Mommy I Want Plus Size Barbie

I wasn't aware obesity equated "increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling."

I'm not sure why you keep assuming that image disorders or eating disorders equate obesity.

You know, all of this talk makes me just want to share some of my experience, being that of the "larger" crowd.

When I was younger, I wasn't really fat. I was a normal kid, ran around, played, was really active... it wasn't until about 3rd/4th grade where my weight ballooned.. and I mean BALLOONED up. I mean gaining 80+ pounds in 1-2 years, and not knowing why.

I didn't over eat. I ate 3 meals a day. I just gained weight and was fat. Poor me, guess it was all my fault anyways.

I've lived with that for several years.

I've tried diet and exercise.. several times. Several diets, several different exercise routines, hell, for a few months I practically starved myself. Nothing. I could eat as much as I wanted to, or as little as I wanted to, exercise as much or as little as I wanted, but my weight would not be affected. At all.

I'm still the same weight I am as I was in middle school. MIDDLE SCHOOL. Bad/good eating habits and exercise habits and all.

A few years ago, I started to go see a doctor on a regular basis (had no insurance but someone was paying for me to go), and the doctor suggested I might have had this condition:

Hashimoto's Disease

Pretty much I have hypothyroidism, and that's why I can't really lose weight, or even gain much either. I've stayed at a constant because of this, and lack of medical care/proper treatment has kept me this way.

This is why medical coverage to everyone is so important.

In a society where autism is, what, 1 out of every 15 births right now, is it really that hard to believe that the heightened rate in obesity is also an abnormal defect? In most cases, yeah having a thyroid problem doesn't affect you that much, but when you start to gain unexplained weight starting at a young age, that should be a flag.

I plan on seeing a doctor this year, insurance or not, and getting back to hopefully losing weight. Still trying that exercising, but work is making it harder and harder to do so. But damn, I'm still gonna try.

So I say this: Sometimes, yes, maybe people eat a lot of food and gain weight, but most of the time, there's something wrong internally that isn't being addressed. Instead of "shaming" these people, we should be helping them figure out what's wrong and get to becoming healthier. Not to look good. Not to be "hot" or "attract a hot girlfriend/boyfriend". For health, that should be the sole reason to lose any kind of weight at all. And that's my reason.

Not coddling people with poor habits goes hand in hand with awareness of the mechanics of metabolism and metabolic diseases. I believe there are a ton of undiagnosed metabolic cases that are masked as "they just eat a lot of junk food". But, because there are so many people overweight with poor habits and no discipline, metabolic diseases are a convenient excuse.



Body image disorder is an actual medical condition that isn't necessarily tied to a person's appearance, but that is a non-sequitur. I haven't said anywhere that image disorders are directly linked to obesity, they definitely aren't directly linked to thin friggin Barbie dolls either.

How do you justify questioning established metrics of health like "Ideal weight range", Body fat %, normalized caloric intake, lolBMI, etc. They all have their weaknesses, but they are the metric the medical community use to determine overall health when combined with things like blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, heart rate, breath rate, blood oxygen, a host of hormone and chemical panels, etc. It's not like I'm making claims that stray from convention, here. Most people who are outside of their ideal weight range (overweight, fat, sedentary) are not a few pounds over because they have a metabolic disease or ethnic predisposition, they are FAR outside of it because they eat crap, don't move, and make excuses. And, again, that is the conventional standard, not some hairbrained idea I pulled out of thin air.

You're circumventing the point at hand in order to defend Barbie. Again this isn't about condoning childhood obesity. This is about questioning Barbie's psychological effects on children.

I'm not circumventing anything or defending Barbie, I'm saying, since my first post, that this energy and attention should be directed toward solving the problems that predominately cause those kinds of image disorders. Children being unable to attain the perfectly idealized form that Barbie has isn't a significant part of that issue, because it's not that they can't have a 22" waist, it's that they already have a 36" waist.

All of this.

I am a larger woman. I was a normal weight up until I was like one, then I got bigger. So much bigger that my mom ended up getting a hernia from lifting me...AT ONE YEAR OLD. I didn't look fat, but I was a lot heavier than kids my age and was even referred to specialist only to be told "oh, she's fine, she's just growing a lot faster than the average kid".

Fast forward to 20-odd years later, I don't lose weight fast, but I don't gain it either. The doctors think it's all "oh she eats too much". I wish that were the case. This year I have said that I'm going to get to the bottom of a lot of things, and one of the things I'm going to look into now that I've read about it is checking my thyroid levels since NO DOCTOR I've gone to has even thought about that as a possibility of all things underlying.

As for the plus size Barbie...they really didn't need to put the triple chin in there. That's just wrong.

