Obese Attitude Essay

Atlas also highlights that obesity contributes to poor health in individuals. However, he neglects to mention other difficulties obese individuals face on a functionalist front. As thinness is celebrated by society, negative sanctions are often applied on obese people. They are commonly stigmatized and perceived to be less competent, lazy and lacking in self-discipline, which poses difficulties

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

There are those who try to deny the fact that action is necessary , they may try to rationalize an obese lifestyle by stating it does not harm others. They may also state that personal freedoms are violated in attempts by the government to control weight. Others might also argue that targeting obesity creates

Society today has distorted what a healthy physique actually looks like. It tells you, if you don’t have muscles bulging from under your skin then you are out of shape. And that if you are overweight you are just ugly. Another false concept is that if you are overweight you’re lazy or not self disciplined (Bordo 2). There are so many factors that have to be accounted for when evaluating someone’s weight. To assume that someone is lazy or weak because they are overweight, is ignorant. Many people are deceived into thinking that obesity is terrible like a sin. In her article Susan Bordo gives an example of a study taken where children chose obesity to be more uncomfortable or embarrassing than dismembered hands or facial deformities when shown

In American culture, the obese body is represented very negatively. One factor that contributes to this negative representation is the abundance of negative reactions that people display towards overweight people. It is a stigma that often taints and belittles the person, leading others to judge the individual negatively, rejecting, hating, or ridiculing him or her. That can often lead the obese person to develop sever psychological problems.

Whether it be in media or only in people’s perceptions, Obese individuals are portrayed as gluttonous, dangerously overeating or otherwise always thinking of food.Commonly because of all the food they eat, obese people also must be well off, living stable enough incomes to support their “food-addiction” and probably sit around all day. But if they don’t understand the basics of how food works, they must be stupid too, right? Basically the American view on obesity is anyone that appears or is obese must be dumb, sloth like with enough money to support the expense of gallons of ice cream a week.

“America’s War on the Overweight” by Kate Dailey and Abby Ellin talks about the issues facing obese and overweight individuals. There have been countless examples of hate towards obese/overweight individuals in America which the article describes in detail. For example, when Regina M. Benjamin was nominated for a MacArthur and got criticism for her weight publicly. Some of the individuals who were criticized are not even overweight, but just normal sized with a bit of belly fat. So why is there animosity towards obese individuals? The article states it is due to self-loathing of a nation which prides itself in Puritanical beliefs. As well as psychological phenomenon known as the fundamental attribution error which makes you underestimate others

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.

Obesity is best referred to as the "red alert health zone". The thing that makes obesity that dangerous is the fact that today's society does not view obesity as a serious threat. It is important to understand the fact that obesity is not just being fat or having a BMI i.e. Body Mass Index greater than that of an overweight person. Obesity is a serious problem that can fatally damage the physical as well as mental health of a person. While all of us understand how obesity can affect the physical health, a few of us know how mental health is affected due to obesity. A person suffering from obesity is termed as obese. Such a person is usually a victim of mockery and insult due to his appearance. No matter how educated we are we as a society have failed to keep in account the fact that obese people are also humans and deserve to be treated normally.

Why do Americans overeat to the point of becoming obese and what are the effects on the body? As the world looks at society today, clearly Americans have an issue with being overweight and becoming obese especially compared with other countries. “Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese,” and “more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese” (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2013, Data and Statistics).

Labeling theory gives definition to the obese. "The deviant is one to whom the deviant label has been successfully applied (51)." Having achieved obese status, the person has also achieved deviant status. The obese have acquired a conditional deviant status, which can be changed, thereby moving the person back within the norm (9). However, the deviant label is not always easily removed (9). While those who lose weight and can keep it off are cheered on by society, those who regain lost weight have a harder time removing their labels. They are then labeled yo-yo dieters.

In the American culture, obesity is seen as a bodily abnormality and deviance that should be corrected. Obesity has indeed become one of the most stigmatizing bodily characteristics in our culture (Brink, 1994). In the Western culture, thinness does not just mean the size of the

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

The problem with people who suffer from obesity is they are often just misunderstood. As Richelle Derfus, a therapist at Cedar Rapids, says it people who suffer from obesity are often referred to as out-of-control, vain, and selfish. She mentions how people don't see the behavior that is associated with it. On the other side, racism is about people who dislike a certain race

We live in a world where horrible things happen to people like they get diagnosed with cancer, but that not the worst of it. The most tragic thing that can happen to any person is when they become obese that when everything changes. Is being obese an unhealthy lifestyle could there be dangerous reprehensions and how do people become obese? Imagine for a moment that you are obese, you might think nothing is wrong, but that not the case at all things only goes downhill from there. You start to lose focus on who you are and start a totally different life overnight. You start wearing different clothes, then you’re eating habitats change it becomes bad you start eating for six people and you don’t notice the change at first. Then all of your old clothes doesn’t fit you anymore and you have no idea because you don’t get it. Then you have to resort to drastic measures you have to buy your clothes in larger sizes which mean you have to spend more of your hard earn money. People also start to notice your change in appearance, they start to gossip how big you got and say hurtful things about you. People will then start to alienate excluded you from party’s or going with them to the mall, try on new clothes because they feel none of them would fit you. Then your so called friends will leave and start making funny of you because of your new appearance. Even your own family won’t be so loving anymore they will be just as mean to you as your friends are to you. Your family will then try