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What do you think needs to be done to combat the obesity epidemic?


Varysblackfyre321

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4 minutes ago, Mikael said:

Lol, this isnt really aimed at you, but this is another part of this issue that annoys me a great deal, the idea that people who stays fit, work out etc do it for health reasons, not because society values and rewards a fit physique. 

Im sure a bunch of people will be quick to assure me they spend those hours at the gym for health reasons only,  and all ill say to that is Good for you and i dont believe you.

Personally, i gym because i like the way muscle look on my body and i run because its good for me. I spend way more time at the gym than at the track..

This is true. I think there is still a stigma around losing weight and getting in shape for some people, because I dunno, I guess it comes across as vain or acknowledging that you are unhappy about the way you look. 

I always describe wanting to eat something 'healthy' for lunch, rather than something 'low calorie' because it sounds pretty stupid. 

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35 minutes ago, Mikael said:

Lol, this isnt really aimed at you, but this is another part of this issue that annoys me a great deal, the idea that people who stays fit, work out etc do it for health reasons, not because society values and rewards a fit physique. 

Im sure a bunch of people will be quick to assure me they spend those hours at the gym for health reasons only,  and all ill say to that is Good for you and i dont believe you.

Personally, i gym because i like the way muscle look on my body and i run because its good for me. I spend way more time at the gym than at the track..

I'm not going to deny I enjoy gaining muscle, losing fat and looking better overall. It's definitely one of the reasons why I'm working out. That doesn't mean health is not one of the reasons, too.

As far as society rewarding me for it, I don't think I'm anywhere near fit enough for that to happen :lol:

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24 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Stigma around getting in shape? Have i missed something? 

This isnt something affecting me, and it wasnt what i was getting at, but i guess you missed all of kals posts talking about peer pressure to eat unhealthy? 

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39 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Stigma around getting in shape? Have i missed something? 

It might be more of a male thing, but I think there is a certain stigma to working out, if you are already hugely out of shape. Whilst most people will be largely supportive of your efforts, there is the feeling that if you openly discuss your efforts to stop being fat you are showing weakness or making your own bodyshape an issue publically. It has happened to me in the past and I know a few of my friends who do the exact same thing. 

There is little to no stigma to working out if you are already in good shape, in fact everyone will simply ask you what you are doing to look so good. 

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I have seen this "people will make fun of me because I'm fat/slow/weak/etc." mentality in people who are out of shape and/or overweight quite a few times.

On the other hand, I must say that I have never been HUGELY out of shape but I have changed sports and that often made me feel hugely out of shape and have never experienced people making fun of me for that nor have I ever witnessed people being made fun of for being out of shape. Furthermore, I must say that I have only seen people being supportive when someone is trying to improve their health and fitness levels. And I've seen people who have lost up to 70kgs.

I'd say it's more personal fear than anything else. Not meaning to dismiss how people feel or say their fears are unreal, but I'd say people are usually not as bad as feared.

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1 minute ago, baxus said:

I'd say it's more personal fear than anything else. Not meaning to dismiss how people feel or say their fears are unreal, but I'd say people are usually not as bad as feared.

I think this is almost certainly the case. We are all worried about what people think about us. Going to a gym where you imagine everyone is in amazing shape, while you are a lot wobblier is quite nerve wracking. It is intimidating for a lot of people (one of the reasons many gyms include dark workout rooms) 

 

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6 hours ago, Mikael said:

Lol, this isnt really aimed at you, but this is another part of this issue that annoys me a great deal, the idea that people who stays fit, work out etc do it for health reasons, not because society values and rewards a fit physique. 

Im sure a bunch of people will be quick to assure me they spend those hours at the gym for health reasons only,  and all ill say to that is Good for you and i dont believe you.

Personally, i gym because i like the way muscle look on my body and i run because its good for me. I spend way more time at the gym than at the track..

There are several reasons why people, like myself, eat healthy and work out, and yes, staying healthy is a reason. Being better at sports is another.

But honestly the main reason is for sex and to hook up with hotter people.

 

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This thread, telling fat people that they're fat because they're lazy and stupid, should be all the evidence you need for why fat people don't want to go to the gym. 

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Who wants to go to the gym?  I don't want to be around those people, and didn't even way back when I did work out.  This is why Dodgeball was a sneakily great social commentary.

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Everyone who exercises, whether in a gym or in a sport, had that awkward and intimidating first day.  And after that awkward first day, they kept going back for several awkward months until they gradually developed some fluency and stopped feeling so awkward.  Most people who exercise have tried a lot more than just one form of exercise, and so they went through that awkward process several times.  

