|
I have not read the thread, but the subject has come up here about discrimination and the reasons why "fat" people are belittled.
I have people in my family considered morbidly obese. One of those relatives recently underwent bariatric surgery because of all the associated health problems commonly associated with being overweight - blood sugar issues, high blood pressure, cholesterol, sleep apnea, etc, etc, etc. It is a truly amazing surgery - immediately after surgery she stopped taking those medications and her blood completely normalized. The only reason I can think of for this is that the portion of the small intenstines bypassed must not work properly. How else could the blood work normalize so quickly? I honestly think that for the most part (while there are certainly exceptions), many, many obese people suffer from a physical problem that cannot be overcome. She exercized and ate....not well, but OK, but the weight kept adding on. Genetics plays into it a lot.
Another relative, i believe, was simply lazy, and when she finally went on a low carb atkins type diet and and started exercizing, lost 70 lbs in a year and is still going.
Whatever the cause, though, it is sad that obese people are treated as they often are. I have never been obese, so I can't relate. People are people and should be treated with respect until actions may deem otherwise, not appearance.
One question, though, that was an issue not long ago in the news here in Phoenix. If someone of large size takes up two seats on an airplane, should they be expected to pay for two seats? How much should industry try to accomodate the obese? For example, I would suspect many rides at DL could not handle some larger people. Should DL be expected to accomodate? I am afraid that obesity may someday be covered under the ADA and that industry and businesses will suffer financially. Should it be considered a disability? I know for some morbidly obese people it truly is and is a physical problem outside of their control.
|