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[TheLastCandle]

I was made fun of mercilessly for being overweight for most of my time in school.

I eventually lost the weight when I was around 17, but I'll never forget avoiding people in the halls or not talking at all in certain classes to not bring attention to myself.

It's probably why every thread on GAF about weight drives me completely insane. Bullies can get fucked.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

France's school lunch program is amazing.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-1484...-school-lunch-it-puts-americans-to-shame.html

This isn't accurate at all

actually I thought it was that stupid blog post that was going around. still this is an actual photo from a real student in france

Nicer than some schools, probably equal to a lot. I'd love to see a picture of a meal in the banlieues though

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

It's certainly a factor, but I knew some bullies themselves who were pretty chunky. At my high school it was difference; if you did aaaaanything a little bit strangely or differently to anyone else.

 

[Josh with a J]

Won't lie, I was a terrible bully in school. MY BAD

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I spent most of my life obese, and I wish my parents had nipped it in the bud when I was a child before it became "normal" to me. Being fat negatively impacts your life in every way and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Being fat or obese should never be tolerated and I'm glad it's not part of the "politically correct movement", telling kids it's OK to be fat is more damaging than them being bullied for it IMO. If I ever have kids they will not be fat because I know how horrible it is to live that way and I wouldn't want that for them. If you have fat kids start controlling their diet better and do some fun exercise with them, they will thank you when they're older.

 

[marrec]

Remember, on GAF its okay to be a douchebag to someone if that person is fat. They have no right to human dignity.

I think you're misinterpreting what The_Poet is saying.

Especially for children, there are many really simple ways to reduce calorie and sugar intake, which would go a long way to reducing overall weight.

It's up to the parents and the schools though, not the children.

 

[Condom]

This isn't accurate at all

Probably a McDonald-like situation haha

 

[truly101]

I think you're misinterpreting what The_Poet is saying.

Especially for children, there are many really simple ways to reduce calorie and sugar intake, which would go a long way to reducing overall weight.

It's up to the parents and the schools though, not the children.

No, I'm not misinterpreting anything at all. Its a bunch of justification to one person to act like an asshole to someone else based on their appearance.

 

[rjinaz]

I spent most of my life obese, and I wish my parents had nipped it in the bud when I was a child before it became "normal" to me. Being fat negatively impacts your life in every way and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Being fat or obese should never be tolerated and I'm glad it's not part of the "politically correct movement", telling kids it's OK to be fat is more damaging than them being bullied for it IMO. If I ever have kids they will not be fat because I know how horrible it is to live that way and I wouldn't want that for them. If you have fat kids start controlling their diet better and do some fun exercise with them, they will thank you when they're older.

I don't think being heavy should ever be something that is acceptable. But at the same time, there is absolutely no reason that adults should find it acceptable to make fun of another human being for being fat, and you see that all the time, here on gaf even. That kind of attitude is then passed on to their children creating the child bullies.

 

[Dougald]

I spent most of my life obese, and I wish my parents had nipped it in the bud when I was a child before it became "normal" to me. Being fat negatively impacts your life in every way and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Being fat or obese should never be tolerated and I'm glad it's not part of the "politically correct movement", telling kids it's OK to be fat is more damaging than them being bullied for it IMO. If I ever have kids they will not be fat because I know how horrible it is to live that way and I wouldn't want that for them. If you have fat kids start controlling their diet better and do some fun exercise with them, they will thank you when they're older.

If you're fat as a kid, its on your parents, if you're still fat as an adult it's on you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure my children don't go through what I did as a child.

 

[marrec]

No, I'm not misinterpreting anything at all. Its a bunch of justification to one person to act like an asshole to someone else based on their appearance.

I'm sure you feel very strongly on the matter, but I'm more interested in the article in question and the substance of my post.

Do you agree that we as a country (the US) could take simple, effective steps to reduce childhood obesity?

 

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

I was made fun of mercilessly for being overweight for most of my time in school.

I eventually lost the weight when I was around 17, but I'll never forget avoiding people in the halls or not talking at all in certain classes to not bring attention to myself.

It's probably why every thread on GAF about weight drives me completely insane. Bullies can get fucked.

