Fat people are stupid apparently.

[mytwopenceworth]

did anyone read that bit in the express about the business man who won't hire fat people because he says they are unintelligent and just smoke fags, drink beer and eat pies all day?

how can people think it's ok to be so hateful and discriminatory.

i hope he gets leprosy and his watnot falls off.

I don't agree most people who are seriously overweight is down to lifestyle. I think people who start off overweight it is down to their lifestyle but when it becomes a serious problem such as obesity there are deeper problems that have developed. Probably due to society attitudes making them feel so bad about themselves that they believe the only good thing left in their life is food.

And, yeah, you can't just go cold turkey from eating. You need to eat to survive. Imagine you had to drink a small amount of alcohol to survive do you think you could limit it? It wouldn't make you want more? It wouldn't consume your every thought and make the only thing that matters in this world getting another drink, despite the consequences? All while dealing with people slagging you off in the street and spitting at you for not being able to control your addiction.

You're right, you would just be a victim and not worth any sensitivity because you disgust everyone who hasn't been through the exact same thing as you. Oh well, life goes on. You should just deal with it, eh?

LOL at "fat people are stupid".

Not all stupid people are fat though, clearly

I think its maybe hard for people to understand to that being overweight happens to some people without them noticing. I know that sounds silly but when I first moved to the UK I put on loads of weight (stoggy food and little outdoor activity due to the weather) I honestly didn't see it going on. Once I did see it was really hard to get off. I will probably never regain my pre-UK figure. I think people then get low about how hard it is to get it off and they don't stick to a diet or exercise regime. They want quicker results. There are times when you are dieting that it all seems futile, so I think some people give up and then put the weight back on, usually more weight. Its an ugly cycle.

If you ever want a frank and quite painfully soul-searching explanation of why people overeat from a self-confessed overeater, read William Leith's The Hungry Years where it was only after a lot of investigation about food and eating culture that he realised the problem was within. Did anyone see that programme "I know what you ate last Summer"? Kids who started binge-eating in one case because her dad died when she was 7, another from the age of 8 because he couldn't get on with his step-father at home.

Expat is almost right, but it's not just self-control - it's about changing your emotional state. I used to be a compulsive binge-eater (never had a half-empty packet of biscuits), but since I met DW and have a happier, healthier lifestyle, I haven't felt the need. Questions of "fault" are a bit misplaced when talking about people becoming obese (the same with other eating disorders and addictions). It is a problem, but there is a cause, there is an effect and there is a solution in each case.

I have seen a dietician.She looked at my diet including portion size and she told me she could not help me as I was already doing everything she told people to do.I exercise as much as poss and run around with my children.I do a lot of housework especially as I HE.I have asked the doc for help and all I got was the dietician who could not help.So- Where am, I going wrong please?
I am sick of being treated as a non-entity by others.I am sick of being told it is okay to tret me like crap because of my weight.I am sick of being told it's different to other forms of discrimination.It is not different.I was discriminated against as a child for my then religion.I was told by teachers that it was wrong and I was treated like crap by my peers for it.At least there is in society and in law an amount of protection if you are discriminated for other reasons
And by the way,the other people I spoke of earlier actually do less exercise than I do i.e. they drive everywhere or take buses.If it is within walking distance and has suitable paths I walk.
I don't know how others feel when treated badly but I am so and at the attitude of our society.

well said singingmum.

I have seen a dietician who said much the same thing. I think a dietician is misplaced in this situation. Most fat people are already educated in how to eat properly after years of struggling with one diet after another. All a dietician will do is tell you what you should and should eat and then they leave you to get on with it and expect to see results in a couple of months time.

A presciption for exercise will go some way to help. You can get this from your doctor. He gives you a prescription and you get an appointment with your local council run gym. This is not free but it is cheap at £3 per session. The instructors will keep a close eye on your health in this situation and give you advice on how best to lose weight but it is not a solution on its own. In my experience I cannot value exercise enough as when I am gyming it my appitite significantly reduces. It doesn't stop the over eating in its tracks but if you are giving it serious attention it becomes easier to manage. I think the problem with all these people doing loads of exercise but still being big is because their body is used to that level of exercise. Try mixing it up with the gym (especially the cross trainer) and you will likely see results.

