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Fat acceptance movement

The fat acceptance (FA) movement is a social activism initiative aimed at combating discrimination against individuals who are overweight or obese. Advocates within this movement highlight the various forms of prejudice that these individuals face, including barriers to employment, inadequate healthcare, and societal pressures that elevate thinness as the ideal standard of beauty. They argue that such biases contribute to significant mental health issues, including low self-esteem and anxiety, as well as socioeconomic disadvantages. The movement's supporters often cite statistics indicating that a substantial percentage of people experience weight discrimination, which can lead to further stigmatization of larger body types.

Opposition to the FA movement primarily stems from concerns regarding the health implications of obesity. Critics argue that promoting acceptance of larger body sizes could overlook the associated health risks, such as an increased likelihood of chronic diseases and reduced life expectancy. Public debates surrounding the movement have been amplified by high-profile incidents, such as controversies involving airline policies for larger passengers and media representation of plus-sized models. As global obesity rates continue to rise, the discussions surrounding the fat acceptance movement and its implications for health and society are likely to persist, reflecting a complex interplay of cultural attitudes, health perspectives, and individual rights.

Full Article

The fat acceptance (FA) movement refers to broad-based social activism that seeks to end discrimination against overweight and obese individuals. Advocates in the FA movement allege that overweight and obese individuals face various forms of subtle and overt prejudice, discrimination, and unfair treatment due to their body size. Examples of this discrimination include the higher costs of plus-sized clothing, higher rates of job discrimination against overweight and obese individuals, lower-quality health care services, and general social attitudes and cultural norms that value thinness and fitness as ideals of beauty—particularly with regard to standards of female beauty. Supporters of the FA movement claim that these norms and standards lead to lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression and anxiety, reduced career opportunities, wage disparities, and poorer health care for overweight and obese individuals.

The FA movement has generated sharp criticism from those who point to the numerous health risks associated with obesity, because several prominent advocates within the FA movement have downplayed or denied the negative health effects of obesity. Critics of the FA movement argue that instead of attempting to make society more accommodating of overweight and obesity, more support should be given to overweight individuals to lose weight and improve their physical fitness.

Background

The rate of obesity for adults worldwide has more than doubled between 1980 and 2022, while the rate for adolescents in the same time frame has quadrupled. A person with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 or higher is considered to be overweight, and a BMI of 30.0 or higher is considered to be obese. A person with a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 43 percent of adults worldwide were overweight and 16 percent were obese in 2022, meaning that one in eight people worldwide were living with obesity. Although obesity was once prevalent only in high-income countries, it is now common in low- and middle-income countries as well, and a majority of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.

In 2022, the countries with the highest obesity rates were Tonga and Nauru, each with over 70 percent of the population living with obesity. The obesity rates of countries in Europe and the Americas are considerably lower but still relatively high. According to the WHO, the United States had an obesity rate of 42.9, while the obesity rate was 36 percent in Mexico, 36 percent in Argentina, 28.7 percent in the United Kingdom, 31.8 percent in Australia, 19.2 percent in Spain, and 28.1 percent in Russia. According to the Centers for Disease Control, between 2017 and 2020, more than 100 million adults in the United States were obese and more than 22 million adults were severely obese.

The surge in worldwide obesity rates is fueled by a dietary transition in many nations toward high-calorie foods that contain large amounts of simple carbohydrates, sugars, and fats, combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was founded in 1969 as a self-described civil rights organization that, according to its website, "works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through advocacy, public education, and support." NAAFA’s motto is, "We come in all sizes."

Overview

NAAFA and other proponents of the FA movement argue that overweight and obese individuals face psychological stresses and other forms of discrimination stemming from social attitudes that stigmatize fatness. For example, NAAFA claimed that in 2019, 34 million Americans were discriminated against because of their body size. The organization also points out that weight discrimination can result in psychological problems, stemming in part from a popular belief in American society that being overweight or obese reflects individual failure and immorality.