Had friends who were like this since I pretty much tried to be cool with anyone who didn't piss me off. I would ask why were they so quiet and a couple were like "I'd just rather not bring attention to myself" and I knew why. I tried to encourage them not to be scared and fuck what anyone had to say but I knew it was hard.

Such a shame. You really have to be ruthless to not get picked on in school if you have clear issues such as weight.

 

[Jonm1010]

I think you're misinterpreting what The_Poet is saying.

Especially for children, there are many really simple ways to reduce calorie and sugar intake, which would go a long way to reducing overall weight.

It's up to the parents and the schools though, not the children.

I think the_poet bordered on blaming the victims of bullying with that post. Or at least it was so vague it can easily be interpreted as such.

I personally take the position of if you ask me my thoughts on weight, the subject is in discussion or a person asks about their weight I am not going to shy away from explaining my feelings. And overall I don't feel particularly bad for overweight adults. I give a little leeway for teens and a lot for kids. However I don't go out of my way or comment negatively about anyone unprovoked. It's rude and borderline cruel at times.

There are plenty of overweight people that know it, hate it, are extremely sensitive about it and being that one other person that puts them down again really adds nothing and helps in zero ways. In fact studies show it's the opposite.

EDIT: I went to several high schools and made a lot of friends at most of them and I have to say that thankfully I never really saw any fat bullying. Not even in gym class really.

 

[Malvolio]

I'm sure you feel very strongly on the matter, but I'm more interested in the article in question and the substance of my post.

Do you agree that we as a country (the US) could take simple, effective steps to reduce childhood obesity?

If you are interested in the article, shouldn't we be discussing effective steps to reduce bullying? Or do you feel that we should instead work on every child in the world that presents themselves as a target in an attempt to eliminate any possible victims of bullying?

 

[Vincent Grayson]

It is also one of the easiest things to change about yourself.

That it can be changed, over time, with proper knowledge and a lot of work is irrelevant.

Fat kid is fat at school today and gets made fun of for it today. It doesn't matter what the future version of said fat kid may be, because that doesn't change how shitty (and unwarranted) the treatment he's receiving right then is.

 

[old manatee]

There’s also a widespread misperception that stigma may not be such a bad thing, and that maybe criticism will get people motivated to lose weight,” Dr. Puhl said. In fact, she said, the opposite is true: People who are picked on because of their weight often engage in unhealthy behaviors. Students who are teased for being fat in gym class, for example, often start skipping P.E. to avoid being bullied.

This is the crux of it. Weight-based bullies often come at you with an insidious attitude like they are not being dicks, they are your friend and they are actually just challenging you to be healthy. Meanwhile they are Godzilla stomping through your self-esteem and self-image.

I've had people pick at me for being skinny my whole life and they ALWAYS act like they are doing me a favor, when in fact they are just making me feel weak and little.

 

[Mendrox]

All the fat people in my school bullied the skinny people.

Kids will always bully it's nature and you bullys laugh about strict rules - rules of nature as bitter as that sounds.

But big BUT I think that teachers should help bullied kids and encourage bullied kids to talk with them. Also take away smartphones from kids or anything else that gives kids more power these days. Fuck these electronics - they make things even worse for everyone in school.

I also bullied someone here and there in school, but I got bullied myself a bit well or got a fist into my face, but I laughed at this one guy that thought that I would be scared of that shit (shit didn't even hurt and I laughed at him).

What should be done is preventing kids getting fat at all. Educate them right, give them tools to make everything tasty and teach them that getting fat in life makes everything just horrible for them. Scare them of being fat and help the people that are fat. Sounds cruel, but I hope everyone sees what I mean. I know that there are people that aren't responsible of being fat because of some illness - but let them get strong or something.

 

[Jonm1010]

If you are interested in the article, shouldn't we be discussing effective steps to reduce bullying? Or do you feel that we should instead work on every child in the world that presents themselves as a target in an attempt to eliminate any possible victims of bullying?

I think the op directly speaks to bullying but I also think it inevitably provokes feelings on the childhood obesity problems in this country. Also school lunch diets and American diets in general.