Mostly though I think its about finding another outlet for your emotions, another coping mechanism. Apparently CBT can help with this but it can be quite difficult to get doctors to agree to it, due to it eating into their budget. Personally I think if they spent more money on councelling and less on pills we would all be better off.

I had a preliminary meeting with a CBT councellor before xmas after asking my dr for years and she asked me if I self harmed. I told her only when I compulsively eat. She was shocked that I realised over eating was a form of self harm (perhaps because fat people are thick!) but that is exactly what it is.

To those people that think obesity does not deserve a discrimination law, should it be okay for us to slag off people of another religion? After all, they can easily change religion to suit our needs. Life is just not that simple. We all deserve respect even if we dont agree with the way others live their lives.

I wish my doc would listen more.As for councilling in our area I had to see someone about my agoraphobia wich I've been fighting for almost 10 yrs and the councillor only came for a short while.I think as I'm overweight the assumption was if I lose weight the agoraphobia will go away.I gained more weight due to the agoraphobia than before when I went out and stuff.I just get angry at the assumption that all obese people eat like pigs

I love seeing giddyfeet's name. It reminds me of Giddy Goat - which I was reading to ds , 2 minutes ago.
I have read whole thread.
Was a bit shocked that it was Duncan Bannatyne that made this comment, because I like him , but then as expat says, he does own Healthclubs.

WE all judge. Dh is fat. He has just got new job. You get the job if you 'click' with someone at interview. Like , in every other area of life, sometimes you click with someone, sometimes you don't.

Thats life. Not judgemental really, just natural.

I think the thing thats got people annoyed is his sweeping generalisation that this is how all overweight people are.In reality if he runs a fittness club then 'Fat' is his buisness.Which clubs are they I would not use them now due to his attitude.Would not wish to put money in his fat pocket.

I'm wholeheartedly with greensleeves: 'Not all stupid people are fat though, clearly'

I'm not white either (Nigerian dad) but it insenses me when I see/read discrimination against 'fat' people. There have been things said on this thread that would have been reported as racist if the words were switched. Discrimination is discrimination, and I think that the so-called overweight have as rough a time as black people did 40 yrs ago, atm. It's stupid, offensive, unforgivable and disgusting, imo. (I too have a large friend who is extremely active and eats miles less than me. 'Fat' doesn't always mean lazy.)

I totally disagree that there should be laws against discriminating overweight people.

As a black person, I get irritated with very overweight people comparing their discrimination to that of racism!. A person's ethnic origin or race is something intrinsic to them and cannot be changed. Most severely overweight people can do something about their weight so comparing it to being black, imo, trivilises racism. FGS, this year is the 200th Anniversary that the Slave Trade Abolition Act was passed! Millions of black Africans were brutalised by this evil trade. I don't recall anytime in history that overweight people have been single out for slavery, the gas chamber or forced repatriation. Please, let's keep some sense of proportion about this.

People should not be derogatory, abusive or offensive to anyone because it is a sign of bad manners and it is degrading to the person on the receiving end. The person who made the original comments is devoid of manners or respect for others.

It does not detract from the fact that being overweight is something you can change, if you want to. However, nobody likes to have the obvious pointed out to them, even if it is done with compassion and understanding.

singingmum - I am just starting to overcome agoraphobia too so I know what you are going through. The counselling offered to me was that one session, which I think is appauling. The agoraphobia was bought on by panic attacks that I developed due to the way I was being treated on the street (I figured it was easier to stay in doors out of peoples way until one day I realised I couldnt go out even if I wanted to). I get angry too about that assumption and that fat = lazy. I couldn't get a job after graduating for love nor money and decided to set up my own business because I was unemployable. I am now self sufficient. Does that smack of a lazy greedy obese slob?

speedymama - i take it you have never been obese? if you think living life as an obese person is a trivial problem then you need to stop and think. obesity is a psychological problem not one of greed. The thing is if discrimination against obesity is ignored where is it going to end up? Already people are reporting that they have been unable to find work and indeed bosses have come out and said that they will not employ a fat person. Where will it end? fat as slaves? it sounds ridiculous but is not as mad as it sounds. people already treat them like second rate citizens as it is.

Racism is not the only form of discrimination. Overweight people are discriminated against.

