Young Fat and Fabulous... or...

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20100729/young-fat-fabulous-100729/


Ok so as I said on facebook, this one might generate some hate towards me. There are a couple things to remember before going into this:

1) I dont hate plus sized girls/people.
2) This blog is actually about something. Take it at face value and dont read into it.
3) Umm... i think that's it actually. And yes, please feel free to respond.

Basically the story above is discussing how there is clothing made for plus sized girls. Totally fine. Bigger people need bigger clothes, the market exists, so make it. But i'm worried that articles like these are relaying a dangerous message.

As I see it (and please correct me if i'm wrong) there are two types of plus sized people. There are people with legitimate medical problems (thyroid issues, glandular, disabled, etc) and there are people who are lazy and eat horribly (and i guess there's a hybrid as well, someone with a mild medical problem who eats sorta-bad).

The first group of people aren't who I'm going to concentrate on here. It's still important to eat as well as you can and exercise and etc, and some of you do and it's very hard to manage. Please don't ever feel negative about this as sometimes you just can't control this.

This is about the second group. North America (specifically the USA more than Canada) is basically considered a Haven for "fat people" the world over, and is a giant joke. Even people that go to the States from Canada come back and one of the things they take away from their trip is "it's a fat Country" (thats a quote from a friend of mine who recently came back).


So lets come right out and say it... it's not ok to be fat! And this isn't just a Kris opinion either, this is a pretty common opinion in many important facets of society, like Doctors and health professionals, schools, etc. Now here's where some of the distinctions are in this post.

I'm not talking about people who are a bit over weight. No one's perfect right?

So... I always put in both sides of the coin in my arguments, so time for the flip.

Recent studies have shown that eating for some people is literally as addictive as herroine. The brain produces simular reactions in some people while eating as it produces while shooting herroine. Their bodies even produce withdrawl reactions when food taken from them. For someone like this eating healthier and eating less is no longer a matter of "just do it" but it's now a situation where they need help to in many cases.


Here's my main issue. It seems that being overweight these days is becoming a social norm, acceptable, and in some rare cases encouraged! (See Maury Povich and the woman TRYING to become the worlds largest). Overweight people are a drag on the medical system as they typically get sicker more often (heart attacks, breathing issues, sleep apnea, etc.). Stories like these almost seem to be trying to tell people "you're overweight? dont worry about getting healthy again, just think about how good we can make you look in these new pants!!" which is a horrible message to be sending people. Is this just a matter of because it's food that causes the issue it's acceptable? If it is about an addictive nature does that mean we should start showing drug addicts and alcoholics how it's ok to be like that?

In closing, if you are one of these plus sized people and i've insulted you, I really am sorry. The intent or what I've written today is meant to show this is something we need to change, and not in a way that seems to be happening. I know it's hard, and I do sympathize as I know people who struggle with their weight.

Let me know what you think. Obviously I dont think i'm wrong, but if you do, let me know, and tell me why.

Just ask yourself this. Would you rather work hard and be healthy? Or dont and risk dying young?