Fat Activist Research Paper

Obesity does not discriminate against social status, sex, or race; it can take a person’s life and turn it upside down in the blink of an eye if they are not careful. Some people think of obesity as a worldwide killer because there is no outrunning it if it overtakes a person’s body. Every 1 in 3 adults are obese right here in America, that should give each and every individual some type of hint that there is a major problem occurring. The obesity epidemic is not something that has just caught the attention of people recently; it has been going on since the 1950’s! This epidemic is a major problem; over 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being obese or extremely overweight and over 40 million children were said to be obese in

A third author who has written about the obesity crisis is Judith Warner, with her article “Junking Junk Food.” All through her article, she pokes

Our culture uses health and wellness with food to divide groups as well. Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") discusses how obesity vilifies certain groups and how poverty and obesity have a function in society, serving the industry and the economy. Julier says rhar obesity vilifies women, the poor, and people of color, groups of people that are already marginalized, and the stress of life as a marginalized group can lead to a disordered relationship with food. Americans are incredibly intolerant of individuals who have let themselves go, and get even angrier when those individuals don't do anything about it to get to the socially accepted normal: skinny (Mead "Why Do We Overeat?"). Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") gives 13 political, economic, and cultural functions of poverty and obesity, one of them being the idea that when fatness is related to irresponsible behavior, those who aren't fat and stick to the socially constructed normal of thin are able to maintain and create public agenda to control and vilify the obese and overweight.

However, “ weight loss and prevention of excess gain have largely been failure and have influenced preduice agians fat people.(Firth, J. (2012).. The constant tug of war between food and drink industy and legal polices to make healthier choices in soceity,In which the latter mosl likey wins. “ the food industry powerful motications to downlplay and distance themselves from concersn about excess weight.”( firth,J (2012). Whereas media and food industlries are taking great advantage on promoting unhealtheir food,The pharamcertical and weigh loss companies with health professions are promoting techniques to Reduce obesity in more strict manner, such as with bariratric surgery, Lipo suction and other Rigid weight loss programs.Wheras when the role of status plays, simply the society with higher statuts can affor theese regimans for their interest, while others with lower status use's more unexpensive methoods.

Obesity is becoming more and more prominent in our country. In today’s society it is not rare to see someone who is obese, it is America’s epidemic. The pressure to be thin is at its highest and many people across America are found in a battle against their own body. Shaming people for being obese is growing in our country. Media and doctors are telling us that being fat is not tolerable.

Obesity in America is real and profoundly alarming when you look at the major impact it has on our communities. Major health concerns like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure cases are at an all time high. Specifically, the disparity between low-income urban inner cities in regards to obesity as compared to more upper class wealthier communities makes you take pause. This relates to my professional goals of going back into my community as an activist and organizer of issues related to my environment, like health and education.

Based on background information, a central hypothesis was developed that obesity is an ongoing, gendered and embodied cultural process that has harmful consequences for the obese individual (e.g. Harjunen, 2002&2003). The various social implications of obesity will be explored via interviews (with obese people or former obese people) conducted and the surveys taken of people in the Boston area.

Government and organization have been fully aware of this issue and are raising awareness by launching programs in order to educate people about obesity to make Canada a healthier place. Food corporations and advertisements have a significant role in obesity of Canadians. Since people see others eating a meal with enjoyment on TV, they are tempted to eat the same thing because it’s quick, cheap, and tastes good but now most of them are switching to healthier meals allowing future generations to have a healthier life. Obese people are affected emotionally and mentally by others, because others tend to make fun of their obesity and their body shape causing to hurt them, but nowadays it has reduced because viewers are taking action and sticking up for obese individuals and letting them know that this kind of behavior is

Although the "sizism" movement may have surfaced from the personal problem of an outspoken person, this movement is a political issue that needs to be addressed accordingly. Obesity is not only attributed to physiological but environmental factors as well. Americans are larger than they were 40 years ago (i.e. weigh more, are fatter, and less fit). "Approximately 55% of American adults are overweight" (Fattening 1). Many Americans resolve to lose weight, through do-it-yourself, non-clinical, or clinical means, yet there is no method that offers long-term weight loss. America's quest to increase self-esteem and attractiveness has created profits for the weight-loss industry while 22.5% of Americans remain clinically obese (1).

Fat does not equal lazy; fat does not equal bad; fat does not equal overeating; fat does not equal ugly. Fat oppression is something so prevalent in our society, yet Americans refuse to recognize it as a problem or even an issue. After hearing an amazing woman named Nomy Lamm speak this weekend, I could not longer let this issue be ignored. (Lamm is a fat oppression activist and has been published in Ms. magazine). Fat oppression exists in this society and we all must recognize the damage it does to everyone, especially fat people.

I mentioned television shows such as My Big Fat Fabulous Life and Double Divas which encourage people to embrace their size even if they are morbidly obese. I still believe that we need to stop glorifying obesity, however, being harsh on people is not going to help them. They already know there is a problem, which was made clear to me through multiple documentaries. Now I know that the solution to the obesity crisis is much more complex than simply letting people know they are obese and convincing them to diet and

Many share the same problems I once experienced, and it is these problems that force them to seek out scapegoats. These people have gone to politicians to try to get the issues resolved. President Bush jumped on board for this movement, and signed on a 200 million dollar bill to implement anti-obesity measures (396). These same politicians are slowly forcing these obesity issues into the public sphere of health. It is becoming the governments issue to make you healthier, not yours. When the government comes between you and your waist line, there are more issues then that are being addressed.

Obesity is a very serious subject that a lot of people take lightly, especially us as Americans. America is the most obese country in the world. Statistics show that 300,000 people die a day in the United States of America due to obesity. This clearly shows that we have a serious problem that is massively underestimated. Obesity is also something that countries all across the world suffer from. For example, Australia is also one of the most obese countries in the world, and 50,000 people die a year from obesity in Australia. That’s 140 people who die per day in Australia. To solve the problem of obesity the prices of junk food should be raised and the prices of healthy food should be lowered and more convenient.

Thicker women face discrimination and pressures from society and their peers to lose weight because their bodies types are perceived as unhealthy this is the relative idea Beth MacInnis shared in “Fat Oppression”  in Consuming Passions. MacInnis discusses the health risk associated with weight loss and the misconception thicker women are unhealthy because of their body sizes. She points out that having a bigger body other than being thin the ideal beauty standard is seen as being unhealthy but for those women to lose weights by means that are risky and are shown to be unhealthy in her research. In simpler terms MacInnis is pointing out the hypocrisy in the idea that not being thin is unhealthy but for women that aren’t skinny face actual unhealthy and unethical means to lose weight.

Louise Townend in her research concerning the moralizing of obesity addresses the issue across a wide spectrum of categories such as economic, health and social policy. She enumerates the different social contexts of the obesity debate and begins by stating that obesity is no longer a trouble but an epidemic which is now a “significant issue for health and social policy, with major ramifications for general economic productivity across the globe”. (Townend) 2009: 3. She points out obesity is often associated with stigma such as laziness, dirtiness, illness and poverty (Townend, 2009). This connects the problem of obesity with the history of poverty and creates the question of why is laziness connected to obesity? And why does that consequently turn into poverty.