I know the NAAFA comes up every few months, it made a reappearance recently, but I have found a very interesting thread on one of their boards, I surf their site every now and again.
The post in entitled, “why are you fat,” and in it posters discuss their battles with weight and what they perceive to be the root causes of their condition.
Please don’t go over to the board in order to post abuse as that has been done to death in the past, and is really pointless, unhelpful and cruel to a bunch of people, a lot of whom, have problems with self esteem in the first place.
However if you are genuinely interested, I personally found it fascinating, the thread can be found at. It really is a good reader and offers a prospective on health that some, not all, forum members may never have thought about/encountered…
The thread begins in a jokey manner and the first post will doubtlessly annoy some people, but the thread does develop into something very interesting.
http://www.naafa.org/discussion/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000885
Hey, did you realize that you’re making a lot of people fat? You bitch! 
I don’t know, people. I read through the thread, and while there were some folks who had very straight-on views about the subject (“I’m fat because I eat too much and don’t exercise”), there were others who blamed it on “karma”, or who are saying that thin/medium-sized people should be the ones under scrutiny, or that there’s nothing wrong with being fat in the absence of health problems. (Try telling that to the guy sitting next to you in Economy Class…) And, of course, an abysmal lack of nutritional knowledge on the parts of some.
Sad.
Ah, our obesession with NAAFA. I went over to the board and read over the posts. In my view, the most valuable ideal to be taken from this entire escapade is the fact that everyone should be taken into accountability as an individual. You can group and categorize and type and code though it will not mitigate each personal lifetime. I go through an array of emotions when reading items of this nature. I can empathize, having been the quintessential “fat kid” in my earlier years and as such do not intend to be hypocritical. Yet there remains in me a piece that grunts “Get up 'n lift fatty, you still have control over yourself and can master your environment.” To quote Jules in Pulp Fiction “…but that ain’t the truth.” The truth is there are a myriad of reasons for being overweight and/or obese.
What then, is the emotional remedy? How are we supposed to feel about NAAFA and those who perpetuate the “Being fat and lethargic is good 'n healthy” paradigm? Again, I feel it is a case by case issue. If it an issue of biochemical imbalance/sustained injuruies/psychological dillemas, then the locus of control is somewhat distorted. In the event however, that a person is simply lazy, gluttonous, and argues genetics while gorging on toxic substances, they may kindly STFU and allow me to get through to the grilled chicken platter.
MBE: “Making senselessness when none existed before it. Since 1338.”
-Eric
“I think that there are so many reasons why people have gotten heavier within the last century, and yes I think a great deal has to do with genetics. Genetics, it seems, simply determines what your body weight can be”
"The Standard American Diet sucks. We starve ourselves to lose weight, then find ourselves desperately craving the high energy foods that are forbidden, so then we eat them, we don't eat enough vegetables, we don't get enough fiber, we don't drink enough water and then we wonder why we get sick. We eat processed foods, not whole ones, too much chemichal laden meat and dairy, and we wonder why we get sick."..."It'd also be nice if heathy food didn't cost 3 times what junk food costs."
The above were just a couple of quotes that caught my eye while perusing this thread.
I tell you, and I'm going to be VERY honest here. I'm so unbelivably goddarn peaved and tired of hearing alot of the "excuses" I have just read. While it was rather refreshing to see only a few regard their "genetics" as being the culprits to their obesity, there were still alot of the usual suspects of excuses for why one is obese.
And it's frustrating. It's frustrating since I do not berate anyone who is obese. But I would undeniably WANT to help. I don't feel sorry for a obese person, too. Again, I would love to help them see what it's like to live a life that is chalk full of options. Yeah, options. I can choose how far I can park my car from the grocery store, for instance. Since I can certainly walk a good distance even with heavy grocery bags. Seems rather trite? Not to someone who is morbidly obese. I can climb stairs with no problems. If I want to go for a run - I can. I have the energy to deal with daily stresses and continue on with a weight training session.
I read that thread and there's this veil. A two inch thick veil over everyone's eyes. A veil that allows them to live in this sort of "denial" - they're denying themselves from seeing the obvious. Yes, a physically active lifestyle is difficult at first. Yes, changing a lifetime's worth of comfort is difficult, at first. I KNOW it's tough. All this is coming from someone who deals with asthma.
I apologize for the rant. I applaud those that have come here to T-Mag, to the forum and have decided to change their lives and embark onto one that is physically active. I just wish the others there at NAAFA would see the light. Very frustrating.
I don’t know, maybe I am looking at it too “black and white,” but to me your fat/not fat because of willpower and nothing else. Like most of the people on this board, I used to live on an unhealthy diet of fast-food, processed snack foods and sweets. In fact, if a year ago you would have told me what I was going to eat today, I would have laughed at you. But here I am, eating a “clean” diet and avoiding the fast-food, junk and sweets.
Even if these people aren't educated about how to lose weight, they can quickly change that. There is plenty of good information online. But I have noticed, 99% of the time, if you tell a fat person that they need to change their diet, the response you will get is "I can't, I just enjoy food too much." We all enjoy food, some people just enjoy their health more.
I know that this post has good intentions, but there is always going to be some asshole that has to turn this into insult throwing argument. And to tell you the truth I like to read these arguments, because to see all of the insults people will give each other, it brightens my day. So who is gonna be the asshole?
sniff…sniff I think I’m gonna cry!
Actually, my favorite quote was “Maybe the Fat Fairy paid me a visit.”
Followed closely by "It also has a lot to do with karma and from my actions in a previous life, I understand why I'm this way."
The fat fairy?!?! Actions in a previous life?!?! I can't even respond to this without hyperventalating.
Maybe the “Fat Fairy” post was a prank. Like many things in life I think it all comes down to education. People need to be educated on how to eat, and the importance of exercise. These are not bad people or people we should hate. They are people who are lost, confused, etc. Also, there are some fat people who have been traumatized previously in their lives or in their childhoods, and they use their extra size to feel protected, on a subconcious level. Actually, I think the same is true for some bodybulders.
I, for one, would like to contact this “fat fairy” person to see if he/she knows the “muscle fairy” and would be willing to pass on my name and address…