So Losing Weight Is Now Considered Fat Phobic?

There’s been a trend lately of people that have gone through weight loss being labelled as fat phobic?

I remember a couple of years ago when Adele lost weight she was criticised which I think is hilarious. But now it seems like anyone who posts a before or shares anything weight loss related like diet tips or exercise advice as fat phobic. Even if that person is overweight themselves and are now actively trying to lose weight they are fat phobic. It means anyone that desires to be not overweight is somehow fat phobic.

I guess I’ve been fat phobic since I was 16 when I started working out and making sure I had a good amount of protein in my diet. But seriously, I’m somebody that treats people with respect regardless of what they look like or what colour they are, what orientation they are etc.

Am I getting old or something if I think that this trend is next level crazy?

Comments

  • +7

    Lay off the Tik-tok and social media mate and live in the real world sometime.

    The truth is that if these overweight people were offered a pill that would instantly bring their weight to normal levels they would take it in a flash.

    It is mostly about creating solidarity amongst other overweight people to find comfort in doing nothing about their situation.

    • It amazing how people really believe that crap :)
      I will add people also think their permanent 50% off vitamins and mineral pills will magically have some health effect .
      Pls read the fine print on the label and check the research results. .

  • +7

    I ate a bag of chips and a block of lindt chocolate yesterday afternoon.

  • Maybe you want to be a healthy weight to lower your cancer risk, diabetes risk, heart disease, stroke risk etc.

    Note I used the term healthy weight.. your GP (Not social media etc) can advise you what the healthy weight is for your individual circumstance ..

  • +1

    Thankfully it's all thoroughly covered by this helpful article

  • -1

    Blah blah blah please go touch grass dude

    • Just move your body mate.

    • +2

      Telling others blah blah blah and to touch grass when you post that worthless comment. What a clown.

  • +1

    Bring in the sugar tax….

    • +2

      Bring in lower health insurance premiums for people that actively live 'healthier' lifestyles. (Nothing to do with pre-existing illnesses).

      • +3

        Sports injuries are a reasonably common claim on health insurance.

        We don’t want the old American system in Aus where risk factors increase premiums. Reason being they look for risk of making a claim and there’s lots of health risk factors that either people can’t control or shouldn’t be discouraged e.g. age (no matter how healthy), type 1 diabetes, playing contact sport, being male, being a trauma survivor (rape, abuse etc) - would you really want higher premiums for those group? That’s what happens if you allow insurers to charge different prices based on risk, lifestyle being just one risk.

      • Back in the 80's I had a mate who had cheaper health insurance from Sweden for non-smokers.
        Apparently HIGHLY illegal due to offending the smoko greedies in Bidens puppet state where mass media still dumbs down the public!

  • +6

    Yes.

    However, is there something wrong with being fat-phobic? Being fat is bad. Its scary. It will literally kill you. You should be afraid of it, and if you aren't, you're an idiot.

    • +2

      I think it’s about the fear/disgust of other people being fat that’s the issue, not concern for your own health.

      • Well that would be a totally different thing from the OP's claim: "There’s been a trend lately of people that have gone through weight loss being labelled as fat phobic". This claim is definitely true

        • +1

          I haven’t seen evidence the claim OP is making. Like lots of people have said, they seem to be looking in very specific places for it.

      • +1

        Nobody is afraid of fat people- disgusted, sure. Sometimes shame is a powerful motivator.

        Very few people would take issue with being a little bit chunky. It’s the absurdly obese that trigger the emotion. No matter how you frame it, a quarter tonne is not healthy, and the likes of lizard promoting it is so so so wrong.

        • +1

          Whoa

          Look inward

          • +2

            @[Deactivated]: I bet he saw a healthy heart.

            Unlike the ham-beasts criticizing healthy people for simply making basic good life choices.

            • +1

              @infinite: Are you an Americanophile?

        • -1

          Shame can be a powerful motivator -it can also be a powerful depressant and demotivator. I see it all the time with people with chronic diseases, some are overweight or obese. They withdraw more from activity and society because of their shame, they eat in private, social less, avoid the issue, avoid the people shaming them.

        • +1

          Do you really believe Lizzo weighs 250kg?

      • +1

        It's very much this

    • +1

      being born will kill you

  • +3

    Thank you woke / cancel culture for again giving us something to laugh at.

  • +6

    A recent episode of Bluey had a scene deleted where Bandit stands on the scales and says "Aww man" then "I need to do some exercise".

    I do find it frustrating when corporations cave to pressure from noisy minories, which would appear to be the case here.

