I hated the way Ramona was percepted! Yes she is overweight but not everyone chooses to be! For some people it is genetic. I'm overweight so yes I do know how it feels. I don't overeat and I exercise regularly but its in my family. Everyone is overweight. I wish the producers and directors would have thought of that before perceiving all fat people as overeating lazy people.
shareThere is nothing in your genes that makes you fat. It could be your thyroid or a slow metabolism. But you are not genetically fat.
shareThat horrible "genes" misconception, was used in this awful script. Towards the end, the mother says to the daughter while on he porch - with regard to her brother Adam being chubby -
"Honey he's not like you, he has my genes!"
Actualy, both children have only half of her genes, and certainly not the same ones (they would be identical twins if they did). So, if the mother does have the so-called "fat genes", it's not necessary for both kids to have them.
And yes, there is such a thing:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/fat-genes-obesity-ucla-study-diet-exercise_n_2450108.html
This being said, the movie also showed Allison exercising and eating right. So she might well have had the same genetic disadvantage as her mom, only she was able to manage it. It's doable, only it's a continuous battle uphill, and it gets worse with age.
Do.Or do not.There is no try.
The problem that I see very often, which was a problem with my Ex's family, is that they feed their kids huge portions and tons of junk food. I stayed with them for a couple weeks and the mom always stopped at the store just to pick up junk food and cigarettes. We went to a restaurant with her mom and 12 year old little sister who is very overweight. The waitress came over to take our order and the 12 year old girl ordered spaghetti. The waitress asked if she wanted the regular size or the large portion. The mother said the large portion. So the waitress brings our food over and this young girl has a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs with toast to eat. Her mom is like a drug pusher but pushing food. The girl is only 12 years old and she goes in and out of her room bring giant plates of food that I can't even finish, into her bedroom and closing the door.
She is a really great kid. Me and her get along awesome. I just feel so bad for her because she is such a mature and great person but she is going to be a prime target to be rediculed in highschool. Most guys will never get a chance to see her as the good person she is and she is going to have serious health issues.
From what I see it's usually the parents fault, not genetics. You could say it was genetics attributed to slow metabolism if they didn't over-eat so much and still gained tons of weight but that's not the case.
The Family down the street is huge, I mean everyone in the family is brought up to weight 300 pounds. I've seen their kids born and grow up. They walk around bare feet on the concrete all dirty and over-eat out on the dirty patio.
I'm not poking fun, I'm just saying that these parents are the cause.
"Fra-Gee-Lay...that must be Italian."
My best friend had that happen..I went with her a few times to her grandmas house for special meals (Easter, mothers/fathers day etc) and her plate was filled with food, she kept getting encouraged to finish, putting seconds on her plate and saying no dessert unless the plate was empty. Peer pressure is a very real thing and it happens at home too. It's not always a decision to overeat or eat bad food, knowing what will happen. I agree that a lot of it is on the parents.
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You're joking, right kwelch?
How exactly is ONE PERSON in ONE MOVIE supposed to represent every single overweight person?
They developed a character, and they chose to make it her problem that she was overweight. Does that mean every person who is overweight is overweight in the exact same way? NO!
How, honestly, is one person in a movie making EVERY SINGLE FAT PERSON look lazy? SHE'S ONLY ONE CHARACTER FOR GOD SAKE!
I saw this movie once...and this blonde was an alcoholic. I hate the way the directors made it look like all blondes are alcoholics!
See how stupid that sounds? No one person can represent an entire culture, race, gender, ethnicity, or other democraphic. It's physically impossible. Stop making it about that.
I understand what you're saying. I come from a long line of very heavy women, and I have been overweight my whole life. However, it is possible for me to reach and maintain my goal weight. Genetics can make your metabolism slower than average, making it much more difficult to lose weight than a person with a normally-rated metabolism, so in a way, genetics CAN make us predisposed to being fat, but we keep ourselves that way. And I agree that it is much easier for people to eat healthy if their parents raise them to eat healthy from the start, but once we hit a certain age, our food choices become OUR food choices. Again, they might make us that way, but we KEEP us that way. I have kept myself that way for far too long, and it isn't fair that I have to work twice as hard to look half as good as a lot of the girls around me...but that, unfortunately, is the way of the world. If I want a body that I can be proud of, it is going to take the extra work and intense commitment. If I keep blaming my weight on my genetics or my parents raising me around huge portions of junk food, I will be hiding in sweat clothes in the summer for the rest of my life.
