Are you prejudice against obese people?

If you find yourself reeling back at the thought of someone who is overweight, then it’s possible that you’re a promoter of fat prejudice. A new online poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos tested 1,143 adults and their attitudes towards people who are obese. The poll found that this line of thinking often caused fat prejudice. 61 percent of those who took the survey had “personal choices about eating and exercising” and 19 percent believed the actions of food manufacturers and the fast-food industry were cause for inciting prejudice.

Here are three ways to stop being fat prejudice:

  1. Embrace Those Who are Overweight – If your attitude suggests that you are shunning those who are fat, it’s time to change your tune. Imagine how you would feel in their shoes! Check yourself at the door if you find yourself judging someone.
  2. Encourage a Group workout – If you think that people who are obese aren’t working out the way they should be, then create a team and encourage them to get in shape with you!
  3. Readjust Your Thinking – Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of a person, dwell on the positive aspects of them. Once you change your way of thinking you will be able to help those more than you hurt them.
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31 Comments

  1. most that are laughing in the crowd just don’t know, their almost there #overweight

    • @tMystery: This looks like in Jamaica,boy in school uniform.This outfit is completey inappropriate for someone of that size. Exposing herr body in a public place. Nothing is attractive about this situation it is quite vulgar and disgusting.

  2. Okay, this picture is deceptive. The people aren’t laughing at her because she is FAT. They are laughing because of the outfit she is wearing. You can probably see her butt cheeks hanging out! Use a picture of people laughing at a fat person dressed in regular clothes! And I see many in the pic who would be considered fat…like the man in the red shirt showing his man boobs.

    • @Rose: you clearly don’t click on the links, cuz if you did you’d see they were clowning this woman because she was big. That dress is secondary; it is worn by people all the time yet if she would have been smaller she would have attracted attention but not at the level being ridiculed through the streets.

      Women will be harrassed either way when they wear certain clothes which problematic in itself but in this particular case the people don’t feel she should wear this piece soley becaus e of her weight.

      How is this deceptive?

    • @Rose: Rose, does that make it ok? A crowd of people are clearly harassing and laughing at this person who is clearly uncomfortable. If she was thinner and her butt was hanging out there probably would be a different reaction.

  3. This was very poorly written and tells me almost nothing about the topic in the headline. Who doesn’t make “personal choices about eating and exercising”? Next time, just tell people to follow the link. It’s a lot more informative.

  4. She is clearly being laughed at, because of that fool of an outfit she has on.. cottage cheese exposed, bra all out, gut on display, way too short n clingy, it does not fit, its probably barely covering her butt cheeks.. she looks like she stole that dress from her 14 year old lil neice, and squeezed her huge butt into it… nothing cute about that.. it just dont fit.. hott raggedy mess.

  5. I do wish there was a little more substance to this article because it is an important issue. More about the poll. More about the picture. Just more in general. However the article is a good conversation starter.

  6. This woman is dressed inappropriately ,very vulgar with her body exposed.

  7. Sure I don’t like being around fat people…but why should I change????? They are the ones who need to change. Life beats me up at the same rate and same pace it beats them up. I don’t see anyone around trying to change for me? Just cause I’m skinny and work my azz off to live in this hectic world do I get any pacification???? Why should they? What am I missing here?

    • So you don’t like being around fat people? LOL.
      How is your Mum, or Granma or Uncle George?
      Guess they’re all as skinny as a string bean. Otherwise, no love from you.
      Maybe you just need some values and pray very, very hard that you don’t get pregnant and find yourself stuck in a battle with your baby fat.
      Hope your metabolism never wanes and your thyroids keep functioning perfectly all the days of your life.
      Good Luck!

      • Thank you for listing very valid reasons people find themselves fat. Cause everything you listed happened to me. YES Ma’am! Babay after 40. Couldn’t loose weight! CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!!!! Never ever had a weight problem until then. And I had to have a talk w/myself. “Look…how many nachoes, hamburgers, ice creams, popcorn…..how much do you need to consume. You ate that stuff your whole life now it is time to change.”

        So I now eat veggies and fish. Nothing processed. And I dropped the weight. It was hard as hell but I wasn’t going to accept being big. Just wasn’t.

