Why Slim People Don't Like Fat People
The UK Independent reports on an interesting "discovery":
...the immune system can be triggered into action at the sight of obesity because it doesn't like the look of what it sees, and associates it with infection.
The authors of the research (abstract here) believe that "obesity serves as a cue for pathogen infection".
Apparently - when someone sees an obese person - an evolved behavioral immune system triggers a sense of avoidance and disgust.
The researchers used various tests including word associations.
...people who agreed with comments such as "it really bothers me when people sneeze without covering their mouths" were more likely to agree with statement such as "if I were an employer looking to hire, I might avoid hiring a fat person". The greater the fear of disease, the stronger the negative feeling about obesity.
Personally I feel somewhat skeptical. I believe that prejudice is a learned behavior.
What do you think?
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There aren't too many things that should be a higher priority than your health -- maybe your childrens' health. Otherwise, eating poorly and choosing not to exercise means you will probably die young (too bad for those kids) and perform poorly at work in the meantime. Yes, I'm one of those people who is up unitl 11 or 12 every night so that I can fit in exercise, before I'm up again at 6 the next morning. But guess what? Exercising gives me the energy to have that kind of a schedule. I'm sure if I didn't exercise I would have a hard time with it too.
ReplyAnd congrats to anyone who is overweight and is actually exercising and eating right to try to change it. But those who don't care about their own lives or how their lifestyle affects those around them ... those are the ones to judge.
Judge not lest ye be judged.
ReplyI disagree that I (or anyone else) has the right to JUDGE anybody for something that does not effect my own person.
Judging does not help, here. It alienates people from the whole healthy lifestyle.
ReplyHow does disapproving of a person's course of conduct force them to REPEAT that conduct? Our whole legal system is based on the idea that if society stigmatizes an action, it will keep people from taking that action.
ReplyTo Heather:
My use of the term lazy to encompass everyone who is obese was wrong.
It has been my experience though, that those who I personally know who are overweight do not function as well as those who don't have the extra fat impeading their performance. Can you honestly say that someone 100 pounds overweight can perform 'certain jobs' as successfully as one who does not carry that baggage?
Getting down on the floor with kindergarteners for circle time, or teaching dance moves to the choir can be exhausting. Standing infront of 7 - 45 minute classes everyday, and putting on a show to keep the kids attention (music teacher) is a physical challenge. I know this past year, it was hard for me. I am speaking from my experience only, and unfortunately their lies a problem in contributing to a blog like this. You don't know me and my words can easily be misconstrued to mean something that perhaps comes from your line of thinking, which could be the furthest thing from my mind. My comments come from my experience only, which obviously is very limited.
ReplyThere is a guy who often rides the same bus to work that I do in the morning. He is very nice, but I always feel so bad for him when I see him. He's probably about 350-400 pounds and is in a wheelchair. He often pulls himself along with is feet, because his legs work perfectly fine. He just needs the chair because he can't stand for more than about a minute. And you know what else I often see him doing? About two or three times a week I see him sitting in that chair with a 12-pack of Pepsi or Mountain Dew (not diet). I just feel like yelling at him "If you stop buying that stuff maybe you'll get out of that chair someday!" I hope to God he doesn't have kids, because if it tortures me that much to see him on the bus, just imagine how they feel.
ReplyHave you been overweight? Perhaps you did not have this experience, but I certainly remember when I started running hiding and doing it only when no one was around and stopping if a car came by because I was embarrassed. I consider myself lucky to have started despite my embarrassment at all. You tell people fat is wrong, that's what you cause. I remember developing bulimia because I was so mad at myself because I was fat, despite the fact I could already at that point run 10 miles at a stretch. Fat is wrong, fat is ugly. Great message to send on. Also,
ReplyMy dear friend used to overeat. Her mom told her she was fat quite often, and eroded her self confidence until she believed she was fat and fat was all she could be.
ReplyFunny you should say that...I often see people staring at me when I'm at the store. Once, I had a cartload of groceries and the wheels on the cart were stuck, so I couldn't push it easily. I actually heard a woman say "She's so underweight and skinny that she can't even push a cart of groceries. She needs to eat some of what's in that cart." Never mind that I'm in really great health and she didn't know the situation. See why you shouldn't judge people? I put a lot of priority on my health too, but I try to stay out of other people's lives because you really never know the situation.
