Obesity is a large health problem that plagues a significant amount of the population in America. Since being considered obese is a social taboo, a lot of people get bullied based on the size or shape of their body.
We all know that America is the most obese country in the world. The foods that are worse for us cost less than healthy food and GMO's are implanted into everything we eat. There are plenty of factors that go into our size as a country and many different things that can solve the health crisis, but the different cases of body shaming is not one.
It is a common misconception that being overweight automatically means that you are unhealthy, but this isn't true. A woman with a large amount of body fat can be healthier than many models we see in magazines and on t.v. The real issue with obesity is the visual aspect. If people who are overweight are still healthy, then what is the issue? It is that these people are not visually appealing to others.
Every country has a certain look that is the highest standard of beauty, but why is this something we deem socially acceptable? These beauty standards end up detrimental to people who do not fit the ideal image of what an attractive person, or in this case a healthy person, would like like.
These people experience bullying and constant harassment just because of how they look. Nothing should never be so socially unacceptable that other people are ridiculed for it, but that is exactly how size is. In a survey question sixth graders about the bullying they experience, 24% of boys and 30% of girls reported that they were often teased because of their size.
The behaviors towards people who are overweight is something that is well known across this country. Many people, like myself, speak up towards people who fat shame or have negative things to say to people who harass someone who is overweight. What is not discussed enough, though, is how individuals that are underweight get bullied often as well.
Since people do not consider telling someone they are "too skinny" or that they can see their bones as bullying, but cases of this form of body shaming is equally as present. Combined with cases of overweight teasing, weight bullying is one of the most common form of bullying! If this an experience that someone is coming into contact with at such a young age, it usually stays with them for the rest of their lives and can be very traumatic.
Body shaming is definitely a harmful practice and as a society it is something that we should deem taboo in all forms. It does not matter what we "think" is beautiful or the assumption of that persons health. What matters is the mistreatment and the fact that it should stop.
