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There is nothing "wrong" with being fat, insofar as to put labels like "wrong" on someone's size automatically affects both their self-esteem and other people's perceptions of them as a human being.

Carrying too much weight can be unhealthy. For example, diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes and some cancers are far more common in those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 35. That's just a statement of fact. The heart is effectively an engine, and the more machine it has to run, the more strain it will be under. The crucial thing is to give it as much help as possible by limiting the amount of saturated fat in the diet, and making sure that it can run as efficiently as possible by taking plenty of exercise.

However, we live in a society with an unhealthy obsession with the young, thin and "beautiful". This inevitably leads to older or larger people being seen as somehow less valuable, which is deeply upsetting, and very wrong. Fat people are seen as somehow being out of control, or lazy, although or course they're only out of control or lazy in EXACTLY the same percentage as the rest of the population. They're just people, after all, so why should it be any different?

And I can speak from experience. I'm large, and will never be anything else. But I'm fit, and healthy. I can run and swim for miles and have always opted for the stairs rather than the lift simply because I don't like confined spaces. I don't eat processed food, and I don't like sweet deserts or indeed the taste of refined sugar. But I'm big. It's just the way I'm made. Deal with it.

So there's nothing "wrong" with being fat. But until we all appreciate that everyone has their own value, thoughts and feelings, the perception that there is something wrong with being fat will always be there.

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