Eating Rights Movements in One Gulp

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I saw a link to this story on the Huffington Post last night and have been chewing on its implications since then. It hasn't yet completely digested. At first reading I was a little taken aback. It was as if my own prejudices against the obese were being called out even though neither the writer nor the subjects of the piece knew that I was reading it. I felt what I can only assume can be called fit guilt. Don't misunderstand: I'm not in perfect shape buy anyone's standards. On the other hand, I have always been able to maintain a physique wherein I could see my toes without bending over. Ultimately, I view morbid obesity as a choice: there are always going to be people of different shapes and sizes; but if a person is winded after walking up a flight of stairs and they're not attached to an oxygen machine, I don't see a moral pull to sympathize with them.

But this article led me to sites of associations that treat obesity as if it's a matter of civil rights; that the media's treatment of the obese is offensive and discriminatory and that it has to be stopped. Take these folks, for example: they're called the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Awareness. They've been around since 1969 and up until this very night, I'd never heard of them. Is this because I grew up in a household that looked at the obese as physical abnormalities or because, as a child, my father always made fun of me (and my whole generation) for not ALL having six-packs and taut biceps? I don't know.

On the other hand I can't fathom a reason why a series of lifestyle choices could eve be compared with a civil rights matter. Self-esteem is one thing; making yourself into a societal victim so you can keep up your bad habits is just disgusting.