#56 - Fat bigots

Fat is one of the last socially acceptable prejudices. We have politically correct names for everything. People aren't retarded, they're mentally challenged. You can't call someone a cripple, they're handicapped. We don't call 'em poor people anymore, now they're low-income. Even crazy people are now schizophrenic or bipolar or manic depressive. What about fat? Nope, no politically correct terminology here, just fat. People aren't allowed to be bigots anymore, at least not in public. But this doesn't hold true for fat. I mean, who hasn't heard a fat joke recently?

Fat people are totally discriminated against in the workplace. Did you know that fat people earn significantly less money than thin people (about $6000 less/year!)? If employers are given a choice between hiring a well qualified heavy person versus a less qualified thin person, they will most likely hire the thin person. The reasons behind this are that fat people will make the company look bad. This hiring discrimination is particularly true for high exposure jobs such as receptionist or sales, where the employee would frequently come into contact with the public. Also, fat people tend to have higher incidences of disease (like diabetes and heart disease) and will therefore theoretically miss more work, leading to reduced productivity. Also, all those visits to the doctor will cost the employer more in health care costs. So really, it all come down to the almighty dollar - fat people cost too much, either through increased health care costs, reduced productivity or the fact that your obesity will repulse and turn away all potential clients. I was reading this article about fat discrimination in the journal Obesity the other day and I had to quote them. "Overweight employees are assumed to lack self-discipline, be lazy, less conscientious, less competent, sloppy, disagreeable, and emotionally unstable. Obese employees are also believed to think slower, have poorer attendance records, and be poor role models" (Puhl et al., 2001). Doesn't that just hit you with a ton of bricks? That really hits me. Can you believe this is what people think? It really hurts to hear this, but it makes me want to change my appearance. So I guess these misconceptions, however negative, are motivating.

I think the major misconception of fat people is that they are lazy, stupid people that eat like pigs. In fact, obese people often eat less than thin people (of course it also means they're probably exercising less too). This ignorance doesn't take into account genetics or aliments. Being fat is seen as a life-style choice. So the thought is: you brought this on yourself so you are a totally acceptable target for ridicule. It's the blame game. You made yourself fat so you'll have to deal with discrimination. Too bad. I didn't purposefully subscribe to the super-size me plan. Weight comes on gradually. 5 pounds here, 10 pounds there, up and up by little increments until, before you know it, you hit 200 or 300 or more. I didn't choose to be fat. For me it was a combination of lack of exercise, genetics, insulin insensitivity (hypoglycemia - which forces me to eat frequently), a bad habit of emotional eating, and a love for chocolaty good desserts. I wish I would have known that if I would have committed a little more effort to diet and exercise as a young person, I could have avoided obesity in the first place. Obesity wasn't a choice, it just happened.

By no means am I running out and joining my nearest fat acceptance association. I hate being fat! For some reason these fat loving organizations make me cringe. It's true, becoming fat isn't a choice, BUT you do have a choice to do something about it and change. It's not healthy to be fat. You'll have bad joints, and probably end up with diabetes, heart disease or a stroke. I just can't condone the idea of loving being fat. Don't get me wrong, I love myself, I just don't love my fat. There is nothing wrong with learning to love yourself no matter what weight you are, but becoming complacent and deciding you'll be fat forever doesn't seem right. I just hate it when I hear about a fat person trying to get disability. It took simple changes in our diet and activity that caused us to get fat, so it should take simple changes to lose weight. Sure little changes won't result in dramatic and fast weight loss, but over time you'll get healthy. It doesn't need to become a disability. I hate to say it, but I think I often buy into these stereotypes of the obese. When I see someone much fatter than me, I think to myself, "Why can't they just eat less and exercise?" I'm sure everyone thinner than me thinks the exact same thing about me.

Fat bigots aren't going away. They will be there forever. I guess we just need to ignore their ridicule and gain strength from their evil comments and agendas. But I guess, in the end, if you want a job or a raise or a promotion you'd better lose some weight!