Poor habits are always going to be poor when you ARE poor... when fruits and veggies SEEM out of a moderate price range to feed your family with. (not the cast most of the time, but still)

I honestly think we need a re-vamp in the SNAP program. No, I'm not calling out abusers and other things, that's a separate issue.. what I am saying is they NEED to cut out certain things in order to allow families to make meals.

Why get a box of pasta, tomato sauce and some veggies when for the same price you can get a pre-made meal and some jumk food!?

Hell, if you plan ahead and manage your money right, you can make some healthy meals for cheap.. just gotta put effort and some imagination to it.

I know a fair many poor folks and the issue is not that they lack access or interest (although it needs be said that fresh ingredients can get pricey very fast), it is that they lack time. I make a lot of things from scratch, up to and including fermenting my own bread, and that is a process that requires 4+ hours. Even a meal that takes an hour of solid work to prepare is a lot to ask of someone who is putting in long days and commuting to and from work by bus.

There's no silver bullet answer to the problem of obesity, in part because there's no one cause. Someone like Savael would like us to believe that it's all by choice, which is an absurdity. You are pressing that it is primarily a disease-vector problem (note: disease doesn't mean germ), though I'll argue it is less prevalent than you appear to suggest. Some of it is born of people having or acting as though they have a great deal of money to spend on rich foods, some of it is born of being so poor that only calorie-dense and nutrition-poor options are available (any college student should know about the carb-and-fat calorie bomb that is ramen noodles). Some of it is lack of exercise, but there are plenty of highly active people who are not slim, so there's definite truth to the adage that you cannot outrun your fork.

What doesn't help matters is that people have latched onto medical terminology without grasping its meanings. I imagine most people, when they hear the word "obese," do not think of someone who looks like, say, the third guy here. It certainly doesn't help that the second fellow, the overweight one, is thoroughly unaffected in any way by his weight, but diet companies, personal trainers, and Dr. Oz will tell you whatever lie is necessary to pad their wallets, to say nothing of those who fetishize anorexics.

But, either way, returning to your point, while it is true that there are problems with SNAP, they're not easily solved ones. Even barring the categorically bad options (soda and candy) is an imperfect solution. Then again, as I said, there's no single solution available.

the overweight guy may not be seriously affected by his size, but it's not about selling diet pills, he has an amount of additional body fat that his body does not need.

I think it's hilarious that people are actually bringing up thin shaming. Oh my god the fat people have over run us and now they are trying to make us feel bad about being thin oh whatever shall I do!?! so many lols.

Saev, I think that person felt sorry for you basically because it appears that you have some kind of need to go out into the world and try to convince people that your life is amazing and somehow significantly better than theirs. People that feel the need to constantly try to prop themselves up like that upon the bodies of others is just sad and usually an indicator that they really do care about how people see them. Please do go on about your amazing life though and how you don't care if any of us know about it! :) Seriously though. Keep on posting because you are highly entertaining.

Oh you guys... beauty is a societal thing. As early as 5 or 6 decades ago people were fawning over girls with a little meat on their bones. Ms. Monroe would certainly not be the sex symbol she was back then in the present day. Standards change but then again there will always be those that like whatever they like and society be damned! Healthy lifestyle and such aside if you think advertising, social pressures and shaming don't affect people than you are just fooling yourselves. There's a trend going around right now where girls are trying to get the most amount of space between their thighs like a competition or something. Seems silly but from what I understand they do some pretty stupid stuff over it. Many of these pressures are then again spread throughout people themselves onto others. Using your own personal experience can be an effective guage sometimes but if I have learned anything from this site is that there are people right next to you with some pretty radically different experiences and yours does not cancel theirs out.

Eating disorders on both ends are a real problem. I'm not advocating that people praise others for being too fat or too skinny but I am saying that shaming people isn't going to get you the outcome you desire. If you want people to lose weight making them feel bad about it isn't always the ideal path. Look at it from a managerial standpoint. Getting your employees to do what you want in the most efficient way sometimes requires different approaches. I also think its pretty laughable that some poeople claim they don't even care and people should do what they will with their lives but then take the time out of their day to shame another to idk make themselves feel a little better? It's certainly not doing much for anyone else.

Image does play an important role in society. It creeps into every aspect of your life and affects personal and prefessional relationships. Some people jusdge you right on the spot with nothing more than looking at your weight, features or what you are wearing. Just things to be wary of.

Taking a one size fits all approach is just lazy and innefective.

And? I'm pretty sure people realize they they have excess body weight as ya know its on them and all. He's not seriously affected by it! He knows about it already! But I feel the need to tell him about it anyways! Go lose that weight ***! It offends my senses to be around you fatty! Listen to me as I know whats best for you.

http://images.bluegartr.com/bucket/gallery/2700958237db770b0fea1f83c53467b2.jpg

That's more stupidity than anything. If people actually think you can get abs like that and not eat then they're just being ignorant lol.

