by Juliana Murris

Created on: July 11, 2008

The Truth About Fat People and Skinny People

America just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and not just in population. Over half of Americans are fat. Now here's the question: do we feel sorry for them and try to help them, laugh at their largeness, or just ignore them? And for the anorexic people, here's another question to ponder: do we stick our tongues out in disgust at them, or do we leave them be to die at an early age? People will always be judged, wether they are skinny or fat, have short hair or long, gay or straight.

I believe that one of the reasons people are judged because of their size is the message they're sending to other people. With fat people, it's this: I don't care about myself to lose weight or eat properly. With bulimic people it's this: I care too much about my looks and not my health. Looking at people with eating disorders can be sickening. But personally, I think there might be another reason that people are either overweight or underweight.

Have you reached for chocolate after a hard break-up? Just like you, the obese people do too. Repeatedly. Some people overeat because of emotion, often sending themselves the message "I've had a hard day today, and it's okay to slip the diet once and a while". Dating plays a big roll in fatness or anorexia, being either "I have to be skinny to get good guys" or "nobody likes me, I'll just sit here and eat to get over it".

Personally, I don't think that regular sized people who take care of themselves should feel anything for the obese and anorexic people concerning their weight. Most of them are really nice people who care deeply about others (unfortunately not themselves). But as far as their weight goes, that is THEIR responsibility. Something that people don't understand is that people are not born fat or anorexic. Eating disorders are not genetic in any way. Everything is in the mind. It's pressure by peers, and mostly self-pressure. Anorexic people see themselves as being fat. Fat people think weight is just a number.

Also, a message to those with eating disorders: people don't feel sorry for you. Have you taken into consideration what you're doing for yourself, the message that you're sending people, and the result of your actions in the long term?

In my point of view, yeah, I kind of do think that overweight people should be banned from places like Golden Corral or Old Country Buffet. It's for their own good. A neighbor told me a story where a man so fat he couldn't walk went into Old Country Buffet and ate too much, and when the employees had to lift him into his car, he asked, "Can I have some extra dessert for the ride?" Needless to say, they didn't let him come back.

In conclusion, fat and anorexic people will always be judged, there's nothing around it. I'm not trying to send a message that says "keep on judgin'", but I don't think we should be making a big deal out of things like fat people going to McDonalds. Their cardiologists will though, when their patients shell out a couple thousand dollars when their heart stops from clogged arteries.

"Life is short, but shorter if you eat that bacon."

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