I don't think discussion of the latter is victim blaming. At least not until a person actually ties that string.

 

[Zaptruder]

I'm sure you feel very strongly on the matter, but I'm more interested in the article in question and the substance of my post.

Do you agree that we as a country (the US) could take simple, effective steps to reduce childhood obesity?

'simple' and 'effective' in principle.

In practice... good luck getting the toxic money out of the system, changing the way food is propagandized and popularized, changing the makeup of the food itself (less corn, less corn syrup, less sugar as replacement for fat, etc), good luck on changing the modality of basic societal operation (less sedentary lifestyle; less traveling in cars, more going out doors, etc).

In fact... losing weight and keeping it off is goddamned hard... without fully vouching for its accuracy - I've heard that less than 1% of people have managed to lose more than 20% of their body weight (less than the difference from obese to healthy weight range) and keep it off for 20 months.

That a lot of people have tried and subsequently a small portion of that large number provides us with consistent examples of 'weight loss success' belies the reality of the situation.

 

[marrec]

If you are interested in the article, shouldn't we be discussing effective steps to reduce bullying? Or do you feel that we should instead work on every child in the world that presents themselves as a target in an attempt to eliminate any possible victims of bullying?

Well, as I said in another post above, encouraging children to lose weight is necessary for a healthy future in our country but it will not stop bullying. The most effective way to stop bullying, I think, is early childhood education and communication with parents. Something that many schools are getting better and better at.

I'm much more concerned about the childhood obesity epidemic and the article is much more about Fat Stigma than it is about reducing bullying.

 

[Hyun Sai]

Stop blaming the child please.

All that happens to them is on us, the adults.

 

[DarkKyo]

I was barely ever bullied as a kid but the one or two times it did happen it was indeed because I was a heavy kid back then.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

If you're fat as a kid, its on your parents, if you're still fat as an adult it's on you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure my children don't go through what I did as a child.

That's easy to say, but if it is all you've ever known it's the norm to you, eating big portions or eating lots of junk food was all I knew, so as an adult I ate the same way which meant I stayed fat and even got bigger. From my experience you just get into a routine, a destructive, terrible routine and it's hard to break it. July 11th marks my 1 year weight loss anniversary and I've lost 80lbs and I couldn't be happier for it, but it took me years and years of wanting to do it to actually do it. The longer I waited the harder it got until one day I decided I didn't want to die at 40, and I didn't want to be miserable for the rest of my life, because make no mistake about it, I was depressed beyond words due to my size. It's much easier to nip it in the bud early than as an adult who has had 18 years of bad habits taught to them, which is why we need to do more to fight childhood obesity, it honestly should be a form of abuse if it's not already.

 

[marrec]

'simple' and 'effective' in principle.

In practice... good luck getting the toxic money out of the system, changing the way food is propagandized and popularized, changing the makeup of the food itself (less corn, less corn syrup, less sugar as replacement for fat, etc), good luck on changing the modality of basic societal operation (less sedentary lifestyle; less traveling in cars, more going out doors, etc).

In fact... losing weight and keeping it off is goddamned hard... without fully vouching for its accuracy - I've heard that less than 1% of people have managed to lose more than 20% of their body weight (less than the difference from obese to healthy weight range) and keep it off for 20 months.

That a lot of people have tried and subsequently a small portion of that large number provides us with consistent examples of 'weight loss success' belies the reality of the situation.

We're talking about kids though right? Have those studies been done on children who've effectively changed their diets and been forced to keep those diets for long periods of time?

As far as I know, the studies you're talking about were all done on adults whose weight loss failures were due to not being able to change their lifestyles. Which is understandable. Kids, however, would theoretically be able to keep the weight off more effectively because you can control their lifestyle easier.

You are right though about the money. There is a lot invested in keeping gross and sugary foods and drinks in our kids hands.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Stop blaming the child please.

All that happens to them is on us, the adults.

kids will disown their parents. I can't remember how many kids either beat up, yelled at, or tried to pull something off their parents didn't approve. I remember kids screaming at their parents to the point of it being abuse.

Some of it is the kid.

