NAAFA - Douchebag of the Month

[wleft]http://i.imgur.com/HdkRcoo.jpg[/wleft]Let’s start this by owning up to the facts: obesity is a serious epidemic and a complex issue to which society must give serious consideration. It is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States and other western countries.

We readily admit that in most cases it’s caused by a tragic and severe disability. This disability affects the motor skills to such a degree that the individual seemingly cannot control the motor functions of the hands that stuff food into his or her face.

Or in other words, put down the goddamn hamburger, fatass. You didn’t really think we were going to be sympathetic, did you?

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is an organization that sums up everything wrong with America in 2009. NAAFA states: “Because being fat can be both a physically and emotionally isolating experience, NAAFA has helped to create and sustain a fat subculture.”

It apparently doesn’t occur to them that socially deviant behavior and lifestyle choices should be isolating. If you’re a pervert who likes to flash little kids, they plant a sign in your yard so everyone knows that you’re a risk to society. Fortunately, morbid obesity is its own yard sign, one that those people get to wear everywhere. The problem is that while most people look at this sign and read “this person is likely to cause an unnecessary burden on public resources” (especially in countries with universal health care), NAAFA members would have you believe that sign reads “Yeah I’m spilling over into your airplane seat, and proud of it!”.

We’ll begin with the implied notion that society needs to “accept” people who make the choice to completely abdicate responsibility for their daily caloric intake. The vast majority of obese people suffer from a lack of self discipline, not glandular/endocrine disorders or psychiatric conditions. Theirs is a disability of character, and little more. When obesity advocates are confronted with this, the excuses pour out faster than their perspiration on a hot day. Most often cited are the lack of available healthy alternatives in urban areas, busy schedules, or blah blah blah where’s the ranch dressing?

We won’t bother to dissect the excuses, especially since they almost all boil down to a lack of priorities, laziness, and an infantile sense of entitlement that can only arise in a culture in which the citizens are so pampered comfortable that they could conflate personal negligence with a lifestyle choice.

And we’d be preaching to the choir by doing a line-item, bullet-point list of all the health problems caused by obesity (including how obese people’s brains are deteriorated). If you want to read about them, here’s a link to the Obesity section on the Centers for Disease Control website. Likewise, we won’t go into the economic impact obesity has on the world (including how fat people’s cars require more gasoline to haul their weight around).

To anyone with common sense and/or enough self-respect to own up to their faults as being faults, obesity is not something to be proud of, much less a defining trait of a valid subculture as NAAFA would have you believe.

There are many cultural traits in western society, and the United Sates specifically, that have been subjected to bigotry and harassment. One’s race, gender status/sexual orientation, religion (or lack thereof), are all things that either cannot be changed by the individual, or are the product of choices that are protected by fundamental human freedoms. As such, they deserve no scorn save when they are abused in a manner that would cause harm to an other valid cultural segment of society. Being fat, is not a valid subculture, any more than would be one that centered around people who chose to hit themselves in the face with a hammer several times a day. Self-destruction, where it brushes up against and imposes upon the rest of society, deserves scorn, contempt, and ultimately, shame.

And it’s doubly shameful to try and engineer a “movement” that centers around not only denying the justified, and even righteous wielding of that shame by the healthy members of society but actively lobbying against having
to be subjected to any consequences for imposing on others.

This is NAAFA, in action:
YouTube - NAAFA FASHION SHOW 2008

Fuck this, I’m eating a carrot and going for a jog. NAAFA, you are our Douchebag of the Month for October, 2009. I doubt everyone here, myself included, is at their peak physical condition. But unlike you, we actually feel some shame about it and care about improving ourselves.

That video needs NSFA (Not Safe For Anywhere) tags

Christ…

I weight more then I should and it’s a daily fight against my waistline, but this is just stupid. Why do we want to glorify a singularly unhealthy lifestyle? What the hell is wrong with us?

I fight my fatness every day… Haven’t done so good a job in the last few months, either. I make no excuses; I’ve been lazy. Fortunately, I can recognize this for the error it is and correct it. I do not hate myself for being overweight, nor do I require that anybody accept it.

I simply resolve to correct it. I hate dieting…but I just finished my carrots and hummus, so at least I’m not starving…

[quote=Scrapper;2246639]I fight my fatness every day… Haven’t done so good a job in the last few months, either. I make no excuses; I’ve been lazy. Fortunately, I can recognize this for the error it is and correct it. I do not hate myself for being overweight, nor do I require that anybody accept it.

