I once knew an obese camper that nobody would want to sleep near because of the loud snoring they did at night. Obesity has a social impact that cuts deep into an overweight person's emotions. All too often a low IQ is incorrectly tied to an obese person’s body weight. Many thin people look at an obese individual and assume they have a low IQ or is a bumbling idiot. Overweight people are often greeted with a prejudice that they may have been dealing with it for a life time. Let us examine how an over weight person may have been affected by the mere fact that they are obese. The statistics of obesity go far beyond what you may see on a chart.

Social Impact of Being Overweight

The choices that an obese person makes throughout a typical day are nowhere near what would be typical of a thin person.  An overweight person may not pick up that dime on the floor because it is not worth the trouble.   The obese one may only go through the drive thru so as to not have to have others watch them eat in the lobby.   There are many instances that an overweight individual is forced to deal with that a thin person is not accustomed to dealing with at all. The impact of being overweight is all too often something that affects people from their earliest age of memory and continues their entire life.  When a person is obese it becomes something that seeps into every aspect of their life.  It affects even the most mundane choices most thin people are not even aware they choose.  Let’s look at a true story.  A few people went to a restaurant and only one person was morbidly obese.  As the order went from the counter to the seating area, the thinner person chose a booth.  There was an awkward moment when the “fat” person could not slide into the booth and all the persons involved had to move to another seating area.  This was a very awkward moment and it was very embarrassing for the overweight individual. 

Children can be downright vicious and hateful towards the obese child.  Names fly and insults rain on the innocent child who is obese.  At an early age a person is bombarded with hateful, hurting words that are sailed through the air for the sole purpose of being venomous.   Every adult who endured an obese childhood can rehearse to you their own personal catalog of received insults that to present day inflict sadness, and an ongoing social distress.

The social impact of being overweight to the individual has a negative effect on the self esteem of the over weight person.  All too often the obese person has been ground down and may have even become convinced they are, in fact, worthless.  All too often the obese person not only feels unloved but also feels useless and may have given up an ever being thin.  All too often an overweight person has tied thin to self worth and self esteem.  After all, this is what society has drilled into their mind set since youth?

If a person is obese and is happy with them self, that is fine.  As long as the obese individual is knowledgeable that being overweight is unhealthy and will shorten their life span.  This may be the reason why some thin people believe overweight people are stupid.  Maybe the thin people view obese people as making a choice that is self destructive or suicidal.  The making of a choice to remain obese is not the choice of a stupid person but it is nonetheless a choice.  There are many people who make poor choices who are not stupid, they just make poor choices.  Being overweight and accepting that choice does not make a person dumb, it is just a poor choice in the course of a lifetime.  You could note that there are many groups of people who make poor choices.  If you smoke, it is a poor choice.  If you do drugs it is a poor choice.  If you drive too fast in the rain it is a poor choice. 

The Point Is…

The point is that obese people are not stupid, they are obese.  Accept them for who they are and love them while they are here.  The choices they make do not make them stupid.  There are plenty of drug addicts and aggressive drivers and smokers who are not stupid.  They, just like obese people make poor choices.  In today’s world any healthy person who is overweight could lose the weight if they were properly motivated and became dedicated to themselves.  They will just have to reach the point where they want to make the change and take control of themselves for the long term.  So love them for who they are and accept them as they are and enjoy them while they are here.  A person should not be discriminated against because they are overweight.  They should be loved because they are a person.

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