A parent can't always keep taking the hits, the screaming, and being blamed for stuff they didn't do. I think a lot of it (including FOOD) can be the child's fault.

If they're brought up right and they decide to do something different then it is their fault.

I do agree that some parents should lay out a plan, but if they eat what their parents eat then yea... I agree.

I don't think kids shouldn't be blamed because they aren't always forced to eat what they're given. Some of are picky and some will never be satisfied..

You could raise a good kid and they still call the other kid fat at school.

Kids have brains too. They get off being young, but they can still commit crimes. I do blame some kids and I also blame a lot of parents who also have bad eating habits.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I blame The Great Pedo scare TBH. When I was a kid growing up in the 80s I don't think it was possible that I could have packed on any weight if I wanted to. And I ate like complete shit, basically some form of pasta 5 days a week lol. But the pedo scare keeps kids inside instead of out roaming around like I did.

 

[entremet]

I blame The Great Pedo scare TBH. When I was a kid growing up in the 80s I don't think it was possible that I could have packed on any weight if I wanted to. And I ate like complete shit, basically some form of pasta 5 days a week lol. But the pedo scare keeps kids inside instead of out roaming around like I did.

Yeah. Same here.

I didn't eat crap, but I ate a lot. Always asked for seconds and drank half a gallon a milk per day.

Whole milk too.

kids will disown their parents. I can't remember how many kids either beat up, yelled at, or tried to pull something off their parents didn't approve. I remember kids screaming at their parents to the point of it being abuse.

Some of it is the kid.

A parent can't always keep taking the hits, the screaming, and being blamed for stuff they didn't do. I think a lot of it (including FOOD) can be the child's fault.

If they're brought up right and they decide to do something different then it is their fault.

I do agree that some parents should lay out a plan, but if they eat what their parents eat then yea... I agree.

I don't think kids shouldn't be blamed because they aren't always forced to eat what they're given. Some of are picky and some never be satisfied..

You could raise a good kid and they still call the other kid fat at school.

Kids have brains too. They get off being young, but they can still commit crimes. I do blame some kids and I also blame a lot of parents who have also eating habits.

This is a strange straw man you have erected.

We're talking about their access to food, which parents mostly control.

 

[Zaptruder]

We're talking about kids though right? Have those studies been done on children who've effectively changed their diets and been forced to keep those diets for long periods of time?

As far as I know, the studies you're talking about were all done on adults whose weight loss failures were due to not being able to change their lifestyles. Which is understandable. Kids, however, would theoretically be able to keep the weight off more effectively because you can control their lifestyle easier.

You are right though about the money. There is a lot invested in keeping gross and sugary foods and drinks in our kids hands.

Maybe we can condemn the bullying while also moving towards a system of food and activity (not exercise, activity in general) that doesn't make obesity the default outcome based on average human predilictions?

The benefits of been healthy are fucking obvious. And if they're not, we should ensure that they are. But you don't need to make negative shame based emotions part of that motivational package - because it's just not a useful tool. Which is counter intuitive to the kind of thinking society and culture has engaged in for a long time... but if it were actually effective, it would've borne fruit a long time ago.

 

[Northeastmonk]

This is a strange straw man you have erected.

We're talking about their access to food, which parents mostly control.

Kids are picky. Have you not had a kid who wouldn't eat a food unless it was junk? Kids hate anything healthy and their substitute is junk too. You have to force some kids to eat healthy. Then what? You're an abusive parent who makes your kid eat healthy foods?

Blame the schools. Keep blaming them. Blame the state. Some parents know what's going on.

Obesity comes from the home and from the school.

 

[Sevarus]

I was skinny in middle and high school and bullied by the fat kids for it. I still get rude comments from fat women that I'm supposed to take as a complement. Just yesterday I got two more lines about how I need to eat more, then when I said I had a cheeseburger for lunch, "how can you eat a cheeseburger and stay so thin? I hate you." And these are grown-ass women in their 40s and 50s. But there would be hell if I said anything about their body or weight.

Fat kids almost invariably come from fat parents. So we need to work on the parents first, or you're just fighting an uphill battle. Doesn't matter if little Timmy has a great healthy lunch and an hour of gym if he's coming home and eating 4,000 calories of garbage. I don't have a lot of hope for changing things, to be honest. Maybe soon the overweight children will outnumber the normal weight kids (same as adults), and they'll find something new to bully each other about.

