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Some parts of culture are easier to create than others. But losing weight? Endless amounts of effort is already spent towards this goal, it is deeply embedde

by petra 5y ago

Some parts of culture are easier to create than others. But losing weight? Endless amounts of effort is already spent towards this goal, it is deeply embedded in our culture(for ex. Fat shaming). I don't some large ad campaign would change that much.

cjbgkagh 5y ago
I think there is a rather powerful fat acceptance movement paid for by food lobbyists. Being fat is only socially unacceptable among my upper class friends, I think the middle class has leaned into it. I think being able to have healthcare discriminate based on smoking has been hugely impactful in cutting US smoking rates, I think the same should be done for being overweight.
- acchow 5y ago
  They've flipped "fat shaming" into "fat pride", which is the latest territory of "wokeness"
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > I think there is a rather powerful fat acceptance movement paid for by food lobbyists. Fat anxiety is driven by food industry propagandists (more marketers than lobbyists.) Most weight-loss companies are basically high-priced subscription food services with add-on food marketing and a hook that gets people to pay for that as a service. While they've become a big enough business too often be standalone, it's not telling that Weight Watches spent a couple decades as a subsidiary of HJ Heinz. > I think being able to have healthcare discriminate based on smoking has been hugely impactful in cutting US smoking rates Health insurance was never prevented from discriminating on that basis, even while smoking rates went through the roof. There's plenty of policies for which there is evidence of utility in cutting smoking rates, health insurance price discrimination isn't one of them.
  - cjbgkagh 5y ago
    That’s a fair point, they can already discriminate. I think the insurance plans being tied to jobs led to non-smoking workplaces, and a non smoking workforce, so I think it put employment options for smokers at risk. I think the stats may have been tied to if employers could discriminate based on weight. I forgot the name of the study but I was compelled by the evidence when I saw it. It did speak to my biases so I’ve left the door open to being wrong.
acchow 5y ago
> But losing weight? Endless amounts of effort is already spent towards this goal The government can educate on and encourage healthy eating and fitness. The goal is not weight loss. Weight loss is just a side effect.

by petra 5y ago

cjbgkagh 5y ago

I think there is a rather powerful fat acceptance movement paid for by food lobbyists. Being fat is only socially unacceptable among my upper class friends, I think the middle class has leaned into it. I think being able to have healthcare discriminate based on smoking has been hugely impactful in cutting US smoking rates, I think the same should be done for being overweight.

acchow 5y ago
They've flipped "fat shaming" into "fat pride", which is the latest territory of "wokeness"
dragonwriter 5y ago
> I think there is a rather powerful fat acceptance movement paid for by food lobbyists. Fat anxiety is driven by food industry propagandists (more marketers than lobbyists.) Most weight-loss companies are basically high-priced subscription food services with add-on food marketing and a hook that gets people to pay for that as a service. While they've become a big enough business too often be standalone, it's not telling that Weight Watches spent a couple decades as a subsidiary of HJ Heinz. > I think being able to have healthcare discriminate based on smoking has been hugely impactful in cutting US smoking rates Health insurance was never prevented from discriminating on that basis, even while smoking rates went through the roof. There's plenty of policies for which there is evidence of utility in cutting smoking rates, health insurance price discrimination isn't one of them.
- cjbgkagh 5y ago
  That’s a fair point, they can already discriminate. I think the insurance plans being tied to jobs led to non-smoking workplaces, and a non smoking workforce, so I think it put employment options for smokers at risk. I think the stats may have been tied to if employers could discriminate based on weight. I forgot the name of the study but I was compelled by the evidence when I saw it. It did speak to my biases so I’ve left the door open to being wrong.

acchow 5y ago

> But losing weight? Endless amounts of effort is already spent towards this goal The government can educate on and encourage healthy eating and fitness. The goal is not weight loss. Weight loss is just a side effect.