No-one should kid themselves that they are unique or special in facing that initial hurdle to try something new.  Absolutely everyone experiences that.  It's just part of the human condition -- we don't like to be at the bottom of any social ladder.

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16 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

This thread, telling fat people that they're fat because they're lazy and stupid, should be all the evidence you need for why fat people don't want to go to the gym. 

For. The. Love. Of. God. Kal. Quit. Misrepresenting. What. I. Said. You’re. Better. Than. That.

Here’s exactly what I wrote in response to one of your questions based on me saying society is becoming soft:

On 3/6/2019 at 5:10 PM, Tywin et al. said:

Because we've become lazy, greedy and dumb.

I never said people are fat because they’re lazy, greedy and dumb. I said society as a whole has made nearly everyone this way, and those negative attributes can contribute to the rise in obesity.

Honestly this whole thread has devolved into people either saying taking some responsibility for yourself or blame everyone but yourself. I think we all know where each other stands and there’s really no point in discussing it anymore. No one is going to change their mind.

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10 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

No-one should kid themselves that they are unique or special in facing that initial hurdle to try something new.  Absolutely everyone experiences that.  It's just part of the human condition -- we don't like to be at the bottom of any social ladder.

There's a fundamental difference between not liking being "at the bottom of any social ladder" - which I'm totally fine with expressing my ignorance in most other such cases - and having an aversion to going to any type of public gym because of the people that tend to frequent gyms.  I don't think whether you know how to work out or not - which is something that's really fucking easy to learn - is a relevant part of why people avoid gyms.

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10 minutes ago, DMC said:

There's a fundamental difference between not liking being "at the bottom of any social ladder" - which I'm totally fine with expressing my ignorance in most other such cases - and having an aversion to going to any type of public gym because of the people that tend to frequent gyms. 

I’m not a huge fan of going to the gym, I find it fairly tedious, but you don’t really need to interact much with anyone else while you’re at the gym if you don’t want to.:dunno:

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3 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

I’m not a huge fan of going to the gym, I find it fairly tedious, but you don’t really need to interact much with anyone else while you’re at the gym if you don’t want to.:dunno:

Literally the only time I interact with someone at the gym outside of the rare event is to ask for a spot, and I have yet to meet a person in the 10 plus years I’ve been lifting that has said no. A gym is much like everything else in life, it’s an older version of the high school cafeteria. You can be afraid of it or you can own it. The choice is yours.

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6 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

but you don’t really need to interact much with anyone else while you’re at the gym if you don’t want to.:dunno:

Aye when I used to go just put on the headphones.  The point is it's an added inconvenience.  This is like any conversation on voting turnout.  Is it relatively easy to overcome the obstacles at an individual level?  Sure.  But that doesn't mean they're not a significant factor in the decreased rate at the aggregate level.

Just now, Tywin et al. said:

You can be afraid of it or you can own it. The choice is yours.

:rolleyes:.  This is exactly the type of attitude that makes people want to avoid people that frequent gyms.  No one's "afraid."  I'm not "afraid" of going to some trendy club.  I just don't want to go because the people there tend to suck.

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7 minutes ago, DMC said:

:rolleyes:.  This is exactly the type of attitude that makes people want to avoid people that frequent gyms.  No one's "afraid."  I'm not "afraid" of going to some trendy club.  I just don't want to go because the people there tend to suck.

Actually a lot people are. They’re insecure and worried about being judged.

And frankly, everywhere has people that suck. Stereotyping people at the gym is as worthless as stereotyping you over-educated, liberal, egged-headed academic types. :P

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Just now, Tywin et al. said:

Actually a lot people are. They’re insecure and worried about being judged.

Interesting to see you equate insecurities that are inherent in human nature with "being afraid."  Great way to pose yourself as better than others, when you're not at all.

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Stereotyping people at the gym is as worthless as stereotyping you over-educated, liberal, egged-headed academic types. :P

I have absolutely no problem stereotyping the douchebags that frequent the gym, just as I have absolutely no problem stereotyping the douchebag eggheads I work with.

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1 minute ago, DMC said:

Interesting to see you equate insecurities that are inherent in human nature with "being afraid."  Great way to pose yourself as better than others, when you're not at all.

I have absolutely no problem stereotyping the douchebags that frequent the gym, just as I have absolutely no problem stereotyping the douchebag eggheads I work with.

You sound like so many of my friends. There is like this weird superiority thing some people have over gym people, as if they feel better about themselves imagining that being some out of shape academic type makes them better because they imagine anyone who looks after the way their appearance is a ‘meathead’.

But loads of people go to the gym, and they aren’t all the same, many of them are really nice people. They just don’t want to be fat.

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