One of the most publicized aspects of the FA movement has been its contentious struggle with the airline industry regarding policies that charge obese travelers for an additional seat if they cannot fit into a standard seat. This issue has resulted in negative publicity for Southwest Airlines, which has been particularly aggressive in its enforcement of requiring "customers of size" (the company’s official term for overweight passengers) to either purchase additional seating (with the option to request a refund for the cost of a second or third seat after the flight) or face removal from the flight if the flight is overbooked. Southwest Airlines has said that its policy is in place to prevent customers of size from encroaching on the space of other travelers. One highly publicized example of this policy occurred in April 2013, when a Southwest employee demanded that a 340-pound passenger on board a flight from Chicago to Denver remove himself from the plane; although the man was later allowed to fly, the flight was delayed by thirty minutes. Actor and movie director Kevin Smith, who also weighs more than 300 pounds, was kicked off a Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, California, in May 2011. Southwest Airlines eventually apologized for the incident, but only after Smith described his experience on social media and his fans expressed their disapproval of Southwest’s policy. NAAFA has expressed its disagreement with Southwest’s "customer of size" policy, along with similar policies implemented by other airlines, since 2002. Southwest has defended its policy, saying, "If a customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement."

In the spring of 2016, Sports Illustrated found itself thrust into the midst of debates over the FA movement when it released its annual swimsuit issue that featured a cover image of plus-sized bikini and lingerie model Ashley Graham. While the inclusion of Graham, a size-16 model, was praised by many who saw the move as an important step toward acknowledging a wider variety of body sizes and shapes, others criticized Sports Illustrated for glorifying an overweight model and serving to legitimize unhealthy body types in society. Former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs was particularly critical of the magazine’s photo shoot of Graham. Graham had previously faced similar criticism and opposition when she appeared in a lingerie commercial for the plus-sized clothing retailer Lane Bryant in 2010.

For decades, retail and apparel brands have faced criticism from the FA movement for only modeling clothing on petite and thin models. However, around 2010 many brands began modeling their clothing on plus-size models and also began expanding their inventory to include a wider variety of size options. Eventually, this movement became known as inclusive sizing. The inclusive sizing movement is recognition that larger sizes are not a niche market and such options should be available in-store and online. In 2015, the clothing brand Universal Standard was founded by Alexandra Waldman and Polina Veksler to provide high-quality clothing for women of all sizes. The brand is known for its size-inclusive policy and prides itself on redefining retail sizing. The company has collaborated with many retailers, such as J.Crew, Rodarte, and Adidas, and is sold at Nordstrom. Despite this progress with mainstream retail companies, though, luxury and high-end fashion brands have been criticized for not following the trend of size-inclusivity.

Critics of the FA movement point out that being overweight or obese drastically increases a person’s risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and more than a dozen types of cancer. A 2014 study by the US National Institutes of Health found that obesity is strongly correlated with premature death and that class III obesity could shorten a person’s life expectancy by up to fourteen years. Critics allege that any efforts to increase social acceptance of overweight and obesity poses serious risks to public health. However, despite the increased health risks associated with overweight and obesity, such patients often have difficulty finding quality health care services, with research showing that doctors often spend less time with overweight and obese patients and are less likely to refer them for diagnostic tests. With the global obesity rate increasing at a steady rate, it appears that the controversy surrounding the FA movement will continue to intensify in the coming years.


Bibliography

“Adult Obesity Facts.” Obesity, Centers for Disease Control, 14 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult-obesity-facts/index.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

"Campaign for Size Freedom." National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, 2024, naafa.org/sizefreedom. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Emmerich, Samuel D., et al. “Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023.” NCHS Data Brief, no. 508, 2024. dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/159281. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Flegal, Katherine M., et al. "Trends in Obesity among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014." JAMA, vol. 31, no. 21, 2016, pp. 2284–91. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.6458. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Howland, Daphne. “The Plus-Size Era Is Over before It Began.” Retail Dive, 11 Feb. 2019, www.retaildive.com/news/the-plus-size-era-is-over-before-it-began/547938/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

James, Dani. “Universal Standard Co-Founder Alexandra Waldman Dies.” Retail Dive, 14 Sept. 2023, www.retaildive.com/news/universal-standard-co-founder-alexandra-waldman-dies/693679/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kendall, Erika Nicole. "If the Average Woman Is ‘Plus-Sized’, Why Doesn’t Our Fashion Reflect That?" Guardian, 26 Sept. 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/26/average-woman-plus-sized-fashion-doesnt-reflect-that. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kolata, Gina. "Why Do Obese Patients Get Worse Care? Many Doctors Don’t See Past the Fat." New York Times, 25 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/health/obese-patients-health-care.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

"NIH Study Finds Extreme Obesity May Shorten Life Expectancy Up to 14 Years." National Institutes of Health, 8 July 2014, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-extreme-obesity-may-shorten-life-expectancy-14-years. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