    • To be clear the episode was edited, it’s not like they canceled it. He doesn’t just stand in the scale, he squeezes his fat too. It’s no ideal role modelling for kids.

      I don’t think it’s fair to call the likes of the Butterfly Foundation a noisy minority. There are lots of minority groups that speak up about issues for good reason. Would it be fair to call wheelchair users a ‘’noisy minority’ for advocating for accessible pathways, toilets and parking? Is it okay for Jewish people and holocaust survivors to not want to see the glorification of Nazism and speak up against it? Besides people impacted by body image and eating disorders is not that small a group.

      Whenever I see phrases like ‘woke’ ‘cancel culture’ ‘political correctness gone mad’ and ‘noisy minority’, I’m just waiting for the person to say or do something hurtful or unhelpful, very often to make themselves feel better.

      • +5

        If the butterfly foundation think eating disorders are caused by bandit on scales then its time to revisit the science.

        • +3

          It’s about that scene being part of a much bigger social dialogue and culture around body image. The scene is actually reflective or a society where shame around being overweight is normalised. There are many contributors to the various types of eating disorders, there’s even suggestion of genetics contributing, but culture is part of it, Bluey and Bandit’s character have a huge amount of influence at the moment.

          Here you go, explanation seems reasonable to me
          https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-this-episode-of-blue…

          • +5

            @morse: Yeah, this was a bit over the top, taking a scene out of Bluey. Nuts.

            I recon a lot of adults took it very personally - lead by this portly dietician: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr15SIWvapm/

            These days "body positivity" seems to be far far more important than health. Yet both issues are important. Ignoring health to promote satisfaction with being fat isn't a good idea.

            • +1

              @ChickenTalon:

              Ignoring health to promote satisfaction with being fat isn't a good idea.

              I don’t think that’s what this dietician is doing. And you calling her ‘portly’ doesn’t reflect well on your character. No one has a problem with Bandit exercising which is the healthy part of the show. Remember mental health is part of health, and name calling (which you just indulged yourself with), and bullying doesn’t contribute to a mentally healthy society.

              I’ve worked with kids and adults with eating disorders - it’s devastating! Can absolutely ruin lives, childhoods and families.

              • +4

                @morse: Dieticians have a special place in my heart as being the only ones I'll callout personally for being fat. They have all the answers on what to eat, they of all people should be the right weight. If not, there is a big fat problem.

                This one in particular riled up the masses to complain about the episode I'd just watched and enjoyed with my kids, and had a good chat about, so I'm indulging in a personal attack. It actually reflected my life, finally noticing I was very overweight and then doing something about it. I think a lot of people have gone way too far to promote being happy with being fat. It is not right.

                It's not healthy to be fat.

                You experience is with treating eating disorders, mine is with obesity. Being overweight is far more damaging to a lot of people and society as a whole, it needs to be recognised as a problem. This is what dieticians should be working on. Teaching people to be happy with being overweight leads to people staying overweight.

                • @ChickenTalon:

                  all people should be the right weight.

                  And what exactly is "the right weight"?

                  That's what body positivity is about, not promoting being fat as being healthy.

                  • +1

                    @miicah: The right weight isn't overweight (it's also not underweight either). It's a healthy weight.

                    That's what body positivity is about, not promoting being fat as being healthy.

                    Body positivity absolutely now includes acceptance of being overweight!

                    and from our friends at SBS: https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/news-series/insight/insight-…

                    Body positivity should be about accepting the body that you have, not accepting the fact that it's overweight. No one* should accept being overweight, people should be encouraged to do something about it. The censored part of the Bluey episode specifically calls out being overweight as unhealthy. To me, this seems like a good thing and a great conversation starter with the kids.

                    *Yes, I recognise that there are the minuscule percentage of cases where being overweight is beyond a person's control.

              • @morse:

                I don’t think that’s what this dietician is doing.

                It's exactly what they are doing.

          • +3

            @morse:

            where shame around being overweight is normalised

            Should it be glorified?

            Should bandit not want to exercise and be healthy?

            • +2

              @brendanm:

              where shame around being overweight is normalised

              Should bandit not want to exercise and be healthy?

              This 100%.

              To take the shame away from being overweight we are seeing people pushing acceptance and happiness with being overweight. Which has led to the censorship of cartoon scenes where a character is unhappy with their weight and does something about it.

