edit: tl;dr - we've lost perspective on what fat is, and fat people want to keep it that way.
I've come to accept that most people have an incorrect mental picture of the appearance of the overweight, obese, and morbidly obese classifications. I've been guilty of this myself in the past. I'd say most people probably think an overweight person looks totally normal, an obese person looks mildly overweight, and a morbidly obese person is slightly in the bottom to middle of the obese range. They probably only think of the mega hams like boogie2988 as truly obese, and they definitely think that morbidly obese means you're pretty much permanently stuck in bed, because I've seen people saying that way too many times.
Nearly everyone has the wrong idea of what these categories actually mean and what people who fit them actually look like, while people who are an appropriate weight get called skinny and anorexic. It really shows how bad the situation has become. With over half the population being overweight or obese, and the number 1 killer being heart disease followed by a slew of other things that are also strongly correlated with being fat, it's not a surprise to find out that people's perspective on what a healthy weight looks like is skewed so badly. It fits the bigger picture. It's a symptom of the health crisis we're facing, the obesity epidemic.
BMI measuring of students in public schools has been done, but that's clearly not enough. What needs to happen is to have it made standard for kids to be educated about BMI as part of their grade school health class curriculum. It wasn't part of mine. More than that, we need to have them see what people within each category look like, so that they have an accurate view. The problem I foresee with this is twofold. Firstly, fat students and fat parents will complain about body shaming. Whale songs full of fat logic, fat excuses, and tales of oppression will be sung endlessly. The second problem is that you will have people fighting against BMI being taught in schools in much the same way that you see people fighting against the teaching of evolution in science classes.
In other words, the biggest obstacle we face in trying to conquer obesity is the obese population itself. The fat shits don't want to get better, and they also don't want anyone else getting proper information about obesity. Fat people actively put out disinformation about the subject in much the same way that christians and mulsims put out disinformation about areas of science which appear to contradict their own interpretations of their holy books.
The first step to a solution is admitting there is a problem. Giving people an accurate view of BMI categories and what they look like seems to be an important first step. Unfortunately, there are movements like Health At Every Size which blatantly contradict established studies on the relationship of excessive fat and health risks/conditions. We can't collectively take that first step when you have so many people actively fighting to deny reality.
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[–] seniorscubasquid 0 points 7 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago
I'm thinking one of two things will happen.
A.) HAES wins and shitlords become the social freaks, god help us all.
B.) Fat becomes as hated as smoking. It still exists, but it is brutally shunned by much of society. Public hatred becomes acceptable. The world is a bit closer to utopia.
[–] DelusionalHominids [S] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
B) is closer to what things used to be like.
It's healthier for everyone that way. We'd have a fitter more productive society without so many hams clogging up the system and draining it of resources.
I think that A) eventually leads to societal collapse.
[–] interstate-15 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I'm not trying to be a pessimistic asshole but I'm more inclined to think option A will be the future. Like 1 in 6 children are OBESE (not even counting overweight ones). This means we will have doctors soon who think being obese is some how normal. I see skinny people all the time getting told to eat a cheeseburger or some shit (its happened to me!). Even normal weight people are starting to question whether they are the correct weight cause theyre not fat fucks like the majority of society. Its a sad state of affairs and only shitlord doctors and scientists at the top of the food chain can prevent this now.
[–] brachiosaurus_ 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Hope is not lost. There are still shitlord countries wherein morbidly obeasts are rare creatures. :P Vanity sizing hasn't reached Asia. People are not afraid to tell you if you've gained even just 10 lbs. There is still hope!
[–] Banterbury 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Considering Europe is starting to toe the line of civil war breaking out in a few countries, in the next few months, I don't think HAES will be winning shit over here.
[–] Carsandsarcasm 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I believe we are fighting a losing battle. I believe this was inevitable ever since 50% of the population was overweight. The problem is that the majority isn't just a majority, it's a majority with the attitude and mental capability that fats have. There is no reasoning with them, there is no argument we can make because they aren't willing to listen. Minorities of old have overcome the majority through rational speak and sensible lobbying. That won't work with fats. The encourage them to lose weight approach doesn't work because they won't do anything if they don't absolutely have to, and the shame them approach rarely works because they have the fat majority to back them up against us.
I think we are waiting for the day when things like the medical community simply gives up and starts actively pandering to them. Either that or fats will overwhelm the support structure they rely on to stay fat and society will crumble. Either way, fats will destroy humanity.
[–] DelusionalHominids [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Destroy humanity? Nah. But I do think that if the obesity epidemic continues to worsen, they will eventually help to bring about a societal collapse which results in hams experiencing one of the following fates:
Obviously if we reach the point where these scenarios are happening, it isn't just fat people who are going to suffer. Almost everyone to some degree would be having trouble. But the good news is that being fat won't be possible anymore for the vast majority of people for at least a good long while.
[–] Carsandsarcasm ago
Maybe "destroy humanity" was a little dramatic. When this collapse happens, and I agree that will happen, I fear there won't be enough capable people to keep the world ticking over otherwise. This collapse is likely to happen at around 85-90% overweight and maybe 60-70% obese. There is going to be a significant portion of the population who are bed bound, "disabled," claiming benefits, unable to do the physical jobs, and unwilling to do the less physically demanding jobs well. Realistically, the world won't be able to completely ignore them. We will be unable to adequately support them, but huge resources are going to be sunk into them during this transition/collapse. The amount of money being drawn to them and not being produced by them will affect everything else that needs money. It will have the economic effect of a war. Coming through it will be a tough recovery.
[–] NotInterested ago (edited ago)
I grew up in the 90s as a kid learning all about the obesity epidemic. It was on the news so much I was thinking it would plateau around 2000 and start to decline in the first decade of 2000. Since so many people were talking about it, surely it was about to change. Nope, its gotten worse. And now its to the point where I have a sick fascination with just how far it will go. A part of me is hoping we will make it to 90% obese in the next 20 years. BAHHAHAHAHAA
I should invent a new line of scootypuffs that have reclining seats and computer screens built in. And of course a massive cup holder, or two. Self driving of course, gotta keep up with the times!