Fat shaming, Diabetes shaming, and James Corden

We need to be cheering each other on…not shaming!

People live with the burden of shame and self-blame, especially when it comes to their weight and chronic disease. It is not okay that people live with the shame and frustration of living with a chronic disease that cannot be cured and which others perceive as a flaw or due to a lack of willpower. I recently became aware of the complex emotions related to living with Type1 Diabetes and the shame and blame that T1Ds live with because of how people are so uninformed about this chronic, life-long disease. In a recent Facebook exchange a person living with T1D shared that “My concern is that the majority of the public still associates diabetes with obesity and lifestyle, and does not know there is more than one kind of diabetes. Most children with diabetes are affected with Type 1, and the condition is highly misunderstood. When ties are made generally between kids with diabetes and obesity, it makes me nervous for the T1D kids who do endure judgment and shame from others who don’t understand that it’s an autoimmune disease.”

We have to ask ourselves why it should ever be that important, for someone living with T1D, to make the distinction that T1D is not associated with obesity? Absolutely T1D is not caused by obesity. Truth is that there are kids with T1D who are also overweight or obese. But that is not the only point being made here. More importantly perhaps is that it tells us that fat shaming is alive and well and deeply scarring for children who are already challenged with another chronic disease. No one wants to be labeled fat because it has come to mean you are to blame for your condition or you are weak and have no willpower to correct your slovenly ways. Through the eyes of someone who has grown up with T1D we are able to see how brutal the judgment is for those children as well as kids who live with Type 2 diabetes and/or are living with excess weight. Clearly being labeled fat is the worst of all. No one wants to be associated with that terribleness…

Shaming is harmful. Shaming our kids to feel bad about a chronic disease is not only shameful it is scarring and can leave an open wound that lasts a life time as we can see from the words shared above. It has never been okay to shame others about their weight or a chronic disease they must live with. We do need to talk about how to manage our diseases in a positive and constructive way. This can and must be done in a safe and respectful way. Fat shaming can no longer be allowed…even from others who themselves live with other chronic diseases.

Here is what we need to be talking about…The growth of diabetes in our children has escalated . The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that from 2002 to 2012, incidence, or the rate of new diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in youth increased by about 1.8 percent each year. During the same period, the rate of new diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes increased nearly 3x more quickly, at 4.8 percent. The study included 11,244 youth ages 0-19 with type 1 diabetes and 2,846 youth ages 10-19 with type 2. By 2050 it is estimated that the numbers of children with T1D will triple while the number who live with T2D will quadruple.

James Corden addressed the issue of fat shaming in a humorous as well as insightful way recently on his show. He was calling out Bill Maher for his insensitive comments about the need for more fat shaming. As Mr. Corden points out, obesity is a complex issue and no one has ever benefitted from bullying!

Bottom line…fat shaming and weight bias has no place in a world where kids and adults are living with chronic diseases and working everyday to live life as their healthiest selves. We need to call out the shamers and support those who face each day wanting to manage their diseases and weight successfully. We need to be cheering each other on…not shaming.

We need to support those facing their diseases and weight each day wanting to live life as their healthiest selves.

Download Our Free eBook:
Emotional Barriers to Sustained Weight Loss Success

0

Weight bias is real...and very personal

I remember feeling different from a very early age. I made a joke of it saying “I was born big." In fact, I was tall from a young age and therefore bigger than any of the kids in my class, including the boys. I stayed the tallest until high school when I then shared being tall with a few others. My body developed early. I will never forget my second grade teacher having a meeting with my mom and telling her that I needed to wear a bra. Second grade! Then in fourth grade I got my period. All of this made me feel different; but what caused people to be cruel was my weight.

From about age six on I was slightly overweight...it wasn’t until after college and the Peace Corps I became obese. I recognized I was a very imperfect human from a very early age. It was made clear to me just how imperfect I was by how I was treated, the derogatory comments people would make about my size and weight, and the negative experiences I had because the world around me didn’t know how to include a big kid like me. I got the message loud and clear.

During second grade my best friend and I were picked up for lunch from school so we could be taken home and served “diet food.” Oh how I remember having to eat grapefruit and choke down calves liver. I hated every minute of it. My friend and I felt like flunkies... and we were only 7!

Probably the worst and most humiliating experience I had was when I was thirteen. My mom, out of apparent exacerbation and probably in hopes of shocking me into weight loss, took me to a maternity store to buy me clothes, including bathing suits, prior to going on a spring vacation. Describing my reaction as mortified doesn’t come close to how I felt. It seemed so wrong, and I was so hurt. But I deserved maternity clothes, right? After all, I was a fat person and deserved what I got.

www.ObesityCareWeek.org

As someone who has looked differently and felt differently I have always empathized with the underdog or those who have been ostracized or treated unfairly. I want to protect those who need protecting, fight for what is right, and take action to make things better. It feels wonderful to be part of a growing community of like-minded individuals. Each of us is taking steps to promote change and make a difference.

I started Livliga to make a difference and help people live healthier lives. In order to achieve this goal means supporting a world free of weight bias. Each of us deserves to live in a world where we can live our lives to the fullest in our healthiest form...mentally and physically.

National Obesity Cares Week is all about fostering a community that raises a unified voice rejecting weight bias while demanding those living with obesity receive the care, support and access to information that can make an important difference in their lives.

Like so many, my experience may have scarred me but it has also empowered me to not want someone else to be treated in the same horrible way. Each of us can make a difference. Each voice matters. There is so much good we can do together.

Let’s not have one more generation suffer from teasing, bullying, abuse or ignorance. Let’s help each child live well and live vibrant! Let’s start by making a difference now. Take the pledge.

You can join us and take action to change the way that you care about obesity by taking the Take 5 Pledge. The Take 5 Pledge is intended to inspire action by addressing the 5 reasons to care and encourage us to change the way that we care about obesity Visit www.ObesityCareWeek.org to take action and change the way that we care about obesity.



#Take5Pledge
#ItStopsNow
#metoo
#OW2017
#NOCW2017
#NOCWvoices

0