Confronting obesity
George Hook
First impressions take seconds to make and can last a lifetime. Experience should teach us the value of a considered judgement, but more often than not, the more we learn, the better equipped we consider ourselves to be to make a snap judgement.
The reasons for this are pretty self explanatory. It is impossible to ignore gut instinct when appraising another human being. The old mantra handed down from early childhood of ‘trust your gut, follow your instinct’ holds firm in later life. If instinct and experience rule the formation of a first impression, most of us are bound by what we see.
Appearance forms the primary layer of human conditioning. In an ideal world, physical appearance would be but just one of a number of assessment criteria, but the realities of an increasingly artificial society demand otherwise. As the world continues to move at an increasingly frantic pace, split second judgements can determine whether a person succeeds or fails. As unpalatable as it may seem, we are all slaves to our appearance.
Idealists will dismiss such a notion, but theirs is a rationale based on fantasy, not reality. If a slim, good looking woman walks into a job interview, where her only competition for the position comes in the form of a grossly overweight rival, who gets the job?
The rules of fair play suggest each candidate will be judged purely on the merits of their ability to do the job, but life, as we know, rarely plays out like that. Employers are subject to the same shallow human instincts as the rest of us and if physical perception is important to the person offering the position, they are more likely to come down on the side of what looks good.
Is this fair? Strictly speaking, perhaps not. But again, the notion of what’s fair and what isn’t is entirely subjective. The overweight candidate in the above scenario might plead discrimination for being passed over for the position, but an employer is really only accountable to the result of his or her decision.
In an increasingly artificial world, where image and beauty are immortalised as necessity, obesity is a distinct disadvantage. Those who trudge through life under the weary weight of a heavy load know only too well the emotional and physical toil that goes with indulging a bigger frame.
This is the twenty-first century and we are all aware of the facts. Obesity impacts on a person’s health, it limits mobility and in today’s society where stick thin is the proposed utopia for the masses, it just looks bad.
But because weight gain is seen as a choice rather than an affliction, sympathy for those caught up in the obesity epidemic is in very short supply. The negative connotations associated with being overweight are well documented and they are not limited to age or gender: ‘Overweight people are lazy. Overweight people care less about their appearance. Overweight people have issues with personal hygiene’.
These assumptions are branded as stereotypical and negative by the PC brigade and some consider it offensive to even air such views in public. But the very fact that people carry these thoughts around in silence only serves to force overweight people into confronting their own inadequacies. After all, a silent opinion is still an opinion, right?
Let me state my own personal view, Obesity is not a disease, its a lifestyle. People become overweight because of the choices they make.
In rare situations where ill health or an unfortunate accident prevents mobility, it is understandable that a person could temporarily become overweight, but in most cases, laziness is the excuse that precedes weight gain.
Ask a fat person why they are overweight and they are likely to offer a litany of wide ranging protestations: “It’s my glands. My metabolism is much too slow. I don’t have the time to exercise. My job means I eat at crazy hours. I don’t have the time to cook proper food etc etc etc. The honest answer is usually the least prevalent.
Obesity is a deeply emotive issue. Adding scorn to an already sensitive subject only leads to further fraction and while one side’s intentions may be pure, the recipient of advice on the heavy side might not want to listen.
Outside of the emotive argument, it is generally accepted that rising obesity levels impact on all of us. Hospitals beds and long waiting lists tell the depressing story of a society that has become too big and too costly to sustain. Obesity is the biggest contributor to heart disease, respiratory problems, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure and diabetes in Ireland. All of these are preventable with proper weight management.
The key to successful weight loss is not akin to discovering the secret of Fatima. Exercise and a balanced diet is the only route to a fit, healthy body. Cramming fat, sugar and fast food into the human system is a foolproof recipe for weight gain and poor health. We all know this, ignorance is no longer an acceptable excuse.
The stick figures that present themselves as ‘models’ in fashion magazines represent the other side of the coin. The balance, I believe, is somewhere in between. Ultimately, on either side, we are what we eat. And one never gets a second chance to make a first impression.
