“Aside from the fact that they say it’s unhealthy, my fat ain’t never been no trouble. Mens always have loved me. My kids ain’t never complained. Plus they’s fat.”
― Alice Walker
Almost all fat people had experienced some form of discrimination because of their weight at some point in their lives, many have stated that strangers often commented on their weight, especially when they were buying food or clothing. Others have stated that they thought they had been refused or fired from their job because of their weight.
For the majority of fat people, life isn’t easy. If you’re not fat yourself, just imagine how it feels like to be unable to find clothes that fit, seatbelts not long enough to reach your belly fat, and having to pay for two seats on an airplane. Along with the embarrassment associated with these situations and the discrimination of people who think that being fat is a health problem in itself.
Hence, It is very hard to deal with people in everyday life who make fun of you because of your weight, for this reason, some have chosen to isolate themselves from public places and rarely interacting with other individuals, though most are still able to carry out their daily activities.
I have also noticed that when you look at a stranger while they’re eating in public, when you make eye contact with them, most of the times they will just ignore you like nothing happened. On the other hand, when I look at someone who is considered to be overweight, he often feels uncomfortable and distressed.
However, what most people don’t realize is that being fat has it’s advantages and even health benefits.
”Wait, what?… but that can’t be true!” you might wonder.
Well, you need to stop taking things for granted; scientists are always discovering new things that change how we think of almost everything.
So, Here are some of the reasons why being fat is not always bad.
5. Fat People More Desirable and Attractive
Despite being overweight is strongly considered to be unhealthy and undesirable in the west, It is very interesting to note that in other parts of the world, specifically in some African countries and other south pacific islands, like Fiji, South Africa, and Mauritania, just to name a few, being fat in this places is strangely considered to be attractive and desirable.
Not to mention, thin women are sad and bitter by the fact that they are thin and considered to be unattractive and undesirable by men living in this places. On the other hand, fat women are considered to be happy, kind and socially valued and desired.
Women living in these countries where fat is attractive, tend to understand their body type, and are completely comfortable and happy with it.
When people argue about why being fat is unattractive, primarily in the west; They mostly use this following reasons to support their arguments…
- They are unhealthy: this is not necessarily true, of course, there are some health issues related to being fat, but there are also health advantages that most people don’t know about.
- No one will be attracted to them: if this was true, then most fat people in the world would have become extinct.
- Their body makes unattractive sounds during intercourse: I’m not really sure about this. However, If this was true, then the attractive moaning voice during intercourse would definitely cover this up.
- They are probably lazy: This is totally not true, laziness has nothing to do with body fat, I’m sure you know a lot of lazy skinny folks.
- They would likely be a selfish relationship partner: Just because someone is fat, doesn’t necessarily mean they are selfish! To put in another way, selfishness is a negative personality treat that has absolutely nothing to do with weight.
- They look older than they actually are: You might be very surprised to know that fat people actually look younger with age… (More about this below.)
There is also a growing market which caters to young women desiring to gain weight.
With this in mind, the reason behind why men in this places prefer and find fat women to be more attractive and desirable than slim women is still unclear.
In other words, we can say that – women’s negative feelings about their appearance and body size about what is attractive and what is not, is purely subjective.
So, if you live in a country where being fat is not desirable and is considered to be unhealthy and you feel depressed about this. You might want to make yourself a favor and consider traveling to one of this countries, and you will be surprised of how people will treat you differently.
4. Fat People Age Slower
Most people mainly women are extremely worried and concerned about aging and looking old.
The primary reason behind that – is fear of being unattractive and undesirable, this fear is even greater among attractive people, keeping in mind they probably lived most of their lives depending mainly on their looks.
And from those attractive people, the fear is even greater among women, as they realize their partner might lose interest in them and won’t find them attractive and desirable as they used to be.
Unfortunately, we all know that beauty fades with time. However, this is not the case with fat people. Recent studies have found that women with a low body mass index (BMI) Have increased skin aging. In other words, thin women develop more wrinkles and age faster than fat women.
To further investigate these phenomena, Another study of identical twins, researchers put two twins into-test, both of the same age, one is thin and the other is fat, they found that after the age of 40, the thinner twin looked older than the overweight twin. “In general, what happens is, as your BMI goes lower you lose some volume of soft tissue, particularly over the age of 40, When you lose that volume of soft tissue, the wrinkles do either become deeper or more noticeable.” – explains Robert Weiss, Associate Professor of Dermatology.
Not only fat people have more fat padding beneath the skin which helps keep wrinkles unnoticeable, but, also have a little extra collagen (the hormone that gives our skin strength and elasticity).
Of course, there are some innovative anti-aging products that help slow down the process of aging for those who aren’t ready to put on a few pounds.
But it seems that for fat people they won’t have to worry much about this unpleasant process. they might literally grow older without aging!
3. Fat People Live Longer
Okay… this one might seem weird, because no one honestly knows how much he has left?
