“Fat” is NOT a four-letter word

FOSTER CITY, Calif. - July 10, 2015 - PRLog -- NAAFA, the premier civil rights organization dedicated to ending size discrimination in all of its forms, opposes the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) in its “Ban the F Word” movement. We agree that fat-shaming is rampant. Studies have shown that shaming and stigmatizing fat people will do nothing to positively affect the health of the populace and in fact serves to increase negative attitudes toward those same people.

However, there has never been a research study showing that higher-weight people prefer the terms “obese” or “obesity” to describe our bodies; in fact, research shows the opposite.  [Motivating or stigmatizing? Public perceptions of weight-related language used by health providers, R Puhl, JL Peterson and J Luedicke, 2012]

NAAFA and others in the size acceptance community have re-claimed the word “fat” as a descriptor. We are not ashamed of our fat bodies and oppose anyone that promotes the use of the phrase “persons with obesity” to describe fat people and being fat as being diseased. The way to eliminate fat-shaming and stigmatization is for society to accept that we come in ALL sizes.

Let’s take a look at the word for a moment. Fat has gotten a bad rap. It’s something that is essential to life for us humans yet has been used for centuries to manipulate people. Just what is fat?

Fat:
·        is part of the human body.
·        is a necessary part of the diet of humans.
·        serves both as an energy source for the body, and as stores for energy in excess of what the body needs immediately.
·        plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function.
·        serves as a useful buffer against a host of diseases.
·        is one of the three main macronutrients: fat, carbohydrate, and protein.
·        is used in the manufacture of soap, paints, and other protective coatings and in cooking.

As an adjective, it is defined as:
·        having a lot of extra flesh on the body: having a lot of body fat
·        having a full, rounded form

FAT:
·        is not a four letter word!

NAAFA calls for people to not only accept our differences but to embrace and celebrate them.

Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support.

On the web:  http://www.naafa.org