"Obese" or "fat"?
We read:
"Doctors should call people "fat" rather than "obese" to make it clear that they needed to lose weight, a British health minister said on Wednesday.
Anne Milton, a Conservative, said the term "obese" distanced people from the problem and that calling them fat would encourage "personal responsibility". She said many National Health Service professionals were worried that if they called people "fat" they might cause offence but she insisted that anyone with such a weight problem needed to know.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, which campaigns to raise awareness of the health problems of being overweight, accused Mrs Milton of scientific ignorance. "The word 'obese' is a medical description of a weight that is such it might dispose someone to medical problems," he said. "The word 'fat' is a stigmatising word that is the kind children use to insult each other.
Source
"Obese" was once used only for the grossly fat but it is now much more widely applied. I favor reversion to the original usage
17 comments:
This is stupid, anyone can be fat, it's subjective. In the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" which is party based on the antics of Vogue editor Anna Wintour a beautiful girl who happens to be a size 6 is called fat by a bunch of women that are size 3 or size 0.
Good point Bobby. Whether you're obese/fat all depends on who's making the call. One can easily create the impression that almost everyone is obese by simply lowering the threshold to where you want it to be. ( is 10 lbs overweight? 20 lbs? 50 lbs? etc.) As for the terminology, that's simply political correctness at work.
The real problem here is that now, politics have gotten involved. We've all seen Mrs. Obummer, her fat ass, thunder-thighs and all, telling everyone that they're "obese" simply because we refuse to eat "what she says we must"! Like everything else this government is doing, don't be fooled by what it's called. In the end, it's all about CONTROL!
I agree anonymous, even the so called BMI calculations that have turned many Americans into fat or obese doesn't take into account muscles and other data.
There is also government collusion between the $60 billion dollar fitness and diet industry and the government. If they had it their way, everyone would be required to exercise.
The health nazis are so crazy that now there are some jobs you can't get not only if you are a smoker, but if you haven't been nicotine-free for the past 2 years.
I think fatness and obesity are private matters. They are irrelevant to job performance unless you want to be a model or do a job where looks are extremely important.
Then again, looks seem to be becoming the most important thing in the world.
We also used to use the term "fugly". Is that still considered offensive?
" simply lowering the threshold to where you want it to be. ( is 10 lbs overweight? 20 lbs? 50 lbs? etc.) "
how about being 50lbs UNDERweight?
That's where it stands today, give or take.
"I think fatness and obesity are private matters. "
Not when I am stuck on a plane next to one.
Actually, I think the suggestion is quite reasonable, provided that doctors are practising proper medical procedures. "Obese" means a BMI of 30 or more, provided the person is not abnormally muscular. (Arnold Schwarznegger would probably have such a BMI.) The definition is arbitrary, but it is used consistently in medical studies, and these studies show that obesity is a health risk. However, by telling the patient he is "fat", you are more closely highlighting his own lifestyle choices.
Bobby said "I think fatness and obesity are private matters. They are irrelevant to job performance..."
Not true. It depends on what type of job you have. A fat plumber or electrician can't get into places to work that a normal sized person can. There are numerous other examples.
Fattness is only a private matter if it only affects the individual. In this case the health issues associated with being fat raise health insurance premiums for others. That makes it not a private matter.
You outdid yourself on this one comrade Bobby, 0 for 2.
"Not true. It depends on what type of job you have. A fat plumber or electrician can't get into places to work that a normal sized person can. There are numerous other examples."
---Yet there and thousands of fat plumbers and electricians who are making a good living. After all, if my kitchen sink breaks I'm sure even an obese plumber can take care of it.
"In this case the health issues associated with being fat raise health insurance premiums for others. That makes it not a private matter."
---By that same token nobody should smoke, everybody should stop drinking, everyone should get married (single people are more likely to do risky things according to HMO's), everyone should drive "safe" cars and no motorcycles, tatooing should be banned since you can catch diseases that way, etc, etc, etc. You don't blame the high rates because a group of people. That's class warfare!
Besides, who says that life is cheap? What about the poor that have to attend community college because they can't afford a private college? Should they demand that the state give them a scholarship?
The reason health care is expensive is because of the lawyers. Defensive medicine and lawsuit insurance is costing doctors and HMO's millions, perhaps billions of dollars a year.
Malcolm said;
"The definition is arbitrary, but it is used consistently in medical studies,"
Yes Malcolm, arbitrary, as in, we can make it anything we want that will suit our political agenda. What happens when they decide that a BMI of 30 is no longer obese, but now a BMI of 20 is obese? This is not about weight or health. It's about CONTROLLING peoples behavior so that it meets "their" political agenda!
Wow - how perspicacious - society sets standards - which change over time - who'd a thunk it!
"Wow - how perspicacious - society sets standards - which change over time - who'd a thunk it!"
---Society should be setting freedom, not standards.
I don't mind HMO's choosing what to charge for healthcare, but don't tell me that I have to pay more because I'm single than some other guy because he's married. Judge me for my medical history, not some stupid statistics and generalizations.
Good ol' boy Bobby said, "Society should be setting freedom, not standards."
I agree. From this point on, I will drive on the left side of the road.
"I agree. From this point on, I will drive on the left side of the road."
---You just had to make a comment, didn't you? You couldn't write something about how the government should force all of us to be skinny non-smoking vegetarians, no, to you freedom means anarchy, but not to me.
Freedom is like capitalism, a controlled-chaos. People are free to succeed, fail, organize themselves into groups or stand apart. The world doesn't end if one beach allows nudity while the other doesn't, but to people like you, nudity is immoral so we must all go to the beach wearing burkas, or at least not showing private body parts.
I believe in CHOICE, now what the hell is wrong with that, my fascist-loving friend?
Bobby the Moron said, "but to people like you, nudity is immoral "
There you go again, extrapolating. BTW, that is exactly what I did with my comment, just for giggles to gauge your reaction. You are so predictable. Where do YOU draw the line between your concept of freedom and anarchy? What is acceptable to you? What is unacceptable to you.
And just to let you know, you are completely wrong about the "but to people like you, nudity is immoral " part. So completely. So you can add that failure on your part to all of your other failures. Get a job, you lazy bum.
"Where do YOU draw the line between your concept of freedom and anarchy?"
---I draw it with the following words: "Your freedom ends where my nose begins." So, for example, do I have the right to force your family to watch porn? No. Do I have the right to order porn in pay per view? Yes.
"What is acceptable to you? What is unacceptable to you."
---Rather than give you a long laundry list, I'll simply say that anything that doesn't violate my freedom or the freedom of others is acceptable to me.
Those who sacrifice safety for security deserve neither, those aren't my words, they're the words of Benjamin Franklin.
"So you can add that failure on your part to all of your other failures. Get a job, you lazy bum."
---Always with the personal, it would upset me if I gave a damn.
I'm just glad you're not a missionary, "worship Jesus you damn Muslim" would be your witnessing style, right? ;)
Bobby the unemployed said, "I'm just glad you're not a missionary"
Quite impossible, since I am an atheist. However, I do like the missionary position (with my wife, not hookers).
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