I'll acknowledge The Fats as a protected class if and only if they're forced to add a secondary modifier to how they identify themselves i.e. African Plus-Sized American My accepted adjectives are: Plus-Sized/Obese/Overweight
You can insult people as much as you want and it's be the same consequences as always, people may or may not think you are an a-hole. That is irrelevant from the fact that obesity is an issue and we need to do something about it as a society.
The reason why they embrace obesity is the same why they embrace any other group that self-identifies as victims: The Left needs victims like humans need air to breathe. Same reason they embrace LGBGTAGXDGAETIA+* people, they embrace "refugees", they embrace Muslims, etc. Jews and Asians are actually quite successful on average, thanks to their own hard work, so they don't really qualify as victims, so the Left doesn't embrace them...and largely harbors resentment against them. Where it gets funny is when some of the "victims" the woke Left pretends to protect get into conflict with other "victims". Like when gay people get sick and tired of trans ideology. Or when a black person doesn't agree with "critical race theory". Or when Muslims turn against trans people, and vice versa. That's when the Leftists heads' explode...then they need to quickly figure out who is higher on the victim totem pole, and then they quickly turn against people they previously pretended to embrace and protect.
Largely, the Leftists "embracing" people they perceive as victims is not really about helping these "victims", it's about making the Leftists themselves (who often are quite hateful people, full of envy, jealousy, anger and hate, as we can see on this forum) feel better about themselves. Not always, but often. Lots of self-serving virtue-signaling. I admire people who actually help homeless people, who look after children, who volunteer to help old people, disabled people, refugees, etc. - but a lot of leftists don't do any of that stuff, they don't even donate, they are just happy to rail against conservatives and demonize them, because it makes them feel morally superior, when they really aren't. A lot of leftists need to take a good long hard look in the mirror and check themselves. @bigtexxx
All of this is spot on. It's not considered "kind" by the lefties, but my view is telling the truth is more important, especially on a message board where there aren't the social implications/requirements of kindness that an in-person discussion may unfortunately require. Obesity is a tough one. If you go back and look at pictures from the 80s/90s like from concerts or the beach, you'll immediately notice that there aren't many fat people. Almost everybody would be considered thin by today's standards. There are many reasons why people have gotten so much fatter, in my view and from what I've read, as it's a topic I am very interested in. Not for myself of course, as I maintain a 12-14% body fat percentage or lower, due to my nutrition, sleep, HIIT and resistance training. However, for the general population, a lot has changed since the 80s/90s: 1) Far fewer steps taken per day. This is due to initially the proliferation of computers, desk-based jobs, and video games, but now it's really out of control with ipads and mobile phones. People are much more sedentary. 2) People have lost the art of cooking in the home. The amount of take out and eating at restaurants has skyrocketed. This includes fast food, but it's not limited to fast food, as the average restaurant meal has an extremely high number of calories. 3) Processed foods and the expanded use of seed oils in cooking versus traditional saturated fats such as lard/Crisco. The omega six fatty acids found in seed oils cause weight gain, as they bind to fat. People used to eat bacon and foods cooked in a fryer at home with Crisco and didn't get fat. Instead of counting calories people should be counting the number of ingredients in their food. Processed baked items and sweets are made to taste really good, and they're incredibly convenient. 4) There's a group of thought out there that today's vegetables don't contain the same amount of nutrients that they did 50 years ago, as the soils have been stripped of their nutrients. One article I read suggested it would take eating 10 heads of lettuce today to get the same nutrients as 1 head of lettuce from 50 years ago. Not sure I buy that, but it's likely at least partially true. 5) Medicines. People are on far more medications than 40-50 years ago. Some of these slow metabolism and otherwise interact with your body to increase hunger and result in weight gain. Many of these medications are unnecessary, but unfortunately addicting and hard to get off of. The pharma industry has way too much power and in my opinion shouldn't be able to market to consumers in the US - most other countries ban this, and they're likely better of because of it. So despite people today doing all kinds of Keto diets, intermittent fasting, taking 20 supplements and other pills/potions to make them think they're getting healthy, they're still fat due to points 1-5 above. So I somewhat sympathize with fatties, but only to a point. I mean when I start getting close to 14% body fat I go into a code red "time to get to work on that" mode. I don't think the fatty on the mobility scooter at Walmart does the same thing when they crest 300 lbs.
Gonna be a sad day when that spray tan and hair dye starts to leak on the prison floor. One can only hope...