            • +1

              @brendanm: People who are within what is considered to be a healthy weight range are not automatically healthy. It's a great idea to get kids involved in exercise, but it may not be the right message to send that they only need to exercise if they're overweight. For girls in particular, although boys are not immune, it's not unusual to develop unhealthy body images very early, even when they are healthy. I know many adults who work on their own weight issues try to avoid sending any of these types of messages to their children, as it often contributes to a lifelong unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise. Having said that, I don't think it's so much fat-phobia as sending unhealthy messages to young children.

              The best idea is to encourage healthy eating and exercise habits in fun ways that they are likely to maintain throughout their life without making it all about fat, because it's not about fat, it's about health.

              • +2

                @Miss B:

                People who are within what is considered to be a healthy weight range are not automatically healthy.

                That’s a straw man argument. No one is arguing healthy weight = automatically healthy. However, being overweight is a clear sign that someone is unhealthy. Obviously it’s not the only one. There are many other visual and non visual signs of poor health. We track population obesity stats because they are important and indisputably linked to health and quality of life outcomes.

                Read what’s being written. Being overweight is unhealthy, and recently we’ve seen a lot more promotion of acceptance. This is not good.

                • +2

                  @ChickenTalon: He doesn't need to exercise because he's overweight, he needs to exercise because everyone who can needs to exercise. There was no need to include the scene about him not liking the figure on the scale and exercising solely because of that. It's not a good message to send to children. Children should not be focusing on their weight, but on developing healthy habits. Teaching children to be concerned about their weight when they are too young to understand and objectively determine whether or not they are overweight is far more likely to lead to eating disorders than healthy habits.

          • @morse: Snake oil subjective pseudo science that will only distract and make the commentators feel better about themselves.
            Inventing an anecdote and virtue signalling is not being of real assistance.
            Its more complex than that.

          • -1

            @morse: You should feel shame for being a grown up and still being incapable of making basic good healthy food choices.

            • +2

              @infinite: Who said I can’t make basic healthy food choices?

              I like that you’ve started on the personal attack route.

              What’s the point of OzB doing initiatives to promote mental health and suicide awareness https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/775826 When people post comments like this e.g. that people should feel ‘shame’

              I’m in the healthy weight range and eat pretty okay these days - but that’s besides the point. You don’t know who you are telling to feel shame and what their situation is.

              • +1

                @morse: Lol, do you think he was talking about you specifically or those who are an adult.

                When people post comments like this e.g. that people should feel ‘shame’

                You did say in your other comment, "Shame can be a powerful motivator"

                • @ozhunter:

                  Shame can be a powerful motivator

                  Was quoting the previous comment followed by how it can also be a demotivator or depressant.

                  You know who is motivated? People, sometimes kids with eating disorders. I’ve never seen kids so committed to not eating until I worked with children with anorexia. Cutting feeding tubes, hiding food, absolutely heartbreaking.

                  But anyhow, yes, I took “you” to be me, irrespective it doesn’t matter if it’s me or someone else. If it’s not me, they are saying those same things to someone.

                  • @morse: You weren't just quoting it; you said it. Or are you now disagreeing with your original stance? Obese kids and adults is sad too.

                  • @morse: Why are you an apologist for obesity ?

                    • @infinite: Why do spend your Saturday night scrolling trolling through old forum posts?

                      But in answer to your question, I don’t like attacks on any group of people for a single characteristic whether it be their weight, gender, religion. sexuality. I don’t think it’s kind or helpful. There’s no need for people to name call and shame people (which there is a lot of on this forum post) so I’ll call it out when I see it.

    • +2

      I do find it frustrating when corporations cave to pressure from noisy minories, which would appear to be the case here.

      I saw this played out at work the other day, we got a new staff member called Oliver, and someone introduced him to someone else as "Olly" and then that became what we were all calling him.

      Then, get this, at the end of the week during drinks he was like "Actually, I'd rather be called Oliver, no one calls me Olly". And, to my SHAME, the WOKE COWARDS all said things like "Fair enough" and "No worries, Oliver".

      In their twisted thinking it's like "oh, this is a small change that won't affect our lives, if we do it this way it's fine for everyone".

      Of course, you and I know, this is just us being pressured to cave in to a noisy minority. Things should have stayed as they were. Why can't people just leave things the way we want them? Political correctness woke nonsense gone mad.

      • +2

        Look at yourself in the mirror. You got this totally wrong.

        If someone's real name is Oliver and they want to be called Oliver then call them Oliver.

        There is no woke shit or noisy minority. It's someone being respected.

