Weight Bias Summed Up In Youtube Thread

A couple days ago we posted a comment on a viral youtube video about bias or bullying of someone because of their skin complexion.  A girl who suffers from acne shares comments made on before and after makeup pictures. 

As the original comment said, most people were supportive but a few were quite nasty. Unfortunately it's the other way around when it comes to comments made on obesity. ​

If you take a couple minutes and read through this thread, you will start to understand where weight bias comes from. Solving weight bias is probably even more challenging than solving obesity itself. One other observation we wonder is would this person be as unforgiving of somebody who is normal weight, but suffers from diabetes or cardiovascular disease because of poor diet choices? 

We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on the issue as well. ​

Begin Thread:​

myweightclinic.com1 day ago · Most comments are supportive which is great to see. But I wonder how those comments would change if the issue were not acne, but obesity? Weight Bias is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination. Educate yourself, just as cleanliness has little to do with ance, laziness has little to do with obesity. Reply · 1​

bad5 1 day ago +myweightclinic.com Laziness can cause obesity, but not all obesity cases are caused by laziness.. How can you say otherwise? · 1

myweightclinic.com 1 day ago (edited) +bad5 Because regardless of activity levels, somebody who does not eat processed sugars/grains will not get fat. And because people who are labeled lazy due to their weight, still excel at their careers or craft which certainly would not happen if they were truly lazy or lacked willpower. It is socioeconomic and genetic. Many of our clients have diets similar to their normal weight peers, but their genetics are different. Even for the cases where laziness seems to be a factor, it's more of a symptom, not a cause... a symptom of something more insidious such as depression or chronic pain. The science of how fat storage happens is quite complex, so to characterize anyone overweight as lazy, is a stereotypical judgement made out of ignorance. · bad5 1 day ago (edited) +myweightclinic.com Are you saying caloric intake is not relevant? Why do people eat processed sugars and grains? I agree with you that depression and other conditions can cause obesity, but why don't these people exercise and eat healthy? You don't need to be rich to eat healthy. In fact, you can save money by buying produce and cooking from scratch. "I don't have time to cook" "I don't have time to exercise" are just excuses. · 1 myweightclinic.com 1 day ago +bad5 Processed sugars and grains are the most available, affordable items in grocery stores and restaurants. From there it's a matter of genetics, or epi-genetics more specifically. This talk helps explain further - http://myweightclinic.com/nutrition-expert-shatters-fat-stigma-with-emotional-ted-talk/ · bad5 1 day ago +myweightclinic.com "most available, affordable".. It's laziness, and I disagree with your claim that it's affordable. A large fry at McD's is about $2.. I can get a whole bag of potatoes for $2. You failed to address these questions.. Are you saying caloric intake is not relevant? Why don't these people exercise and eat healthy? Show less · myweightclinic.com 1 day ago +bad5 You're trying to oversimplify. Calories of course matter. But the real question is, why are we eating more calories? In 1905 the average american ate about 5 lbs of sugar annually, today the average American eats between 150 and 200 pounds of sugar annually. Besides calories, is important what the bodies response to those calories are, with sugar, the response is insulin, ultimately leading to insulin resistance which is a self perpetuating vicious cycle of craving more grain/sugar based foods. This is biochemistry 101. We didn't change that dramatically as a species, but our food system did. It's much more realistic for an educated, middle class income demographics to make better food choices (even though still many don't, as there are psychological and other environmental factors as well. This is an economic issue, a cultural issue, genetic issue, medical issue. Nobody chooses to be affected by obesity. If you truly cared to educate yourself you'd be more open minded to professionals who work in the industry every day. Read the latest AHA, TOS, ACC guidelines on obesity treatment, and the psychology guidelines as well, these are based on the strongest evidence and clinical experience available, the opportunity to educate yourself is a plenty, but it's people that refuse to learn the science, the facts who are truly lazy, because it's easier to assume, go with the crowd and not do the work of learning. Here's another resource you can learn from, if that is truly your desire - http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/ Show less · myweightclinic.com 1 day ago +bad5 And yes... calories would not be relevant if none of the calories were sugar/grain, and it was based on our historical food sources of mostly fat, some protein, some carbs (from vegetables, berries) we have new research and more thought leaders coming out to support this, even though the science has been around much longer. Here's an interesting experiment were a gentlemen ate 3600+ calories a day, actually lost weight and improved his cholesterol scores, and this is not an isolated case, fat adapted athletes are a trend. http://www.cerealkillersmovie.com/ · bad5 10 hours ago +myweightclinic.com If it's just a matter of reducing sugar/grain intake then why don't they? The truth of the matter is, they are not truly motivated to change. They are ok with being obese. It's not about income levels, culture, etc... Water is free and cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. · myweightclinic.com 1 hour ago +bad5 Again, you're ignoring the complexity of what leads to bad diet choices. All the answers are in the previous comments, but you're cup is already full it appears. Imagine if we ran our society and healthcare systems with opinions based on untrained perceptions... it's like watching Wimbledon and thinking you are now qualified to teach tennis. You COULD, go to school, learn the fundamentals and advanced concepts of the game and become a teaching professional, but instead you'd rather watch the highlights on Sportscenter then proceed to tell others what they need to do to win a tennis major. This approach helps nobody. Fortunately, we have clinical experience, volumes of research and case studies to produce usable analysis. In our clinics we are helping hundreds of people each day. Most of whom have had people in their lives who are long on opinions, short on understanding, which only serves as another obstacle to overcome. But when they have ongoing support from people who understand the challenges of lifestyle change, real change is possible. Read more · bad5 53 minutes ago +myweightclinic.com Where are the answers? I don't see them. I don't care what LEADS them to poor diet choices... What I am asking is, why don't they change after seeing their diet and lifestyle is leading or has led them to obesity? · bad5 43 minutes ago (edited) I grew up poor and had a poor diet(fast food, coke, pre-processed foods, etc..) but that does not mean my future will be like that. When I was maybe 12, I decided to change after seeing my belly get a little bigger, and after having some cavities. I cut out soda, started to eat fast food and candy less as well as paying attention to how much I eat in a day. It doesn't hurt that I also am very active and love playing sports. .... A lack of change on the part of the obese is more often than not because of the lack of a true desire to work harder and change their life. If they really wanted to change, they could. · myweightclinic.com 8 minutes ago +bad5 And therein lies the problem, you don't see the answers. You're looking for a simple "oh that makes sense"... but your personal experience is the only perception you want to have. Unfortunately in the world of science, medicine... that is not all that valuable, that's why we look to the data and see what it says about behavior change, then we look to the science, the biochemistry and genetics and how it affects behavior change. When you have hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, you are compelled on a hormonal level to crave more of the same foods causing the dysfunction, many of which are promoted as healthy, this is why many patients come to our clinics with eating habits that are not very different from their normal weight peers. They think it's healthy, and it may not even be that bad, but it's never going to get them to burn significant amounts of fat unless they eliminate the sources of hyperinsulinemia, which includes all grains/sugars and fruits. Without correcting that, behavior change is unlikely. That's before we even get to the psychological, social, and environmental influences. Your decision to change is commendable, congrats to you! But, we find most people have an area of life where decisions aren't maybe as good or easy as they should be on paper... yes? For some it's drugs, alcohol... being a bad father/mother... for some it's sex or porn addiction... some people are horrible with personal finance... or have some expensive or time consuming habit that prevents them from moving forward and meeting other goals in life... we all have somewhere we struggle that some other person is able to excel at... and when that person says "I just decided to do it..." it doesn't help those struggling much until they are ready to make the same decision, and that will usually be through inspiration or desperation... we see both types, and both can be successful. Show less ·