“Obesity and Overweight.” World Health Organization, 1 Mar. 2024, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Phelan, S. M., et al. "Impact of Weight Bias and Stigma on Quality of Care and Outcomes for Patients with Obesity." Obesity Reviews, vol. 16, no. 4, 2015, pp. 319–26. doi:10.1111/obr.12266. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Phelps, Nowell H., et al. “Worldwide Trends in Underweight and Obesity from 1990 to 2022: A Pooled Analysis of 3663 Population-Representative Studies with 222 Million Children, Adolescents, and Adults.” The Lancet, vol. 403, no. 10431, 2024, pp. 1027-50, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02750-2/fulltext. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Full Article

The fat acceptance (FA) movement refers to broad-based social activism that seeks to end discrimination against overweight and obese individuals. Advocates in the FA movement allege that overweight and obese individuals face various forms of subtle and overt prejudice, discrimination, and unfair treatment due to their body size. Examples of this discrimination include the higher costs of plus-sized clothing, higher rates of job discrimination against overweight and obese individuals, lower-quality health care services, and general social attitudes and cultural norms that value thinness and fitness as ideals of beauty—particularly with regard to standards of female beauty. Supporters of the FA movement claim that these norms and standards lead to lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression and anxiety, reduced career opportunities, wage disparities, and poorer health care for overweight and obese individuals.

The FA movement has generated sharp criticism from those who point to the numerous health risks associated with obesity, because several prominent advocates within the FA movement have downplayed or denied the negative health effects of obesity. Critics of the FA movement argue that instead of attempting to make society more accommodating of overweight and obesity, more support should be given to overweight individuals to lose weight and improve their physical fitness.

Background

The rate of obesity for adults worldwide has more than doubled between 1980 and 2022, while the rate for adolescents in the same time frame has quadrupled. A person with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 or higher is considered to be overweight, and a BMI of 30.0 or higher is considered to be obese. A person with a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 43 percent of adults worldwide were overweight and 16 percent were obese in 2022, meaning that one in eight people worldwide were living with obesity. Although obesity was once prevalent only in high-income countries, it is now common in low- and middle-income countries as well, and a majority of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.

In 2022, the countries with the highest obesity rates were Tonga and Nauru, each with over 70 percent of the population living with obesity. The obesity rates of countries in Europe and the Americas are considerably lower but still relatively high. According to the WHO, the United States had an obesity rate of 42.9, while the obesity rate was 36 percent in Mexico, 36 percent in Argentina, 28.7 percent in the United Kingdom, 31.8 percent in Australia, 19.2 percent in Spain, and 28.1 percent in Russia. According to the Centers for Disease Control, between 2017 and 2020, more than 100 million adults in the United States were obese and more than 22 million adults were severely obese.

The surge in worldwide obesity rates is fueled by a dietary transition in many nations toward high-calorie foods that contain large amounts of simple carbohydrates, sugars, and fats, combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was founded in 1969 as a self-described civil rights organization that, according to its website, "works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through advocacy, public education, and support." NAAFA’s motto is, "We come in all sizes."

Overview

NAAFA and other proponents of the FA movement argue that overweight and obese individuals face psychological stresses and other forms of discrimination stemming from social attitudes that stigmatize fatness. For example, NAAFA claimed that in 2019, 34 million Americans were discriminated against because of their body size. The organization also points out that weight discrimination can result in psychological problems, stemming in part from a popular belief in American society that being overweight or obese reflects individual failure and immorality.

One of the most publicized aspects of the FA movement has been its contentious struggle with the airline industry regarding policies that charge obese travelers for an additional seat if they cannot fit into a standard seat. This issue has resulted in negative publicity for Southwest Airlines, which has been particularly aggressive in its enforcement of requiring "customers of size" (the company’s official term for overweight passengers) to either purchase additional seating (with the option to request a refund for the cost of a second or third seat after the flight) or face removal from the flight if the flight is overbooked. Southwest Airlines has said that its policy is in place to prevent customers of size from encroaching on the space of other travelers. One highly publicized example of this policy occurred in April 2013, when a Southwest employee demanded that a 340-pound passenger on board a flight from Chicago to Denver remove himself from the plane; although the man was later allowed to fly, the flight was delayed by thirty minutes. Actor and movie director Kevin Smith, who also weighs more than 300 pounds, was kicked off a Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, California, in May 2011. Southwest Airlines eventually apologized for the incident, but only after Smith described his experience on social media and his fans expressed their disapproval of Southwest’s policy. NAAFA has expressed its disagreement with Southwest’s "customer of size" policy, along with similar policies implemented by other airlines, since 2002. Southwest has defended its policy, saying, "If a customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement."

