[happydaisy]

not quite sure how I feel about it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12354448/?GT1=7938

I guess sad we need it....

[angeleyezx]

that is, so as the acticle mentions, do you think everyone is becoming to comfy with obesity?

[Misti in Seattle]

Good question. I think some people are becoming too comfortable with it perhaps, but it is STILL one of the few things it is still socially acceptable to discriminate against people for. I don't think it is "acceptable" at all in America and in fact I think part of what contributes to the problem is that our society expects "stick thin" and most people aren't built that way and can't live up to the image; so many just give up.

That may have been us in the past... but we are still going to fight the battle again... right?

[happydaisy]

I agree with Misti; it is one of the last "acceptable" things to discriminate about. I don't think it's acceptable to become comfortable with obesity or to discriminate against people who are. I feel like it was surprisingly easy to become that way myself. I guess I've always just felt that my obesity is a temporary situation and I hoped that America's obesity situation was temporary as well; this just makes it seem very permanent, as stupid as that may sound. Also along the lines of what Misti said there just isn't a lot of media attention to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle with no weight loss or even a 10% weight loss. There are 8,000 articles about what celebrities are doing to get from 115 - 105 pounds, but yet over half of america is overweight. So there is a major disconnect between the lifestyle much of America worships and where we actually are. At my present weight I don't even need to worry about 115 or how thin Eva Longoria is, I need to worry about making better food choices, working out and getting to a stable weight. Anyway I guess I'm glad the products are available so that everyone has the same chance at living a full life; at the same time I'm sad for the need for them, just as my own weight problem makes me sad sometimes...

[Margarita]

What bothers me most in this article is the mention of special carseats for overweight kids.

We, as adults, are responsible for our own weight. If we eat wrong, we pay the price. We shop for our own food and prepare it ourselves, so if we gain too much weight, we usually have no one to blame but ourselves. (I ate my way up to over 200 pounds. No one else did it to me.) But how on earth does a baby get to be overweight? Are they talking about children who are simply "big for their age", or about infants and toddlers who've been fattened up to the point of obesity? That part of the article wasn't clear to me, but if they really do mean small children who are obese, that's a real shame.

[maegdaeien]

I think it's fantastic that people are making bigger and sturdier products, and I don't think it'll make obesity more acceptable. Just because clothing companies make size 30 doesn't mean people say, "Oh, since it's there it must be okay-- forget trying to fit into that size 10!" No, they can still work hard and eat right to get to that smaller size, but they still need something to wear (or sit on, or sleep on, or whatever) until then.

[sli]

I agree with maegdaeien.
Now, if they could just do something about those airline seats!