Fat-shaming may curb obesity, bioethicist says page

[Legbiter]

Fat-shaming may curb obesity, bioethicist says - TODAY Health

Daniel Callahan, a senior research scholar and president emeritus of The Hastings Center, put out a new paper this week calling for a renewed emphasis on social pressure against heavy people -- what some may call fat-shaming -- including public posters that would pose questions like this:

“If you are overweight or obese, are you pleased with the way that you look?”

For me personally it was the burning shame of being an out of shape lardass that got me to commit to the PBP, although the weightloss at this point is just an ancillary benefit. So, shame a landwhale today, save a life tomorrow?

[Knifegill]

Not without education. "If you are poor or underprivileged, are you happy with the things you can or cannot get?" is no more helpful. I would have just been insulted. In my own obesity, I'd rather have seen a sign saying, "Google your food! Some of it is making you fat and some of it isn't."

[Damiana]

Doesn't work when everyone around you are obese though. Look at Mississippi. Obesity there is the norm.

And good luck with so many fat advocates out there.

[SeaHorse]

Depends on the way that "shaming" is done. But "fat acceptance" for sure is a murder, just with time-release mechanism.

[magnolia1973]

It can backfire.....really badly.

Shaming people that are basically only hurting themselves is pointless. Education and support is a better route. Trust me, I got a heap ton of shame and dirty looks for being fat. All it really accomplished was lower self esteem that made me want to sit on the couch with a pizza. Not real effective for weightloss.

[canio6]

I've heard this works all over the place. Like wife shaming. Dinner isn't to your liking? Berate her in public, embarrass her in front of neighbors, heck, slap her around a bit. Husband isn't doing his part in the bedroom? Fix that with husband shaming. Talk about it with your coworkers, tell his friends, post about it on the internet, have other women look at him with pity. I am sure that will fix things no problem.

Yeah, being an asshole to people seldom fixes the issue. I have yet to meet a fat person that didn't know they were fat. Some just don't care and that is more power to them. Some do and are trying to fix it. Calling them a landwhale probably wont help. Like magnolia said, many heavier folks eat emotionally, berate them and they will just eat more. (source...ben and jerry's tastes great when you are pissed off).

[jtrain_36]

I've heard this works all over the place. Like wife shaming. Dinner isn't to your liking? Berate her in public, embarrass her in front of neighbors, heck, slap her around a bit. Husband isn't doing his part in the bedroom? Fix that with husband shaming. Talk about it with your coworkers, tell his friends, post about it on the internet, have other women look at him with pity. I am sure that will fix things no problem. ....

This paragraph had me cracking up, +1

[jtrain_36]

And more on topic, I'm sure there is a better way than "shaming" as it's put here. Needs to be something more motivational than outright insulting, maybe something along the lines of the anti-smoking ads where it uses the children who ask their parents to quit for them? I don't know.

[magnolia1973]

How about FIRST we just focus on dietary recommendations that don't lead half the people that try down a path to more weight gain? I seriously tried the low fat/whole grains and I might as well have eaten McDonalds.

I dunno, I feel like so many of the fat people out there have probably tried unsuccessfully to lose the weight and just could not. And I know they make bad choices- I know I did. But I had NO IDEA that the whole grain, fat free breakfast was leading to the midafternoon sugar gorge. Or that the crazy ass exercise program with strict caloric restriction was leading to so much stress that my body would not drop weight. What do you tell people? Shame on you for not figuring out that scrambled eggs and butter is a better breakfast than that whole grain bagel with light cream cheese that 90% of the info on dieting articles and your physician calls out as a "healthier choice"? Shame on you for passing up the fatty ribeye steak for the "healthy choice chicken and pasta"?

Let's face it- the health and nutrition framework in this country is focused on lower fat, whole grain as a dietary baseline. To this DAY I feel like a fat ass when I tuck into a huge steak. That's how indoctrinated this thinking becomes.

I can tell you that no woman wants to be obese or morbidly obese. And trust me when I tell you that as an obese or morbidly obese woman you will get your share of shaming. And every time you look at a magazine or an ad, you will be reminded that you are fat and unattractive. People are happy to give you a dirty look for buying ice cream or bacon. I'm not so sure where we celebrate being fat in society except maybe some of these fat acceptance groups. It's kind of like the "anti-Christmas movement"... yeah, it's there, and you hear about it on occasion, but it's a lot like an ant versus an elephant.

[specsAreGrok]

You are correct, we should probably just skip the shaming step and just throw fatties in prison; err, I mean "involuntary weight loss camps".

I've heard this works all over the place. Like wife shaming. Dinner isn't to your liking? Berate her in public, embarrass her in front of neighbors, heck, slap her around a bit. Husband isn't doing his part in the bedroom? Fix that with husband shaming. Talk about it with your coworkers, tell his friends, post about it on the internet, have other women look at him with pity. I am sure that will fix things no problem.

Yeah, being an asshole to people seldom fixes the issue. I have yet to meet a fat person that didn't know they were fat. Some just don't care and that is more power to them. Some do and are trying to fix it. Calling them a landwhale probably wont help. Like magnolia said, many heavier folks eat emotionally, berate them and they will just eat more. (source...ben and jerry's tastes great when you are pissed off).