"The Hot Fat Girl Manifesto"

Why the adjective "hot"?

Is there a rift between the hot fat girls and the ugly fat girls?

Good Heavens, Girl, leave people to their petty thoughts and just get on with living. You have no control over, what other people think about you anyway. If they think anything to do with your outwards persona, they have problems, not you. You are not your looks, but your actions. Keep them real, and you can laugh. There is no-one who will seriously discuss with success.

CBC Newsworld recently showed a documentary on how efficiently cows are being processed for food. God, it was awful. Just awful. Watch it and you'll be proud to find your protein in Baked Beans forever.

Today's beef producers are nothing like the glamourous cowboys of yore. These 21st Century guys are businessmen, deeply focused on profit, on weight gain. On Fat.

One of the hideous details revealed is that these poor cows are given some sort of drug which causes them to eat less while gaining 20% more weight which, in their crass calculations, is A Good Thing.

Never mind that when humans eat that beef, they too are ingesting various things not just e coli from the manure, and antibiotics, but also this growth hormone, too.

So where's the shame, with regard to the "epidemic" of obesity in North America? The "experts" blame the citizens for overeating, under-exercising, bad diet. But they rarely mention the unholy additives we take on, with factory-farmed foods.

Those who doubt that our civilization is on the path to self-destruction, should watch 38,000 cows being herded into the saws, grinders and cookers, their big brown eyes searching the camera for understanding as they stand, shit-covered, packed so close together that you could walk to the horizon on their backs ... and ask how even the wide-open, fertile prairie lands of Alberta can support this kind of extreme harvest.

One has only to envision the sculpture of ancient Greece; the art work of D'Vinci and other old masters to appreciate the beauty of the human form. Not a skinny-minnie in the lot. Pleasantly plump was the rule.
We live in an age of extremes, Left- Right,Capitalism-Communism,Bear-Bull markets, anorexia-obesity, couch potato or pumping iron. No happy medium anywhere. Anyone holding strong, central, personal opinions is looked upon as speaking from a vacuum and "not in the game."
As Dorothy suggests----Get on with living.

It's remarkable that some persist in the belief that all people are interesting, when it's a certainty that most are not.

The world is full of dull, marginalized, invisible people. The vast majority don't prepare manifestos that seek to advance the importance of society recognizing their dullness, their obesity, or whatever bad hand they feel life has dealt them. They are coping with it on some level or other.

Learn to live with disappointment

Hey, dorothy and rockyvoids, whatdya mean telling Zoe to get on with life and "don't worry about it." She's IS getting on with life. She's writing articles, (getting published. Trust me that's a huge accomplishment), joining and leading protest groups, philosophysing. Congrats, Zoe. BC Mary, yeah, I know I saw the same program.

I think that the article is good, with many important messages, and a couple less important ones.

I have also come to recognize the impact of the 'cultural diet' on health and weight. When I lived in a third world country (living on Maize and fruit etc) I was fit and healthy; when I lived in a mediterranian country (bread and olive oil etc) I wieghed 10 lbs more but was alo healthy; at home in BC (tortillas, steak, and sushi etc) I was little heavier but healthy; and living in Nova Scotia (Tim Hortons etc) I put on a further 30 lbs and was not healthy.

The resulting paradox is that while, yes, every body is different and discrimination against 'fat' people is unjustified; at the same time the battle against obesity in North America is also justified and important. I agree that the key line in Zoe's story was "Cooper Institute's ongoing study of 30,000 people has found that those who are fittest live the longest, no matter what they weigh". I am less convinced by the line that followed, "Because the doctor who said that there were 30,000 "obesity-related" deaths each year received over $2 million in research funding from Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers". I think there are two contradictory messages there. The former good, the latter much less so.

Cheers.

"...leave people to their petty thoughts."
"...get on with living."
"Learn to live with disappointment."

Are these the mantras for social change? Do you not realize the cumulative impact of "other people’s petty thoughts?"

Try naming 10 fat actresses who've had a major role in a film with in the last 5 years in 2 minutes or less. Then try to do the same with skinny actresses.

This article is addressing something systemic and I for one hope she doesn't just sit down and take it.