​Weight Bias Only Serves to Prevent People From Change

As we closed it out, you perhaps could perceive the subtle attempt to draw out the question of whether this person was some kind of perfect human that just automatically makes great decisions because it's the logical thing to do. The fact that their only posted videos are all about playing video games and they feel compelled to debate the reasons for weight gain with a weight loss clinic, is probably all we need to know to make an educated guess on that. 

We all have battles in life.

People who are affected by obesity usually have behavioral issues that are at least partially to blame, however they always have other areas of their life where they are more proficient, skilled and disciplined. We see CEO's, famous actors, artists, successful sales people, engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers and the list goes on, that are affected by obesity.  So do you really think it's fair to characterize these people as lazy or unmotivated because of their weight? 

And that is the challenge with weight bias. Obesity is condition that can't be hidden... it's on display for the world to judge. ​And judge they do. But all those people judging have something about them that could be improved as well.

Imagine if somebody who was biased against a certain race had to where a shirt that said "I'm a racist." Imagine if somebody who just filed bankruptcy had to put a stamp on their forehead that said "I'm financially irresponsible."

When in fact there are explanations for why someone got into a financial hole or grew up with a prejudice, but instead of focusing on those facts and showing understanding and increasing awareness of those issues, we just prefer to judge or shame that person into changing their ways. We know from experience that it does NOT work. 

Fat shaming is ineffective, studies by the Rudd Center for Obesity Research have shown this. ​

What's effective is education. Become aware of the facts, the science and the reality that ​persons affected by excess weight are people just like anyone else who are affected by a disease, and the causes of their condition cannot be summed up as a lack of self-control or motivation. It's far more complex that that.