Ever wonder why...........

by knot4me 32 Replies latest jw experiences

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  M*A*S*H

  I think Cygnus was heading us on the right path. Obesity perhaps could be just one symptom of gluttony. Gluttony is more to do with the idea of wasting food, for example you "ate all the pies" because... (a) Pies turn you on [Addiction] (b) You just like eating pies [Overindulgence] (c) You didn't want to give them to the starving homeless person sat outside BK [You're a tight a*se].

  It's also more subjective that it first appears... perhaps someone in the developed world may eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper - plus the odd snack! That of course doesn't make you a glutton. If that person was picked up, placed in the middle of a starving country and didn't change their eating habits, perhaps you'd have grounds to call them a glutton.

  Despite this, I kind of understand why these things seem a little odd and IMHO I think social change almost upon us - certainly in a bigger sense than the JW issue. To get things in perspective, the vast majority of obesity is caused by poor eating habits coupled with a lack of exercise, I don't mean to be provocative but, most overweight people could with the correct motivation and support achieve their ideal weight.

  Why is obesity socially acceptable? Smoking at a dinner table is now about as socially acceptable as picking your nose. If you see an obese person ordering 'another cream cake' at the dinner table would you dare say a word???

  PS. I do not mean to offend in anyway.
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  FlyingHighNow

  If you see an obese person ordering 'another cream cake' at the dinner table would you dare say a word???

  Of course not. The thin person next to the fat person has three pieces of cream cake. Do you say something to the thin person? Smoke travels and you breathe it whether you like it or not. You aren't going to get fat watching people take extra portions of dessert. There's a big difference between smoking and eating. It's none of your business to decide how much people should eat or how much they should weigh.But it is your business if someone is exposing you to second hand smoke.
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  M*A*S*H

  So are you saying 'self harm' is socially acceptable, as long as those around are not affected? In my experience often a smoker is encouraged to quit or challenged, not because of second hand smoke, but a genuine concern for the persons health. If you knew someone who was a smoker, who always smoked outside, would that make their habit socially acceptable?

  Going back to the silly example of the dinner table, even if someone got up to go outside for a 'puff'... it's still socially acceptable for someone to say "You know Johnny you should quit, you're not doing yourself any favors". Isn't that so?

  In my original post I didn't have a "thin person" ordering "three pieces of cream cake"... but OK, lets think about that. If I were at the dinner table, and my "thin" friend ordered "three pieces of cream cake", IMHO it perhaps might be acceptable for me to say something like "blimey xxxx, are you trying to give yourself a heart attack?", or "Wow, a third piece? You're really going for it". In fact that kind of behavior happens a lot in my experience - I get a similar reaction from my friends every time we go to KFC. "Two fillet burgers and popcorn chicken?" they ask.. :-0

  Again I must stress I'm not trying to be offensive or confrontational. I really was commenting on how our society, in the developed world, doesn't tackle obesity at a social level, the way perhaps other issues are. I understand that this is primarily because peoples feelings can be hurt greatly by this issue especially. Personally I feel the problem of obesity must eventually be tackled at a social level, weight and diet related complications are causing more and more deaths in the developed world year on year. Perhaps if the risks of extra "cream cake" were better understood things might start to change.

  I feel it's more important to have all forms of social confrontation in the open rather than festing underneath our social graces, as that is how social stigmatization and descrimination arises.

  Please, please don't not confuse, or even suggest I am confusing a fat person with an obese person... they are NOT necessarily the same. The dinner table is not the place to tackle socially someone who you consider 'massively overweight'.

  Respectfully

  PS. There's a very interesting article here... http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/whatis_facts.shtml (Title quote "Obesity is increasing worldwide and is becoming the world's biggest health problem. Recent reports suggest that it may soon overtake cigarette smoking as a serious health risk")