 

[Riposte]

That's right victims, it's your fault.

You can excuse any self-inflicted harm this way, by saying the perpetrator is a victim.

 

[marrec]

Maybe we can condemn the bullying while also moving towards a system of food and activity (not exercise, activity in general) that doesn't make obesity the default outcome based on average human predilictions?

The benefits of been healthy are fucking obvious. And if they're not, we should ensure that they are. But you don't need to make negative shame based emotions part of that motivational package - because it's just not a useful tool. Which is counter intuitive to the kind of thinking society and culture has engaged in for a long time... but if it were actually effective, it would've borne fruit a long time ago.

I don't know if anyone actively set out to make negative shame emotions the main motivator for losing weight... not that it makes it any better of course. There is a lot of emotion tied up in childhood obesity because you're then talking to parents about how they currently raise their children compared to how they SHOULD raise their children. So not only are you implicitly blaming their parenting ability, but you're also shaming their kids looks and likely their looks as well.

Listen, the fact is that being fat is bad for you and we need to make sure that kids, parents, and school officials all know just how bad for you it is. Of course, the physical appearance of being fat is just a side-effect and in general we need to teach kids that being dicks to someone just because they look different than you is wrong but I don't think teaching kids that it's okay to look fat is exactly the right move.

I agree we need to strike a balance between telling people that their health is poor and telling people that they look like shit. For some fat adults, being fat and eating fat and staying sedentary is a lifestyle and any education you attempt to give them on that lifestyle will be seen as "fat-shaming".

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

I am not a parent so I don't know what the f**k I am talking about. As an ignorant person I would like to engage parents and ask; How is it not neglect if you are feeding your kid horseshit that will basically alter their DNA structures? Anthropologists can look in the genes of ones ancestors and see when those ancestors encountered famine, and how it changed the structure of the DNA.

You would say it is neglect to give your kid alcohol, to let them smoke, but it's not neglect to put your child in overwhelming danger for a life full of various diseases?



I was overweight massively as a teenager, and I had nobody to stop me. I nearly killed myself, and as an adult I've never quite forgiven my parents for letting it go this far. You're not supposed to be my friend, you're supposed to help me do the right thing.


I can't express how much I feel for these kids. When you are obese, consuming food can be the only thing in life that gives you meaning. Like drugs, the consumption of food until you are bloated is a fantastic feeling. You relax, you release tons of "reward" chemicals in your brain, and then you crash and you feel like shit. Sugar and fatty food enhances the effect exponentially.
And you're met by people who label you with people who got fat because they are lazy. When you eat your feelings away as a coping mechanism, it is 100% the same thing as coping with other substance abuses. It's true, you can be addicted to anything, but you can't cut food from your life.
There is a reason why most ex-alcoholics and drug addicts are not only taking a "few" alcoholic beverages and drugs. No. They have to cut completely or they will relapse. You can't do that with food.
And since you can't live with foods, you are forced to (as a child) to take your addiction in the other hand and live with that addiction in moderation which is probably one of the hardest things you can do.
I remember getting physically upset from sugar withdrawals. I remember thinking that it would never ever get better.



I don't want to say you are a bad parent for having a fat child, but as someone who has been on one side of the equation here- It's just really hard for me not to blame the parents in this.
I've heard there is a lot of contributing factors. Baby food is spiked with sweetness in such a degree that kids now adays have much more of a sweet tooth than they used to, HFCS is in everything and that is basically worse than white refined sugar, many poor families don't have the money to buy organics, and if you work 2-3 jobs you just can't do it.

I just spend almost an hour making my coleslaw with stevia, and it taste fucking amazing. I'm a privileged asshole who can't relate to how a mother of five working 2-3 jobs in the suburbs is going to go on youtube and make these healthy and tasty recipes. She is not going to be able to send all her kids to activites, buy them protein powder and help them make health granola bars or awesome ryebread sticks with their own sugarfree nutella.

