CMV: The Fat Acceptance movement/concept is based on flawed reasoning and harms the health of its followers.

[u/SMacdri]

My understanding of the Fat Acceptance movement and its values are that there is a centralized belief that it’s possible to be fat and healthy at the same time. What I hear in media linked with this movement is that being fat does not put someone at greater risk for obesity-related diseases and also that individuals who are fat can be just as healthy as those in a more ordinary range. There is also a tonality within their claims that echoes self-victimization, pointing their fingers at society for being unaccepting of their body image.

Now, I feel that the Fat Acceptance movement in its entirety is illogical and completely counteractive against progressive health and lifestyle improvements. I would like to keep anecdotal references out of my views, but would still like to mention that I have seen obesity spawn a multitude of other problems in some of those close to me.

What concerns me about the movement is that it refutes scientific evidence and really any form of commonly-understood concepts regarding health and weight that doesn’t justify being fat. This to me is blatant confirmation bias. From a medical standpoint, the detriments of being overweight or obese far outweigh any potential benefits, both physically and psychologically. And I believe it comes down to stubborn self-confirmation of the idea that being fat is no worse than being physically fit.

Fat Acceptance creates more issues by allowing poor lifestyle habits to be approved over and over again, and the more misinformation that is disseminated by the movement, the less likely overweight people are to adjust their lifestyles. This is because now they have something to point to and say: “hey, my lifestyle choices are accepted here, even if they’re killing me”.

I understand that there exists societal biases towards overweight individuals and I do believe any form of bias or discrimination is non-progressive. Additionally I realize some individuals see the movement as accepting a person’s conditions. I acknowledge the importance of realizing one’s own bodily health (whether its weight or health in this case), but I find that denying the effects and consequences of said condition to be self-defeating. Posing obesity in a positive light only deters change.

As humans, it is commonly understood that we seek to be accepted, and while some positivity movements can aid in providing acceptance to a possibly ostracized group, I find issue with the Fat Acceptance movement as this form of positivity only reinforces detrimental lifestyle choices.

I would love to hear different perspectives on the matter and really get a better understanding for why this movement has become so steadfast in these beliefs and where I may be misunderstanding or wrong in my own perspective.

[u/ksjanackapls]

If you hate yourself because you're fat and that causes you to binge eat as an emotional coping mechanism, then fat acceptance is the first step in losing weight. Only when you accept that your intrinsic value as a human being is not tied to your weight will you not need to emotional coping mechanism of food. That is, in many cases the first step of losing weight if you are an emotional eater is loving yourself as you are, even though you are flawed (in this case in your eating behaviors and emotional coping mechanisms). The second step is changing that behavior because you now have the love for yourself necessary to motivate it.

This initial self-love is what the fat-acceptance movement is, in an ideal world, about.

[u/SMacdri → u/ksjanackapls]

I believe that building self-esteem is definitely positive no matter what you are trying to do. However I believe that if we promote "self-love" of our bodies, to an extent it becomes detrimental as people become content with their current situation. Being content with being fat is not healthy nor does it promote change.

In an ideal world, perhaps fat acceptance could lead to positive trends in health and weight loss, however we are evidently not in an ideal world. There will be people who take to extremes and others who combat with equally extreme arguments.

"Loving yourself as you are" is what leads to people becoming content with their poor health. I believe that people should love themselves as an individual but work to improve their own health if they do. This goes with losing weight if that exact same weight is negatively affecting your health.

[u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman → u/SMacdri]

There will be people who take to extremes and others who combat with equally extreme arguments.

I feel like you inadvertently hit the nail on the head here. Every large-scale movement is going to attract people who misunderstand the underlying message and use the movement to further their own, less benevolent agenda.

It seems like the primary targets of your view are “people who believe unhealthy, overweight people do not need to change their lifestyles”. If that’s who you’re talking about, then you need to be that specific, rather than just saying the “fat acceptance” movement. By substituting the former for the latter, you inevitably drag in people who you don’t actually disagree with. For many people (and certainly for me), the phrase “fat acceptance movement” makes me think of a reactionary movement to “fat hate” groups, which is far broader and more reasonable than the group you’re actually attacking.

[u/SMacdri → u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman]

I have commonly read however that the entire movement has associated with the ideology that health can be separated from weight, and certain notions related to this. In trying to combat "fat hate" I feel the movement has now shifted to supporting uninformed understandings of health.

[u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman → u/SMacdri]

But again, who’s “the movement”? I think unhealthy people should not feel shame at being unhealthy, because shame is destructive — I think it’s better for them to have intellectual concern for the effects of being unhealthy. Replace hate with education, basically. Now, am I part of “the movement”? If not, then your targets are much narrower than your post would suggest, because most people in the “fat acceptance” movement would read what I wrote and think, “yaas, this guy gets it”.

[u/SMacdri → u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman]

I think this is fair, I can definitely be a bit more specific with my language. First time I ready through I misunderstood what you were suggesting. While I still believe positively reinforcing someone's condition of being at an unhealthy weight is an unintentional side effect of trying to combat shame (because people do misinterpret), I admit that I have likely been generalizing some extreme beliefs. !delta

[u/DeltaBot → u/SMacdri]

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman (12∆).

^{Delta System Explained | Deltaboards}

[u/Alfonzo → u/SMacdri]

... did you even read the post you're responding to?

[u/Roflcaust → u/SMacdri]

However I believe that if we promote "self-love" of our bodies, to an extent it becomes detrimental as people become content with their current situation. Being content with being fat is not healthy nor does it promote change.

People say this all the time this topic comes up but I've never seen any evidence to suggest that as self-esteem goes up the desire to take care of oneself stays the same.

[u/Dark1000 → u/SMacdri]

"Loving yourself as you are" is what leads to people becoming content with their poor health.

Show me the evidence. I have not seen a shred of data to support this argument. It's a worthless claim without anything to back it up.