I agree that prejudice is more of a learned behavior. I believe the things that makes our immune system trigger are those that can really affect us through contact or other means. Since obesity doesn't do anything by looking or staying close to obese people, I believe that it's not an immune system response.
ReplyAnn-
ReplyThat's great that you can get 6 hours of sleep a night and still function. Usually for me it's not an hour of exercise means I'll get 6 hours instead of 7. During the school year it often means 5 hours instead of 6 or worse. And sure, exercising gives you more energy during the day, but I find that I'm a lot more tired at the end of the day than less when I exercise regularly. So what am I supposed to do, take C's in my courses so I can exercise and compromise my future in another way? Sorry, not after the amount that I've worked to get this far academically. Plus I'd lose my scholarship and get kicked out of school. But at least I'd have exercised. Never mind the fact that the stress would probably cause me to eat worse because for me, like many people, how well I eat is often tied to my level of stress. Things aren't so black and white. Stop treating them like they are and stop judging me. We all place things above our health every day. We've just incorporated them into our lives so much that we don't think about it. Live in a city? Drive a car? Get less than 8 hours of sleep a night? Wear nail polish? Use acetone to remove it? Every play any sports? Get off your pedestal.
It seems like you want to divide the world into "healthy" people and "unhealthy" people, putting whatever criteria matter to you into those categories. In reality, it's more of a continuum. Like you, I only sleep six hours a night and get up early to excercise. It works for me, but I also know that even healthwise it's a tradeoff. As for my boyfriend who has to deal with me falling asleep every night just as he's finishing his work and waking him up 2-3 times a morning? Clearly life is more complicated than my health and fitness alone, but I personally have decided that morning workouts are something I really prioritize.
Stigmatizing people means that someone like that guy who's so heavy he has to be in a wheelchair is cast off by anyone who doesn't know who he really is underneath it (and honestly, there's a lot of people - possibly myself included - who wouldn't bother to try). So if he's unhealthy/fat/lazy already, why not turn to something pleasurable he can still enjoy.
Working out and eating right are great, great things. Maybe they'll make you live longer or maybe you'll be out running and get hit by a bus. But do they automatically correlate with being good at one's job or being a good person? Not at all. Sometimes they give people the energy for those things, other times they take away from time for work and family and friends.
It's different for everyone, just like everything else is. Maybe it's acceptable to judge the habits of the people you care about, to try to get them to change with you. But to unilaterally decide that people you don't know are worth less because they *seem* to have inferior habits in one of many aspects of their lives? That's not accomplishing anything except making us mometarily and fleetingly feel better about ourselves.
ReplyOften it's about poor time management. It's pretty rare that someone actually has more on their plate than they can fit in a day. If they do, there's probably a lot of unncessary activity in there. When I was a junior in college my mom fell ill with cancer. I spent every day going between work, the hospital, her home, and my home. Got excellent grades too. And guess what? I worked out every day and still ate right. Go figure.
ReplyNot sure what those questions at the bottom really refer to ... yes, I live in a city. I drive if I need to leave the city, otherwise I walk or take the bus. Less than eight hours on weekdays, about nine or ten on the weekend. I rarely wear nailpolish, so no need to remove it. And I have played sports, though I usually prefer to run.
Ann, I think you make a really good point that it's often easier to make time for things when you're already busy. I know that I'm incredibly productive when busy and have had trouble so much as reading a book when I've been unemployed in the past.
It's not your habits in any way that I find fault with (actually they sound pretty similar to mine). It's the attitude. Yes, I eat healthier than pretty much everyone I know and get up an hour earlier almost every day to excercise. I also spend way too much time thinking about food, excercise, my weight and body image...things the people around me find boring. Hell, I find them boring. Yet I can't help but feel that maybe I don't have any claim to that superiority our culture lays upon those of us who DO do these things right (or look like we do) because I had a couple glasses of wine on Tuesday night or was still hungry after lunch today and ate three rugelach cookies or my foot hurt and I only ran 2.5 miles the other day.
The reality is there is no superiority that comes from this. Working out gives me energy, it relieves my anxiety issues, it keeps me in better shape on the inside and the outside. I LIKE eating healthy. It tastes good and it feels good. Do those things make me a better person? Does the fact that I'm no longer on any medications that slow me down (and in many people cause weight gain) give me the right to judge anyone else as less?
No. I take care of myself and I reap the rewards. Same thing if I do well in school or in a job or meeting people. I get the benefits of my efforts - I don't get precedence in all other arenas to people who haven't been as successful at those things.