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Congratulations on losing the weight brennafizz. Sounds like you have a very good outlook on the whole genetics debate.
Genetics haven't changed over the centuries. What's changed is our environment. The genetics are the same...but our food has changed.
I'm glad you have such a healthy take on this subject. It's true genetics play a part on the weight. But I've heard multiple doctors say it plays as little as 25%. That means that for overweight people, 75% of that is based on their own choices.
One problem I had with the movie was the amount of teasing these "fat" girls got. I'm fat, have been all my life. I've lost weight and gained it back, and am trying to figure out what a well balanced diet and a good work out program is for me. It's hard to figure all that out when your parents couldn't be bothered to teach you that when you were young. Anyway, I've been teased, but most of that taperd off before high school. Maybe I went to an overly friendly school, but it just seemed so magnified to me. I've been in stores that have sold clothes much to small for me (either for accessories or for friends) and have never been treated as rudely as Ramona was. What's other people's reaction on the amount of bullying in the movie? Did I truly go to a friendly school, or is most of this kind of treatment fictional?
I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.~ Spike, BtVS
I just want to say that I give you girls who replied a lot of credit. I wish you the best. Just please don't end up being one of those girls that loses weight and then turns into one of those superficial Barbie dolls. :) I didn't end up watching the movie but I think it depends on the school according to replies here some haven't seen that bad of teasing and some have. At my highschool I never saw anyone throw food on a girl just because of being overweight. But at another school I went to people were extremely superficial so I'm glad I changed school to a more mature one. What I usually see is people only directly teasing an overweight person if they are mad at them and they use a "low blow" to get back at them by saying they are fat.
But I know every school is different. Either way it's just not right. I mean they are only kids. Their parents are responsible for them and they aren't overweight on purpose. These bullies are raised to be superficial bullies. The only thing you can do is learn from it and bring up your kids to not be that way. Teach them to understand and have them do the same to their kids. It will be a much better world if we can break the chain.
"Fra-Gee-Lay...that must be Italian."
wich is worse..
being anorexic or really obese
i know i did not spell that right
You spelled it right.
And to answer your question about which is worse, it really depends on your point of view. In American society, being anorexic seems to be something that is held up as being a good thing. It is a sign of determination and self-control.
While that is completely dysfunctional logic, and it is logic that would only be held by someone who has never been controlled by anorexia, it's still true. Americans, in general, would MUCH rather have anorexia than to be obese. As an obese person, I would also rather have anorexia. Anorexia might kill me, but being obese can kill me, too. Being anorexic might not look good when you get down to skin and bones, but being obese doesn't look good either. Anorexic obsession with food can be all-consuming, but obese obsession with food can be all-consuming, too. So, anorexia and obesity seem to be tied up. The tie-breaker lies in the perception of anorexic people vs. the perception of obese people. Obese people are perceived as disgusting pigs with zero control who sweat constantly and breathe noisily. Anorexic people are perceived as having amazing control, being extremely organized and clean, and being nearly perfect at school/work. How would I rather be perceived? How would YOU rather be perceived?
I know my observations and thoughts on the subject are so completely irrational, unhealthy, and dysfunctional, but it's just my view.
Brenna, Thank you for sharing that, I like the fact that you are honest with yourself and with others. I'm heavy, and come from heavy parents, my partner is skinny and comes from heavy parents, it's all chemistry.. Yes I want to strangle him when he eats a box of little debbies in a day and I gain 5 pounds watching him lol I agree that all too often overweight people are portrayed as lazy and overeating... but I've also seen those people that ARE like that. I've also seen the people that overstuff their kids. I've seen it all, and it saddens me. If this film changes just a handful of people's feelings about how they treat big people, then it's worth the film.
shareIf skinny/slim people eat junk food and drink fizzy drinks until they pop, no one says a word, but when the person fat, then they're called greedy and unhealthy. Don't tell me to be healthy just because you're skinny without exercising, because your insides are probably just as bad as mine.
The World Is Yours....
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No, it's not "genetic". If you really ate normal-sized portions and exercised, you wouldn't be fat.
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