this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
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Let's be real here...we changed policy to enable obesity. The body positivity movement made it OK to be fat...Now over 75% of Americans are fat.
We did this one to ourselves.
If by policies you mean neoliberal economics, then you're correct.
The body positivity movement did jack shit compared to economic factors, so it frustrates me to no end when people talk about it more than the incentives to be unhealthy. Shaming and blaming not only doesn't work to dissuade unhealthy behavior, it makes societal failures into personal problems, refocusing the conversation away from the real culprits.
We hang ourselves, but capitalism gives us the rope and few alternatives.
I really disagree with that. No one is forcing you to go out and eat a 1500-2000 calorie super value meal for lunch. McChicken and small fries is reasonable and cheaper if you really hate yourself.
Part of it is addiction to sugars and carbohydrates. Sugar strongly stimulates the reward centers in our brain, so companies pump everything with it to hook customers. People eat that shit to deal with stresses, often caused by other economic externalities, and eat too much of it thanks to low nutritional value. Some children are both obese and malnourished, because their food is so shitty. Companies don't care about the health consequences; they only make stonks go up.
Body positivity doesn't necessarily say being overweight is good, just that you don't need to hate your body if you're overweight. Shame can easily turn maladaptive, so not dwelling on self hatred is often a good idea. People do take it too far, as health consequences of obesity are real, but that isn't representative of all body positivity. Body positivity isn't always good, and isn't always bad. Black and white simplistic thinking will often lead you astray.
The body positivity message is "others shouldn't shame you for your body". You may still decide you want to change your body through whatever means are available to you. And the policies the meme refers to are about regulation on food production and distribution.