Given the increasing demands for healthcare dollars, it isn't too much of a stretch (no pun) to see obesity as a social issue.

It's really sad. I see parents and their already-overweight children knocking back large pops with their junk food. Since there's scads of information out there, I wonder if the parents are illiterate. As the children get older, I don't doubt that many self-inflicted, weight problems will be blamed on genetics.

Cynics may believe that there are more than a few cross-directorships between the diabetes/drug industry, that is certainly experiencing healthy growth, and the major players who market the fast foods.

Not to mention what a culture is saying about itself when it promotes and buys into advertising that hypes the idea that young women should look like little boys...no breasts, no hips....and what it says about those men who prefer to go out with women who look like little boys.

The vanity of the self watching itself, rather than looking towards the Other, connecting with the Other, is deeply entrenched in our material-based culture now and reveals, I think, a turning away from real sex and the real body it is linked to...into a kind of preening, disconnected asexuality.

It's pretty simple really but most like to shrug off personal responsibility for their health. Calories In MUST < Calories out to lose weight. I'm sick of people whining about how its not their fault they are overweight, its some societal problem, addiction,unreal expectations or any other EXCUSE; anything to convince themselves that their obesity is not their fault. EAT LESS, do a little exercise and it is NOT HARD to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight safely.

Like it or not obesity is right up there with smoking with respect to related illnesses,mortality rates and negative externalities. It's politically correct to scream bloody murder when a smoker lights up, but its polite to ignore the fatty mass next to you cramming cheeseburgers and fries. Both have tremendous social and economic costs yet one is still "acceptable". Hypocrisy at its finest.

Being obese is NOT okay and nobody is to blame but yourself.

Somebody will help me on this, I hope, but isn't there a metabolic function which goes nuts when food is denied? E.g., if a diet is started, then stopped, then started again. Or if a community runs out of food and the people adapt to getting by on less, and then have a normal diet re-introduced and whammo, on goes the fat.

I have three friends who, in their salad days, were always on a reducing diet for the fashion industry. Now they're fat, despite knowing how to diet.

Then there was Aunt Mabel who lived to be 95, travelling and funning all the way. She said, "You're supposed to be thin when you're young and fat when you're old!"

It makes me very uncomfortable when people are driven into a state of self-loathing, that's all.

Ignorance and lack of compassion are also wonderful traits is our society. I give today's award to birdstomach, let us all hope to one day be thin and ugly like you. Ethics lesson 101, I know you feel brave in the comfort of your home online but honestly is it necessary to rip someone apart to make a point, is their a better way you think or are you just that nasty a person.
(I pity your kids)

YES personal responsibility is very important , but to deny we live in a very toxic culture and to say that toxicity does not effect our habits is very ignorant, many factors including our culture and environment, economic status all determine our habits. I know that thought may be to deep for birdsshit, I mean birdstomach And by the way tobacco companies lied to the public for over 50 yrs regarding the effects of smoking, yes we know better now but smoking for many years was considered cool and sexy, check out the old movies.

Just like the health effects of products is understated and flashy ads target young people and certain groups of people, it has been proven time after time that people on the lower end of the economic scale have crappier
diets, its not cheap these days to eat healthy, The kids don't have good role models and imitate bad habits, To address some underlining issues of a society is a difficult task, its much easier to feel superior and point fingers.
We are the only generation that is going to love longer than our kids, some easy steps to eating better and feeling better, this info will never be in the media.

1) force yourself to walk or do some form or exercise a few times a week.
2) force yourself to drink lots of water, add lemon it taste better,
3) Eat less meat and fast foods, China and Japan and SE Asian countries don't have the heart disease rates we do , aka less meat consumption.
4) Eat healthy snacks, fruit , baby carrots etc, less pop, chips and chocolate.
Just develop some healthy habits and stay away from toxic people like Birdstomach who thrive of the misery of others.

Bravo Stuart, aside from your ramblings about our "toxic culture" and socioeconomic strata you go on to reinforce exactly what i said: ITS UP TO YOU!. You listed simple steps one can take on to reduce/maintain a healthy body weight.

As much as it hurts to admit it, YOU are responsible for yourself and your health. I know its easier to find external reasons why one is obese than to look inwards but it has to be done.

