The phrase obesity has been a buzzword in the media for the past few years. However, despite all this coverage, people are still chubby, and it’s creating serious issues in the health trends of the nation.

Despite the social approval of munching on unwholesome snacks, it’s difficult to encounter a media source that is not-in some way- discussing the “obesity crisis,” based on the interminable statistics available on the topic. However, when it comes to confronting the source of all this buzz – the dangerously overweight person – everyone shrinks up in fear of hurting the person’s feelings, and nothing is said. We are all culpable; we all tell the person who should not be grabbing another cookie, “You’re skinny!” when she comments that maybe she shouldn’t go for another cookie.  We avoid the ugly truth at all costs.

                The other extreme is just as bad. People who bash bigger people call them lazy and make cruel jokes and cause the person being criticized to feel embarrassed.  This type of activity won’t encourage the person to change his habits; in fact it may have the exact opposite result as the person begins making rash decisions that come in the form of poor diet choices to lose weight quickly, diet pills, which can cause serious health problems, as well as other poor choices because the focus has been placed squarely on the person’s appearance rather than his health and well-being.

                The issue at hand isn’t that overweight people are FAT, necessarily. It’s that they are unhealthy, and their quality of life is being affected by their health issue.  Additionally, being overweight can cause serious health issues that use health-insurance dollars and that hamstring the person to the point that he is unable to contribute to society as well as he could if he were living at a healthier, appropriate weight.

                One ironic piece of all of this is that, while millions of people are killing themselves with daily doses of French fries and drive-thru delicacies, confronting their weight is completely taboo.  So we create euphemisms like “plus sized,” “curvy,” and “thick,” so we don’t have to say fat or overweight.  In reality, we should have just been saying “unhealthy” from the beginning and leave the other labels out of it.

Who cares whether someone is unhealthy because she is fat, smokes or drinks too much – the point is, society cannot just sit idly by and allow a person to excessively indulge himself in an unhealthy practice.  There needs to be a heavier emphasis on the health of the nation because being overweight, just like being a two-pack-a-day smoker or an alcoholic, is a serious issue.

People should love themselves no matter what their size is, however, if they really loved themselves, wouldn’t they want to eat clean and exercise?