A common fat-phobic belief is that fat people are fat because they overeat. A recent submission to @facebooksexism perfectly illustrates this stereotype and the harmful classist attitudes it perpetuates:
Like most fat-phobic beliefs, this stereotype is completely wrong.
It is well accepted in public health science that food insecurity – which is the lack of consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living – predicts higher body weight.
Limited resources and lack of access to nutritious, affordable foods. Heavily processed, low-nutrition foods are usually cheaper, but are more calorie dense and less satisfying to eat.
Cycles of food deprivation and overeating. Low income people often run out of money for necessities like food before their next paycheck arrives, resulting in extended periods of hunger and starvation followed by periods of compensatory eating when the paycheck arrives. Such eating patterns cause weight gain over time.
High levels of stress, anxiety, & depression, all of which cause physiological changes resulting in weight gain over time.
Limited access to health care. Many chronic health conditions, like polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid dysfunction, and type II diabetes, cause weight gain when left untreated.
All of this means that systematic oppression causes people to be fat for reasons that are outside of their personal control, and that poor fat people are not lying when they report that they cannot afford to put food on the table. Stop spreading the harmful, oppressive, and fat-phobic belief that you can
judge a person’s nutrition or eating habits by the size of their body.
– Mod D
I was skinny when I had food security. Then when I was poor, my food security went away and I gained about 50 lbs in five years.
This.
I am 100% positive that all the weight I’ve gained is due to the drama I’ve had to endure the last few years: divorce, chronic depression, lower monthly income, less access to healthier foods, extended periods of food shortage, etc.
Back when I was earning WAY more money AND still living with my (now) ex-husband, I weighed 185 lbs.
Now, I weigh 265 lbs.
Also you usually have the time to exercise, afford gym memberships,trainers, etc when you aren’t poor.
Poor people know that they will go hungry if they try to buy all that overpriced “healthy” food that they cant afford, thats out of the way and the corner store is right there offering you an all carb and sugar meal for $5 at most.
But fatphobia demands you abstain from doing the actual math.
Why do so when the idea that to be thin is to automatically be smart, pure, disciplined and most of it all– fautless? Fatphobes get high on that false paradigm. It makes them feel good about themselves.
Usta jak krew o smaku malinowym 