        So think you for brining those things up. And in any socieity there will be obease people. But those are not the people I am referring to. Every obease person does not have a tyroid problem….every obease person does not have a problem besides overeating. You want me to pacify someone’s addiction and say….”oh……just leave them alone.” Sure…but don’t expect me to alter my lifestyle so that I can chill with you at the park while I watch you scraf down something meant for Lions and Tigers to consume. Take some responsiblity for your health and stop the campaign telling me that I’m wrong for not wanting to be around someone who would offer up a thousand excuses as to why they eat junk food.

        • I think you misunderstood my point completely.
          It’s not about healthy VS unhealthy eating. It’s about valuing yourself enough as a human being to refrain from judging others.
          Old people can be as skinny as a rake but with a pot belly. They cannot help that can they?
          Just leave people alone and stop judging them by your superficial, souless standards.
          BTW, I’m as skinny as a rake and DO scarf down stuff meant for lions and tigers. Never met a hamburger I didn’t like. Just got great metabolism, I guess.

  8. If you see yourself going up 2 dress size, stop eating 4 times per day and exercise. You’re unhealthy! Furthermore, why is it ok for fat people to make comments about skinny people, but it’s discriminatory for skinny people say something about an overweight people who overly enjoys food?

  9. This outrageous incident took place in Barbados.
    The young lady was Jamaican vacationing on the island.
    To all the haters, how many of you go to Caribbean Islands on holiday and believe it is acceptable to be found any and every where with your swimsuit or tiny pieces of nothing on?
    Well, it’s not.
    The only difference is that this woman was black so they thought she was local.
    If she were white, they would still frown upon it but as tourism is their main source of revenue, they would tolerate it.
    So in a nutshell, it was not about her size or her dress as much as it was about her race.
    They found it easier to ridicule their own.

    • A t-shirt stretched out over a muffin top doesnt make you a cupcake.

      @Halee: dont think so….white or black…there would of been no mercy…

      its not like people in Barbados walk around looking for fat people to tease. she was wearing a dress that couldnt fit her and she looked silly. Im not saying they were right because they are NOT!
      But, dont expect people not to say anything especially in the islands…my grandmother would of called my ass out too.

      and a BIG NO!! she should NOT wear that dress because of her weight a stretched out size 4 doesnt go on a size 24 body. fat women, big women, think women, shouldnt squeeze themselves in any dress and expect the world to like it because they are big and love it…it doent look right… the same way my skinny butt shouldnt wear coochie cutters and booty shorts with my cheeks hanging out, think its ok and get mad when someone looks at me funny opr harasses me….its not appropriate.

  10. and by the way….this is the kind of black fat I see everyday I walk out of my home. Is this what you people refer to as curvy? Cause I strongly disagree.

  11. I am fat, plus-sized, obese, big-boned or whatever you want to call me. To add to that, it is not okay to pick at any person: size, age, or color etc. That being said I have see prejudice on all levels. Bottom line, I do not care.

    Honestly, everyone is not meant to be the same size. I myself, I walk 35-45 minutes 3-5 times per week. I also lift light weights. Could I increase my workouts for weight loss? Yes. Should I cut back on certain foods? Sure, I could. But I do not want to.

    I am not in this world to be confined to anyones thinking. We are entitled to opinions. I workout to relieve stress from my employment. I do not have any ailments or conditions, nor do I have to pay for two seats on an airplane. It is what it is and everyone is entitled to their opinion but we all have the same ending rather you’re fat or not.

  12. From someone that not at all skinny….I would have laughed at her too she was wrong for putting those horizontal strips on her wide *** first of all. Second just because it comes in your size it does not mean you should wear it…..third learn what shape wear is….if you have to hide ya face if you can’t take the heat keep ya butt cheeks from showing to the sun along with your cellulite. I am a big girl but do I sympathize no because the weight can be lost I use to be a size 26 and i worked my tush off now I’m an 16/18 God willing I’ll go down a bit more. As far as an article on discrimination on fat ppl…an article about getting less pay on the job or not getting the job at all would be more beneficial…though that depends on the situation too because I am very plus and I have been offered a promotion inside of 6 mths on the job over ppl that have been there for ages…it about the work you put in – in some cases maybedescrimination yes but overall honestly can you blame someone you are an image a representation of their company how would you want your key ppl to look when i did the research and found out about weight and pay i got on the grind and I’m almost at my goal true some ppl have medical reasons and to that there are also medical ways to get your weight under control….i see every perspective every view..in the end it how bad you want to be healthy and disease free or as close to it as possible.

