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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think the majority of you are fatphobic?

414 replies

Beebee8 · 12/07/2020 19:18

Just that.

OP posts:
Hoohaahoo · 12/07/2020 19:56

I definitely was in the past.
Gradually started following more fat influencers, read some books and started to learn more about it.
Sofie Hagans book was brilliant. I learnt so much.

I now realise what a hypocrite I was, being quite slim but not very healthy.

Lockheart · 12/07/2020 19:57

There's a difference between acknowledging the reality that being fat is bad for your health, and being nasty about it.

Being overweight is not a good thing. It's not something to be ashamed of, but it is a health problem that needs addressing.

IndiaMay · 12/07/2020 19:57

I have no real views on fat people. Its their life and lots of people look good at any size. I will admit I have a deep rooted fear of putting on weight. I'm 5ft6 and a size 8-10. If I start creeping into size 12 territory I exercise, restrict and become very self conscious. I'd rather die than buy a size 12 and THAT must be a reflection of how a lot of people view women who put on weight and me being scared of people judging me for getting any bigger if that makes sense.

DdraigGoch · 12/07/2020 19:57

@BellyMama

I’m sure I’ll get slated but I think there’s a huge cultural pressure to conform to the thin ‘normal’ as portrayed in the media and if you’re overweight you must be a pig who overeats and should be considered unattractive/unhealthy/undesirable.... not sure if this is what you mean though so may not have voted right 😂
You put the word 'normal' in inverted commas as if the media have generated a view that being slim is normal. They didn't, being slim has been the norm for most of human history.
Beebee8 · 12/07/2020 19:58

@glittercheeksoakleaf

This is exactly how I see it. Faux concern over health, would they show the same concern over someone's poor diet if that person had a 'healthy' BMI?

OP posts:
PablosHoney · 12/07/2020 19:59

@IndiaMay You’d seriously rather die than be a size 12??

PaddyF0dder · 12/07/2020 19:59

Well yeah. I’ve lost 5 stone over the last year. I was fat. Now I’m healthy.

I’m terrified of losing control and becoming like that again. Definitely phobic of being fat.

Staffy1 · 12/07/2020 19:59

More like the majority are fat, going by population statistics (myself included).

Chicchicchicchiclana · 12/07/2020 19:59

Have to smile (sorry to derail your thread op) but why do you keep posting these utterly made up statistics about the number of Mumsnet users Bluntness? We've been through this before.

16 million users? come on!

dayslikethese1 · 12/07/2020 20:00

I have seen a lot of fat activists say that it is fat fatphobic to say there is any link between fat and health. Is that what you mean OP? In which case are the medical community lying about it?

vampirethriller · 12/07/2020 20:00

I'm fat. I put weight on a couple of years ago because my thyroid was removed, I'm on medication, I have a back injury and I'm waiting for a hip replacement, which makes exercise other than walking more or less impossible.
I walk two hours a day. I eat normally. I walk to the shops and back, which is miles each way. Still fat. I used to be size 8. I'm size 18 now.
People who don't know me undoubtedly look at me and think I'm lazy, greedy, eat rubbish or don't know how to cook, I'm unfit. None of those things are true.
Yanbu

LeGrandBleu · 12/07/2020 20:01

I am sorry OP if you have been hurt on other threads, either directly or by what you have read . The fact is there is a diet , as in lifestyle diet , problem. People come on MN and ask how to lose weight, why they can't lose weight, and people start talking it.

Personally, I do not fear nor dislike fat people.

This said, the French in me is shocked by what I see people eating, drinking and buying everyday and everywhere here in Australia.
You wouldn't see a French woman eating crisps on a beach, chips at a pool or carrying chocolate bars or snacks in her handbag .
Adults keep eating like children. Adults eating party food on a daily basis. People walking with massive milkshakes/smoothie/ frozen cola . We don't eat while walking. We don't take half our pantry to a football practice.

Many of my friends here are overweight, some a little, some a lot. They apologise while removing their top at the beach , they literally say, "excuse my belly", to which I answer don't be silly, sit down . They feel bad about themselves.