        • +3

          I think/hope this is /s

        • +2

          There is no woke shit or noisy minority. It's someone being respected.

          https://tenor.com/en-GB/view/joke-not-getting-the-joke-flew-…

        • -1

          So you're saying that

          1. when I said I agreed with Lurk Harthog's position and then
          2. used an ridiculous analogy to showcase the "i hate pressure from noisy minorities to change small things so that they're fine for everyone" argument
          3. I ended up sounding ridiculous?

          I hope that isn't the case, because that would suggest I was implying Lurk's position was ridiculous!

          And that would mean you'd earned a Whoosh!

      • Yeah I hate it when the noisy minority of one dude at work wants to be called by his own actual name - what an A-hole 🙄

      • -1

        Yeah, cool. Pick any other example of content being altered/cancelled then but this time for a cause you don't agree with, and you might see how this kind of public pressure can be problematic.

        • -3

          Oh, I already did that, and I was fine with that change too.

          Thanks for being a moral guardian on behalf of issues that didn't affect you, however.

          The culture wars owe a huge debt to The Offended, and without loyal foot soldiers such as yourselves, there wouldn't be unending coverage of the conflict.

          • -2

            @Crow K: It's the words people choose to use that tell you what you need to know about them.

            For instance "noisy minority" - how does a minority become 'noisy'? By advocating their position. People saying "no, change Bluey back to the way I want it" aren't 'noisy', though. Because noisy is a bad word - we don't talk about our favourite speakers who make positions we agree with as 'noisy'.

            Noise is annoying, a nuisance. Jackhammers make noise. Traffic makes noise. Screaming is noise.

            So, you want to write off someone's take on something? "They're being noisy".

            And the whole discussion undermines that fact that the attack is on what the minorities wanted, not on the creators that made the change. As though the minorities have managed to hypnotise the creators, and so on.

            The reality is it's this:

            Bluey creators: Here's a show.
            'Minority': I think there's a problem with this bit, for this reason.
            Bluey creators: Hmm. Yes, we agree. We'll change it, so that problem isn't in there any more.
            Bluey creators: Here's a (revised) show.
            Regular Common Sense Everyday Australians Just Speaking Their Minds Mate (Not Bigoted): The new show is not what Bluey is all about, they shouldn't have changed it, this is what happens when noisy minorities get switched on. Bluey creators are doing Bluey wrong, because minorities.

            But you don't blame the footsoldiers for what the generals have told them to do, do you. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on the enlisted.

            The culture wars are unending. You will not be remembered. Thank you for your service.

  • +1

    It's a very small minority. The majority don't care or think losing weight is a good thing.

  • +1

    You've been watching too much Joe Rogan and other US podcasts.
    There's no such trend in real life.

    • +3

      Right wing grifters whipping their followers up into a fury? Say it ain’t so.

  • Just critic phobic

  • If you are talking about that one fat and weird looking Newscorp "journo" that's bitter about all things male and non-fat, or the scrapped Bluey episode playing on every normal dad ever, then yes, yes indeed…

  • +5

    There is a worrying trend lately of people telling every one what they reckon.

    • a more worrying one is people believing other people care :)

    • -1

      freedom of speech

    • Ironic comment of the week

  • +2

    Death from complications due to diabetes is horrible. There are real and debilitating consequences to being obese.

  • +6

    This is a fringe trend, and not mainstream.

    It's pushed by people unable or (often) unwilling to put in the hard work to lose weight, so they expect the world to change around them instead.

    Should someone be vilified or made fun of for their weight? Absolutely not. Many people struggle with the physical and medical limitations. But accepting that being morbidly obese is good, and just as healthy as a normal weight is completely delusional.

    • But accepting that being morbidly obese is good, and just as healthy as a normal weight is completely delusional.

      But they're living their truth

    • +2

      You have hit the nail my friend. We seem to have skipped from the stage of it being mean and unreasonable to make fun of someone's weight (i.e a mental health issue), and instead went straight to being completely unable to accept reality of weight being a health issue.

      I think what drives me most crazy is the two-faced almost manic approach from everyone. "So brave for losing weight, she looks amazing, not that she had to, how dare you even suggest that she wasn't perfect already, she looked better before, how dare she lose weight, eat whatever you want, don't eat bad food" brain explodes

      And to your point about being "unwilling". Abso-freaking-lutely. Its a fairly logical progression when you think about how the world is nowadays. A need for instant gratification…which roughly translates into not wanting to put any effort into change

  • +3

    This forum post is just future proof why the Internet hasn't been a good thing for society. A few troll posts on Twitter isn't a movement, yet so easy to work people up. Look at all the comment screaming left & woke. Cheap chaff for the masses.

