Overweight is the new norm: Good or bad?
 

I was overweight through much of grade school, and I lived with years of taunting. Regaining the weight in college, at 140, I was pretty much undatable. It seems that things have changed, and a bigger range of body types is normal now. I am thrilled for kids growing up today that they won't have to go through what I did. It makes me smile to see girls on the subway flaunting their curves. I love going to Mardi Gras and seeing drill teams of girls with big, beaudacious bodies strutting their stuff in the parades. And I love shows like Huge, Margaret Cho, and Mike & Molly with characters whose bodies I relate to. On the other hand, I still find a lean, tone body beautiful, and it makes me a little wistful that that's no longer the body type that represents America. I'm thinking in a generation or so, it may no longer be what most people aspire to. What do you think? Is it a good / positive change?

I, of course, would never want a child to feel bad about themselves -- but I don't necessarily think it's a positive thing that being overweight is the norm. I think it is a slippery, and possibly dangerous, slope. Being overweight is not healthy. And I'm not talking about body acceptance, or feeling good about oneself at any size, just the simple fact that excess body fat is linked to many health releated problems.

The sad thing is that kids will taunt kids no matter what the norm is. Clothes, weight, hair, height, you name it. If it's not one thing it's another.

I don't think it's good. When you go to Europe, you don't really see overweight people. ****, you can go to NYC and you don't really see all that many heavy people compared to "normal" sized. I live in the south and the first thing my BF commented on about my hometown is how many people are overweight. It's just so unhealthy and not only reduces your quality of life, but your lifespan as well.

But I don't believe in fat shaming. Weight gain just happens sometimes, we lead busy lives. I don't really see a change in society. Still seems as though the worst thing you can be is a fat person, and people will let you know. What's sad is how mean people can be when you try to change it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

In a way, it's positive. The "healthy weight" is honestly a tad too low in my opinion. Women used to have curves, curves were celebrated. Now women are busting their behinds to look like women who... without boobs, would have the body of a pubescent boy. Is that really healthy? A little layer of fat is good for you, just not so much that it prevents you from living a quality life. I look at the statues of the old days, and the bodies the deemed worth making art out of, were hardly skinny. They were in fact overweight according to our standards. I don't think people feeling ok with having a little extra meat on them is bad. If you have to bust your butt for the rest of your life, to maintain a certain weight, maybe it's too low.

I guess it's good if you prefer to look at overweight bodies and to be overweight yourself. I don't think we'll see a shift from "in shape" pop icons and celebrities to "average American bodied" any time soon.

The norm doesn't concern me much to be honest. I'm doing my thing.

Edit: Curves shmurves, thin/non-curvy-body-shaming is stupid too. Shame on you DisappearingActs.

I don't think the average size of America matters one whit. The health of a person does, however. Their weight or dimensions mean little, but for the sake of quality of life I'd like to see healthier bodies and habits. I'd never legislate it and don't think it needs PSA's, but teaching the new generation what is and isn't healthy fuel will go a long way to helping them live better lives no matter how big or small they are. That's what I think counts, aesthetics matter incredibly little.

Just to clarify, not all of us here were overweight growing up.

Some of us ended up here (3FC) because we gained in college, after kids, or after injury/illness, etc.

As a girl who grew up without boobs (and at 9 months pregnant, STILL lack any real boobs), the body of a "pre-pubescent boy", I can assure you I was just as healthy as any other kid my age. Probably didn't each much vegetables, enjoyed playing in the park, but sat on my butt in school or watching TV.

But yes, my feelings were hurt too! "Chicken legs", "Are you jealous of the wall's boobs?", were all delightful comments made to me. And yes, I cried a lot too.

;)

We don't bash overweight people here on 3FC for obvious reasons, but surely being overweight and taunted has taught some people that it hurts to have your body "shamed", so there's no need to project it on others.

I think we focus too much on weight itself, and not enough on health and fitness. A little bit of extra fat (those "barely" overweight) still look great (in my opinion) and aren't necessarily jeopardizing their health and fitness (if they're eating well, and being active).

I think we need to stop seeing "healthy weight" as a one-size-fits-all number, because I do think that it varies from person to person, and is dependent upon many variables including genetics, stress, activity level, strength, specific health issues...

