Obesity Cannot Be Normalized, Here’s Why

By: Richard Huang

Just several days ago, Tik-Tok influencer Remi Bader was denied to

ride on a horse at Deep Hollow Ranch, NY due to her weight.

As obesity rates in the United States increase and more people start

to experience weight discrimination, some, like Bader, are not

allowed to do certain activities. Along with these frequently

occurring incidents, more people have started to call for

understanding the difficulties of obesity, which needs to be

recognized and treated kindly. We do need to understand and

recognize obesity, but this cannot be considered a normal condition.

In the evolution of mankind’s history, body fat served the purpose of

storing energy. During the Stone Age, ancient humans needed to

exert their energy in many different places, so their body fat was the

primary source of energy. This is the reason why ancient humans

were rarely obese or even overweight. However, in modern

developed countries like the United States, the energy is often stored

but not exerted, which results in people doing little exercise while

gaining more body fat.

Obesity is harmful by definition. “Obesity is a complex disease

involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn’t just a

cosmetic concern. It’s a medical problem that increases the risk of

other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes,

high blood pressure, and certain cancers,” according to Mayo Clinic.

Obesity often serves as a reason for many to not exercise, but not

exercising would only increase their body fat. This vicious circle

leads to an increase in the obesity rate because of the lack of exercise,

but why is physical activity important? “[Because it] reduces risks of

cardiovascular disease and diabetes beyond that produced by weight

reduction alone,” says the CDC.

However, many think that weight stigma is what keeps them from

the gym and the pool. This reason is only an excuse because you can

work out at your home or in your backyard to lose weight by doing

exercises such as burpees and jump squats. In addition, there are

some people who have successfully lost weight. The fear of being

discriminated against because of obesity can be overcome, it is just a

matter of starting to work or not.

In summary, obesity is understandable, but is harmful and cannot

serve as a reason for not exercising. Even from a historical

perspective, obesity is abnormal. Thus, we cannot let obesity

become normalized.

Sources:

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