National Weight Stigma Awareness Week - 23-27 September

Apologies for not blogging sooner.  Lets just say that breaking your ankle and sitting in a wheelchair for six weeks is just the first part of a lengthy process.  I've just come back from hydrotherapy and know that the rest of the day will be pretty achy and sore.  But enough about me.

As you'll see by the title - next week is devoted to awareness and the challenging of weight stigma.  Society as a whole judges people by their appearance.  People with excess weight are labelled as lazy, stupid and lacking self control.  And, sadly, people with excess weight label themselves as lazy, stupid and lacking self control.

STOP RIGHT NOW!

You cannot rate the value or worth of a person by their weight.  Overeating is a behaviour (albeit an unhelpful one), not a character flaw or personality defect.  We all have coping strategies - some strategies just have more obvious outcomes (you can't see the damaged liver of an emotional drinker).  The use of food to control mood is short term gain (because it works - briefly) for long term pain.  

So take the time in the next week (or right now if you feel like it!) and think about what prejudices you carry about either your own or someone else's excess adipose tissue.  Becoming aware of them is the first step in the process of change.

When you see that 200kg person in the street wolfing down a bacon double cheeseburger, don't think "what the hell are they eating?!"

think

"what the hell is eating them?"  

These are words of kindness and compassion to ourselves and/or those overweight people out there - because we are all worth it (thanks L'Oreal!).