MNetters obsession with weight and dress size

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Why are MN posters so obsessed with weight and dress size?

There have recently been quite a lot of weight related threads.

Depressing to see that women are still very much judged on appearance and body size. I couldn't care less what size you are or how much you weigh. Just be a decent, kind person.

No fat shaming or body shaming from me.

Dress size is a total waste of time anyway as there’s no standardisation. So it’s a pointless conversation from the start. And also really boring.

There’s a seriously pro-ana undertone here of late.

I agree! There's still far too much of this going on in the world, don't we women have enough to cope with, without others commenting and making us feel even more worthless?

Are you thinking of that '1000 calories a day' thread? At least one poster said that would be too much for her or some-such. Really dangerous stuff.

I agree.

Agree. Yes, I understand obesity is an epidemic etc. but I'm sick of seeing perfectly healthy weights being derided as 'too fat'.

Also sick of these lines being trotted out everywhere:

'Oh I would look huge at 9 stone'.
'We've lost sight of what a healthy weight is.'
'11 stone is always overweight [regardless of height].'
'I am definitely overweight [with a BMI of 21].'

I think there is a lot of judgement about being overweight because of the health issues that go along with obesity. So even if people accept you shouldn't discriminate against someone based on how they look, they will say you are a burden on the NHS. In our society if you are fat you are seen as less attractive but also morally weak.

There are a lot of seriously worrying posts on MN about food and size. The competitive under eating and posts saying stuff like ‘size 14 is huge’ and wide-eyed claims that half a tin of soup is too much for a grown adult to eat.

MNHQ need to do more to discourage the boasting about disordered eating, imho.

How is it obsessive? There's been a few threads, probably as we are heading into summer holiday territory and summer clothes are in the shops?

Hardly obsessive though..

Some of the comments in that thread about a lodger commenting on the op's food we're NUTS

If I could be bothered I'd be tempted to post a pretend days worth of food based on a meal plan done by a qualified nutritionist and ask for opinions. Then sit back and watch people claim it's too much food, too many carbs etc etc

All the weight talk is very triggering and it seems all over active threads I've noticed 😞

What is the average age for a MNs? I always think the weight, calorie consumption etc threads are like something from the 1950s

YANBU, it's everywhere and some seriously dangerous posts and threads have been allowed to stand.

It's so boring. Seriously who gives a shit what other people weigh.

Dress sizes mean nothing. I can wear 8/10 in M&S but I need a 14 or 16 in New Look or one of those fashion chain shops. Just wear what fits and suits you and you'll look great.

There's also never any nuance eg Am I fat at 12 stone. Well are you 5ft or 5ft 11?

Seriously who gives a shit what other people weigh.

that's the weirdest bit.

There is also a lack of critical thinking because all most people want to do is a) say how thin they are and b) fat bash.

There are a myriad of reasons why people are more overweight now than they used to be, and sanctimoniously writing off all fat people as "lazy" or "making excuses" is not going to resolve the situation. Absolutely nothing the NHS is doing is resolving the situation - people are continuing to get fatter. Therefore perhaps we might come to the conclusion that shaming people for their weight is not, perhaps, the best way to go about solving the obesity crisis. Unless of course all you want to do is criticise and you're not interested in coming up with any solutions that might work.

Obesity is a factor in almost every major health issue; heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes… and it’s become normalised.
Being overweight is, for most people, just eating more than you can fit your particular metabolic rate.

Totally agree, I’m shocked that mumsnet admins don’t take more notice of them.

Yes we know that, and do you think the current strategies for tackling it are working, given that people continue to get fatter in spite of this knowledge?

It’s actually a depressing read! To me I think beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and nobody should be put down for their weight!

If it didn’t have major health implications - yes!

I think the phrase "all that food" should be banned on here. In any thread where someone describes a meal or their daily food intake, no matter how little, someone seems to come along to say they couldn't possibly eat "all that food", or if they ate "all that food" they wouldn't eat the next day, or whatever. It's so unhelpful and loaded with judgement. Also agree that a lot of the diet and food comments on here are weirdly old-fashioned sounding, the kind of "give your daughters an eating disorder"-speak from decades ago, with oddly pinched, Hyacinth Bucket-like snobby overtones, more so than elsewhere on the internet.

And again, is shaming people for being fat and putting them down doing much to solve the obesity crisis, or...?

Stop normalising obesity?