Fat acceptance movement
The fat acceptance (FA) movement is a social activism initiative aimed at combating discrimination against individuals who are overweight or obese. Advocates within this movement highlight the various forms of prejudice that these individuals face, including barriers to employment, inadequate healthcare, and societal pressures that elevate thinness as the ideal standard of beauty. They argue that such biases contribute to significant mental health issues, including low self-esteem and anxiety, as well as socioeconomic disadvantages. The movement's supporters often cite statistics indicating that a substantial percentage of people experience weight discrimination, which can lead to further stigmatization of larger body types.
Opposition to the FA movement primarily stems from concerns regarding the health implications of obesity. Critics argue that promoting acceptance of larger body sizes could overlook the associated health risks, such as an increased likelihood of chronic diseases and reduced life expectancy. Public debates surrounding the movement have been amplified by high-profile incidents, such as controversies involving airline policies for larger passengers and media representation of plus-sized models. As global obesity rates continue to rise, the discussions surrounding the fat acceptance movement and its implications for health and society are likely to persist, reflecting a complex interplay of cultural attitudes, health perspectives, and individual rights.
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Fat acceptance movement
The fat acceptance (FA) movement refers to broad-based social activism that seeks to end discrimination against overweight and obese individuals. Advocates in the FA movement allege that overweight and obese individuals face various forms of subtle and overt prejudice, discrimination, and unfair treatment due to their body size. Examples of this discrimination include the higher costs of plus-sized clothing, higher rates of job discrimination against overweight and obese individuals, lower-quality health care services, and general social attitudes and cultural norms that value thinness and fitness as ideals of beauty—particularly with regard to standards of female beauty. Supporters of the FA movement claim that these norms and standards lead to lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression and anxiety, reduced career opportunities, wage disparities, and poorer health care for overweight and obese individuals.
The FA movement has generated sharp criticism from those who point to the numerous health risks associated with obesity, because several prominent advocates within the FA movement have downplayed or denied the negative health effects of obesity. Critics of the FA movement argue that instead of attempting to make society more accommodating of overweight and obesity, more support should be given to overweight individuals to lose weight and improve their physical fitness.
Background
The rate of obesity worldwide has more than doubled between 1980 and 2016. A person with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 or higher is considered to be overweight, and a BMI of 30.0 or higher is considered to be obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 39 percent of adults worldwide were overweight and 13 percent were obese in 2014. Although obesity was once prevalent only in high-income countries, it is now common in low- and middle-income countries as well, and a majority of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
The country with the highest obesity rate is American Samoa (a US-controlled territory) where 74.6 percent of its adult population are overweight or obese. Nauru, a tiny island nation northeast of Australia, ranks second with an obesity rate of 71.1 percent, while the Cook Islands have an obesity rate of 63.7 percent. The obesity rates of countries in Europe and the Americas are considerably lower but still relatively high: According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States had an obesity rate of 33.0 percent in 2008, while the obesity rate was 32.1 percent in Mexico, 29.7 percent in Argentina, 26.9 percent in the United Kingdom, 26.8 percent in Australia, 26.6 percent in Spain, and 26.5 percent in Russia. According to a 2016 survey published in JAMA, the overall prevalence of obesity in the United States in 2013 and 2014 was 37.7 percent (35 percent among men and 40.4 percent among women), and 7.7 percent of Americans had a BMI greater than 40 (class III obesity).
The surge in worldwide obesity rates is fueled by a dietary transition in many nations toward high-calorie foods that contain large amounts of simple carbohydrates, sugars, and fats, combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was founded in 1969 as a self-described civil rights organization that, according to its website, "works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through advocacy, public education, and support." NAAFA’s motto is, "We come in all sizes."
Overview
NAAFA and other proponents of the FA movement argue that overweight and obese individuals face psychological stresses and other forms of discrimination stemming from social attitudes that stigmatize fatness. For example, NAAFA claims that 12 percent of American adults reported experiencing weight discrimination in 2006 (up from 7 percent in 1996). The organization also points out that weight discrimination results in psychological problems, stemming in part from a popular belief in American society that being overweight or obese reflects individual failure and immorality.
One of the most publicized aspects of the FA movement has been its contentious struggle with the airline industry regarding policies that charge obese travelers for an additional seat if they cannot fit into a standard seat. This issue has resulted in negative publicity for Southwest Airlines, which has been particularly aggressive in its enforcement of requiring "customers of size" (the company’s official term for overweight passengers) to either purchase additional seating (with the option to receive a refund for the cost of a second or third seat after the flight) or face removal from the flight if the flight is overbooked. Southwest Airlines has said that its policy is in place to prevent customers of size from encroaching on the space of other travelers. One highly publicized example of this policy occurred in April 2013, when a Southwest employee demanded that a 340-pound passenger on board a flight from Chicago to Denver remove himself from the plane; although the man was later allowed to fly, the flight was delayed by thirty minutes. Actor and movie director Kevin Smith, who also weighs more than 300 pounds, was kicked off a Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, California, in May 2011. Southwest Airlines eventually apologized for the incident, but only after Smith described his experience on social media and his fans expressed their disapproval of Southwest’s policy. NAAFA has expressed its disagreement with Southwest’s "customer of size" policy, along with similar policies implemented by other airlines, since 2002. Southwest has defended its policy, saying, "If a customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement."
In the spring of 2016, Sports Illustrated found itself thrust into the midst of debates over the FA movement when it released its annual swimsuit issue that featured a cover image of plus-sized bikini and lingerie model Ashley Graham. While the inclusion of Graham, a size-16 model, was praised by many who saw the move as an important step toward acknowledging a wider variety of body sizes and shapes, others criticized Sports Illustrated for glorifying an overweight model and serving to legitimize unhealthy body types in society. Former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs was particularly critical of the magazine’s photo shoot of Graham. Graham had previously faced similar criticism and opposition when she appeared in a lingerie commercial for the plus-sized clothing retailer Lane Bryant in 2010.
Critics of the FA movement point out that being overweight or obese drastically increases a person’s risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and more than a dozen types of cancer. A 2014 study by the US National Institutes of Health found that obesity is strongly correlated with premature death and that class III obesity could shorten a person’s life expectancy by up to fourteen years. Critics allege that any efforts to increase social acceptance of overweight and obesity poses serious risks to public health. However, despite the increased health risks associated with overweight and obesity, such patients often have difficulty finding quality health care services, with research showing that doctors often spend less time with overweight and obese patients and are less likely to refer them for diagnostic tests. With the global obesity rate increasing at a steady rate, it appears that the controversy surrounding the FA movement will continue to intensify in the coming years.
Bibliography
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Adult Obesity Facts." CDC. US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Flegal, Katherine M., et al. "Trends in Obesity among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014." JAMA 31.21 (2016): 2284–91. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Kendall, Erika Nicole. "If the Average Woman Is ‘Plus-Sized’, Why Doesn’t Our Fashion Reflect That?" Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Kolata, Gina. "Why Do Obese Patients Get Worse Care? Many Doctors Don’t See Past the Fat." New York Times. New York Times, 25 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. "About Us." NAAFAOnline.com. NAAFA, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"NIH Study Finds Extreme Obesity May Shorten Life Expectancy Up to 14 Years." National Institutes of Health. US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 8 July 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"Obesity and Overweight: Fact Sheet." World Health Organization. WHO, June 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Phelan, S. M., et al. "Impact of Weight Bias and Stigma on Quality of Care and Outcomes for Patients with Obesity." Obesity Reviews 16.4 (2015): 319–26. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.