I'm not saying change what you're doing. I'm just saying your judgemental attitude probably makes others less likely to want to emulate your habits, fantastic as they are. I know the more I go on about calorie content or pace per mile, the less other people want to have conversations with me. And it's not because they feel inferior - it's because I get self-rightous and boring.
ReplyHere's the problem. No one on this website can argue (reasonably) that your habits don't go hand-in-hand. The post about dogs and health mentioned the fact that healthier people might be the ones buying dogs in the first place -- and they probably are, rather than the other way around. I myself have thought about getting a dog because I think going for a run would be more fun with one. (And I like animals, for all those concerned about the tips at the end of that post.) Taking care of yourself and your health shows your attitudes towards other things. Making time for what's important affects every aspect of your life. If you can't take the time to grab an apple instead of a snickers, what does that say about the time you will take to proofread a report or return a phone message? There are corrolations between eating healthy and having a better attention span, productivity, and creative thinking.
ReplyThere are actually people who have some sort of medical condition that might keep them from being in OPTIMAL health, but there's a bid difference between that and morbid obesity -- which if anyone has bothered to read from the start of these posts, is what we were centering on (as opposed to those who are just moderately overweight).
I will not judge those who choose to be in poor health when they are out on the street and affecting my life little if at all, but you cannot expect me or anyone else not to take it into account when it DOES matter. Like when you're a child watching your parent kill themselves. Or you are an employer looking for a productive and successful employee.
I do agree that at the extremes, bad habits and their effects make it difficult to be productive in other areas of life. But there's so much accusation cast on those who are severely overweight (and so much automatic judgement of what they must eat, what they must be like without even knowing people as individuals) while ignoring the fact that there are plenty of people who don't take care of themselves who look to be underweight or even within a healthy weight range.
We're also so messed up about this as a society that a large portion of obese people don't realize they're obese and a large portion of healthy-weight and underweight people feel like they need to lose weight. We've put so much importance on this issue that it makes it very tough to handle it healthily.
I think the judgement slope is a very slippery one and I notice that for me it usually ends up with staring at the mirror hating myself for being obese (which I am nowhere near being, btw) and thinking I'm a terrible person because I ate Indian food for dinner the other day and can never seem to stop being hungry after eating a portion that nutrition guides tell me is acceptable.
Like I said, I don't want it to seem like everyone here is ganging up on you. There are a lot of people with very bad habits in our society. But I find the same tendency to judge present in myself, and it's from the same part of me that feels guilty every single time I eat anything other than, say, lettuce.
ReplyNice discussion between Ann and Entangled.
I wonder if this is true; it's hard to believe that a large portion of obese people don't realize they're obese. More likely, the denial going on is the effect of being obese.On the other hand, yes, I'm sure a lot of people stressing over weight don't need to. That's why I like the suggestion of the dietician I quoted above: we should focus on health and not on weight.
ReplyIt depends on what you mean as unnecessary. I try to spend some time every day just for myself. Spend some time calling people who live far away. Spend some time with my friends in the area. Those things are important in my life. Sometimes more important than working out for me. If I didn't have them, my mental health would suffer and THAT would make me bad at my job/being a student.
The questions at the bottom referred to health risks that all of us take without thinking about it. People who live in cities are at higher risk for toxins. Driving a car is dangerous. You could get injured playing sports or running. I'm not saying that health shouldn't be a priority. Clearly it should be. But health is a complex thing than you're making it out to be.
ReplySome people may have the feeling of disgust to obese people, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they acted upon the response of their immune system.
ReplyMost people have no idea what the word "obese" actually means. They think it means "too fat to walk, rides around on a scooter and has a fast food bill equal to the gross national product of a small country". I doubt much of anybody, unless they're paying very close attention, actually understands that it means "~30 or more pounds overweight".
Yes, they know that they're fat. But if you refer to someone who's in reasonably good health and isn't monstrously huge as "obese", they and people who know them will probably insist, "no! s/he's just overweight!" and people who don't know them (especially thin people) will think, "Translation: Housebound and gets cheeseburgers delivered by a bucket hung out the window. And is in denial about it. ZOMG big fat disgusting fatty!!"
Even most of the people in this thread are undoubtedly thinking "obese = those 400lb fatsos I see waddling down the street, ewww, how disgusting", not "30 or so extra pounds".