I don't know if I'll ever be slender, or even if I want to be. I think my ideal weight may never be society's ideal weight. And that's the real issue to me. I think that the cultural ideal needs to be broader, to accomodate more variety.

And I don't think accepting and even appreciating variety jeopardizes health - I think devaluing a healthy lifestyle is what is jeopardizing our health.

I don't think obesity, in itself is killing us as much or as quickly as stress, inactivity, and unhealthy eating. Many of our thin people are sicker than they need to be, because while they may have won the weight lottery, they're often still sedentary, eating crap, sleeping poorly, and living with increasing amounts of stress.

I suspect that if we were all to eat healthier, manage stress better, sleep better, and incorporate sufficient activity into our lives, it would resolve most of the weight and health problems in our culture. Even if we did all that, some people would probably still have weight and health problems, but I don't think the weight is the biggest problem, I think it's just the biggest symptom.

If I hadn't moved to Wisconsin, I'm not sure that I would be on my current health path. I probably would still weigh nearly or more than 400 lbs. However, here in central WI, I had seen something I had almost never seen in Illinois. Fat people being active without being ashamed of it - biking,horseback riding, kayaaking, skiing, hiking, swimming, playing sports, working their brains out at the gym, joining dance and aerobic classes...

I didn't realize that I needed such role models. In central Illinois where I'd been living, there seemed to be an unwritten rule that very overweight folks were supposed to hide away as muchy as possible. If they exercised, it was supposed to be in their own homes, in secret, where no one could see. Even walking down the street might inspire ridicule and rudeness.

I thought I was quite the rebel for swimming unapologetically. I didn't realize I needed role models, until I had them. I'm much less hesitant to try new activities, because I've seen women and men my size doing them without dying and without being ridiculed or stared at. It's an amazing experience if you've ever been without it.


So, I'm torn. I wouldn't wish for everyone to be slim, because I don't think slim suits every body. I do think some people are designed to carry a bit more padding than others, and that's ok. What I'd rather see though is our culture focusing on the healthy behaviors rather than on the possible results of unhealthy ones.

I'd rather see a 500 lbs person eating a salad with lean protein or exercising in whatever way they're able than a slender person lying on the couch, smoking a cigarette and eating a greasy burger.

I think it's the lifestyle killing us more than the weight (and I'm not saying that the 500 lb person above is healthier than the slim couch potato - but I'm also not ruling out the possibility). In somem ways, I think our unhealthy slim folk are in more danger than the unhealthy fat folk, because fewer people are telling the slim person to focus on their health. At least those of us who are overweight, usually are aware that we need to work on our health. A lot of thin folks assume all is well, simply because they're not carrying around the fat.

Exactly.

Also, I think that often extra weight is a symptom of a problem more than a problem by itself.

You can't tell someone's health by looking at them.

As for the original question: societal norms change over time, so I guess it's hard to say. Good and bad are subjective. Do I think it's good for overweight kids to have role models that teach them healthy habits? Definitely.

I agree with krampus. We can't shame anyone for their bodies, no matter what size they are.

I find the "fat acceptance movement" and the slow shift in thinking about weight to be a double-edged sword. It is great, on the one hand, that people are starting to become more accepting of different sizes and shapes. However, I agree with LockitUp that idealizing something that could lead to potential health problems is not necessarily a good idea. Disregarding appearance, health should be a top priority and children should be taught about healthy food preparation (note: preparation is key here, so many kids/young adults nowadays have NO idea how to make anything that doesn't involve a microwave).

I think people generally feel like their walking on eggshells around weight issues these days. Saying that slim women should be celebrated is supposedly encouraging eating disorders, and celebrating fat is 'physically unhealthy'.

I think we lose sight of the idea that we were never made to be as sedentary as we are now, or wealthier people were hundreds of years back. Those 'curvier' women you see in paintings and so on were like that because they had people waiting on them hand and foot and obviously ate too much.

Whilst I would never judge or dislike someone because they're thinner or fatter (I'm talking purely about physical health here), I personally think a healthy body for most of us is slim and toned. I've personally gone through bulimia and hit quite low weights, it had bugger all to do with skinny models etc, and these days I am working to be slim but with more muscle. It's empowering and I feel like it's how my body should be. I've been working out muscles I didn't even know I had and it got me thinking how much of a waste it would be to go through life never maximizing my physical potential.