In the spring of 2016, Sports Illustrated found itself thrust into the midst of debates over the FA movement when it released its annual swimsuit issue that featured a cover image of plus-sized bikini and lingerie model Ashley Graham. While the inclusion of Graham, a size-16 model, was praised by many who saw the move as an important step toward acknowledging a wider variety of body sizes and shapes, others criticized Sports Illustrated for glorifying an overweight model and serving to legitimize unhealthy body types in society. Former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs was particularly critical of the magazine’s photo shoot of Graham. Graham had previously faced similar criticism and opposition when she appeared in a lingerie commercial for the plus-sized clothing retailer Lane Bryant in 2010.

For decades, retail and apparel brands have faced criticism from the FA movement for only modeling clothing on petite and thin models. However, around 2010 many brands began modeling their clothing on plus-size models and also began expanding their inventory to include a wider variety of size options. Eventually, this movement became known as inclusive sizing. The inclusive sizing movement is recognition that larger sizes are not a niche market and such options should be available in-store and online. In 2015, the clothing brand Universal Standard was founded by Alexandra Waldman and Polina Veksler to provide high-quality clothing for women of all sizes. The brand is known for its size-inclusive policy and prides itself on redefining retail sizing. The company has collaborated with many retailers, such as J.Crew, Rodarte, and Adidas, and is sold at Nordstrom. Despite this progress with mainstream retail companies, though, luxury and high-end fashion brands have been criticized for not following the trend of size-inclusivity.

Critics of the FA movement point out that being overweight or obese drastically increases a person’s risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and more than a dozen types of cancer. A 2014 study by the US National Institutes of Health found that obesity is strongly correlated with premature death and that class III obesity could shorten a person’s life expectancy by up to fourteen years. Critics allege that any efforts to increase social acceptance of overweight and obesity poses serious risks to public health. However, despite the increased health risks associated with overweight and obesity, such patients often have difficulty finding quality health care services, with research showing that doctors often spend less time with overweight and obese patients and are less likely to refer them for diagnostic tests. With the global obesity rate increasing at a steady rate, it appears that the controversy surrounding the FA movement will continue to intensify in the coming years.


Bibliography

“Adult Obesity Facts.” Obesity, Centers for Disease Control, 14 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult-obesity-facts/index.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

"Campaign for Size Freedom." National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, 2024, naafa.org/sizefreedom. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Emmerich, Samuel D., et al. “Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023.” NCHS Data Brief, no. 508, 2024. dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/159281. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Flegal, Katherine M., et al. "Trends in Obesity among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014." JAMA, vol. 31, no. 21, 2016, pp. 2284–91. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.6458. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Howland, Daphne. “The Plus-Size Era Is Over before It Began.” Retail Dive, 11 Feb. 2019, www.retaildive.com/news/the-plus-size-era-is-over-before-it-began/547938/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

James, Dani. “Universal Standard Co-Founder Alexandra Waldman Dies.” Retail Dive, 14 Sept. 2023, www.retaildive.com/news/universal-standard-co-founder-alexandra-waldman-dies/693679/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kendall, Erika Nicole. "If the Average Woman Is ‘Plus-Sized’, Why Doesn’t Our Fashion Reflect That?" Guardian, 26 Sept. 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/26/average-woman-plus-sized-fashion-doesnt-reflect-that. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kolata, Gina. "Why Do Obese Patients Get Worse Care? Many Doctors Don’t See Past the Fat." New York Times, 25 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/health/obese-patients-health-care.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

"NIH Study Finds Extreme Obesity May Shorten Life Expectancy Up to 14 Years." National Institutes of Health, 8 July 2014, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-extreme-obesity-may-shorten-life-expectancy-14-years. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

“Obesity and Overweight.” World Health Organization, 1 Mar. 2024, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Phelan, S. M., et al. "Impact of Weight Bias and Stigma on Quality of Care and Outcomes for Patients with Obesity." Obesity Reviews, vol. 16, no. 4, 2015, pp. 319–26. doi:10.1111/obr.12266. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Phelps, Nowell H., et al. “Worldwide Trends in Underweight and Obesity from 1990 to 2022: A Pooled Analysis of 3663 Population-Representative Studies with 222 Million Children, Adolescents, and Adults.” The Lancet, vol. 403, no. 10431, 2024, pp. 1027-50, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02750-2/fulltext. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

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