STOP ABROGATING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN LIVES!

Sounds like teenage angst to

Sounds like teenage angst to me . Get your fat ass off the chair and dance baby . Life IS beautiful.

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"This article is addressing something systemic..."

Yeah, it's called biology.

When a person's waist is substantially thicker than his or her hips due to excess fat, that person is at a greater health risk than if his or her waist was thinner than his or her hips. On average obesity is a very serious health problem, and is caused largely by consuming excess calories. The worst offenders for causing this excess of calories are the sugars added to packaged processed foods. There is also substantial evidence that hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats cause a host of other health problems, largely because the hydrogenation process creates unnaturally huge amounts of trans-fats, which appear to poison the body over time, helping to cause heart disease and cancer.

As a side note the preponderance of people who are malnourished but fat is a growing problem among the poor in the US. It appears to be largely due to the nutritionally poor quality yet high caloric content of processed food. Poor people tend to buy this kind of food, because it is the most widely available and because it is the fastest and most convenient to prepare and consume. It also has a longer shelf life, which makes it more convenient for the buyer, and more profitable for the seller. It is not cheaper than fresh unpackaged food, unless you factor in the time savings. Most poor people work, and many of them work two jobs to get by. They cannot afford the time to prepare healthy meals, nor are they wealthy enough to pay someone to do it for them.

But back to beauty. A growing body of scientific study into human developmental and evolutionary biology is gradually showing that body symmetry is one of the strongest indicators of health and fertility, along with certain body shape ratios all in relation to each other. It's not about thin or fat. Moreover, while visual cues probably have the strongest affect on what is considered attractive, it is clear that all of the senses are involved, and that there are a huge number of cues. Cues which the human brain can process remarkably quickly (no surprise I suppose given that how important they have been to species survival).

More and more research is showing that all these cues are directly linked to being able to identify health and fertility. In our capitalist society these cues are used to sell stuff, because they attract our attention. They are not pushing beauty, they they simply using the most extreme examples of beauty to push products. The problem of course is that it gets depressing to compare yourself (whether you are a man or woman) to these beautiful freaks of nature (particularly because advertisers also use visual trickery to enhance beauty).

Now that said, humans are more than just their biology. While it is difficult to overcome the limitations of human biology, it is something we as a species excel at, quite often to our detriment. But you are not going to change what humans are on average more attracted to without making wholesale changes to our biology.

So while we can certainly work to allieviate some of the problems caused by biologically influenced body image preferences, in the same way we work to address problems caused by physical handicap, both men and women on average are still going to be attracted to those cues that indicate health and fertility.

Yeah biology can be a real bitch.

"Bravo Stuart, aside from your ramblings about our "toxic culture" and socioeconomic strata you go on to reinforce exactly what i said: ITS UP TO YOU!."

Saying that culture does not affect behavior is absurd, why is it that obesity, diabetes rates are now sky rocketing and child obesity rates are way up compared to say 20 yrs ago. I know you like to feel good about you self but think for a second. It's always been up to us etc, but why are the rates much higher now than before, maybe the culture of young people, maybe less gym in school, maybe less healthy families or 2 working parents etc, maybe the kids now are being bombed now more than ever before with bad choices, maybe more kids sitting in front of computers, . Who knows, to say its up to you and call people names is not saying much for your mental capacity.

It's not only about getting people to act differently its about trying to find out what causes these problems in the first place, maybe that's the difference between you and me , I actually care to get to the bottom of an issue while you don't give 2 shi** as long as you feel okay. Put another way, I am trying to address a serious issue and prevent harm while you are waiting for opportunities to point fingers and be clever.

Smoking rates were much higher when we were told that smoking was not harmful and smoking was common place and much more socially acceptable. So therefore culture affected smoking rates ,

Notice bye the way how I was able to suggest some options without being a jerk or feeling superior.

Oh and tell your kid Thuja to go play in traffic .

Thanks James Burns,

Well put in addressing the causes of behavior, allot of folks get very uncomfortable when
talking about inequity within our society and how it plays out. It's much easier to point fingers than to gain a higher understanding of the issues, just like in small towns their is usually more racism, folks that are ignorant just lack information and understanding.