I don't agree with people who say if you're having to work out so hard so lose weight maybe it's too low, because think how sedentary a majority of people are these days. Our bodies were made to be used, and they work best being active when we are not overweight. I guess I live by the adage of "If you don't use it, you'll lose it".

With regards to the fat acceptance movement I'm definitely a fan, perhaps largely because to change things first you need to accept them. I think once we get over the notion that people can be both obese and underweight, we might start working towards being somewhere in the middle.

Growing up overweight I am determined for my children to have a childhood free of bullying, diets and having to shop in the adult section because kids' clothes didn't fit you at the age of 9.

My fiancé recently asked me to explain what a calorie was, at the age of 25 he didn't know what it was or why I worry about them. To me, THAT is healthy. And he's smack in the middle of his healthy BMI range.

I think rather than hoping for fat/thin/average ideals or peers, we should hope for our kids to grow up not thinking about it. In my home, even now, fat talk is banned, I vent my diet business on here and will indulge my fiance's curiosity if he asks but I won't make it a topic of conversation.

Building off of what Kaplods said - I don't care if the average human being is heavier or lighter in the future, I just want to see a movement towards sports instead of TV, mandatory gym class in UNIVERSITY like they do in European countries, a focus on veggies at every meal - part of the reason why kids think veggies are gross is because it's part of the rhetoric of our time. Think of this, how many recipe books tote recipes to make x vegetable delicious. There's no recipe lauding its ability to make French fries palatable. I have several nieces and nephews from my fiance's side of the family and there's a perfect example of food rhetoric to be found there: his brother's son is 2 and hates veggies, like his dad. Their sister's little girl, who is 6 months younger, loves all kinds of vegetables, in fact, her favourite snack is black beans. Nothing on them, just black beans. Her parents eat veggies at every meal, often it's the focus of the meal. It's all about what society presents as "normal" to kids.

If we teach our kids that veggies are delicious, and playing outside is awesome, and don't project our body issues into their environment, we'll end up with healthy kids. If, like my mother did to me, we teach them about diets and tie their self worth into size, which is what we're teaching kids to do, then we'll end up with unhealthy kids.

It's bad. It's a simple biological fact that the human body was not designed to carry around 30-40-100+ extra pounds. Diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, stoke, high blood pressure, cancer, etc., are all more prevalent in those with extra weight. I think that a lot of heavy people really want to believe that they are just as healthy as slim people, but when you look at actual scientific data, and not merely anecdotal stories of some skinny person you know who smokes and eats chili fries every day, then you have to realize that they just aren't.

In trying to make everybody feel good about themselves all the time, we've lost sight of the fact that they're slowly killing themselves and affecting their quality of life while they do it.

So if you think that type II diabetes and heart disease being diagnosed in small children is just fine, then by all means embrace the new norm. The pharmaceutical industry thanks you.

Could use a Like button for posts like the above Katbot24 :)

i think a lot of it depends on your definition of "overweight". i know guys who think any girl above a size 6 is fat. if you're talking about girls who have curves and dont fit the stereotype of being thin, then i agree. i like seeing girls who are a proud size 10 or 12. even if their BMI is a few points above "normal" (personally i think the BMI is taken too seriously, but i digress) they can still look great.

as far as our country embracing role models who are heavier i also think its a good thing. im not saying that being overweight is something people should strive for, but seeing a few bigger sized women is a breath of fresh air. 99 out of 100 celebrities are still thin, why shouldn't we "allow" a few bigger women to be famous?

overweight children have a rough time, no doubt about it. research seems to indicate that overweight children are much more likely to be overweight adults. this was an important thing for me as a parent being that im now overweight. i am happy to see my son at a healthy weight and am trying to teach him good habits. i hope this doesnt spark any kind of argument, but in my opinion if you have a very overweight child under the age of 12 or so, it's the parents fault. children below that age dont have the option to just eat whatever they want. they eat what you put in your house and what you feed them. very young children especially cant grasp the magnitude of health problems that being overweight can cause them. its our job as parents to ensure that they're eating the right things and getting enough exercise through daily activities to keep them from being overweight. as they get older and start going places with friends and preparing their own meals it can get harder to keep track of their eating habits. this is why we need to teach them to eat properly at a young age. the health risks for overweight children (both now and in their futures) need to be taken seriously.