Note to a seriously obese woman

A 530 pound  woman complains about being treated like a social pariah:

It’s not just the super-obese like me who have to take this punishment: There are people out there who are literally no more than twenty or thirty pounds overweight, yet they have to put up much of the same crap that I do.

There’s nothing Satanic about cake and pie. There’s nothing Hitleresque about a roll of fat. I wish fat-bashers would think about this, and stop being so damn malevolent. But they don’t, because the bigots have ruled the day and the masses of ordinary Joes and Janes go along with them. That’s the way it will continue to be, until we can get our voice into the public’s ear. I have high hopes that that is beginning to happen now, and that it will gain traction in the years to come.

I responded:

Teresa, that was an interesting comment (and a little sad). Thank you for sharing.

On the one hand you said you are comfortable with the medical consequences of being obese. On the other hand, you disapprove of the social consequences and the bigotry. At some point, the two things have to converge; I’m not talking about public ridicule; I’m talking about lifestyle differences and having to accommodate people of different sizes. Inevitably the need to make these accommodations  will stir resentment. It’s a worthy goal to want every individual to be full participants in  society, and I fear that at your weight, it will be  hard.

I think most people are motivated not out of a desire to castigate obese people, but to make it easier to keep a moderate weight. In my city (Houston), everyone drives. Walking is rarely possible. Simple principles of urban design can increase exercise and make fast food less easily available.

Teresa, I’m glad you are comfortable with yourself, and I suspect that your size may be the result of more than mere gluttony. From your standpoint, the difference between 400 and 500 pounds may seem insignificant, but please get some help! You are still young. It is still relatively easy to change habits and prevent long term health effects.

Seriously, everybody reading this article is rooting for you!