And don't care to get it, kind of mental slobs.

Doesn't sound like you are any less of a jerk than Thuja to me.

LOL...Eddie Let me explain the difference

I don't go after folks just because their an easy target or because I can, I only go after bullies who need to be educated or put in their place. Their attacks were un provoked and un called for. Mine were targeting their behaviors. I was giving them some of their own medicine, if you don't address a bully it continues, I find actually most bullies are cowards and need to be confronted.

Anyway, anything to add to the discussion Eddy,

Nothing to add, just enjoying the banter.

I guess telling the truth makes one a bully in today's P.C. world. Rather than telling an obese person to eat less and exercise I suppose in today's sensitive and enlightened age we should sit down and have a roundtable discussion about the ills of society and how they have contributed to making one obese. Then we should make these "victims" feel all warm and cozy and assure them its not their fault that they can't fit in a seat at the theatre due to the evil corporation's discriminatory policies against the fitness-challenged.

Sure you may get fat, sorry I mean mass-enhanced, as a child due to poor leadership, role models, lack of PE in schools, sitting at the computer and your exposure to advertising; but you've used up those excuses once you turn 18 at the latest. If you're still grasping at excuses from your couch covered in doritos after that I doubt many will sympathize with your plight.

Ask any person off the street seen eating fast food whether they think its good for them and 100% will admit that they know it is not. It is these CHOICES made not out of lack of knowledge but out of apathy.

NOW PUT DOWN THAT BIG MAC AND HIT THE GYM!

Zaftig...it's all in the eye of the beholder.

"NOW PUT DOWN THAT BIG MAC AND HIT THE GYM!"

Birdstomach, the problem is akin to making you into an intelligent human being. Screaming at you. Pointing out you're thick. Telling you to go read a book, and no the back of your All Bran box doesn't count. Well, none of those things will have much of a positive impact on diminishing your level of stupidity. Putting you into an enriched environment surrounded by people smarter than you (yes I know that latter part is easy), would help you develop a greater capacity for intelligent thought. Achieving that all on your own would be exceptionally difficult for a retard like you, because the mental appendages either aren't there to do the heavy lifting, or they function like vestigal flippers.

To increase the average of any positive social outcome, certain social factors simply have to be altered to make that possible. Yes I know you don't have enough surface area to wrap your bird brain around that concept, but you still do have some personal responsibility to try.

Well put James Burns, I'm still laughing,

Maybe your callousness will relate to birdstomach on some primal level.

I went to high school with a girl that was teased everyday, she was obese and dressed shabby, her dad was always layed off and her mom was out making min wage, they were very poor and she usually ended up feeding herself what was available in the home, usually microwave or fried crappy food. It must seem very easy for some to say well, now your 18 and your should know better. Bad habits are learned and take time to break out off, funny because with all that teasing she never lost weight. She committed suicide one day.

"NOW PUT DOWN THAT BIG MAC AND HIT THE GYM!"

I have found out later in life that most folks who act in a callus manner are usually the most insecure ones in the room and are deflecting attention away from themselves. We have a choice as a society to address these issues of child obesity in a compassionate and thoughtful way or we can use shame and humiliation as a tactic, make folks feel uncomfortable in the room.

Kind of like how birdstomach feels around smart people or ones that are more attractive. Getting smarter Yet stupid. Put down that remote and pick up a book. (that's the rectangular object on the table)

Let me demonstrate that we compartmentalize our issues, and often fail to see the "bigger" picture.

The articles concerning fat people, transportation and twinning the Port Mann and ICBC are all connected. We are designing our communities around the car, we drive everywhere, and we are sedentary. In fact we are subsidizing our fat way of life. There is no incentive to get out of our cars and walk. We buy bulk foods at big box stores only accessible by car. We consume more than we need, therefore, we are larger than we need to be.

Being fat is a microcosm of our over consumptive society. It’s unsustainable, and so is being fat – you are unhealthy.

We are making no real attempt to get people out of cars and onto buses and walking more. It’s a thin attempt. The big money goes if you discourage the big stores, big houses and big roads. ICBC could help by lowering insurance rates significantly for people who do not commute by car. (My reduction to pleasure use only is 10%; it doesn’t pay for my monthly bus pass.)

