Thank you fatpeoplehate for the knowledge and ammo I recently used to shut down a fatty in an online class discussion.  Question was "why do you think Americans don't exercise regularly." Here is my post on the discussion topic: Aristotle once said, "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society."  In a nation where 2/3 of the population is overweight and 1/3 are medically obese, this phrase starts to mean more.   One of the reasons for the fattening of this nation could possibly be the terrible food that is readily available to us at ridiculously large portions.  It could be the fault of educators for not teaching proper education and the results of neglecting your health. Perhaps it is because the average American has a life so full of activities that he/she can't find the time to do 30 minutes of exercise a day. I personally believe that tolerance and apathy in our society are why so few Americans exercise regularly and the nation has this obesity epidemic.  When everyone is fat, no-body is fat.  Tolerance towards unhealthy behavior like obesity is not shamed anymore.  In fact, in many circles (and not just fetishists) obesity is celebrated.  It is seen as a way to love yourself the way you are.  Pro-obesity folks have even co-opted feminism as a way to explain why they are obese and glorifying it.  There seems to be this overarching theme spreading in this nation that protecting feelings is more important that protecting lives.   I got a bit sidetracked but I feel very strongly about the obesity epidemic in this nation.  It is a huge burden on our healthcare system, our healthcare workers (and their poor backs!) and weakens our national security.  Her response (which was twice as long as her own pathetic post): While I agree that something needs to be done about the health issues of our country, I'd like to disagree that obesity is nationally accepted now. I personally live that fact every day. I have lost a considerable amount of weight in my efforts to become a healthier individual (for myself and my family) but to someone who doesn't know me, I'm still a large woman. Obese individuals are judged harshly and cruelly still, despite efforts to get fair treatment. In fact, what obese individuals are looking for is to just be treated like human beings. Its nobodies right to SHAME another human being and it’s my opinion that people are pushing the "pro-obesity" movement as a means to empower themselves after decades of being hurt. I personally believe that if someone feels strongly about something they need to find a way to positively bring change, instead of acting disgusted. My follow up: Shame is an important emotion that everyone should have at points in their lives.  Shame helps us take inventory of what we have done wrong.  Shame in ones actions or appearance gives a starting point to change.   People don't seem to have any problem shaming smokers.  People who smoke cigarettes aren't allowed to do so in public buildings.  In fact, they have to smoke many feet away from entrances.  Smoking is considered a very dirty habit and most people have no problem saying so.  There are anti-smoking ads on television.  There are anti-smoking ads on billboards.  There are numerous treatments available to smokers who want to quit.  Since smoking tobacco was found to be directly linked to cancer there has been a systematic shaming of cigarette smokers in this country and it drastically reduced the amount of people who smoke and start smoking.   Obesity is widely considered more dangerous to personal health than smoking.  Obesity has passed smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the US.   Yet, if someone were to tell an obese mother feeding her 10 year old obese child a full large size meal from a fast food joint that what she is doing is very bad for her child and could adversely affect his/her health for the rest of his/her life, that person is accused of shaming and is seen as the bad one.   Obesity is a real problem in this nation.  It carries with it a medical burden of just under 200 billion dollars a year.  According to generals currently serving, obesity drastically reduces the pool of qualified candidates for our armed forces, and thus is a threat to our national security.