July 6, 2011
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Watered Down and Sugar Coated
We live in a society where we have to make excuses for fat people. Reading through comments on @coolmonkey‘s post about fat people needing to watch what they eat and what they do in a healthy manner, it’s a general consensus that fat people either have a genetic problem or some other disorder that doesn’t allow them to be skinny. The thing is, I’ve listened to plenty of lectures on the growing obesity rate, presented by people all over the world, and there is one thing they all have in common: that American’s are the fattest of them all. And what else I learned about this is that Americans are the most sensitive about the subject. The Europeans and the Asians never danced around the subject, but all the American lecturers used “politically correct” phrases, didn’t dare to poke fun, and saw it as a grave matter. Yeah, “genetics” plays into body type, but considering that America is the “melting pot” of the world, where the fuck did Americans get this gene and in such mass quantity?
When I came back from China, I was reeled by how fat everyone was compared to China. Fat people in China (the few there are relatively speaking) don’t blame it on anything else except themselves. They know they don’t eat right or exercise enough. And considering that not all Chinese metabolisms are the same (just as they are here in America), those that lack a fast metabolism work their asses off in the gym. To Americans, Chinese people are SOOO SKINNY. In China, they’re all trying to lose weight. Chinese people aren’t blessed with amazing metabolisms, rather they diet and exercise much more effectively than people do here.
The problem is that Americans have to make excuses for their weight. And American mentality naturally tells you that you should be happy with what you have and who you are. That’s why people here in America aren’t as ambitious or motivated to lose weight. The mindset needs to change, but that won’t ever happen, will it? Self-esteem and egos are much more important than the health of the general public.
Comments (17)
You’re in for it now, but for the most part you’re right. Regardless of the reason for being overweight the truth is that almost everyone can change it if they choose to. You’re also right that it will be much more work for some people than it is for others. Personal accountability is on the down slide as far as I can see.
Lol, it was like a tsunami of fat White people crashed into my post.
@coolmonkey - of course you’d rec this you narcissistic bastard <3
@petitetokio - Rec’ing your comment for good measure!
@coolmonkey - A tsunami of fat white people with genetic disorders that make it impossible for them to ever be thin! How dare you!Really, though, Americans are just RIDICULOUS. I gained 15 pounds or so on birth control (lol @ excuses) a while back… and my American friends refused to aknowledge that I’d gained weight (despite one of them observing me weighing myself), much less that it looked bad… my friends from everywhere outside the US were like “Woah, tubby… you need to lose that asap!”Everyone here is so over-sensitive about weight it’s just silly. …I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest that we stop being so polite about it and accepting people’s excuses… because that’s clearly not working.
@petitetokio - LMAO!
@coolmonkey - oh and make your font bigger dork.
Well I’m not fat or white (I’m Asian) lol. But I disagreed with the post – not because I think all fat people are just genetically fat. On the contrary I agree that there are plenty of overweight people because they have bad eating habits and/or they are not active. But we all have vices. Some are more visible than others. I would be remiss to assume that all fat people are just lazy; some of the best people I have known in my life are hardworking individuals who are also fat (probably because of food choices and not because they don’t get off their asses.) And because I am young (25) I know a lot of people who eat tons of bad food, rarely exercise (unless you call bar hopping exercise) and are skinny – the blessings of a youthful metabolism that may eventually catch up with them. The problem with the post is that it promotes a stereotype. Stereotypes like all Asian men have small penises. Or all Asian women are submissive. Or all Asians are good at math. Perhaps it may be true for a large population of Asians but it’s not true for all. While it is impossible not to make some judgments of people based on looks alone we should endeavor to overcome those snap judgments and get to know the person. If you do stick to those stereotypes you may miss out on knowing a wonderful friend. And while I agree we shouldn’t dance around our weight issues in America we shouldn’t also provide negative reinforcement. That hasn’t worked either. In general we should promote a healthy life style without tearing down someone’s self-esteem and self-worth; it will just perpetuate the problem.
And my sister was in China for 5 months and while she noted almost everyone was skinny (people wouldn’t believe she was from America because she was petite and not fat) a lot of the girls she met had bad eating habits. They were OBSSESSED with staying unnaturally skinny.
@drawmafreezone - TrueOP:Yeah, but tearing down people isn’t the way to go and it solves nothing especially when it comes to something as sensitive as weight. Positive reinforcement works a lot better than negativity. Also, it doesn’t help that society either promotes both sides, too fat and too thin so equal. It’s really scary at times. I just wish society would promote healthy life styles so we wouldn’t have any of this mess. Though I do agree that no matter the circumstances they still have some control to make it happen. Hell, I lost weight, then gained it and am losing it again. I’m nearly back to my original size and all with good eating and exercise. It’s tough but it’s well worth it, I believe.
While some overweight people do have health problems, the majority of it is because of unhealthy lifestyle choices. So I agree with what you say 99% lol
@AmeliaHart - i understand some people are blessed with fast metabolisms, and some are not. what i was trying to say is that if you don’t, you need to make up for it. and while i was in china, everyone also thought i was so small and envied my size. and all the chinese girls who complained about their weight dieted and exercised in a relatively healthy manner. you don’t hear of anorexia or bulimia in china. all my chinese friends ate smaller portions and worked out often. i didn’t meet or see anyone that was disgustingly skinny either. but what the main point was is that chinese people have more motivation than americans do to be skinny. americans generally make an excuse for their weight and do minimal work to change it.
It’s all about self discipline and culture. The food they eat here are somewhat different from the food they eat in Europe and China. Remember headlines like, “Fast Food Chains are getting people in China Fat”. Well, it’s food related. A lot of American food is high in fat, but this is where self discipline comes in. You have a choice to eat healthy or unhealthy. You also have a choice to work out or not. I’ve been to China (Hong Kong) also, and you’re right, people there are skinnier than people here. Perhaps it also has to do with the way of transportation for that particular city also? For example, Houston versus New York City? People tend to be more skinny in NYC because they walk more than people in Houston where they drive more. But anyways, there are a lot of factors, but I truly believe that self discipline plays a huge role in being fat or not.
@XoAsianBabioX - Well China is a big country lol so my sister may have simply encountered those that do have eating disorders and eating disorders have been on the rise in Asia: http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/news/asia.htmlAlso my point is simple – we shouldn’t stereotype people – we shouldn’t stereotype all fat people as lazy which is what the original post did.
my french co-workers friends/parents first impression of Americans “Why aren’t you fat?”though when they came to NYC they wondered why there weren’t too many fat people, but when they hit the suburbs and midwest, fatness is inescapable
well said. i have seen the same thing in japan. the obesity levels are going up thanks to the fast food industry. living healthy should be a priority.
@coolmonkey - HAHAHAHAHA!!! That’s what I was thinking when I read through the comments in your post.