However, scientific research can determine the life expectancy of a certain individual according to several health variables, that can influence the longevity of that individual.
So, we can say it is somewhat an accurate prediction of longevity.
(you might want to try this tool to test your life expectancy).
A recent study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that being overweight was not associated with excess mortality and that overweight people actually lived the longest (BMI 25 to <30), they lived even longer than those of “normal” weight. Their results showed increased mortality was more associated with underweight and obesity (higher levels of obesity – BMI → 35).
Findings of the study clearly showed that health problems and risk of death more associated with underweight people and very obese people.
To put it another way, mortality is lower for fat people than for average weight and thin people.
It might seem surprising to you that mortality rates are lower among fat people, And you might even spit your coffee if I told you that mortality rates are actually higher for those who are fit and lean. But several studies have confirmed the accuracy of this findings.
A Canadian study in 2010, also found that underweight and obesity are clear risk factors for mortality, and that when compared to the ”normal” BMI category, overweight appears to be protective against mortality.
Assuming that other factors are constant(such as not smoking o drinking alcohol excessively), the real reason why fat people live longer and have lower rates of mortality is due to the shocking fact that—fat cells play some kind of a protective role against mortality!
And… yep, It seems fat people are enjoying the gift of immortality without even knowing it.
2. Less Likely to Die From Certain Diseases
All our lives we have been hearing things like:
”Being overweight is a serious chronic disease that can negatively ruin your health and body. people who are overweight have a higher chance of developing almost all types of dangerous diseases from heart disease and diabetes to sleep apnea and cancer.”
For years, no one dared to oppose or challenge those common beliefs. though, there are a lot of studies that showed being fat won’t necessarily make you unhealthy or weak.
People find it difficult to believe that there are a few advantages to being overweight. Even at the present time, It is still hard to convince the general population that there are some health benefits to being fat other than – fat people are harder to kidnap.
A team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overweight people had a lower risk of dying from chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and lung disease.
Another study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that fat people had a lower risk of dying from cancer, specifically lung cancer. After years of Investigation to the causes of death risks in relation to body weight, the researchers, in the end, concluded that overweight people had a much lower death risk compared to the underweight weight and obese.
Not only that but when it comes to the risk of heart attacks. Researchers have reported that thin people are less likely to survive a heart attack compared to people who are considered to be overweight.
The reason for this unusual phenomenon is because fat people have more fat (perivascular adipose tissue) surrounding blood vessels that in the case of a heart attack, it tends to release anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant chemicals that help battle heart disease and provides a better chance of survival.
For this reason, many researchers on this hypothesis agree that when it comes to our health and well-being, then the term ”overweight” is defective and inaccurate.
1. Fat People So Strong and Steady
Back in high school… everyone was happy and enjoying one of the best times of their lives. Except for me, I was bullied and made fun of by people who were more popular and had more friends than me, It’s very disturbing to see someone laughing hilariously at you or even beating you up, while you are feeling hopeless to defend yourself. However, the only reason that was stopping me from getting revenge is my sense of forgiveness and maturity. Even though I was more than capable of standing up for myself, I simply chose the more peaceful path. And I’m glad I did. although sometimes I regret not standing up for myself and beating the s*** out of them.
But, I always wondered why these bullies never dared to bully or provoke fat people?
Of course, there were some top-level bullies who dared to bully fat people, but mostly because they were looking insecure and afraid , but those who were confident and believed in themselves, no one ever dared to bully them or pick a fight with them, simply because they were stronger and more confident looking (just like the guy in the above picture, you never want to make him angry, do you?).
Moreover, most people subconsciously perceive fat people to be stronger and less vulnerable than average people, even when they are not! we have been conditioned to believe that what is big is strong, and what is small is weak.
Long story short, if you are just slightly overweight, you might want to consider hitting the gym in the near future, because big is good, but big and strong is even better.
”But why are fat people stronger than average people?” – you may wonder.
There are many theories as to why fat people are stronger, one of them is that simply someone who is 220 pounds or more and who is able to carry around all his weight regularly, will obviously be stronger than someone who is only 150 pounds. In addition, there might be a layer of muscle underneath the thickness of fat that is not clearly visible on the outside. To put in another way, the heavier you are the more weight you have to carry around and the more underlying muscle you need to support the weight.
However, even though fat people are stronger, their self-esteem is generally much lower than average people due to the fact that they believe themselves to be inferior to the rest of the general public.
Conclusion
It seems that fat people aren’t weak and unhealthy as much as most people think they are. In fact, it turns out that in certain cases they can be healthier than average people.
Dr. Glenn Gaesser is a Professor in the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion and director of Healthy Lifestyles Research Center, and he says that there are no health risks to being fat.
Lastly, even though these might be surprising, countless studies have confirmed that being fat has a few health benefits. So, In case you still believe that fat people are unhealthy, then you need to change your perception and be a little more open-minded… Just like Marcus Aurelius said:
If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.
