Fat acceptance... or not

This might be controversial, and I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. I just want to be honest.

There's a group called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

I agree with them to an extent. For example, I don't think we should hire or not hire people based on whether they are overweight. I also don't believe that the stereotypes about fat people are particularly true. I think fat people are intelligent, energetic, kind, and good in the same proportion that the rest of the population is. There's no reason at all to look down on them.

But here's my problem: I don't think we should just go "Yay, fatness. There's nothing wrong with it."

In my pretty-immediate family, there are at least twelve people who are seriously overweight. And I love them, every one. Most of them, if something happened to them, I would be absolutely devastated. And yet, they are at risk. Sure, they could get hit by a bus like any of us could, but they're more at risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes... In fact, several of them already suffer from health problems related to their weight. My grandmother just had the arteries in her neck cleared, because they were seriously blocked. My aunt just spent weeks in the hospital after a quintuple bypass after already having had a stroke. She's not even old -- only a couple years older than my mom.

Can you have a stroke, can you have heart disease without being overweight? Of course. But being overweight puts you at greatly increased risk. And, well, if it's a matter of eating better and increasing the amount of exercise you get, I would REALLY like those people I love to lose some weight. I want them to be healthy and be around for a long time. I'm not letting other types of self-inflicted harm off the hook: my dad's a smoker, and I've harangued him about it for years. In fact, the arrival of Peapod may finally be the impetus he needs to quit, as I told him flat out that he's not babysitting ever if he still smokes. Am I a tyrant? Sure, but it's because I love him and my child.

I also know that you can be overweight and healthy. I worked with a woman who probably weighed 250 pounds, but was solid muscle, ate well, worked out (had in fact been an Olympic-level kayaker)... and I can only imagine that though her BMI was high, her cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. were just fine. This isn't a black and white issue. You can be skinny and eat like hell and be at risk of heart disease.

Anyway, I struggle with my weight -- anyone who's known me for any length of time has seen my 45-ish pound up and down slide. And most of the time, I'm fat, too. And I'm all for loving your body. I don't want anyone reading this to think this is an image issue. I think many overweight people are absolutely beautiful, and I love my body, even when it's bigger. I just think that before we jump on a fat acceptance bandwagon, we should consider the health issues, too.