Prejudices come from the assumption that all people should be the same. Very often we just don’t want to see a personality with his own problems, worries and cares. The people who aren’t intelligent enough tend to spread plenty of myths and eggagerations about overweight people. Such ideas are created to justify the weight discrimination and frequently lead to the fact both children and adults percieve people suffering excessive weight problem as those who are second-class and guilty in their problems themselves.
Here we will talk only a few myths of this kind. Probably some of you will understand what causes the occurrence of obesity and stop discriminating those who are bigger than you.
Myth 1: If fat people want they can lose weight.
Fact: Ongong struggle to lose weight is too hard and almost unbearable for majority of people. About 95-98% of those who were able to lose pounds tend to gain those again within a period of 3 years. The industry producing diet products and goods which promise the reduction of weight boosts year after a year.
Manufacturers benefit from people suffering and try to convince them the problem is in their weak will and lack of self-discipline. Actually this isn’t always true.
Overweight people have the same amount of will as thin people. Moreover, it is nearly impossible to find a stout person who hasn’t tried at least once to go on a diet and failed after a long period of real torture. Not a single thin person has ever tormented himself this way. The failures here are explained by the fact strist diets are usually too severe for people’s organisms.
Person’s weight is determined by a few factors including genetics, metabolism and previous attempts to fight obesity. Organism focuses on a certain number of pounds more or less comfortable for it. When person starts dieting the number of those pounds reduces but when the diet is over it increases again, even more than before. This happens because organism takes the diet as starvation and slows down metabolism to preserve the energy sending signals to the brain that more food is necessary. When the person gives up with the diet, his organism begins working intensively to store as more calories as possible in case another starvation takes place. Apparently this leads to gaining even more weight than the person had had before he went on a diet.
Myth 2: Being fat is harmful for health
Fact: The question of excessive weight and health is too complicated and includes lots of factors to consider. Medical researches rise more questions than they can find answers for. It is possible that excess weight can be not only harmful for health but good for it too. At least it is better to keep the same excess weight than lose and than gain weight again.
Besides, it is important to remember that in our society overweight people feel uncomfortable. Due to the fact even doctors are often prejudiced fat people don’t get enough prophylactic treatment they need. And of course, fat people cannot feel convenient being involved in the activities which might help them lose weight (sports, active games, etc.). Keeping in mind all those offensive remarks they are commonly addressed overweight people feel irresolute in public pools and sport clubs.
Besides, we have started forgetting that being too thin is more harmful for health than have a few excess pounds. Modern stereotypes keep telling us that we are fat even if out weight is considered normal according to medical data.
Taking into acount the fact that losing weight on regular basis is impossible for majority of people the question about the relation of excess weight to health is irrelevant. The only thing we can do is to be healthy withough depending too much on the weight you have. It often happens that assumption about fat people being unhealthy and uncapable to do lots of things is used to conceal discrimnation when they apply for a job, study, etc.
Myth 3: All overweigh people are impulsive gluttons
Fact: All gluttons, no matter if they are fat or thin, are people with disturbance in eating behavior. Excessive weight only is not an indicator of eating disorders. Scientists tried to find evidence proving that fat people eat more than thin people. But as the results of studies show there is no much difference in the amount of caloricity of food fat and thin people consume. But those on a diet try to ignore the signal their organism send about the necessity of eating and this, in turn, leads to overeating when the diet is over.
Myth 4: Fat people are ugly
Fact: Beauty is abstract and as time passes beauty canons change. In the 19th century Lillian Russell was a world sex symbol though she weighed over 198 pounds. Marylin Monro would be considered fat now.
Mass-media and diet industry make those standards for us. People working in these spheres are interested in our discontent with our bodies as this allows them to ear good money.
Hes still gorgeous … hair is just hair x
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