Let’s talk about the Body Positivity Movement. It is failing. It’s making things worse. The underlying idea is not terrible. We can’t all look like cover models, super models, bodybuilders, movie stars, and whatnot. And that’s okay. We need to be accepting of ourselves and others. We need to stop hating, rejecting, not loving ourselves and others because we don’t live up to some plastic, photoshopped version of what marketing departments want us to look like. We need to stop judging based on simple appearances and actually spend some time getting to know other people (and ourselves) based on who they are not who they look like.
But, the whole Body Positivity Movement has unfortunately led a lot of people into the mindset that it’s okay to be less than healthy. We have famous and influential personalities saying it’s okay to be fat, that they like it, and unfortunately too many people listen and take things like that to heart. But it’s not okay when you’re overweight. You have a problem and you need to work on it.
Part of what prompted this post was overhearing a conversation from a morbidly obese person tell a doctor that he needed to accept who she was, that she was proud of her body, that it was unacceptable and hateful (her words) to tell her she needed to loose weight. She then proceeded to tell him that it was the fault of all her doctors that she was having health issues because they weren’t able to heal her. And, quite unfortunately, social and popular media is replete with this type of attitude. Body Positivity took a wrong turn when it went from saying “don’t hate people because of how they look.” to saying “it’s okay, even good, to accept being obese.”
Sorry people, but it’s not okay to live on junk food, soda and beer, to be obese with all the health problems that accompany it. And it’s not just obesity, skinny-fat is just as bad. So is obsessive-compulsive behavior over your appearance. Don’t hate yourself because you’re fat, or dangerously skinny, or so out of shape you can’t lift anything heavier than a Big Mac. But change it. Fix it. Do the work and improve yourself a bit. Because it’s not just you that you’re affecting.
The average person who is obese will have health costs that are 42% higher than the non-obese person. Obesity related problems are now over 21 percent of our annual healthcare costs in the USA, more than $344 billion a year. If you’re obese and have health issues you may be forcing the people in your life to have to become caregivers at some point. You’re contributing to spiraling healthcare costs and draining resources that could be spent on other things like cancer, age-related problems, or hereditary diseases. Just as importantly, you’re impacting your own personal life. How many things is being overweight keeping you from doing?
Real Body Positivity means not hating on people for how they look as opposed to how they choose to look. It means accepting women who are big-boned and don’t look like the most recent Swimsuit Illustrated cover model. It means accepting the guy who goes bald at 30 or can’t grow a nice beard. It means not hating on women with C-section scars, post-obstetric stretch marks, It means all colors are beautiful. It means we don’t hate on people who are fat, too thin, too tall or short. It means we need to not judge others by the way the genetic gene pool made them look. It means not discriminating in the workplace against the fat guy. It does NOT mean it’s okay for you to be be obese and think it’s good. Or hide behind the Body Positive Movement because you’re too lazy to eat better, walk more and get the help you need (and accept the help even when it’s not easy or what you want to hear).
Seriously people, don’t hate on other people or yourselves. But don’t blindly accept or be fooled into accepting what you can improve. Your life might literally be on the line – and you only get one.