I simply resolve to correct it. I hate dieting…but I just finished my carrots and hummus, so at least I’m not starving…[/quote]

Take a pita, a little bit of EVO, grill the pita till it gets crispy, place hummus on crispy pita, cover in chives/onion/tomato/etc. Eat.

With a little hunting for a lower cal pita it’s a fantastic snack for around a hundred calories.

I’ve been eating Salmon like a fucking Grizzly. Relatively low calories for a meat and killer with sriracha sauce.

This is something I’ve thought about quite a bit. The “obesity epidemic” and ways to combat it.

I think first there needs to be better education on the subject in schools. Explaining how certain things are put in food and the effects they have on the body. This is probably the most important thing here. We all hear junk food is bad, but I don’t remember ever being taught why and what to look for, and why something is good for you. I just remember the stupid food pyramid stuff that should probably be obsolete by today. Teaching people how to look for bad ingredients on a nutritional label and what they do to the body should help too.

This is kind of sensitive to talk about because I could be wrong and research needs to be done, but I also think the food companies should be gone after. There needs to be research done to see if we can take some of the preservatives out of food that harm the body and still feed the population. Or maybe some kind of healthy alternatives to crap like partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

I read just eating several grams of trans fat a day can increase your risk of heart disease by 50 percent. That’s crazy. If food manufacturers want to keep putting this crap into food then there should be some kind of surgeon general warning put on these foods. There is one on cigarettes and they can potentially give you cancer and you can die. But there is nothing on food for raising your risk of heart disease and health problems, potentially killing people early in their 30s and 40s.

Main lobster, split and cleaned, grilled with cracked pepper corns and roasted red peppers, stupidly low calorie and my god is it good.

You can do rock lobster, but it’s higher cal.

[quote=Travis17;2246651]This is something I’ve thought about quite a bit. The “obesity epidemic” and ways to combat it.

I think first there needs to be better education on the subject in schools. Explaining how certain things are put in food and the effects they have on the body. This is probably the most important thing here. We all hear junk food is bad, but I don’t remember ever being taught why and what to look for, and why something is good for you. I just remember the stupid food pyramid stuff that should probably be obsolete by today. Teaching people how to look for bad ingredients on a nutritional label and what they do to the body should help too.

This is kind of sensitive to talk about because I could be wrong and research needs to be done, but I also think the food companies should be gone after. There needs to be research done to see if we can take some of the preservatives out of food that harm the body and still feed the population. Or maybe some kind of healthy alternatives to crap like partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

I read just eating several grams of trans fat a day can increase your risk of heart disease by 50 percent. That’s crazy. If food manufacturers want to keep putting this crap into food then there should be some kind of surgeon general warning put on these foods. There is one on cigarettes and they can potentially give you cancer and you can die. But there is nothing on food for raising your risk of heart disease and health problems, potentially killing people early in their 30s and 40s.[/quote]

Easiest way to eat healthy, go to the grocery store and shop the perimeter of the store only. If it’s boxed, or canned, other then dried, don’t buy it.

Basically, if it doesn’t rot within a few days of being left out, don’t eat it.

[quote=Travis17;2246651]
I read just eating several grams of trans fat a day can increase your risk of heart disease by 50 percent. That’s crazy. If food manufacturers want to keep putting this crap into food then there should be some kind of surgeon general warning put on these foods. There is one on cigarettes and they can potentially give you cancer and you can die. But there is nothing on food for raising your risk of heart disease and health problems, potentially killing people early in their 30s and 40s.[/quote]
As a libertarian I’m terrified of the eventuality that under a universal healthcare system, our government will have an implicit mandate to regulate everything we eat.

I feel the solution to the obesity problem is 50% education, 50% relentless application of negative social pressure (ie. shame).

[quote=Phrost;2246654]As a libertarian I’m terrified of the eventuality that under a universal healthcare system, our government will have an implicit mandate to regulate everything we eat.

I feel the solution to the obesity problem is 50% education, 50% relentless application of negative social pressure (ie. shame).[/quote]

Add in mandatory exercise starting in kindergarten and I’m all for it. By the time kids are sent off to be on their own exercise patterns need to be firmly ingrained.

[quote=ignatzami;2246653]Easiest way to eat healthy, go to the grocery store and shop the perimeter of the store only. If it’s boxed, or canned, other then dried, don’t buy it.

Basically, if it doesn’t rot within a few days of being left out, don’t eat it.[/quote]

^^^Very good straightforward advice.