I've lost healthy weight in the past few years (as opposed to the eating disorder I ahd when young), so I know it can be achieved. But its not really easy- weightwatchers, for example- a fiver a week and actually chips are really, really cheap if you're broke, so adnittedly are jacket potatoes but if the Dh won't eat them..... it does happen, women go along with it, don't think they're worth it. And all the legions of carers / single mums / etc who exist by grabbing calorific snacks and never eat a meal. My friend is big, she's a single mum to 5 and twoa re disabled. She got that way not by cooking crap (they are incredibly healthy) but by never having time to eat much more than leftovers and crisps.

For people in all tese situations its more than just stopping eating- its breaking a life oh bad habits, maybe learning new cooking techniques, learning how to take as well as give and just sometimes learning that there are other ways to deal with unhappiness. I'm back on a (sensible) diet now after gaining weight when my 2 were dx with sn in the last year- when youre up all night crying with worry that your LO will never have a proper future, or spending all day after day filling in depressing mind numbing forms- who's going to deny you that abr of chocolate until its too late?

So yes people can lose weight but for many its more than just not eating, schemes like weightwatchers know this now and actually address these issues but aren't accessible to everyone- not just cost, babysitting / transport all cause issues to. So people sit at home, feeling down about their weight, so much so they eat more and-

exactly.

Loads of course are fat just because they are. But how do we really know what happened? DS1's Godmum for example- size 10, bad reaction to a hormonal implant, size 20 now. And other people are fat all through childhood- so have completely new eating skills to learn, not that easy really.

Discriminating against people is shite whatever the reason. Appearance is pathis as a reason, imo. Whether its height, hair colour, weight- whatever (I accpet colour is different but imo because of the history of the situation on that one, far too much horror tied up in that). Why we cant as a species just learn to accept people for who they are I will never understand

Bizarrely my mate is 5stone, dying through anorexia and looks so ill you wouldn't believe. And she's never had so many admiting comments. WTF does that say about people and their screwed up ideas of attractive? Ok, so her kids will be motherless (and dad vanished years back) but hey, she's a size 0 or whatever.

FFS. Everyone has a vice, people should stop feeling superior just coz someone has a different one to them.

Oh and if that sounds defensive im not obese, btw. Tnought I should add that!

Huh? ...... Wha'?......

Pass me a pie, while you're up.

Well I had 4.5 stone to lose after twins so according to the medical charts I was obese so I have inkling of what it is like. However, I knuckled down and lost the weight. I know that many obese people lot have pyschological and emotional issues so I do understand. My SIL is obese and she struggles with these issues everyday. I have seen her eat. She eats junk. I've never seen her eat fruit. She will tell you that she hardly eats anything but everybody in the family knows that is not true. Until she accepts that she has a problem (and it is a problem because it is seriously undermining her health - high chloesterol and the rumblings of diabetes), she won't be able to do anything about it.

People get bullied against for being bald, for being a red head, for speaking with a scouse accent, for wearing glasses, etc.
Comparing all that to racism is complete nonsense, imo and but it is totally unacceptable in a civilised society.

Most obese people can lose their excess weight but they have to be emotionally and pyschologically ready to do it.

I use to manage a guy who worked in my team. He weighed 24 stone and he was 26yo. He struggled to stand on his feet for long periods and that caused problems for him because he worked in the laboratory. He had to have a medical and the doctor gave him an ultimatum. Lose weight or you won't make it to 35. He went to weightwatchers and in 8 months, he got down to 16 stone. It was because of his example that I joined weightwatchers to lose my weight. He always told us that he hardly ate anything and no matter what he did, he could not lose weight. Well, once he was honest withself and focused his mind, he lost it.

speedymama - that is amazing that your friend lost that much weight.

I have never said I dont over eat, quite the contray I admit that I over eat but also say it is tied up in emotional issues for me.

I just joined weightwatchers (again) today because I am being made to feel like a leper for being fat and I have eaten twice the amount today that I would on any other day. Its because I am putting so much emphasis on what I am eating.

I love fruit and veg. I should have shares in tesco I spend so much money on it there. I very rarely by anything bad because I dont trust myself but I live with my parents and they live on junk so I often end up binging. I cook very healthily mainly but it is portions that are my trouble.

