Fat Phobia

BEFORE READING
1. In your own words, what is obesity?

2. Do you think that obesity is a disease/illness?
3. Do you know what “fat phobia” is?
4. Look at the picture in the text. Have you ever seen someone being discriminated or bullied because of
their weight?
5. Do you know which factors contribute to obesity?
Why are you so fat?

Obesity is a complex disease that occurs when an individual's weight is higher than what is considered
healthy for his or her height. Eating, physical activity patterns, insufficient sleep, and several other factors
influence excess weight gain.
The conditions in which we live, learn, work, and play are called social determinants of health (SDOH). It
can be difficult to make healthy food choices and get enough physical activity if these conditions do not
support health. Differences in SDOH affect chronic disease outcomes and risks, including obesity, among
racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups as well as in different geographies and among people with
different physical abilities.
Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Yet
variants in several genes may contribute to obesity by
increasing hunger and food intake. Rarely, a specific variant of
a single gene (monogenic obesity) causes a clear pattern of
inherited obesity within a family.
Some illnesses, such as Cushing’s disease, may lead to
obesity or weight gain. Drugs such as steroids and some
antidepressants may also cause weight gain.
There are some people who still do not recognise obesity as
a disease. These individuals believe that obese people just do
not want to eat healthy or do exercise. In reality, the contributing factors to obesity are as varying as there
are obese people in the planet.
Some people may be addicted to food or certain food types, some may have emotional problems which
they try to solve by finding comfort in eating, and some others may have another underlying condition which
may lead them to gain weight or that prevents them from losing it.
“Fat phobia” is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against obesity or people with obesity.
Fat phobia, while not always resulting in verbal or other criticisms, still involves an abnormal phobia of fat
people and / or a general fear of fat. This is a complex matter which needs to be analysed under a
marketing point of view. Some reject fatness because it is not what we see on TV, magazines, films, and
other types of media. Overweight people do not have a strong presence on media, and if they do, their
presence is full with stereotypes, like “fat people eat all the time,” “the fat friends is always funny,” or “fat
people only eat fast food.” Fat phobia is a socially constructed phenomenon. Societies produce the sort of
bodies they need and want, and value healthy and strong bodies that prioritize agility and endurance.
Another stereotype of “fat phobia” is seen in fashion. Recently, a famous model was seen in public
wearing an oversized t-shirt tucked inside her short jeans. She was celebrated for this, and even some
fashion influencers said she looked perfect with these clothes.
However, the outfit became trending on the platform Tik-Tok
because they compared the same outfit but being worn by a
“bigger” lady. Some people commented that the lady looked like the
fat friend from an 80s sitcom, or a 90s mom. But in fact, both
women are wearing the same outfit at the same time (2023). The
difference is that one of the women is slim, and the other is not.
So, if you wear an oversized t-shirt with short jeans and you are
slim, you are fashionable, but if you wear them and you are big,
you look ridiculous. Slim people with stockings are considered
“sexy,” but “fat girls” in stockings are compared with ham and
meat products inside nets.
Fashion has been “fat phobic” since the beginning of the
century, when skinny models started to appear in magazines,
posters, and TV; and this “fashion” has been spreading until
now.
Marilyn Monroe, a sex symbol from the 50s and 60s was herself a little bit “chubby,” weighting almost 60
kilograms and being a size L (in 2023). This shows that fashion has taken a fat phobic turn in the last
decades, affecting millions of people, especially women, by stating that being skinny is the norm.
AFTER READING
1. Answer:
a. What advice would you give someone who is obese?
b. How would you describe your own relationship with food?
c. Can you name some examples of fat phobia?
2. Find translations for the highlighted words:

a. weight:
b. height:
c. gain:
d. enough:
e. rarely:
f. varying:
g. be addicted to:
h. aversion:
i. overweight:
j. socially constructed:
k. agility:
l. endurance:
m. tucked:
n. sitcom:
o. slim:
p. oversized:
q. fashionable:
r. stockings:
s. skinny:
t. spreading:
u. chubby:
3. Analyse the following quotes said to fat people:

a. “You should walk to work instead of driving.”
b. “Sorry, we don’t have your size.”
c. “I can recommend a great nutritionist.”
d. “Are you ever full?”
e. “Why don’t you eat a salad for a change?”
f. “Where do you buy your clothes?”
g. “It must be so hard to do anything with your size.”
h. “Who else is fat in your family?”
4. What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with accepting their size? Mention
body positivity quotes you can think of.

Fat Phobia

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BEFORE READING

1. In your own words, what is obesity?

Why are you so fat?

2. Find translations for the highlighted words:

3. Analyse the following quotes said to fat people:

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