The Great Fat Acceptance Roundup

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Fat acceptance is the very opposite of what Dr. Pretlow and thousands of other healthcare providers strive to promote, the kind of normal, healthy-weight fitness that is deemed preferable for so many reasons. How can fat acceptance be good? But the precise and literal opposite of acceptance is rejection, and that is out of the question.

An adolescent struggling with extra poundage in addition to 99 other problems can’t be rejected. An obese baby who has no say in what he or she eats, or when, certainly can’t be rejected. Even with adults, who presumably possess agency and could, in theory, be fit if they really wanted to, should not be rejected, because it never leads to anything good.

But if the alternative is to buy into fat acceptance, what is the answer? Childhood Obesity News has approached this question from a number of angles and teased out quite a few nuances.

There are the large, general, basic matters, examined in “The Fit and Fat Debate,” Part 1 and Part 2.

One post catalogues some of the many varieties of fat acceptance and another checklists the pros and cons of the philosophy.

We also look at how fit, or at least non-obese, people react to the obesity of their fellow humans, and why.

There is much to be said about the national characteristics of fat acceptance, and about what such a laissez faire attitude might imply for the future of the entire planet.

There is, and should be, an ongoing dialogue on the place of size acceptance in the pubic consciousness. Is it really a civil rights issue?

What should be done, who should do it, and who should be allowed to say what?

One of the heaviest questions is, how much weight should be given to the opinions and recommendations of celebrities?

When people who are not medical professionals have a voice, how much credence should anyone place in their contributions?

There is more to be said on this vital topic, but we leave it here for now. Your responses and feedback are welcome!

Image by Jason Eppink

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Profiles: Kids Struggling with Weight

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The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources