What it鈥檚 really like to live with obesity or identify as fat
Image source, 麻豆官网首页入口In a recent , statistics showed 29 percent of adults in England are classified as obese. But what is it really like to either live with obesity or identify as fat in modern Britain?
A two-part 麻豆官网首页入口 Two documentary, Who Are You Calling Fat?, looks to answer that question. Nine people spend a week living together and while they face the same stigmas about their weight, the way it鈥檚 shaped their attitudes differs hugely. Here, three of the housemates and obesity expert Dr Giles Yeo explain their views.
鈥業鈥檓 frustrated that people don鈥檛 understand just how complex the causes of obesity are鈥 Sarah, 37, North Yorkshire
Image source, 麻豆官网首页入口鈥淲e鈥檝e been told for so many years that obesity is a lifestyle choice 鈥 people have chosen to live this way. That absolutely isn鈥檛 the case. Obesity is a very complex condition, there are so many .
鈥淚 have a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and I now know the science behind obesity.
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 like the way I look, I don鈥檛 want to stand out. I want to have a 鈥榥ormal鈥 body, one that doesn鈥檛 restrict me. I don鈥檛 want to have to get on an aeroplane and ask for a seatbelt extension, I don鈥檛 want to question whether a chair will hold me.
鈥淵et while I鈥檇 like to be smaller I鈥檓 more at peace with myself now. My understanding of obesity has allowed me to be kinder to myself. It took time, though, to feel like this.
鈥淚 lost a significant amount of weight in 2012 when I took part in a weight-loss TV show. But over time, despite keeping up the diet and exercise, my weight started coming back on. I felt like a failure. I鈥檇 put myself through all of this but I was still gaining weight. I felt really out of control and that鈥檚 when I started to look into the science of it and gained an understanding about how there are genetics and hormones that impact weight. I learned it鈥檚 not all my fault that I鈥檓 like this.
鈥淒uring my time in the house on Who Are You Calling Fat? I met fat activists and it was great to encounter people who were totally OK in their own skin, because I never have been. But I found some of the views a little extreme 鈥 especially on how there鈥檚 no correlation between body size and health. I鈥檓 aware that not everyone of a certain size is going to have health complications, but I do believe we are at higher risk of having them.
鈥淚 now have a daughter and she鈥檚 changed my outlook. I don鈥檛 want her to have issues with her body. Whatever size she ends up being, I want her to feel happy and healthy and I need to portray that to her. 鈥
鈥業鈥檓 frustrated that I鈥檝e got myself into this situation, but I鈥檓 trying to change鈥 Jack, 30, Cheshire
Image source, 麻豆官网首页入口鈥淚鈥檝e struggled with my weight for years and I want people to see I鈥檓 trying to do something about it. Fat people can be a lot more active and energetic than you鈥檇 realise.
鈥淚 think my size comes down partly to genetics, but I also accept that a lot of it is down to personal responsibility. I鈥檓 a big guy, so even if I was 100 percent disciplined I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be anywhere near what my BMI should be, but I do feel responsible for the situation I鈥檓 in.
鈥淚 look back and think about when I was a kid. My mum and dad would go out and I鈥檇 sneak into cupboards and have chocolate and crisps and then hide the wrappers so they wouldn鈥檛 know. Over the years I鈥檝e had loads of times when I really haven鈥檛 done that much exercise, I鈥檝e eaten terrible foods, I鈥檝e not really cared or thought about what I鈥檓 putting in my body
鈥淏efore I went into the Who Are You Calling Fat? house I was na茂ve about the strength of the body positivity movement. It can range from celebrating what you鈥檝e been given 鈥 like if you have a medical condition that means you aren鈥檛 going to get any lighter 鈥 to the other end of the scale, which I thought was really extreme.
鈥淎t the end of the experience, I wouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檝e become more body positive. There鈥檚 still a lot I don鈥檛 like about my body 鈥 it might never change but as long as I try that鈥檚 OK. The reason I started to lose weight was because I ended up with Type 2 diabetes, which I鈥檝e put into remission.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a baby due in December and I want to be fit and healthy and set a good example.