Maybe I just answered my own question there. I feel terrible about all this. That feeling of - It's not going to get better, and when you lose the weight, and you can't keep it off. Your metabolism is fucked.
99% of all people who have gone on an atkins diet have gained the weight back (or gained more weight) than when they started, a study showed, when a study followed their weight loss progress 2 years into it.

Are you surplanting a healthy lifestyle? Are you being worked to death? do you have shit healthcare? do you have less than 7 weeks off paid vacation? how are you going to have time to do sports?
We can't work like maniacs and be healthy. There is just no time for that. and if you are a parent then you are triple fucked.

 

[Risible]

Wait, you're telling me that a society that has a popular web site with popular message board named "fatpeoplehate" has a weight bullying problem? It doesn't add up!

 

[Zaptruder]

Kids are picky. Have you not had a kid who wouldn't eat a food unless it was junk? Kids hate anything healthy and their substitute is junk too. You have to force some kids to eat healthy. Then what? You're an abusive parent who makes your kid eat bad foods?

Blame the schools. Keep blaming them.

A lot of kids end up eating shit like that because they've been exposed to it - and they're exposed to it because it's easily available, designed to be addictive and something that parents will find easy to give to children intentionally (chips, sodas) and unintentionally (white bread, 'fruity' yogurt, etc).

That shit hijacks the brain like any pleasurable thing can do - and makes you think about them automatically when you start getting hungry.

The fact is, we're now at a point in modern society where it's easier to feed kids (and yourself) the wrong thing... much harder to do right by them.

Couple that with the prolonged working hours and greater cognitive and economic pressures... and we've basically got a system that makes it hard to do anything but get fat as fuck.

 

[Lord Thrappleper The 49th]

Whilst I think discrimination against anything (minus criminals) is absolutely wrong; being mean against obese people should not be viewed on the same level as race or sexual orientation discrimination. You can do something about being over/under weight, difficult as it is. You can't stop being black or gay.

 

[Dougald]

That's easy to say, but if it is all you've ever known it's the norm to you, eating big portions or eating lots of junk food was all I knew, so as an adult I ate the same way which meant I stayed fat and even got bigger. From my experience you just get into a routine, a destructive, terrible routine and it's hard to break it. July 11th marks my 1 year weight loss anniversary and I've lost 80lbs and I couldn't be happier for it, but it took me years and years of wanting to do it to actually do it. The longer I waited the harder it got until one day I decided I didn't want to die at 40, and I didn't want to be miserable for the rest of my life, because make no mistake about it, I was depressed beyond words due to my size. It's much easier to nip it in the bud early than as an adult who has had 18 years of bad habits taught to them, which is why we need to do more to fight childhood obesity, it honestly should be a form of abuse if it's not already.

I didn't mean that it's easy to lose weight, I just meant that once you leave home it is up to you to change your eating habits. It's a hell of a hard thing to do so when you've grown up fat. Like yourself it took me realizing that I wanted to change, and I wanted to change for myself. It's a constant battle to avoid slipping back into old habits but I have put my weight behind me for over 6 years at this point.

A lot of what you're saying resonates quite hard with me. It takes a big commitment to break the fat > depression > eat > fat cycle

 

[Megalosaro]

It is also one of the easiest things to change about yourself.

As some one who lost 125 lbs, I say to you "lol fuck off.".

That was one of the most difficult, most mentally distressing things I've ever done. You're ignorance has pissed me off.

 

[The_Poet]

Maybe the word "yourself" at the end of my statement was the wrong word.

The intent is to point out that things can be done to curb obesity that are pretty easy. Providing of course the person wants to lose weight.

 

[marrec]

Whilst I think discrimination against anything (minus criminals) is absolutely wrong; being mean against obese people should not be viewed on the same level as race or sexual orientation discrimination. You can do something about being over/under weight, difficult as it is. You can't stop being black or gay.

In general, being mean isn't going to help.

However, if "being mean" is seen as telling a fat person that they need to stop drinking soda, stop being sedentary, and start making active and healthy choices... then there isn't much we can do but "be mean".

Maybe the word "yourself" at the end of my statement was the word.