  13. There is a lot of fat prejudice. Our society’s view of overweight people is that they are lazy, unhealthy, and unmotivated. Just look at the comments (paraphrased here): “all “fat” people are chowing down on junk food all day and don’t exercise. They should hit the gym” or “fat people are choosing to be unhealthy and do not care about improving their health.”

    For all you know that “fat” person you are talking about has a medical condition causing weight gain, just lost 20% of his/her body weight, completed their first 5k race, is at the top of his/her field or works 3 jobs, is just as unhealthy as the average american who doesn’t get enough produce or exercise or doesn’t have a spare minute for exercise.

    • so the lady in the pink dress is who you are referring to? She has a medical condition or maybe working 3 jobs as you say?

      • @veggie queen: It doesn’t matter why she is the size she is. Just because you don’t like her outfit doesn’t mean you have the right to mock her and comment on her appearance. Seriously, how does it impact you? It doesn’t.

        The point is discriminating against people who are fat or overweight ex cetera is the only acceptable form of discrimination left, and it isn’t right. The reason that we think it is OK, because we attribute being overweight with some sort of “character flaw” and say that overweight people lack control or discipline, but scientific studies prove otherwise. Many overweight people eat less than their thinner counterparts, but we assume they are shoveling down nachos and junk food etc.

        In fact, someone who loses weight to be weight XXX actually burns 20-35% less calories than someone who has been at that weight forever, so they need to be even more calorie conscious to maintain.

        • show me where I said anything about the ladys dress???? So inent of pacifying the obese that you accuse me of something I never ever said. What I did say is that there will always be obese people. I just asked asimple question. The lady in the pink dress (as you say) most likely has a medical problem that caused her obesity? That her tyroid is a contributing factor to her ability to lose weight. That is what I asked.

          • @veggie queen: It looks like you didn’t peruse the poll linked to in this post. In addition to the story about people mocking this woman, there was an article about peoples perceptions of overweight people.

  14. My dream is for the day to come when we STOP marginalizing people based on how they look or what they wear.
    What those Barbadian people did to that young woman is nothing short of molestation.
    Who is short, who is fat, who is black, who is vulgar…… is none of our F****** business.
    As long as they bring us no direct harm.
    We should cease judging people. We don’t know their story.
    Peace!

    • I can rock with this, just treat folks with respect and kindness and keep it moving.
      Work on what you prefer for self and leave others be, as we are all works in progress.
      That pic just looks like a display of cruelty, even if the outfit wasn’t the most flattering, she is human with feelings like anyone else.

  15. Don’t tell me everyone in the crowd is after this one single person. Young, old, male, female? Now that’s retarded am sorry but I have never seen a more stupid display of ignorance laced with cruelty. She is fat so what? How does that affect your bank account. Smh!

  16. Be mindful of what comes out of your mouth because the things you say can tear a torn person down more. Obesity is a growing problem and it is time to help those that need the help!

  17. sweetpecanpie

    Im not prejudice against fat ppl, but society definately is. Let a gat girl drop something, she will most likely not get any help, but let a skinny girl drop something….ppl will drop their things to help them. life is easier for skinny ppl trust!!!

  18. Ok folks! I was shopping on the same street when this incident took place. It was not the size of the woman, people in the Caribbean are a lot more tolerant of meat on the bones than Americans are. Model thin is not the standard of beautyhere, but this woman had offended local views of appropriate dress by wearing an outfit that barely covered her underwear showing plenty of cellulite and fat rolls in the process. Had she been white she would have been stared and laughed at just the same by ignorant people who have nothing better to do.

  19. My family is from Barbados. I overheard a conversation between the “old folks” about how they couldn’t recall even knowing of 1 fat person. Also, her style of dress absolutely has something to do with this. Jamaican’s are a lot more liberal in the fashion choices. It wasn’t right what they did though.

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