鈥淪ociety needs to be more understanding. There were people in the house who couldn鈥檛 do anything about their weight because of medical conditions and genetics. People should stop stigmatising and being so harsh 鈥 you don鈥檛 know other people鈥檚 situations. 鈥
鈥業鈥檓 frustrated because people can鈥檛 accept I鈥檓 happy being fat鈥 Victoria, 35, Northern Ireland
Image source, 麻豆官网首页入口鈥淚t鈥檚 my life鈥檚 calling to share the message 鈥榠t鈥檚 OK to be fat鈥. I strongly believe health and weight aren鈥檛 correlated 鈥 you can be fat and healthy and thin and unhealthy. Rather than going on diets that don鈥檛 work, I think you should accept your body for the way it is.
鈥淚 identify as fat, but in society we are led to believe this means people are sat at home, guzzling large milkshakes and eating doughnuts off their fingers like rings. The reality is very different. People are fat for many different reasons and the shame and stigma placed on fat people doesn鈥檛 make them thinner, it actually harms their physical and mental health.
鈥淚鈥檓 body positive and happy to be fat. I know some people will be horrified to hear this, but if someone came along with a magic wand and made me thin I would be really sad.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 always felt like this, I used to hate my body. I started dieting when I was a child and have spent the majority of my life dieting and fantasising about what would happen if I became thin. I believed I鈥檇 become healthy, worthy and lovable 鈥 that Brad Pitt would be blowing up my phone asking for dates 鈥 but when I did become 鈥榮traight-sized鈥 none of this happened.
鈥淣ow, rather than dieting, I make decisions about what to eat based on what my body wants 鈥 if I have a salad it鈥檚 because I want the feeling of something fresh and I want the texture of something crisp, it鈥檚 not because I鈥檓 thinking it鈥檚 鈥榟ealthy鈥.
鈥淭here were two things that were really impactful for me during my week in the Who Are You Calling Fat? house. Firstly, when we did a 'Stand For Self-Love' experiment, we stood in our bikinis with blindfolds on and let members of the public write on our bodies. The amount of support we received was great. People aren鈥檛 as fat-phobic as sometimes we鈥檇 like to think they are. Secondly, some people in the house had their own internalised fat phobia and sometimes I forget, because I鈥檓 surrounded by fat-positive people, just how destructive and powerful it is. I left the house more confident in my views and knowing I need to keep spreading my message as there鈥檚 a lot of misinformation out there. 鈥
鈥楶eople need to understand that genetics play a key role in weight鈥 Dr Giles Yeo
鈥淲hile there were many views about weight in the Who Are You Calling Fat? house, they all came from the same place. All nine contributors explained they鈥檝e been looked at as lazy, and stigmatised. When this happens, people respond differently.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the fault of the individuals that they are the size they are.
鈥淭here are both nature and nurture causes of weight gain. In terms of nature, hundreds of genes play a role in your body weight. Some people might be hungrier, some will find food rewarding, some will respond to stress by eating.
鈥淏asically, some people will find it more difficult to say 鈥榥o鈥 to food than others.
鈥淣urture plays a part too 鈥 it could be culture, education, social-economic class 鈥 all of those have an impact.
鈥淥ne view expressed in the Who Are You Calling Fat? house is that weight doesn鈥檛 impact your health. But science doesn鈥檛 tell us that. Yes, someone who carries more weight could be healthier than someone who鈥檚 lighter, but that鈥檚 down to an individual鈥檚 fat cells 鈥 whether they鈥檙e big enough to contain all the fat or if they鈥檙e going to spill into the liver and muscles (which is what causes problems).
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 true that someone鈥檚 body size is not an indicator of their health, we do know that obesity increases your risk of having certain conditions. For example, obesity is believed to account for of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also linked to .
鈥淚f you want to lose weight and keep it off you need to find a plan you can stick to 鈥 which rules out extreme diets as you can鈥檛 stay on them for ever. There鈥檚 not going to be a magic diet that suits everyone, you just have to find an eating and lifestyle plan that suits you for the long term.
鈥淏efore embarking on any weight-loss plan you have to ask yourself why you鈥檙e doing it. Is it because you want to be skinny or healthy? Lots of us will never be skinny, and setting unattainable goals won鈥檛 help. Trying to lose enough fat so you can become healthier 鈥 that should be the focus. 鈥
Watch episode one of Who Are You Calling Fat? on 麻豆官网首页入口 Two on Monday 28 October at 9pm and episode two at 9pm on Tuesday 29 October.
