If you take a look at the growing number of fad diets, eating disorders, and underweight models in advertising, it is easy to see people have become obsessed with thinness. Why? Because no one wants to be labeled fat. People’s understanding of the term “fat” has been reduced to a few rigid ideas, most of which are negative. The growing stigma on people associated with the word fat encourages people to use the term to insult and criticize others. When considering “fat” people’s appearance, many come to the conclusion that it is a consequence of uncontrollable eating of unhealthy foods. We imagine fat people gorging on fatty, greasy, processed foods, and seeing what such foods have done to them, we mark them as the culprits and deduce eating fat must make you fat. The overwhelming negative implications of the word fat encourage people to avoid and hate fat, a phobia that is damaging to both mental and physical health and perpetuates the use of fat as an indicator of inherent qualities. Despite how engrained this attitude is, it is important for people to be aware of the effects “fat” can have on thought and action, especially if we ever hope to make a lasting change in its meaning.
The number one definition of fat on Urban Dictionary, a Web-based dictionary that allows any user to submit definitions for both slang and formal words, is: “According to Hollywood, what you are if you are a female weighing over 100 lbs,” a definition approved by 10900 viewers and disapproved by only 2065 users (Urban Dictionary). The support for this crude definition reveals a lot about how our society understands and uses fat in a social context. This operational definition focuses on weight, without regard to age or height, both of which are important factors when considering an individual’s optimal weight range. A lot of the pressure falls on women, who are more frequently judged and objectified based on their beauty, leading to the common misconception amongst females that weight is the ultimate indicator of health and willpower, that the less you weigh, the healthier, fitter, and stronger you are. Kate Moss, an iconic model who has appeared on the cover of over 300 magazines, believes “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” (Selby). Her size zero figure brought her a lot of success and fame, setting an unfair and unrealistic standard for beauty and happiness. When celebrities, such as Kate Moss, promote skinniness over food and health, it sends the message that you will not feel good about yourself or be happy if you are not skinny. Their lifestyles are hardly representative of the larger society, and yet people still aim for the “norm” that they have set. These people and the industry they are a part of play influential roles in defining society’s notions of good and bad, which are nurtured and circulated by their followers. Those who are not part of the “normal” weight or size range are labeled fat, even if they are clinically not considered overweight or obese. The term fat now seems to encompass obese (clinically defined as individuals with a BMI score of 30 or higher), overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9), and even those who are at a healthy weight (BMI of 18.5 to 14.9) (CDC). The formation and wide acceptance of these unrealistic ideals glorify underweight and escalate the movement against fat.
On one hand, the negative overtone fat comes with can drive people to lose weight to unhealthy levels through extreme dieting and food restriction, but on the other end, it can also lead to social rejection and bullying that push people to overeat and gain weight. Seeing how fat people are victimized, people feel pressured to distance themselves from those who are considered fat in order to avoid being grouped with them and judged in similar ways. So they join the side that holds fat in contempt, fueling the hate they would hate to receive. Fat phobia has become so real that a Fat Phobia Scale was created to measure one’s weight bias. The most recent version contains 14 items that can be ranked on a five-point scale to measure one’s phobic attitude. Fat people are often stereotyped as lazy, unattractive, slow, inactive, weak, self-indulgent, shapeless, and insecure; to have no will power, no self-control, no endurance, and low self-esteem; to like food; and to overeat (Yale Rudd Center). People tend to think fat people are fat because they have failed as a person. This attitude extends to even professionals who are considered intelligent and esteemed. Research shows more than 50% of doctors perceive their overweight patients as lazy and unattractive, 52% of obese people feel discriminated against while looking for employment or a promotion, and overweight defendants are more likely to receive a guilty verdict (Ross). Even children, as young as four-years-old, shy away from making friends with overweight children (Ross). The discrimination they encounter can actually increase their likelihood of gaining weight; such bias feeds the cycle of weight discrimination that causes fat people to resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms (binge eating and avoiding exercise) that in turn cause them to gain more weight and experience more discrimination (Gholipour). The unfortunate effect the word fat has had on the treatment of fat people only makes the problem people are so eager to get rid of, fat, even larger.
