By: William Tian
In June of 2022, TikTok influencer Remi Bader was mocked for her 240lb weight at the Deep Hollow Ranch. Workers prevented her from riding any of the horses and made fun of her.
She was “laughed at” by someone working on the ranch. One employee even posted a TikTok video stating “when you’re not a fat b—-, you can ride at Deep Hollow Ranch.” said David Livingston, writer.
People who have obesity know they have a weight problem. They don’t need to be reminded about it. Physicians should be the only one that gives advice so they can fix their problem without being made fun of by other people.
Remi Bender herself said, “I get it, some places have weight requirements.” She explained, she shared what happened because of “the way I was spoken [to] and laughed at … and the way I was treated overall,”
According to CDC statistics, 41.9% adult Americans and 1 in 5 children are classified as obese. Over 40% of American adults have reported experiences with weight-related teasing. This problem can affect their mental health. Discrimination and stress can cause people to potentially gain more weight. These experiences can lead to unhealthy actions such as binge-eating, or quitting athletic activities.
Last year, Swiss and German researchers interviewed 30 obese adults and found 3 main reasons why they were avoiding any kind of physical exercise. The first reason was because they have gone through many negative experiences of teasing or mockery, often as children. They also have self-stigma and feel like they lacked physical abilities. The last reason was because they’re scared. They’re hiding themselves in order to prevent more repugnant discrimination from happening in the future.
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