Obesity: How Making a Change Can Save a Life

One of the main arguments in the reading for today by Samantha Kwan concerns health issues caused by obesity. The Center for Consumer Freedom along with the Fat Acceptance Activists at the National Association to Fat Acceptance argue that obesity does not have adverse health effects and one can be obese while still leading a healthy lifestyle. While other behaviors such as smoking and drug use do cause one to have health issues, obesity is another way for people to fall into a lifestyle that can lead to serious illness. According to the reading there is a direct link from obesity to health concerns such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some forms of cancer. I am in agreement with the Center for Disease Control and the Medical Frame described by Kwan. I personally do not think obesity should be looked at as lightly as the CCF and the FAFAA take it to be. Although I do no think society should look at people with obesity differently than an average sized human being, I do think that obese people should be aware of the risks of being overweight in order to help them live a long healthy life.

Samantha Kwan talks about the FAFAA and the Social Justice frame in the reading as well. This frame focuses on obese individuals who are confident in their bodies, but is this good for their health? Of course it is always a great thing to be confident in yourself and who you are as a person, in fact it is one of the most important things in life. However, in order to enjoy this confidence throughout your whole life you must be alive and well. Most obese individuals are not in this category though. It is mostly due to society and the "average" opinion of bodies. Appearances are valued very high around the world today, and having a “skinny” or “fit” body is usually valued higher than an obese body. Although I do not agree that society should look down upon people who are bigger than others it is still happening everywhere. However, this epidemic causes people to make a change when they see fit.

When I was in High school I used to watch the television series The Biggest Loser every Tuesday night with my family, we were really into reality shows... It amazed me to see the transformation throughout one season. Not only do the individuals on the show look healthier and happier, but they feel way better about themselves and gain an immense amount of confidence when they lose weight. One of my favorite episodes that they do each season is where the contestants sit down with their trainers and look back on their journey. They each talk about how they became obese and why they want to lose the weight, then a video is played of their journey on the show thus far. This episode really sticks out to me because of the how contestants emotionally respond. You can see from their reactions to their video that they are so proud of what they accomplished and strive to get leaner and healthier during the rest of their life.

 In the video above there was a man on the show whose wife died and he made a promise to her to be around to take care of their daughters, in order to do this he felt that he needed to lose weight because of the adverse health effects caused by obesity. Additionally, there is a female swimmer who had gained a bunch of weight after ending her career and she had lost all of her self-confidence and even “part of her identity” in her words. These are two examples of obese people who made a change in order to be healthier and feel better about themselves. They are the people who are examples of how obesity can alter the lives of people and how when they finally realize it they can make a change and lead a better life, emotionally and physically.

I believe that obesity is directly linked to very serious health issues and although people in society need to treat people dealing with obesity equally, these health concerns need to be made aware of so people who are obese can make a change and possibly save their own lives.