I have also been going to the gym but cant afford it at the moment as it is 6 pounds plus 3 pounds bus fare per session and I have bills that need paying this week. It would be 27 pounds per week and that is a council run gym!

Well guess what I'm fat, not just fat but morbidly obese. Am I proud of it? No, am I happy with it? No.

So I hear you asking why don't I just do somethimg about it because hey ho eat less move more it's that simple.

Well guess what, it's not that simple and all of you on this thread who have given amazing examples of how you have quit this that and the other should really know better.

I had been a very heavy smoker until Jan 2006, I tried over and over to quit but failed everytime, then I just stopped and haven't touched one since, that little switch in my head clicked and I didn't look back.

I'm still waiting for the dieting switch to click, but on the upside I'm now maintaining my weight and not putting on which is a big step for me but according to most of you this is not good enough. I should be discriminated against and laughed at in the street and called a fat slob etc etc the list goes on.

When I first read this thread I was really upset by it and most things on here just pass me by say what you want I don't care but this thread has actually had me in tears, I deal with peoples stupid, nasty, wicked opinions in the street every day but to see it in writing here (your fat do something about it, how dare you moan about being discriminated against blah blah lazy blah blah eat less) hurts more.

But I'm over it now and have formed a new opinion of some of you (re-enforced the opinion of a few) and my final comment on the whole thread is....................

Yes I'm fat but I will one day be slim, most of you on here will all ways be WANKERS !!

flutterbee well said!

Actually flutterbee most people on here have been very supportive of overweight people

What a furore if he had said this about skinny people, but it is highly amusing because he choses the one part of society who are still laughed at quite openly. Hmmm, interesting comments he makes, at some point there will be a proper debate on obesity being an eating problem, part of depression and all the other reasons that mean it isn't so easy for some people to be healthy. Until then we have to make do with prats like this making halfwitted statements.

I have a thyroid problem, as do many people, and unfortunately since it happened I have noticed, as my weight rocketed, how people changed towards me. It is like being a leper, really. It is so nice on this thread but not long ago there was another thread going on about some poor woman who had taken her kids to a museum or something and dared not to tart up for the occassion. Perhaps she, and all of us, should just sit in the house so we do not offend the eye of everyone else. When you are bigger than deemed normal you are perceived in the same realm as those who are lazy, fast food munching, chain smoking, heavy drinking etc.

I'm lucky that at some point this will right itself, as I have a disease that is getting cured and unlike most with a thyroid problem I won't be on medication for life. I certainly have a different outlook on people now though and how quick people are to judge when they know nothing of the history or true lifestyle of the person.

And they wonder why young girls become anorexic, well, maybe part of it is due to the fear of gaining weight and becoming a modern day pariah.

'People get bullied against for being bald, for being a red head, for speaking with a scouse accent, for wearing glasses, etc.
Comparing all that to racism is complete nonsense, imo and but it is totally unacceptable in a civilised society.'

Thank you, speedy, for this post and all your other eloquent ones. That was the point I was trying to get across.

K, it's a complex addiction.

But hey, here's a link for you.

There has been a lot of support for food addiction on here, but let's see what happens when there's any thread about smoking, also a powerful addiction

allsmokersaredisgusting

Why the dichotomy?

Flutterbee, your last sentence is uncalled for because most of the comments have actually been supportive. By calling the posters that uncouth name, you are no better than people who call you names because of your weight.

The issue that I sense you have is that you know you are obese, you know that it is down to what you eat and you know that only you can do something about it. However, you don't like others bringing it to your attention and therefore you become defensive and abusive.

Giddyfeet, well done for taking the first steps in tackling your weight. I found ww system easy to follow and lost 3.5 stones in 7 months. The last stone took another 6 months but that was because I became slack! Try using a smaller plate and always fill half your plate with no point vegetables or salad. Remember to drink lots of water too. You don't need to go to the gym for exercise btw. Just go for long walks - start off slowly for about 15 minute and then as you get better, you can walk for longer. Also, if you can afford it, buy an exercise DVD as this is cheaper than the gym. The Little Black Dress Work out by Zoe Lucker is excellent for beginners because it has 5 X 10minute sections which you can mix and match. Also, any of Davina MaCalls are very good, especially, the 3 x 30 minute workout.

Good luck!