There are lots of things at a societal level that contribute to obesity as a macro problem, including lots of practices in our agricultural/food industries. And we need to deal with them. But on an individual basis, eat your greens, and cut out the soda, and you are 90% of the way there.

I have no patience for the vast majority of people that make excuses. If you have trouble with self-control then join a group for support. Are alcoholics expected to go sober all by themselves? No, they have AA. There are similar groups for people with food addictions, because that’s what it is, AN ADDICTION. If you can’t beat it by yourself get help. I’m lucky enough that I don’t need a group. I decided I got fat at 6’2’’ and 260 lbs. I stopped eating all the crap and now 6 months later I’m down to about 210 with 10 to go. It was hard as shit because I LOVE food and I love beer even more. What it boils down to is that I saw the health problems in my family from being overweight, not to mention the physical appearance issues, and I decided it was time to make a change. Do I expect everyone with weight issues to do it like me? Hell no. It’s hard to do it by yourself, but like I said, if you can’t do it by yourself get help losing weight instead of joining a group designed to make you feel better about shortening your lifespan.

edit: there was LOTS OF EXERCISE in my plan too, not just food intake reduction.

My son’s school just instituted PE down to kindergarten when he was in 2nd grade. They are on a 4-day school week and have PE twice a week.

I mentioned in another thread about the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. I remember when I was in school, the Award involved the PE coach recording if you could do X number of pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, rope climb, sprints and distance running in a pre-set time. I remember the test being done over a week in PE.

My son brought home a record book where we had to record that he has at least 60 mins. of physical activity for 5 days out of the week. With his activity load, it isn’t a problem, but last year he and another kid were the only ones in his class that got it and I would say less then 10% of the entire grade got the award.

Of course, I see the other parents dropping off or picking the kids up, so it wouldn’t surprise me that they are sloths that eat fast food most nights.

[quote=Travis17;2246651]I think first there needs to be better education on the subject in schools. Explaining how certain things are put in food and the effects they have on the body. This is probably the most important thing here. We all hear junk food is bad, but I don’t remember ever being taught why and what to look for, and why something is good for you.[/quote]Dude. Have you been in a school cafeteria?

You know, I heard about this amazing machine that can help solve the obesity epidemic AND combat our dependence on foreign oil:

And before anyone, ever again, says that it’s too inconvenient to cycle where they live, let me play you a sad song on the tiniest violin. I live in one of the coldest states in the US, and in one of the hilliest parts of that state, and still bicycle year round.

My Fatasses Anonymous group is called the Sixth Street Gym, and our Yes We Can is “Sprawl you fat bastard! Do it faster!”

As a big chunky fucker myself, I have no sympathy for fat people at all; The scorn we receive is well deserved. I’m possibly one of the laziest fuckers imaginable, and yet I’m still exercising and, slowly, losing weight, so no one else has any excuse.

I cant understand what the fuck is wrong with everyone. When i went to intermediate (middle) school we had to run 5km every morning before lessons. In high school we had one half day a week dedicated to physical education. This whole thing annoys the hell out of me. Parents don’t want little Johhny to run because “he doesn’t like it”. Too fuckin bad. It develops healthy habits and a good work ethic. It should be compulsory for all kids now just like it was for me.

And stop feeding them shit. Learn to cook proper food you fat fuckers. It is your responsibility as a parent to pass on a healthy lifestyle to your kids.

Parents don’t like to see their kids fail.

Read that: Parents don’t want to deal with kids failing and put forth the work and effort to build their child and improve them, they would rather tear down the rest and make a level playing field of mediocrity.

I group this together with:

  1. mediocre artists who are always complaining about “how society just wants pop art” that are “superficial, sell-outs, fake, etc” and not “genuine art” that they enjoy making and feel passionate about and how it does not reward them finacially when it was more noble for them to pursue their passion.
    If you are an artist who STFsU, works hard to get good, doesn’t care if people like or dislike your art, OR if you are a in a techinical or commercial field that applies art, this does not apply to you.

What the fuck have those assholes contributed to the productive society? Other people are factory workers, policemen, farmers, white collar people, etc, grinding and doing shit they don’t enjoy and ADDING TANGIBLE VALUE to society. Sit back down and more art that makes the tired, bored, stressed populus happy, please.

Fat people are the same way in some respects. Burdening us all. Taking seats away in airplanes. Smelling. Sure, some outliers who probably find it much harder to get unfat. ex: people on depression meds for a genuine problem, whose side effects are increased appetite. things like that. But if people are just lazy, fuck them. Thanks for making all of our shoulders heavier.

/random rant off