  • +2

    the idiots are running the asylum - almost everything woke culture is so toxic

  • +5

    fatphobia? Yes I am afraid of diabetes, heart disease and overall reduction in quality of life and life expectancy.

  • Fat people make me physically I’ll to look at. But so did my uncle as cancer wasted him away to nothing. I just see unhealthy people and it reminds me how mortal I am and that being healthy and fit gives you the best odds of living linger with decent quality of life.
    No woke person can tell me how my mind and body should respond to the world around me. I’d never say anything to obese people. You do you buddy is my motto.

    • -3

      I’d never say anything to obese people.

      But you just did

      Fat people make me physically I’ll to look at.

      Saying it on the internet is still saying it. Young people, overweight people and people with or at risk of eating disorders can see it, and it negatively influences culture by creating shame and stigma. Not single handedly, but when combined with other similar comments and attitudes. So whilst no one can tell you what to feel, you can control what you say. Have you ever considered that ‘woke’ or ‘politically correct’ is actually just being nice?

      • To an individual? No. As a discussion of how I feel yes.
        Im not advocating for being “nice” I’m not Santa.
        Im just someone who hates seeing unhealthy fat people.
        Congrats on telling people how to act and feel though hahaha.

        • -1

          I’m sorry for your discomfort. There’s really great evidence based treatments for phobias and anxiety that can help with your discomfort.

          There’s a reason Santa is popular. Kindness can go a long way in pretty much every aspect of life.

          • @morse: Kinda enjoyed looking at your comment history and nearly everything you say is negged 😀

  • What the (profanity) is going on

    • It's yet another 'OP finds fat folks despicable' post - dressed up a little different each time but same same.

      • +2

        Really? How so?

        • -1

          Do you really want me to post up the other OPs as evidence?

          These posts, along with some of the various comments, are like a catharsis that needs to be undertaken every so often - rinse & repeat.

      • or maybe OP finds obesity itself despicable? I mean, shouldn't we all try avoid being overweight/obese.

        • +1

          Hey, I find drug addiction an insidious disease yet appreciate that it's not a simple case of 'avoid taking drugs' for those people in the throes of addiction.

          • @[Deactivated]: Not as complex as they make it out to be; likely why people are more sympathetic to drug users.

            • +1

              @ozhunter: I believe the complexities are multi-faceted. Everyone is different.

              I simply choose not to judge those folks, that are obviously having a hard time of it - in one form or another - because I don't walk in their shoes.

              • @[Deactivated]: Yea, could be multiple reasons, but the solution is basically the same. Some think shaming works(like calling someone out if they are "fatphobic")

                Depends what you mean by judging them..

                • @ozhunter: Multiple reasons means different solutions, no?

                  After all, it's not a one size (no pun intended) fits all otherwise may as well bring in the surgeons to do an Oprah special -
                  'you get a gastric band! …. you get a gastric band!'

                  • @[Deactivated]: People didn't need gastric bands in years past

                    • @brendanm: No, however it's more of a sedentary lifestyle for many, boredom, poor mental health, the price of convenience, etc. Like getting a coffee delivered via Uber Eats!

                      And to your earlier comment about seeing more & more kids riding electric scooters. The number of kids - especially primary/high school students - that get driven to & from school when they live not more than a 15 min walk away is nuts. Mine used to complain with a 9 minute walk because they saw their peers being chauffeured & they live closer to the school that we do.

                      • @[Deactivated]:

                        No, however it's more of a sedentary lifestyle for many, boredom, poor mental health, the price of convenience, etc. Like getting a coffee delivered via Uber Eats!

                        Correct, this is what I'm saying, this sort of thing shouldn't be the norm, and it shouldn't be promoted. It's terrible for the people doing it, and for society who has to pay for the health problems.

                        The number of kids - especially primary/high school students - that get driven to & from school when they live not more than a 15 min walk away is nuts.

                        Yep, it sure is. We try and park away from school and scoot or walk whenever possible, and it actually takes the same amount of time as driving there directly, as you don't have to fight with traffic.

                        • @brendanm: This is all natural selection and the earth says thanks. The tax payer, not so much

                  • @[Deactivated]: The OP was around people being called out for losing weight. As I said in the second paragraph Adele got some amount of criticism for losing the weight.

                    In my view she should not have received any criticism whatsoever and from what I could tell she managed to lose it in a consistent non crash diet manner. And even if it was the criticisms should have been about her maintaining and mental health but it wasn’t. How does that sort of logic work?

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