ReplyThat's exactly what I meant by that. I'm trying to be more wary of what I read in the so-called health section of the news, but that seems fairly believable. It's not that most obese people think that they wouldn't be healthier if they lost weight, it's that they think they're merely overweight.
I agree we should focus on health, not weight. But it's a lot easier to look at someone and judge them based on what they look like than to observe what the people around you are actually eating and how often and intensely they work out. When you think about how absurd it would be to keep an eye on people for hours a day to determine whether you find their habits acceptable or not, you realize that a lot of this is judging people not based on health or habits, but appearance.
Yes, when it comes to people we know and care about, people who we can see starting to suffer the health effects of their habits while their children are still young or friends who have stopped taking care of themselves in other ways as well, then it's caring about their health. But I feel like when we're making this judgement on random strangers on the street or coworkers we're barely acquainted with, "looking out for their health" is usually just an excuse.
ReplySomeone who is not in good shape cannot perform certain jobs as well as someone who is in good shape.
It's just hard to base completely on weight. My SO is morbidly obese; and while he is not in good shape-- he still can go on a 12 mile moderate hike... I have thin and healthy weight friends who almost died when I dragged them on a 6 mile moderate hike.
The other problem is, it is only certain jobs where you see the delineation. If someone is, for example, in IT as my SO is-- he does fine working 80 hours a week at the computer. Better than I could, in fact, because I need more sleep to support my activity level!
I understand that you are not trying to be all inclusive; and that you are basing on personal experience. Please do not take it as an attack. I just feel it's important to rethink our prejudices and even the way we say things to help stop the misconceptions from gaining hold.
ReplyHey man I'm not the skinniest chick in the world... I'm pretty overweight but I got lucky as I carry it pretty well... But weight is still weight and it still doesn't make me look my greatest. I've tried, Atkins, Slim Fast and hey even just eating healthy! I don't get much activity in a day (hey man I'm more of the music/writing person) which is why I'm doing 30 minutes or more on the Elliptical each day... And Man... I just wasn't made to lose weight. Nothing works for me and the reason is my incredibly slow metabolism. It runs in my family, both sides... I have the metabolism of an elephant. But hey... I keep trying because maybe someday somethin' might work.
As for skinnies hating chubbies and vice versa.... Can't we all just get along? Skinny people (hey not all of you all... Just the snobby ones) just need to learn to chill and get off yer high horse. You are not better than anyone. And you are especially not better because you are healthy. People are people, man. And chubbies... Man I'm in the same boat and I hope that you all can lose the weight too... If you don't care about the weight and have more important things in your life... Rock on. Skinnies... If you ever just gave a chubbie a chance you may find them to be the coolest person in the world. It's the inside that counds people, please... I'm done here man I'm gonna go excersize...
Peace to my fellow chubbie strugglers, to people who are chubbie and dig it... To people who are thin just because they are, to people who are thin because they achieved it... And even to those health freaks... keep doin' what your doin' and if you don't like it I wish you all the power to change it.
Some things are just more important than body image. Infact, many things...
As I said... Excersize time...
Peace.
ReplyApropos prejudice is a learned behavior --
there are several hidden bias tests that you can take online at http://www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/ (there, click on the "Project Implicit's website" link). They are Implicit Association Tests (IAT) and take max. 10 minutes each.
One of them is a Weight IAT that finds out if you subconciously prefer thin over obese people, even if you deliberately try to avoid acting on this prejudice.
I was initially very surprised by my results (strong preferation of thin over obese people), but after some thinking, it does make sense as I have been struggling with my weight for all my life. And I dare say that probably no reader of this blog will have a "neutral" result in their test ;-)
ReplyCan you ever have too many good, decent people in your life? Why would anybody hate or dislike someone for being fat? That is a personal struggle, not a character issue. Everybody has some imperfection, whether it's being a slob or being a sociopath. I can think of about 50 flaws that are worse than being overweight--being a liar, being too controlling, being too irresponsible, etc. Things that would actually affect a relationship between two people. I have great friends who are overweight. It would be a complete waste not to have these good people to love over something stupid like that!
ReplyInteresting discussion. Maybe their discovery didn't involve a lot of people. I think this reaction is not the same to all slim people because we know that some slim people have fat friends.
ReplySorry Fat isn't a race. I used to be in the Marines and I have wrestled my whole life. In the marines I would rarely see a fat person. Then I go out into civilian world and I see slobs all over the place. My life revolves around fitness. So tell me why I should accept them and not be disgusted? They don't care enough about their health.