The intent is to point out that things can be done to curb obesity that are pretty easy. Providing of course the person wants to lose weight.

Exactly. Specifically speaking of children now, it doesn't even matter if they WANT to lose weight.

If you promote healthy eating and healthy play in your house from an early age your children will not be fat. That is the plain and simple truth.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

My sisters school has a choice of burger or pizza for lunch, every day, with chips as a side, chocolate or pudding or jelly for dessert. My school was pretty much the same.

 

[The_Poet]

As some one who lost 125 lbs, I say to you "lol fuck off.".

That was one of the most difficult, most mentally distressing things I've ever done. You're ignorance has pissed me off.

Sorry, I must just one of those people with a high metabolism who can eat cheeseburgers all day and not gain a pound.

 

[kswiston]

If we are talking about little kids, then being overweight usually isn't in their control, even if it is caused by lack of activity/poor diet. Almost every 8 year old is going to choose to eat ice cream and play video games all day if their parents let them (and if their parents are modelling that behaviour).

 

[marrec]

If we are talking about little kids, then being overweight usually isn't in their control, even if it is caused by lack of activity/poor diet. Almost every 8 year old is going to choose to eat ice cream and play video games all day if their parents let them (and if their parents are modelling that behaviour).

This is the hard part about it, is changing the way the parents live their lives. If you can do that then the kids will easily shed pounds because they'll have no choice.

 

[Mendrox]

As some one who lost 125 lbs, I say to you "lol fuck off.".

That was one of the most difficult, most mentally distressing things I've ever done. You're ignorance has pissed me off.

Congratulations! You have lost weight and gained an iron will. I think that doing sports in general is the best way to improve your willpower which really is one of the most important things in life!

I have a high metabolism so my body doesn't care how much I eat, but I try to eat vegetables and healthy things every day here and there.

 

[Chariot]

It's difficult to answer since school systems are run by the states and municipalities (cities).

Schools are funded terribly in the US and if you're in a poor neighborhood making sure schools have enough academic subjects is the priority (Math, English, Science, History)

Music, Art, and Gym have been cut drastically over the years.

That's insane. Give your children a dedicated hour of ballsport per week, it's not that costly. No need for a whole gym, just get some balls and let them play some football, the real one. You don't need more than a ball and anything that could work as goalposts.

 

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

Whilst I think discrimination against anything (minus criminals) is absolutely wrong; being mean against obese people should not be viewed on the same level as race or sexual orientation discrimination. You can do something about being over/under weight, difficult as it is. You can't stop being black or gay.

True, but we're talking about children in school. Children who have little to no control on what they digest because they're relying on what their parents can afford to pay to eat and whatever they eat at school.

Either way, being mean to anyone is wrong regardless of what level we're putting it on. It just shouldn't happen. Also, there's a good chance that a fat person knows they're fat and knows it's not healthy so they don't need people throwing insults at them constantly to remind them of that. You can do something about your weight but it's no where near as simple as people like to make it seem.

 

[marrec]

Congratulations! You have lost weight and gained an iron will. I think that doing sports in general is the best way to improve your willpower which really is one of the most important things in life!

I have a high metabolism so my body doesn't care how much I eat, but I try to eat vegetables and healthy things every day here and there.

I have a super low metabolism and have to watch what I eat VERY carefully... but that doesn't mean I can't eat pizza once a week.

As long as you're active and eat healthy most of the time, you will likely not be obese. I'm still slightly overweight and working to fix that, but in general I'm healthy because I eat healthy and don't sit around all day.

With children, it's even easier than that.

 

[God Dayumm]

Fat kids are shunned, which sucks. But when I grew up the one who suffered actual bullying that involved violence and insults was the thin guy with autism, he really had it bad.

This isn't accurate at all

actually I thought it was that stupid blog post that was going around. still this is an actual photo from a real student in france

Nicer than some schools, probably equal to a lot. I'd love to see a picture of a meal in the banlieues though

Both images are quite large meals for a kid. Nothing wrong with that, unless they are also having large breakfast and dinner.

 

[darkwing]

France's school lunch program is amazing.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-1484...-school-lunch-it-puts-americans-to-shame.html

this is amazing