If we were serious about encouraging riding the bus, walking, and riding a bike then more of us would be thinner and healthier. Less would be spent on health care.

Our society just doesn’t seem to understand that more is not better. Trying to increase your self-image if you are fat is one thing, but you are still fat and unhealthy. Your large lifestyle contributes to your size. Reduce the lifestyle and therefore reduce your size.

Expect less and be a “bigger” person.

Hey, hey, hey...Leave John Goodman out of this

Sigh. I think that perhaps our little friend birdstomach needs a lesson in biology.

Newsflash, sillypants. "eating less" is not the answer. I eat less (only once a day, I'm never hungry) than anybody I know and I'm just as fat as you are ignorant.

Zoe - don't let the bastards get you down. You're one of the hottest chicks I know.

Fat girls are neither hotter nor less hot than anyone else.

There's nothing interesting about having a fat ass. It just means that the owner probably tried "dieting" at some point.

"Dieting" is an activity that causes the vast majority of its adherents to eventually gain weight, causing them to go on more diets, causing them to gain weight.

Intentional weight loss is, therefore, basically a pointless and negative endeavour.

The only thing to do, fat or thin or in between, is to live as healthfully and joyfully as seems practical for you.

This could mean running a lot and taking your bike to work, but it could also mean having a cookie and enjoying it.

Laugh, play, learn, explore. Don't wait until you are thinner, or thicker, to go out and do interesting things. Educate yourself about the food you eat, and the choices will come naturally. Use your body a lot and the health will come. And the weight will be whatever it is.

That is my rant for today.

Never met a fat rigging man. Ever.

Dorothy, you offer sage advice for most occasions but I don't know how you grow up in our culture anymore not having "fat" and other things, thrown at you on a constant basis.

Isn't that why we have a media?

I sad joke perhaps, but it's hard to get out of a mindset in which you have been emmersed.

I have watched the quiet fear in my daughter, now in her early 20's when she arrived back from university a year ago wearing what she ate.

The fact her genes might have approved of her figure almost got lost in the rush to fit in.

If only some advertiser could come up with an ad that required rational thought and promoted a healthy self-awareness.

I guess there just aren't very many people selling that kind of product any more. Too bad.

Kirsty Ally is losing weight, so can you.
The thing I notice most of all is that when someone becomes fat, the obvious next step seems to be to gather more fat people and support each other in blaming everyone else for not accepting them the way they are. Then as she said, they all have a big snack.

It's always easier to buy bigger clothes and get new friend's and lie about how liberated you are than it is to actually just lose the weight. Most overweight people would just rather do the easiest thing, hence they're fat.

P.S - I saw a guy on TV the other night who was 1000lbs. and his wife said "she never noticed that his eating was out of hand".

Thanks to brandyblowtorch and to Yammerfor describing the weird situation which turns so many dieters (i.e., on food-reduction programmes) into very fat people ... and it's true, they're fat no matter how little they eat.

I hope you say more about this phenomenon because it appears to be critically important.

Meantime, could all the rest of us be a little more gentle? Nobody's advocating fat. But when it happens, it's cruel to start howling about how awful fat people are -- thus contributing to the problem, so far as I can see.

I wonder about the sincerity of those who seem so concerned about the 'health' of fat people, which supposedly rationalizes the stigmitism of being fat. What about mental health? What about the benefits of feeling like a whole person, included and accepted for who you are?

Peronsally, I believe in respecting the inherent dignity of every person. Aside from the supposed costs to health care (and if we really want to go there we should put a lot more people in the docks along with the fatties) what harm is there in being fat? Anyway, as the article points out, judging people's health based on their body size is poor science. Averages are not people, for example, when I exercise more I gain weight since I gain muscle (not to imply that this fact keeps me from exercising).

Fat hatred affects more than just fat people. How many people, irrespective of their size, feel they are 'too fat'? Makes one suspect fat prejudice is more about conformity than health. If we are really concerned about people's health, let's encourage people to live fully in all aspects of their lives, not just by moving heavy pieces of metal around, or running nowhere on a moving walkway.