Some people believe fat can be diminished by eating low-fat and fat-free foods, but are they actually healthier alternatives? These foods do not necessarily stop you from gaining weight. Despite the explosion of fat-free and low-fat foods on the market, obesity continues to exist and rise. The process of making low-fat food is more complicated than just removing the fat. Additives that are often introduced to maintain texture can be just as damaging to one’s health as the fat that was just removed (Pollan). Fats are often replaced with refined carbohydrates that are digested quickly, causing blood sugar and insulin levels to spike and fall, which result in hunger, overeating, and weight gain (The Nutrition Source). What people do not realize is that what matters is the type of fat we eat; “good fats,” such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, can help lower disease risk, but it is too often lumped with the “bad fats,” so people believe fat is fat and fat is bad (The Nutrition Source). People who are not fat like to believe they have better eating habits than those who are considered fat because they appear healthier, but in reality, our weight and size are not necessarily reflections of what and how much we eat. The label fat has grown to encompass foods and people that do not match the connotations associated with it.
Some are even encouraging the use of “fat” over “overweight” or “obese” because they believe shame will motivate fat people to lose weight. Anne Milton, the Public Health Minister of the United Kingdom, thinks speaking bluntly rather than being considerate of their feelings will do more for these people, as it will encourage them to take personal responsibility for their condition (Martin). Many think fatness can be eliminated if overweight and obese people just lose weight, but that is not easy to achieve, especially with everyone around them criticizing and humiliating them. A quick search of “fat” on Google images reveals memes making fun of fat people, fat people dressed in ill-fitting outfits, and fat people posing in unattractive ways; it is obvious people believe fat people are meant to be laughed at (Google). Using the term fat in such a demeaning way only gives the impression that society has accepted the validity of portraying overweight people as humans with lesser qualities and morals who deserve to be mocked.
However, some attempts have been made to challenge the stigma and reshape the definition of fat. The “fat acceptance” movement began in the 1960s, during which the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance was founded to promote the acceptance of people of all sizes and to improve the quality of life of fat people (NAAFA). More recently, ad campaigns, mostly aimed towards women, have been created to celebrate larger-sized people. People are trying to believe that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. H&M launched its “Big Is Beautiful” campaign with a plus size model of size 16, big news during a time when the average model size is 0 and plus size begins at 6 (Moss). Former model Katie Green launched the “Say No To Size Zero” campaign and started a petition to stop the use of size zero models and models with unhealthy BMIs in fashion (Selby). Many large retailers and department stores, such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lane Bryant, and American Eagle, are now offering plus-size clothing, so that larger women can feel and look good too.
Despite the few strides that have been made in changing people’s perception and acceptance of fat people and of the idea of fat as bad, they are rarities and only slight in comparison to how things could be and used to be. In 2002, a plus-size model was on average between sizes 12 and 18, but nowadays, most plus-size models are between sizes 6 and 14 (Lovett). The average American model size is a size 0 while the average American woman is a size 12 (Ferri). Half of women are a size 14 or larger, but most standard clothing stores only sell clothes in sizes 14 and smaller (Lovett). It is difficult to create lasting changes to the meaning of fat when “perfect” bodies are thrown at us from every angle and companies dictate “normal” sizes to end at 14. It is commendable of clothing brands for trying to create a positive image surrounding larger sizes, however, it is futile when ad campaigns are still dominated by smaller sizes. “Fat” will continue to hurt people of all sizes as long as it is associated with ugly, overweight, obese, gross, stupid, and lazy (Urban Dictionary).
Fat is a relative term, but people have unfortunately extended its use to describe those who are not overweight or obese, which can have dangerous consequences. Even though we each have our own opinion of what the ideal body size is, in general, our society has moved towards viewing smaller weight and sizes as the accepted standard. How does this affect the individual who was once considered average, but is now viewed as fat? If average people are being labeled fat, where does this leave overweight and obese people? The range with which the word is now used can be seen in how we use and respond to the word “fat” in social contexts: describing a wide variety of people of different sizes with the same scathing connotation of ugliness and worthlessness. It has the power to affect people emotionally and to invoke drastic action, whether to eat little and eliminate all fats until a desired weight is achieved or to eat a lot as a result of constant ridicule and discrimination. Ultimately, until people are educated on the damage using the word fat can create, “fat” will always be a derisive term that associates body size with the person within.