THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Is it right to shame fat people into losing weight?

The purveyor of this notion, a very thin fellow named James Delingpole, recently said that stigmatising fat people would help them lose weight and therefore become less of a burden on the National Health Service.

During his diatribe he spoke about how awful it is to have to look at fat people as you go about your daily business. I’m not sure that this helped his argument as there are lots of people who I don’t find particularly attractive but this does not mean they should be denied healthcare.

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His main point was that preventable illnesses caused by obesity cost us too much and on that front he is right. But he forgot to say that it’s not just fat people who present themselves at the local A&E with preventable illness and injuries. He added that simple will power was needed; eat less and exercise more. Again, he’s probably right and in recent times I have been putting this theory to the test and am having some success at being less fat!

But what about people with eating disorders, would he shame them?

Or smokers, or drinkers, or cyclists who don’t wear helmets and drivers who don’t wear seat-belts and then get injured in accidents?

You know there are a lot of thin people who are suffering with preventable illnesses too.

Is he going to start shouting at everyone in the street who he thinks needs stigmatising and shaming into changing their wicked ways?

Fat people don’t need shaming, they often need educating and supporting in the same way anyone with a health problem does. So don’t try and shame me Mr Delingpole - in fact, shame on you for suggesting it.

DREW BAXTER

Humanist

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