The acceptance of obesity

I spent last week in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  I was there to support my husband at his annual event Campus Party.  So, it was actually a bit of a holiday for me as I had no obligations, at least work wise!

However, I was shocked and deeply saddened on my first morning there.  A coach had been organized to shuttle Campus Party employees from their hotels to the event centre where Campus was being held.  Having arrived late the night before my husband and I had an early breakfast and made our way out to the bus at 7am.

You are probably all familiar with the signs you find on all forms of public transport, they tend to all be similar, like this one reminding us that the first row of seats is priority seating for the elderly, disabled, pregnant women or women with small children.

Well, the one I was confronted with on my first morning in Sao Paulo was this one:

Yes, "we" are now including the obese as eligible for priority seating.  I totally get it and of course we must make daily life easier for them, but at the same time it truly saddens me that obesity has become something normal and accepted.

The reason why this upsets me is not because I don't like looking at overweight people... it's not that at all, my entire career is dedicated to helping people with weight problems and trying to prevent future health problems in people who are an ideal weight, overweight, obese and even underweight.

The reason why this upsets me is because obesity is now something that is accepted.  Obesity should not be accepted, it should not become the new NORMAL for one simple fact:  obesity kills.

We won't solve the obesity problem simply by including these people in a category.  We have to HELP them solve their problem, we have to HELP them improve their health.

Being obese can lead to a whole host of life threatening illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.  It also contributes to bone fractures, amputations (because of type 2 diabetes), breathing difficulties, mobility problems, difficulties when operations need to be performed for more serious health issues, not to mention the loss of quality of life.

I have read so many times of women turning their lives around and going from obese to a healthy

weight with lots of hard work for one simple reason... LIFE:

"I realized I was going to die, and I didn't want to leave my children without a mother."
"I wanted to be able to do things with my kids like play in the park."

Or a father who after losing his wife to cancer realized if he didn't lose weight he would probably die and his children would be orphans.

Or the women and men who got stuck in swings or theme park attractions.

Or the embarrassing moment when someone has to ask for a seatbelt extension on a plane - or worse still have to pay for two seats instead of just one.

Or the woman who saw a photo of herself at her son's wedding and cried as she "hadn't realized how fat I'd got!"

Child obesity is on the rise, today's younger generation are going to be the first to die before their parents because of weight related issues.

Finding you can't do what you want to do because of your weight is what mainly gets people to do something about their condition.

So please, love yourselves and your families and look after yourselves and your loved ones.  Learn how to be healthy and how to eat healthily and teach it to those you love.  Stop obesity in it's tracks and start you and your family on the path to health and wellness.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com