People who want to show off their physique everywhere are as obnoxious as people who go around throwing their overweight frames as the appetizer to every conversation.

We get it, you're cut or you're curvy. How about talking about a topic other than a self-serving snapshot of your physical appearance? How about you both have a serving of humble pie, I hear its low in calories and tastes great.

Eh, to each their own. Many of those pictures I find to be related to communities where they show their results of certain routines or different diets and their results.

Showing off in the bodybuilding community (a circle for likeminded folk) is very different than the Facebook types who can't help but inform everyone of their gains over the past X time.

One is appropriate, the other is obnoxious pandering.

I think it's important to say that being proud of an achievement is noble but when you're throwing that ***in peoples faces in an attempt to 1up someone well, *** you.

Flav was right;

Was posted on the Spartan Race page; not on their regular wall lol. Fitness event etc.

I think somewhat here said it best. There's nothing preventing the address of both issues.

a.) The only impact on his life is some self-righteous tosser like you telling him that it has some impact on his life. Or maybe some anorexic *** not deigning to permit him to buy her a drink.

b.) For all that you demonize body fat, it does have a use. Above and beyond the fact that people with an "overweight" BMI live statistically longer than those with a "normal" BMI, fat is an energy reserve against future need. If you get sick or injured, it provides a necessary source of energy when you are disinclined to eat and digest normally. If you're physically active, it is a literal battery waiting to be tapped.

I'm a distance cyclist (which is sort of an oxymoron, almost no one is a sprint cyclist). I do not balk at doing dozens of miles. I ride on a bike that weighs 33 lbs. before I've added all my kit on it, which makes it twice as weighty as what most people ride. My tires are twice as wide, too, thereby adding to my friction coefficient. I ride with a bunch of friends, all of whom are skinny and on bikes that cost upwards of 4x as much as mine. One of them is a former professional racer who has kept very much in shape. And I can match or beat every single one of them because I have fat to convert during lipolysis. I'm carrying over 50 lbs. more than them on a slower bike and I destroy hills and devastate on straightaway sprints. None of them can figure out that it's because I carry a nutrient dense gel just under my skin. They have to eat like pigs during century rides, I get by on a handful of peanuts.

Does the average couch potato have very little use for 10 lbs. of padding? Probably. But to say he has no need is to suggest that circumstances will never change. If our body didn't need fat, it wouldn't grow it. Fat cells aren't cancerous: they exist for a good reason. Suggesting one has no need of them is a purely aesthetic judgment.

I'm not judging anyone, i stated a few facts. you are a professional victim, there is nobody demonizing fat or attacking fat people, grow up.

Have you not been reading this thread or your own posts? My wife has such a hard time finding clothing for herself because fat people!

I'm saying 2 is a less common size than 6+ in average retail stores, how is that demonizing fat people?

You pretty much blamed that on fat people though. I can't find that post for some reason. Also:


As well as that pretty offensive dig at the gay guy:
Is there a difference for gay men or straight men in this matter?

Maybe you're personally not meaning to but it definitely comes off as such. Never seen someone try harder to make sure someone else knows they're a fatty and going to die young when they're 10-20 pounds overweight. But if you really believe that statement to be true you really haven't read many posts in this thread or visited social media.

Isn't that what FB is about nowadays, anyways?

I didn't blame fat people for anything, I showed the difference between ideal and average. I am not genetically a thin person, I was fat for many years. I am thin because I work at it, eat healthy, and don't blame any of my shortcomings on metabolism or the media.

90% of the posts in this thread are WAH WAH WAH or trying to blur the lines between a healthy weight and obesity. MOST overweight americans aren't 10 lbs overweight and its because they eat a lot of garbage and sit on their butts all day. You want personal responsibility sentiment, take responsibility for your habits and the ones you teach your kids.

I didn't take a dig at a gay guy, would you think it was odd if a vegan had that kind of obsession with how you seasoned your steak?



I don't spend much time on social media, I couldn't even remember my facebook password if prompted, but I was talking about this thread, not the world or the internet.

Facebook is supposed to be a place to connect with family and friends not overly judgmental fuc......oh no.

I totally agree, but you hear a lot of fluff and support for changing Barbie, but school lunches counting pizza sauce as a vegetable serving gets no support. Since they only seem to be able to focus on one thing at a time, lets work on childhood diabetes first, then we'll worry about Barbie.

In America, you're *** if you're too skinny or too fat. Anything to sell more weight loss pills or CD packages where some cut guy screams at you for not being able to do 100 curls off the bat.

The women are laughing at you. Your mom would be ashamed. You're a complete failure now conform... for 3 easy payments of 39.95.

Which I honestly think is where a lot of the shaming and perceived persecution is derived. Advertisers have become masters of exploiting insecurities that people have about themselves and giving them hope through spending.

It has to go deeper than a kid on the playground calling you fat.