Obesity in America
Obesity has been a growing concern lately in our country. More than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Being overweight not only negatively impacts your health, but it negatively impacts how you are perceived by others. There is a strong bias in our society against people who are overweight. They are looked down upon and made to feel inferior. I found “The
Weight of the Nation” video to be very compelling. I learned a lot from watching it and was moved by these people’s stories.
There is a heavy stigma attached to obesity that is hard to escape. People automatically assume that obese people are lazy, sloppy, and have no self-control. They are stigmatized as if their condition is entirely their fault,…show more content… It must also be tough to feel judged every time you go to the doctors, who are supposed to help you, not discourage you. Some obese people would even avoid healthcare based on their previous negative experiences with doctors, which is sad.
Obese people also face discrimination in the workplace. It is harder for them to find jobs, even though they may be qualified. People will often overlook them because they don’t have the
“right” image. I thought it was very unfair how obese people make less money than average- weight people. I was also shocked to find out that there were no federal laws that prohibit weight-based discrimination. We have laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, and disability, so why not for obesity? The fact of the matter is that it is still discrimination. So it is unfair that obese people should be treated differently.
It is a shame how obese people are portrayed so negatively in the media. Overweight people are rarely shown as being beautiful. In our society, being thin is praised as beautiful. Even in magazines, celebrities are criticized for putting on just a little bit of weight, so imagine how