This just in. Okey, I got it from a CanWest paper. According to some Canadian researchers,(to be published tomorrow in Britain's prestigious Lancet) the conventional method of judging health risk by measuring the body-mass-index is "almost certainly inappropriate." What seems to be important is the extent of protrusion of the waistline or whether or not we have a big gut. Apparently even thin people who have a paunch will be in much greater risk of a heart attack than even quite fat people who have a well-proportioned figure. Zoe is definitely on the cutting edge of science.

Wow. You've got a really pretty face.

Wow ! Definitely a very lively thread here !

My opinions from afar (South Korea, Asia):

1) We should respect all people !
2) Culture, place and food styles definitely affect your weight. I'm a naturally thin person, but everytime I return to BC I gain a little weight. In Asia I'm slimmer because the food (especially in South Korea) is not oily! I stay away from Western food in South Korea because it's very nasty. It's even more fattening than back home. Pizza Hut is considered good pizza here and McDonalds' hamburgers are thought to be the cream of the crop here. Can you say "YUCK!" ? Asian women are even thinner here than Asian women are in North America! Let's just say that rice and lots of veggies are good for you. THANKS MOM !
3) The obession with thinness in unhealthy ! All my women friend's in Korea say they need to diet, but all of them would be considered thin in North America. Why do they think this ? Because like Western countries all the TV and movie stars are very thin.
4) If you want to lose weight exercise regulary and don't eat junk food. I find one hour of exercise (cycling, hiking) works wonders. Also, stay away from dessert. Sorry, way too much fat. Even if you don't lose a lot of weight you will be healthier and happier !
And I WILL NOT BE PUTTING OUT A SNAPPY EXERCISE VIDEO !

Kevan Hudson

Ok, time for me to "weigh in" here...
First of all, I don't agree with "not eating dessert", Former BC Boy- not a day goes by that I don't eat chocolate. However, I exercise more in one day than most people probably do in a week; commuting by bike, walking my dog,... as long as there is balance there is no reason to not indulge from time to time (or in my case, every day).

BC Mary- when one diets, the body basically thinks it is starving and starts to store fat so you in effect are training your metabolism to slow down. MUSCLE BURNS CALORIES!!!!

I wish I could imprint that on the brain of every woman in the universe. Men seem to have this knowledge. As a weight trainer at a woman's gym I am CONSTANTLY explaining to women that no, they won't "bulk up" from doing strength training (as IF it's that easy- and we simply don't have the testosterone needed), but will, most importantly, increase their metabolism which will ALLOW THEM TO BURN MORE CALORIES at rest, even. Of course genetics will play a part, but THOUGHT plays the biggest part.

I'm not even going near the topic of obssession over "fatness" in Asia (which barely even exists there except in people's heads). I am under 120 pounds and at times couldn't find clothes that fit in Asian countries... downright warped, it is... but the traditional food is really healthier. I think that's partly why I live on the west coast... fabulous access to Asian food.
Ok, I'm off now to rummage through the chocolate drawer....

I wish people would stop blaming everything under the sun for portlism.
Yes, people alway's use the pretty face compliment, because what else can we say? And why by the way are you asking? People have mirrors, they can read a scale. And about saying "we care about your health", yes, we are lying, we think you're outta control and feel we have to let you in that we have indeed noticed the extra 50lbs. you packed on. Dont forget my favorite "just had a baby" excuse, or the popular "slow metabolism" excuse.

Please. People eat poorly, are not active and get fat, simple. Ever see a "survivor" gain weight?

The fact is: In North America we live a self-indulgent and hedonistic lifestyle, we eat fast food and sit on the couch, men watching sports and women watching home decorating shows. All the while promising that tomorrow is the day I turn it all around. And when the opposite sex stop's seeing you as sexy, you blame it on "thier hang-up".

Micky: although "portlism" is a new idea for me, I don't blame it at all.

But I need to ask this question: what difference does it make to the world as we know it, if I live to be "only" 84, instead of 89 years old?

We might possibly be "happy 84-year-olds" as opposed to scrawny, anxiety-ridden 89-ers, of course.

"The fact is: In North America we live a self-indulgent and hedonistic lifestyle, we eat fast food and sit on the couch, men watching sports and women watching home decorating shows. All the while promising that tomorrow is the day I turn it all around."

