Obesity in America
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By Linda Wattley, THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE






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    I remember when I was a child seeing kings on a throne whether real or make believe, they were always pot-bellied and big. Fat during that time represented richness in life. When the king was served the palace meals, there was always an abundance of food for all attending. Greek art statues revealed the waistline of a woman with fullness as it represented reproduction. African cultures also found beauty in a full sized woman. In America, especially down on the plantation where African Americans were nannies, large women with scarves tied around their heads represented comfort in the homes of their masters and bosses. Both my grandmothers were large sized women and walked tall and proud. There was an air of respect for them from everyone. So, when did fat get a bad rap?

    It happened when America wanted control over the lives of the obese. A conscience was created to look down upon them to the point where self-image was destroyed by many. Once this occurred, dollar signs went up with quick fixes to the problem. Billions of dollars were made but the fat stayed on in most cases. Why? It is because the solutions weren't real. How did fat get into the bodies of some but not others? Genetics play a big part and where you are born and what you can and can not afford to eat. Sometimes, it is simply your metabolism. Trust me, fat has an origin and sometimes it is just downright destiny. A woman was shopping late one night in a store. She was trying to find one size up for her young daughter's prom dress. Unable to contain her words, she told her, "I don't know how you ended up with a wide butt and hips. It never happened to me. I always wore a girdle". She resented her daughter having full hips and butt. I asked her, "Why did it have to have an explanation? It is just who she is."

    The rejection innocent people experience because of judgment is unjust. In America's pursuit to acquire more money, they marked the overweight people as disgusting and unfit to be human. Though there was great rejection, the existence of obesity has become a majority instead of a minority due to other issues in our country beginning with new chemicals in food and the growing new breed of human beings. You can't stop obesity. Today, you realize large people are human beings, too. Find another market to make money. Oh yeah, you have because many have come to enhance the lives of the obese instead of changing them. Now, that's a smart move.




    AUTHOR: Linda Wattley

    TAGS: Life                                 

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    Marsha Coupe\'




    Marsha Coupe\' says on 2006-05-22 04:00:34 about FAT FREE
    Thank you for saying what needs to be said and for asking questions that need to be asked. We need more observations like yours in mainstream media.

    Fat is an acceptable body type. Period. It cannot be shamed into submission, though lord knows the media, the fashion industry and of late, the government, exhaustively bludgeons the obesity topic. Why? To distract us from what is really important: Poverty. Homelessness. Despair. Crime. Violence. Loss of Civil Liberties. Feminism. Access to Health Care.

    While the media hatefully attacks obesity world wide, shaming millions of children and adults, the real issues deserving our attention and resources are ignored.

    We need to accept that beauty and health come in all sizes and move on to tackling the real issues of the day.

    Viva La Vida!

    Marsha Coupe'









    CLM




    CLM says on 2006-05-21 11:28:28 about American-Style Obesity
    I found your article interesting (especially the section that deals with capitalism's effects on the ability to solve the obesity issue) but I felt that your need to blame America for the stigma placed on the obese is a bit misguided.

    Indeed, there are some aspects of American pop culture that perpetuate this stigma, but this phenomenon is not exclusive to the US. I would look to the world of high fashion - the majority of which is Caucasian and comes out of Europe. Certainly they are perpetuating an image of what women should look like regardless of how unnatural and unhealthy it may be. Every culture around the world has a different opinion of what is beautiful, but predominantly-white cultures are "curve-averse."

    So to say that America single-handedly created this obesity stigma is ludicrous. If anything, this is a stigma created by the white Western world.

    I also agree with your contention that body shape and weight can be genetic. However, if obesity truly was genetic, the rates of obesity would be similar across the world. Obviously, this is not the case. My questions are these: at what point do we as a society begin to take responsibility for our own actions (i.e. supersizing meals) as opposed to simply blaming things that we cannot control? Surely, obesity can be genetic, but is that to say that 2/3rds of the country is overweight just because of genetics? At what point is obesity become a choice and not "destiny"? 250lbs? 350lbs? 500lbs?









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