Fat Acceptance Vs. Weight Concern

Historical Context and the Evolution of Perception

Way back in history, fat was praised as it gave an edge to humans who lived during the ice age. The people with more fat were able to have an energy reserve, and that could mean life or death. A stone sculpture from 25,000 B.C. was discovered, and it depicted an overweight and obese woman. The women with much fat were sought after by men as their fat was seen to improve fertility. Nowadays, fat is looked down upon as it is seen as undesirable, and also possess many health risks. There is a prejudice that all fat people have obesity, due to obesity affecting 39.8% of the world population and about 93.3 million adults in the U.S. during the years 2015-2016 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). However, at the same time, a new movement is rising, and that is the fat acceptance movement. The movement has become so large that there is an organization that formed from it known as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA, 2023). This movement is meant for people to accept their overweight bodies and help create a society where people of all sizes are treated equally in all parts of life.

Fat Acceptance Vs. Weight Concern

Fat acceptance and fat-shaming are on opposite sides, and the public is split between them. This essay will compare two articles that hold different viewpoints on the acceptance of fat. Jane E. Brody wrote the first article and is a highly respected personal health journalist for the New York Times, and she wrote an article called “More Fitness, Less Fatness.” In that article, Brody argues that fat acceptance leads people to move towards unhealthy eating habits and a lousy exercise mentality (Brody, 2018). On the other hand, Rebecca M. Puhl, a deputy director for the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut, published an article called “Obesity Stigma: Important Considerations for Public Health.” Puhl argues that prejudice toward fat people poses multiple consequences for their psychological and physical health (Puhl, 2018). Obesity is rising at an alarming rate, and the fat acceptance movement is spreading quickly throughout today’s culture, and there is a constant clash between both sides.

Perspectives on Fat Acceptance

Should fat be accepted is the question at hand. Though both Puhl and Brody agree that obesity is a problem, Puhl has that accepting fat is more beneficial to helping obese people overcome their weight problems. According to Puhl, obese people are blamed for their weight “with common perceptions that weight stigmatization is justifiable and may motivate individuals to adopt healthier behaviors.” But, Brody claims that accepting that they did not cause that obesity will “lead people to pursue unhealthy eating and exercise habits that result in obesity, to the detriment of their overall health.” Puhl does not want obese people to feel that it is their fault for their weight problems; however, Brody goes against Puhl’s argument, describing that not blaming the obese for their weight will lead them to continue with that lifestyle.

Puhl wants people to know that such blame on obese people will have a negative impact on them rather than a positive one. The constant shame and judgment that they receive will “induce psychological distress” and that “stigma increase vulnerability to poor psychological functioning.” One disorder that Puhl describes is binge-eating, which is due to the stress that is produced from their body image. Puhl’s argument is based on the idea that making obese people feel bad will add to the obesity problem that is already present.

Brody goes against Puhl’s argument claiming that letting them accept their body image will make things worse. Puhl states that this “trend toward ‘fat acceptance’ bodes ill for future well-being and the soaring costs of chronic weight-related ailments like heart disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and more than a dozen kinds of cancer.” She argues that letting them be comfortable in their obese state will not help them become any less obese. Brody claims that not calling them out for their obesity will not help them get healthier as the average weight for humans grows higher, and that will lead to them believing their weight is normal.

Consequences of Stigma and Acceptance

Puhl argues that not only does shaming obesity cause obesity to rise, but “weight discrimination was significantly associated with a current diagnosis of mood and anxiety disorders.” Psychological distress causes personality disorders, and that leads to an even worse lifestyle for someone with obesity. For Puhl, obesity has other solutions rather than making it known that obese people have a problem with themselves. That constant blame is the problem, and not the lifestyle that obese people live according to Puhl. Puhl states that “obese patients indicate that they feel disrespected by providers, perceive that they will not be taken seriously because of their weight, report that their weight is blamed for all of their medical problems, and are reluctant to address their weight concerns with providers.” Puhl wants people to see that society already has a negative view on obese people, so blame will make them want to hide their lifestyles, which will make it hard for health professionals to change their lifestyle.

However, Brody suggests that because “individuals who do not believe they are overweight, or who view obesity in a positive light, are less likely to seek treatment for weight loss.” She is saying that if their obesity is viewed as normal then they will get used to it and do nothing about it. In her argument, Brody states that Americans “seem to have adjusted to a new normal regarding weight” which is not good as the new weight is at a higher number. Brody cites a study published in 2010 which “revealed that a growing proportion of overweight adults -- 21 percent of women and 46 percent of men (up from 14 percent and 41 percent, respectively, in the 1990s) -- consider their weight ‘about right.’” She explains that this so-called “normal” weight will continue to grow if obese people continue with their current lifestyle.

Finding Common Ground

Puhl’s main point on this argument is to help the obesity problem without making the obese people feel bad about themselves or feel as if they are being judged. Brody also wants to help the obesity problem, but she argues that not telling the obese that they have a problem will only cause them to gain even more weight. Puhl shows a study on the effects of pointing out someone’s weight describing how people who experience “weight-based teasing are more likely to engage in binge-eating and unhealthy weight control behaviors compared with overweight peers who are not teased, even after control for variables such as B.M.I. and socioeconomic status.” Puhl is pushing for an answer that does not involve judging people with obesity, so those people do not gain additional physical and psychological problems.

But, Brody does not see that there is a solution that does not involve making obese people realize that they have a problem. Due to the rising movement of fat acceptance, Brody states that “even doctors may be tempted to give up trying to convince their overweight patients to lose weight. Although Medicare now covers up to 20 visits for weight loss counseling each year, few doctors (or perhaps [Brody] should say few patients) have taken advantage of this benefit.” Fat acceptance is not helping the problem at all; instead, it is making the problem worse as obese people start to love their fat and cast a blind eye towards the health problems that it will cause.

Conclusion

Both Puhl and Brody have a common goal, and that goal is to reduce the rate that obesity is growing at. Despite having a common goal, both sides have different ideas on how to reduce the numbers. Puhl wants to work around the problem of obesity by helping overweight people without having to call them obese or telling them that they have a disease. She wants to fix the society that is causing obesity because, in her eyes, “environmental change is essential to the solution of obesity.” Brody would like to be straightforward and proclaim that overweight people have a problem on their hands and need to take care of it before it becomes too late. She explains that if they are not told obesity is a problem, then people will start to see “that it’s acceptable to be significantly heavier than the ‘normal’ weight ranges listed on a body mass index (B.M.I.) or doctor’s height-weight chart.” Despite both sides having different solutions, both are still trying to fix a common problem that is currently still dramatically rising.

References

Brody, J. E. (2018). More Fitness, Less Fatness. The New York Times.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Adult Obesity Facts.

NAAFA. (2023). National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

Puhl, R. M. (2018). Obesity Stigma: Important Considerations for Public Health. University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.