ReplyYou shouldn't of have admitted that you were a MORINE! It doesn't take brains to be a Morine. HOO RAH I hated that saying when I was around the stupid Marines and I still hate that saying. That's the only word that the Marines are capable of learning. Want to bash fat people I will bash the Marine Corp. Just a bunch of bald headed men running around a base yelling hooRAH. They couldn't teach you anything else because your brain capacity couldn't handle anymore information than HOORAH
GO NAVY
ReplyAre you a troll? Because this has already been discussed. You don't know someone who's 25 lb overweight is unhealthy just by looking at them, any more than you know someone of a normal weight is healthy just by looking at them. The normal weight person might be more unhealthy.
ReplyIt's just ignorant to say you don't like some group for a blanket reason like that.
Cool test. Took me a while to get to the fat/thin one though.
Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between Fat People and Thin People.
Actually, that's most my results so far though... no preference.... although, I associate female more with family and male more with career (not a surprise given that I was raised with a SAHM) and I associate Coke with good more than pepsi (live in Atlanta)
Reply:D
To all the fat-haters: This kind of stuff just irritates the crap out of me. Some people see overweight or obese people and right away think they must be lazy, unhealthy, gluttonous, etc., conjuring up visions of laying around eating cake, cookies, chips and loads of fried food every day.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe - just maybe - that fat person who disgusts you so much has some medical issues which cause them to be fat, or at the very least prevents them from losing weight?
I have severe hypothyroidism. I often joke that I can smell food and gain weight, but it's not too far from the truth. My metabolism is extremely slow and although I take thyroid medication, my TSH levels are still quite high. I also have other hormonal issues that make it very difficult to lose weight, even though I eat rather healthy food in average-size portions. Add to that a bad back which makes it hard to work out, and well, yes I am obese.
I don't eat fried and/or fatty food - most of my protein comes from lean chicken breast or turkey breast. I eat my veggies and I snack on fruit, yogurt, soy milk smoothies, whole grain pretzels and other healthful things. I am not a saint; I mean, I do splurge, but I keep my splurges small and limit them to Sunday evenings or a holiday or birthday. Unfortunately I am still obese.
I don't like being obese and I would love to be much thinner. I have tried diet after diet after diet - Weight Watchers, South Beach, Atkins, the Zone. I've been on diet pills and crazy diets where I was not allowed to eat more than 500 calories a day. Nothing has worked so far. That doesn't mean I will stop trying, because I won't. I know this will be a lifelong battle.
But I am relatively healthy - I do not have heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure - nothing associated with being overweight or obese. The medical problems I have are problems a normal-weight person could easily have, and do.
I am not lazy, I am not a slob, I do not walk around with fried chicken grease dripping from my chin wearing a t-shirt with stains from yesterday's fat-filled binge. I am attractive, stylish, fashionable. I am smart, intelligent, industrious, creative. I have wants, needs and desires. I have hopes and dreams. In other words, I am just like anyone else.
All I am saying to the fat-haters out there is, please think twice before stereotyping all fat people as lazy fried-chicken eaters. We're not all like that. We're just normal people with many of the same life goals as anyone else. And just because we are overweight or obese doesn't mean we deserve to achieve those goals any less than you.
ReplyWell....this seems to be a very deep subject.
ReplyAs for skinny people hating fat, I don't think this is in every case. I am fat and have been all my life. I have been married for 30+ years, and have 3 great kids and 5 grandchildren. I have NEVER been lazy or been turned down for a job because of my "obesity". I guess that people will say I've been lucky...No, I a just happy with the way god has made me. I don't work out, but, I'm very active with my family, American Legion, Moose Club and sports with my children. As for all the stero-typical judgements..you all have a lot to learn. "Hate" is taught, by the not knowing crowd, because of the unknown. I don't not like thin people or heavy, I take them as they are, and I think other people should do the same. Please remember that there is only ONE judge, and we all will be judged at the end, so take notice of yourselves and act accordingly.
One more thing...some people are heavy through no fault of their own, and I'm sure thin people the same. Just like everyone, and don't have pre-conceived notions about them until you get to know them, then make your own thoughts on how they are, and act accordingly. If we all did this we would be better for it!!
