Causes and Motive behind negative attitudes toward overweight individuals
Various factors including nutritional and health problems can result to an overweight condition. Being overweight does not make one different from others; however, individual who presents this condition suffers stigma due to people’s attitude regarding the state. Overweight people find it hard to suit in the public because of their body figure, which they consider unfit. There are many reasons why overweight people face stigma. Initially, these people experience stigma because of their own self-esteem. Obesity is a situation that comes to people without their attention although, behavioural attributes of the people may often result to this condition (Erving 54). For example, people tend to separate themselves from the society after finding that they are overweight. In as much as there are plans by different institutions to improve the lives of such people, they hardly come out to accept their situations and adopt corrective measures. Lack of self-acceptance challenges effort for helping these people overcome their problem.
Overweight people encounter stigma because of an intolerant society that discriminates against people with this condition. Researches made about people who are obese indicate that the society mainly have a negative attitude towards an overweight condition. Obesity may arise when one fails to follow directions spelt by the nutritionists. Individuals presenting high tendency of developing an obese condition are often advised to observe a specialized eating habit. However, most individuals are unable to conform to such restrictive diets that deny them freedom of enjoying their favourite meals. These people may ignore doctor’s direction and continue their unhealthy eating routine; thus, becoming obese eventually (Erving 87). Most of the luxurious foods are discouraged for people recovering from obesity. When a person does not follow the conditions set by the doctors, strategies for containing the problem mainly fail. Even in cases where there are some medical prescriptions in place, as long as the patient cannot observe routine, recovery becomes tricky. In this respect, the society considers obese people to have bad eating habits. Consequently, most people isolate themselves in fear of criticism.
Parenting stigma is the most common challenge for the overweight people. In most cases, the problem of being obese may manifest at young ages. The problem may often start right at the time when people are born. Consequently, parents have the chance to influence their children’ attitude towards the condition either constructively or negatively. Children expect their parents to be proud of them. However, this may fail to happen in the case of obese children because some parent may consider their overweight kids as a disgrace to their families. Such parents oppress their children by criticizing them. Although children essentially bond families together, in this situation they are likely to cause conflicts. For example, after having an obese child, some parents start blaming each other that results to serious conflicts (Erving 66). Children who realize that their parents are confronting each other because of them consider that they are a disgrace to their family. This state makes them experience high levels of stigma. This may make a child start developing negative attitudes about self. In most circumstances, some children live in environments that make them feel the consequences of being overweight. Some children face brutal treatment because of the fact that they are overweight to a state that some of them are even abandoned. Children who are abandoned because of their state are likely to experience long-lived disturbance.
Understanding one’s state is the first initiative that can help obese people overcome their conditions. Most of the people who suffer from being overweight never understand why they are in such states and they never believe that they can get better. This mental stigma makes most people avoid others, which increase the stigma. It is apparent that overweight people are not condemned to the situations in which they are. Various strategies are used to challenge the condition with most emphasizing the need of including the victims themselves. These mainly focus on enhancing self-appreciation in order to foster the adoption of the essential interventions (Erving 71). This means that people should be sensitized to acknowledge their states in order to overcome it. One is able to overcome the stigma after acknowledging his or her condition. As much as people think that the motive behind discrimination of people who are overweight is self-induced, some people mostly fall victims to the condition unconsciously. Often, lack of knowledge enhances the development of this condition (Erving 14).
Overweight people face stigma because of various factors. Particularly, the society’s attitude towards being overweight makes victims of this condition face stigma. Obese persons experience serious mental issues due to stigma. Surprisingly, the victims of the obese condition often terminate self when overwhelmed by the pressure from the society. This highlights the need of rethinking about the issue of stigma that obese persons experience to counter its detrimental consequences.
Works cited
Erving Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Prentice-Hall, 1963, Print.