My favorite taboo reason why we are fatter: We stopped smoking. 1. We stopped going outside because there is no where to go because no one is around because we stopped going outside. But the chronic sedentary feasting has wrecked our nation. And all nations, really. Obesity is rising globally. 2. This is a casualty of women's liberation, in my opinion. Women used to cook and men used to work. But I don't think women particularly liked cooking, and by all accounts enjoy woking a lot more. Same for child care. The economy progressed to the point where both partners need to work full time to stay afloat because both partners work full time in most households. So no one has the energy to cook at the end of the day and take out becomes the easier option. 3. I don't get this obsession with seed oils. We eat more oil and sugar than we did 50 years ago, but we do it because it tastes better not because we think it is good for us. 4. People don't eat many vegetables to begin with, so micronutrient losses are meaningless. 5. I don't think your average person under 40 is on any regular medicines besides supplements they're getting from walgreens or gnc (which are a waste of money assuming you eat a balanced diet) or for women birth control. The medicines start once metabolic syndrome takes over in their 40s.
The other issue is that not all calories are equal, and the longer it takes for food to digest the more is used by our gut microbiome than absorbed systemically. Processed foods are easier to digest than whole foods, and usually taste better. But they're both calorically more dense and more readily absorbed than their unprocessed counterparts.
Finally society is built around agriculture and husbandry. Our ancestors have been eating meat, bread, and vegetables since civilization started. But industrialization made mass production of food a possibility so now we've exploded in population and we cannot go back to the even pre-industrial agrarian times (think 1700s colonial America) without significant adversity on the global level.
I think Euros are leaner on the whole because they have cities designed for public transportation and their food industry isn't geared towards GMO corn/wheat/soy derivatives (HFC, soy lethicin, monoglycerides). They definitely put artificial crap in their junk foods, but whatever they're running with isn't prevalent or considered an industrial byproduct of subsidized agriculture. Their portions are also 2/3 of what we'd get at a restaurant which probably makes their tiny low flow toilets tolerable... 2. Everyone is lazy but I think covid isolation and cooking vids helped here. General nutritionist info is also a super helpful but sometimes missing component. For some people, time outside the workday is a luxury as prep, cooking, eating and cleanup can easily take up 3-4 hours if you don't like eating the same things within a week. 3. There's def something going on with seed oils, at least enough to find a grip of info online. I don't like the taste of avocado oil, but olive or grapeseed is fine by me. 4. It's an excellent source of fiber and likely supports a healthy microbiome in unresearched ways. Probiotics or fermented foods might be trendy right now, but not only does having more veg help with that, it can increase satiety with the proper amount of fat and proteins. 5. Medicines for under 40 might be a crutch for low exercise or physical activity. Stuff like low cholesterol or some vitamin like vitamin D you could get more of just by being out in the sun. Left unmentioned in these lists is the lack of regular sleep. This definitely disrupts metabolism, hormone regulation, satiety and general energy levels (overcompensate with sugar/fats/caffeine). I know when I gain weight, I start having bouts of sleep apnea. Generally means it's time to run more laps in a day and spend a longer time with the weights instead of doomscrolling crap found on the D&D.... Again with the Euros, they put a higher premium on time, eat and chew longer during meals and promote vacations that likely ratchet down the cortisol and adrenaline found in our daily grind. It's definitely a luxury many Americans are either ignorant of or feel guilty of being too soft or weak to appreciate...
This is very true. The role of the woman in the house was a critically important one - cooking for the family, getting the kids to do their homework, cleaning the house, etc. Somehow the homemaker role lost respect, and now many women consider it beneath them to do these things, saying "they're not living in the 1950s!" I think more people moving to cities accelerated this as well. It's considered misogynistic to say these things, but it shouldn't be.
I wouldn't lump all Europeans together, and would note that they're getting fatter, also. The UK very much resembles the US now. There is definitely talk of an obesity epidemic across Europe, but I would agree they are not close to the levels in the US.
Sorry if facts hurt feelings but being obese is a health risk. If you love someone obese, and want them to make changes you don’t have a “phobia” for wanting them to be healthy- you simply want them to avoid health complications so they could live longer. It’s pretty simple,
True, and as a guy that is on the fat/fluffy side of things, that is accurate. It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative it is diet, and exercise. I spend far too much time on my PC and less playing ball or what I used to love to do - I have reasons but I haven't prioritized them, time to do that I think. DD