This is true for a lot of folks, maybe most.

However, not all of these indolent people are fat (thereby evading the slings and arrows of the fatphobic) and not all fat people are indolent (but get the slings and arrows nonetheless).

If your photo says you hate being told that you have a pretty face, why does it only show your face?

There are so many nasty comments here! Don't you see that you're all proving just how depressingly ignorant you all are? I don't understand how so many people can actually think these terrible things. I consider myself fat, but I am also active and the most health-aware person I know (I'm a vegetarian, and a black belt in tae kwon do).
I struggled with my weight for years, and screwed up my body because of it. All the dieting and cutting calories to less than 500 a day really messed up my immune system. So i decided, since my years of dieting had no effect on my weight, I should give up. I honestly thought it was better to be dead than fat, much like you all are thinking. Obviously, none of you has any sort of genetic predisposition to be big, or you wouldn't say things like "losing weight is easy if..." whatever. Losing weight is only easy for some people by chopping off a limb. It's sad when people talk so passionately about things they have never experienced or cared to learn about.
I'm not saying, of course, that everyone should only sit on their couches and eat, but the standards of health should be the same for everyone. If a natually thin person should exercise for 2 hours a week and have 1700 calories per day, so should a fat person. It's ridiculous that people have different standards just to fit into what the media tells us is okay. Disgusting.
Anyway, This article was written for us, not the idiots who create the problem of anorexia and depression. I mean, I had very little faith in humanity, but this is worse than I thought.
Hope you all are happy for contributing to the suicide of many a big girl.

I see from some of the comments above that the idea a few of you are trying to spread is that fat people are stupid too...

Well, are you completely brainwashed? Obviously only the smartest anorexics and naturally gaunt are hired to be models and actors... Obviously...

While biology "tells" us things, listening to it is not always wisest. Killing ones' siblings has been out of style for quite a few generations in our society, yet don't deny many of you had strong urges in your youth. Some people are naturally gaunter than others, excercise or not. My genes are apparently derived from some northern famine-ridden enclave. I have only looked modelesque after 8 weeks of intensive infantry reserve training as a teenager, when we all ate as much as we could. Needless to say, most girls don't have "cut" arm muscles, as I did then. Of course, going back to a student/part-time worker/cross-country running, suburb-commuting schedule put me back at my original weight after a year - 30 pounds heavier, even though obsessed with nutrition and not into pop/sweets/dessert.

The moral of the story?
1)If I have to run all day with a backpack and dig holes with men, I can be really thin, and I can keep up without getting ill or hypothermic in the winter. The rest of the time even when I work out and backpack, I'm size 14 and 5'6.

2)Most people don't have the leisure to conform to the BMI which was designed about 40 years ago now to assess male infantry troops. It's now admitted that bmi is an average measure and that stocky and muscular people(ever watched the type of people who weightlift and play rugby as opposed to run long-distance?) score in the overweight sections of the BMI despite not being fatter than they should be. Women take note - we are not all fine-boned.

I thank the author of the article for complaining about women's clothing sizing.. Big butts are not all "obese", and are really prevalent among women over 23. She is getting at the need not to feel "fat" or "ugly" for not fitting into the current crop of teeny-bopper clothing as a young woman. It's true, most youthful female styles are geared to the very thin.. And we shouldn't slam everyone who can't fit them as lacking initiative and self-control, because some people are just not built to fit those clothes, and style is not the same as thinness. Though stylishness and hotness are linked in the minds of a great many, and most young women would love to be seen as hot!

Many a stylistically disproportionate butt is actually not "obese", a topic even discussed among mountaineering women (birdstomach and mikey, try mountaineering, it might turn you into a hungry bird, and you would meet fit people of all sizes and ages).

Eat your veggies! No crazy diets!
Enough ranting for today.

ha ha ha ha blah blah blah.....

I LAUGH at anyone who sees a person as less than a person because of anything but their own shitty attitudes. Make fun of me, look at me like I'm trash, because I obviously know something you don't... I know how to be happy whether I'm sucking down soda and stuffing a Big Mac in my face, or whether I am walking the track around my local park with a bottle of water in my hand. If you are that kind of person .... I DON"T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF ME!!!