I just don't like seeing people overeat. (fat or not) I hate going into buffet resturants (I rarely go) because I see people literally falling over themselves to pile their plates high. That is a turnoff. I do think it is genetic for some people to be able to turn down food. I see kids who, when they are hungry, you can't get them to eat anything. Then, there are other kids, who, when they eat, they always ask for seconds. I also know people who need food when they are stressed, and some who literally can not eat when they are stressed. I think it boils down to the choices we make when we put something in our mouth. I know people who are overweight/obese, but I like them because they are cool. I know people who are skinny who I avoid because of their personality. Someone not liking someone just because they are overweight is wrong. However, someone not liking to be around a person because they are always eating, talking about food, depressed about their weight, or just not a fun or positive person is perfectly fine.
ReplyYeah, it bothers me when people sneeze without covering their mouths because that's disgusting, but I have nothing against people that are overfat. The article is stupid.
Replyfat or skinny, we are all the same on the inside!
ReplyThank you! VERY well said.
ReplyIt means more than 30 or more pounds overweight. A body builder at 250 pounds would then be considered obese. You have to take into account fat percentage as well. The BMI calculator is only ONE way to measure obesity, and it is NOT inclusive.
ReplyObese people have a disease. Similar to alcoholism, drug abuse or anorexia. Doing something to yourself that you are unable to get control of that you know is bad for you. The obese person and the anorexic cannot hid their problems in public. Too bad alot people treat obese persons like shit.
ReplyVery well said.
ReplyJohn Smith
Wow! I have the same stats, but I never really thought of myself as being slim. I remember about a year ago I lost ten pounds (and then gained them all back! Stupid Trail Mix!), but I still didn't feel thin. While I acknowledge that I'm not obese or overweight, I still don't feel comfortable with my own body, and am constantly dieting in order to lose weight. I can see how overweight and obese people can be discouraged. It's not that they're neccesarily lazy or just don't care, it's just that after trying so hard, and even losing a fair amount of weight, they're still seventy pounds overweight. Honestly, if I were to wake up tomorrow 70 pounds heavier, I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to lose them. It's a very scary thought, but it's true. If you let yourself go it's hard to get yourself back again.
ReplyYou know something. I don't like slim people either. As far as I am concerned, most of them can go to hell. They are arrogant, conceited, self centered, vengeful, miserable and mean. Fat people are generally humble, honest, happy-go-lucky, kind, generous and forgiving. I have lost considerable weight and am now mildly overweight. No matter what size I am, I will never change my personality I gained as an overweight person. If I had been slim, I would no doubt had a nasty streak in me too.
ReplyFor Nancy B.
I also have an underactive thyroid and have had it since birth, was always skinny as a child (infact I would get called anorexic at school, so maybe underweight at the time!), but as the time went on, and I was in charge of my eating & drinking habits, the weight has crept on, and boy, is it difficult to lose!
Last year it took me 7 months to lose 7kg, I was eating so healthily and going to the gym 5+ times a week - you can imagine how frustrating it was, especially since I was doing everything right and pretty darn healthy to boot. Perhaps I wasnt eating enough and exercising too much looking back but my metabolism is also non existent. Arrgh.
There are skinny people who are unhealthy or 'fat skinny' is the term I have heard, so to me right now all that matters is that I am healthy & eating the right foods, doing the right amount of exercise (and I mean for me, not worldwide guidelines!) - and reducing my body fat % and measurements, not just relying on the scales.
Depression is a symptom of hypothyroidism so that is something else I battle with, diet & exercise really helps but also the last thing I feel like doing when I feel like that.
Life is tooooooo hard. haha :0)
ReplyHi, Ms London,
ReplyAn underactive thyroid is definitely a problem. If you hav one, you are going to feel tired all the time and put on weight. My wife had the opposite problem, and had an overactive thyroid. She did become underweight at 55 kg for a 5' 9'' woman. She is also in her late 60s. She recently took a radiation pill to reverse the condition and make the thyroid underactive, like yours is. The doctors prescribe pills to keep the thyroid normal. She must take these for the rest of her life. She quickly put on 10 kg, eating lots of chocolates, and at 65 kg is a "normal" weight. I am sure that you too can have your thyroid "tamed", and then you will probably find the exercise and minor eating changes. (for me, some extra walking and a bit less cheese on my pizzas and cutting out croissants and butter bread worked wonders).
I think that genetically we ARE inclined to have prejudice against those we perceive as unattractive. It goes to the whole suitable mate thing, BUT I think that what we perceive as attractive/unattractive is largely a learned behavior influenced by family, society and other factors.
Reply