General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Fat-shaming may curb obesity, bioethicist says [View all]Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)Being obese is NOT the same thing as being addicted to cigarettes or heroin. It's a very different thing.
For one thing....you don't need cigarettes to live. You need food. People are addicted to cigarettes, and can give them up entirely. People are not technically addicted to food, and you can't give up food entirely.
Smoking just a little is dangerous. Eating just a little is not dangerous.
Making people pariahs in society for being obese will just get people more ashamed of their weight and more depressed or angry, which could lead to MORE overeating.
Stupid idea. There are also some reasons that some people become obese besides eating massive quantities of bad food. There is a fat gene, and there are medical conditions, as well as side effects from some medications.
So if someone, no matter what size, is eating a piece of cake, do you tell them to go outside and eat it? Or only if they're fat? How fat? Who decides that? What if someone is on Weight Watchers and is having something fattening for a splurge but is still within their diet rules? On WW you can eat anything...it's how often and how much you eat that count.
I am not obese, but I would NEVER participate or encourage this sort of thing toward others.