Small consolation, but some of these 20-something and 30-something fat-shamers will be singing a different tune when they get older and their metabolisms slow down. Not everyone over 40 gains weight, but a lot of people do.

I'd like to honestly ask a question as someone who has never been overweight and without being at troll: Is being overweight ever the fault of the individual...EVER? Very few people put the blame on themselves and want to play victim.

Indeed. Come to think of it, this is a sweeping generalization of course, but for a lot of genetically-heavy people, they can be horribly malnourished and basically starving without achieving "the look" society generally expects from people caught deep in the throws of an eating disorder. It's sick and sad to admit,…

I never denied there are plenty of ways to exercise without a gym or equipment - in fact, I specifically made this point. I'm saying that a lack of knowledge, which is crucial, and inaccessible for some, can be a barrier. I'm not sure why you find this point so baffling.

My mother knows someone who was doing mission work in Colombia a few years ago and got kidnapped. Ransom was negotiated, he was released, and they had a party for him when he came home. All anyone talked about was how it was a "blessing in disguise" because he lost all that weight. RAGE.

Fat shaming tends to lead to disordered eating, even if it's not that extreme. Giving someone a complex about food - an unhealthy mental relationship to what they are eating - is never fair. :(

I hit 200 lbs when I was 25. I'm 15 lbs overweight now. Was I bedridden at 200? No. But I had to make huge changes to get to a healthy weight again, and that was the first time in my life I had ever been overweight. Since then, I consider myself part of the 'demographic'.

I enjoyed how after your first post was posted as an "I don't now question" about overweight people has now become this—a post about how you know why people are overweight.

Nope! Not for everyone. Take me! I'm 5'5" and right now about 170 lbs (sad face, poor fat me, etc.) I exercise between 3 and 5 days a week, more when I can. I hike on the weekends. Even though I'm a moderate fatty, I carry a lot of muscle mass around. I'm also breastfeeding. I should be able to eat, like, 2100…

I hear you about the nonsense from random passersby when you're trying to work out. It sucks that the cheapest places/methods for working out (running outdoors, biking, etc) put one in a position to receive flack from haters. I used to live in a major city and ran through my neighborhood. If I had a dollar for…

1. And if someone can't afford to go to the gym? Doesn't have transportation there, or the necessary time required? If there isn't one in your area at all? This is very classist assumption you're making. And please don't come back with the old, "well, just work out at home, only 20 minutes a day is enough!" That presents…

Of course it is. But also to varying degrees at those times. I don't see why it's fine regard groups of strangers with scorn and disdain even then, though.

Oh, I'd wager most of it. Fat White person: underlying medical condition! Fat Black person: lazy person who buys shit food and can't be bothered to take a walk. You can add in male vs female in this, as well. Fat men in the media get beautiful women and wealth. Fat women in the media? Oh wait, they barely exist in the…

As a very fat person, when trying to get some exercise, I have been made fun of for being fat, eyed for even being at the gym and had a (male) roommate, upon opening the door to our apt and seeing me exercising to a video, exclaim "I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THAT!".

Or, accept that everybody, even smokers, gets to make their own choices, and while it might feel good to bitch at other people about theirs, a) your own glass house will likely not remain intact for eternity, and b) it does not lead to a civil, respectful, humane society to police other people's choices, even when you…

This is something that IMO doesn't get discussed enough in the US/Canada/UK (could well be a problem elsewhere, but I'm not as familiar with western Europe, Latin America, Asia, etc): weight (and health!) as a class issue. There is huge overlap between lower SES and obesity. Causation is an interesting discussion but…

Sigh. Indigenous people getting fucked over, again.

Maybe they should try eliminating second breakfast first:

As a New Zealander I think that's a very plausible theory, we're super racist against our Pacific neighbours. Ironic, given our national history, but there you go.

As soon as I read this I knew it was race/culture driven. I just didn't know enough about New Zealand to guess which group was being unfairly targeted. I am pretty sure part of the reason they have obesity problems has to do with the kind of nutrition and education about nutrition they have access to.