts that have been formed by the richer, influential members of the society that form opinions and propagate them throughout their circle. The opinions and concerns of this circle hence influence the thoughts and opinions of the hierarchies below them and these opinions then become a norm and generalized fact amongst the people. (Drewes).
The writer is very apt and correct when she writes that fat people are shunned and condemned because of their appearance, and this makes them feel bad about their bodies, which also results in a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. Hence, fat-bodied people immediately become self-conscious and try to change themselves and become what they are not. Many of them in the course of this do not lose weight, and when they don’t do so, they feel even more dejected and bad about themselves. Moreover, society has ingrained this concept so deeply in the minds of the people that it is very hard to think opposite to this conception, and people are stuck to stereotyping others.
Against this point of view, the people with the thin bodies and people posing health arguments convincingly say that it is not just plain stereotyping but is also true that thinner people are more active, and they are more resilient as well because they have control over their dietary habits. On the other hand, people who have problems with their weight are focused more on food and are lazy and unfocused in many ways. They would rather eat than participate in any other activity. (Drewes).
It is true to some extent that people with heavyweight have problems with focusing on other things, but their weight does not come in the way of their ambition. There are many people that work many jobs and make a good living and are perhaps great at sports too, but maybe they just love to eat and cannot back down while eating. Some people are genetically predisposed to having a large appetite, but it does not define who they are. Thus, even health experts can sometimes give in to the stereotypes that are defining people. (Nichols).
Moreover, it is also true that fat people have problems with weight loss. Weight is mostly governed by one’s genetic makeup and not entirely by the amount of food one consumes. Many people join vigorous weight loss programs and boot camps, but nothing works for them. The reason stands their bodies are genetically modified to gain weight. Like Worley writes, in the NAAFP, she observed belly dancers who were probably very skilled and talented, but they were still obese. This shows that they could not lose weight, and they were actively involved in the physical workout. It is their metabolism that determines their body weight, and there is nothing they can do about it. Moreover the claim that exercise helped them to lose weight was something that remained more of a myth, yet they liked the physical workout because it made them feel lighter and more active. It heightened their spirits and provided a psychological outlet for anxiety and worried about their weight. (Thomas).
On the other hand, experts would say that if these overweight dancers would look into their diet along with their exercise routine, then they could see significant changes in their bodies after some time. They would also feel motivated once they start losing weight, and they would try their level best to maintain that weight as well. Also, they claim that feeling good when exercising is part of the detoxification, and it is impossible to have normal weight without controlling the diet. (Stossel et al.,).
However, it is also a known fact that metabolism has a huge role to play in the lives of people. There are many skinny people who eat a lot, but they never get fat, and they also do not exercise. Then there are fat people who eat just as much and they are involved in exercise as well, but it is not possible for them to lose weight very easily and they remain fat. Thus, what is genetic cannot be changed, and this awareness needs to be brought to the people because there are many people who ruin their lives only because they are called fat and ridiculed by family and friends over their body shape. Everyone is unique and individual in his or her own way, and society needs to become more accepting of others’ body types and lifestyle habits.
References
Drewes, Jack. Critique: Fat and Happy: In defense of fat acceptance. Essaypedia. 2010. Web. 9
Feb 2016.
Nichols, Nicholas. 8 reasons why you are not losing weight. Spark people. 2013 Web. 9 Feb,
2016.
Stossel, John, et al., Whose Fault is it if you’re fat? Abc News. 2014. Web. 9 Feb 2016.
Thomas, Pattie. Fat by choice? Psychology Today. 2012. Web. 9 Feb 2016.
Worley, Ray. Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance. Linzo. 2008. Web. 9 Feb 2016.
