The "they" in the sign is meant to be Aliens. Some years back, 24 Hour Fitness got into trouble for the image above. They plastered it on billboards around San Francisco and got protests from Fat Acceptance Groups. The groups complained that it was discrimination and made an argument that 24 Hour Fitness wouldn't put up a sign that said "When the Aliens come, they'll eat black people first". But is that a fair comparison? While there is a significant number of obese people who have medical conditions that have caused their circumstance, there's some that could stop going to McDonalds & eat healthier. A black person can't stop being black.
I've written about this before and always seen it as an interesting issue that asks how far should "Equal Protection" extend? When an overweight young woman goes into Abercrombie & Fitch & is denied a job, because she can't pull off the "look" of wearing around one of their extra-small shirts, is that discrimination? How about when airlines force fat people to buy 2 seats?
I thought I would write this after being intrigued & somewhat suprised by the results of a
New Yale University Study. Among the findings...
- Nearly half said they would swap one year of life rather than be fat, while 15% reported that they'd give up 10 years or more.
- About a third of respondents said they'd rather get divorced than be obese.
- One in five participants said that they'd prefer to be childless.
- 15% said that they'd pick severe depression over obesity.
- 14% chose alcoholism over girth.
- 10% of participants reported that they would rather have a child who suffered from the eating disorder anorexia than obesity
- 8% said they'd prefer to have an offspring with a learning disorder.
...And this isn't something that's just part of American culture. A week back I wrote a
diary about video games. I found interesting a story about a
Japanese Playstation 2 game called "
Maiden Love Revolution"...
...a best seller in Japan, starts with a snack-happy ex-beauty queen who wants to get back to her dating weight. Players assume the role of 220-pound Hitomi Sakurakawa as she struggles to slim down - mostly by restricting her diet. To advance, Hitomi must count calories and increase her exercise. The game keeps stats on her progress and ultimately rewards her conformity with a boyfriend.
People who are overweight should be treated with respect, and if they're qualified to perform a job, there's no reason they should be overlooked because of appearance. However, I think some of the fat acceptance groups go too far by trying to argue that there's nothing wrong with being overweight. If an Anorexic who starves themselves to be 85 pounds is fundamentally unhealthy, I have to believe that someone who overeats to 300 pounds is fundamentally unhealthy too...