I don't see fat phobia , I see a broken culture who doesn't know how to eat. I see the influence of industrial food which pushes babies and toddlers to eat baby crips, melty puffs or "healthy" bars, rusks or whatever other food invention.

On Mumsnet , in general, I see people being kind. I don't see fat jokes. But yes we talk about fat, and for some, this makes us fat phobic.

h3av3n · 12/07/2020 20:01

Beebee8 do you realise that people show concern about health and poor diet when someone is underweight too?

Mangofandangoo · 12/07/2020 20:01

As a former very slim person, I've never felt discriminated against more. Usually by fuller figured ladies. People often think it's okay to openly comment on a slim persons body shape in a way they never would to someone who is overweight.

Nomorepies · 12/07/2020 20:01

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on the poster's request.

PurpleDaisies · 12/07/2020 20:02

You're certain the heart attacks were weight related, not health related?

Thin people can have heart attacks caused by the same issues as fat people, but nobody would say it was anything to do with their weight.

There’s a strong link between obesity and heart attacks. It’s not an unreasonable link to make, although obviously common decency means you shouldn’t really ask someone who’s just had a heart attack if it was because they’re fat. It isn’t the only find factor but it’s one that’s within your control in contrast to something like family history of heart troubles.

Nutrigrainygoodness · 12/07/2020 20:02

@IhateBoswell I probably could. Thats maybe my problem 🤷‍♀️

BertiesLanding · 12/07/2020 20:03

I wouldn't say I'm fat-phobic, no. But I do think we are starting to reap the health consequences of our society's normalisation of obesity.

h3av3n · 12/07/2020 20:03

@vampirethriller your body doesn't create fat cells from thin air, the reason you have gained weight is because you consume more calories than your body burns per day. If you're genuinely eating fewer calories than your body uses and just continuing to gain weight then you have a new and extremely rare disorder which you should let a doctor know about.

WorraLiberty · 12/07/2020 20:03

[quote Beebee8]@glittercheeksoakleaf

This is exactly how I see it. Faux concern over health, would they show the same concern over someone's poor diet if that person had a 'healthy' BMI?[/quote]
Yes, have you never seen threads where an OP says they live on nothing but crap?

They generally get loads of healthy eating advice whether they've asked for it or not.

Staffy1 · 12/07/2020 20:03

@h3av3n

Anyone will lose weight if they're in a calorie deficit and yes you can tell how someone became overweight (too many calories)
I'm not so sure. Years ago I could easily. Now, with a thyroid disorder, I was on a strict 1000 calories a day diet. Nothing happened and I just ended up feeling drained and exhausted while exercising.
Teateaandmoretea · 12/07/2020 20:04

I'd rather die than buy a size 12

Wtaf 😂😂 you daft bint

Lougle · 12/07/2020 20:04

"Someone's weight in and of itself is not any indication of health."

Yes, it is. No matter how 'fit' or 'healthy' someone is, if they are of a weight that exceeds that which is proportional to their height (ie. their BMI is high) then they will be fat on the inside as well as fat on the outside.

This puts strain on their joints. It puts strain on their circulating system. It puts strain on their lungs.

During an operation, an obese person will have a far longer and more complicated surgery than a person of 'normal' weight, because there will be more fat to cut through, then they will need to use larger retractors with more force to hold the body mass from the operating field. This leads to a longer anaesthetic with more risk.

It is doing nobody any favour to suggest that you can be 'healthy' and 'morbidly obese'. You can't. You can be relatively physically fit, given your stature, but there will still be implications from your obesity.

It is no surprise that many medical conditions simply evaporate when someone loses weight.

FUBARFlossie · 12/07/2020 20:04

You think people don't comment on the body shape of fat people? Blissful ignorance I'm afraid.

PurpleDaisies · 12/07/2020 20:04

Faux concern over health, would they show the same concern over someone's poor diet if that person had a 'healthy' BMI?

People do post their poor diets and other posters reply that they’re concerned about their health. There’s a subset of posters who clearly have eating disorders that get told to eat more (and better) for the benefit of their health.

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