In recent days, the UK government has announced a 'War on Obesity' as a response to COVID-19 and the newfound public interest in public health. Bike lanes are being planned at scale and several policy measures are being considered to slim down the nation — with the implicit suggestion that fat people are partially responsible for the turmoil that the NHS has faced in the past few months.
This is, of course, nonsense, not to mention insensitive to the plus-sized people who, in many cases, actually work within and for the NHS. Here's why this proposed 'War on Fat' won't help anyone in the long run.
Apportioning Blame
When the dust settles over the COVID-19 crisis, there will be independent inquiries into the handling of the disease, the way it affected the NHS, and how we might have protected more people from harm. The UK is currently regarded as the 'sick man of Europe' in terms of the death rate in the country and the poor handling of lockdown. It's little wonder that the government are announcing health policies that draw attention away from this poor record of infections and deaths within the UK.
But it's particularly cynical that, in reapportioning the blame for the state of the NHS and the excess deaths we've seen in the UK as a result of COVID-19, the government sees fit to demonise the plus-sized within society. They actively point the finger at fat as something to wage war upon, using the very same rhetoric used against the virus over the last few months. Seen in this way, it's clear that the issue of fat is being pushed out as an alternative health narrative to the failures of planning for the UK's response to coronavirus.
'Fat' as Blanket Term
Another issue we see time and again when those outside the healthcare profession talk about obesity and fat is that they roll these terms into one catch-all phrase. It's a 'War of Fat', with absolutely no shades of grey when it comes to the health reasons behind an individual's plus-size, or whether they have any inclination whatsoever to wage war against their own bodies in a response to a hackneyed soundbite.
In actual fact, we know that plus-sized people come in all different shapes, sizes and characters. We know that weight gain can be regarded by some as a life-long struggle, but by others, as a fact of life and something they're more than happy to exhibit, large and proud, to the rest of the world. Importantly, we know that the term 'fat' is used politically to suggest 'lazy' and to suggest fat people are free-riders on the system. This is not okay: in fact, when we talk about fat without nuance, it's larger people who feel personally attacked.
Responding to Discrimination
Our plus-sized community have ample experience in responding to discrimination with patience, dignity, and love. It's been a shock to see the UK government peddling a discriminatory narrative against fat people — picking an attack line from a playbook that we don't regularly see used by state power in the modern world — but we know how to respond.
Body positivity is exactly how to respond to the 'War on Fat' soundbite. Remember that inside and out, you are a beautiful person, you are enough and you don't need a struggling policymaker to tell you how you should feel about your body. You don't need the newspapers to remind you that fat-phobia exists; you see and feel it most weeks. You're the expert of your own body, your own health, and your own choices. Find ways to feel empowered in this moment and learn to be proud of the size that you are.
Sitting Out of the War
While people may understand the rationale behind the recent declaration of the war on obesity, it may only be the minority that are able to understand the effects of the government's involvement. One unintended consequence could be an increase in fatphobic views due to the negative connotation of the phrasing used. The result of which could prove discriminatory and also dangerous for plus-size people.
Most people don't think it's the government's duty to intervene in their lives, or in the lives of the people they share their communities with. It's okay to feel disappointed by this declaration of a 'War on Fat' as you are personally being discriminated against and attacked. Always remember – you are not alone. There are ways to process that feeling and move on happily with your life.
Fat people everywhere are united in agency over their own bodies and choices. While a 'War on Fat' is an insensitive and harmful war to wage, helping no one, there is a space for us in the fat positive community to talk about our feelings, lifestyles, and pride, while shining a light on the discrimination that takes place against the plus-sized, the curvy, and the fat, each and every day. Our response should be love to ourselves and each other, and to exercise patience in explaining why the government has this so wrong.
Fat isn't the Problem
If the 'War on Fat' makes you think of the 'War on Drugs', you're not alone. And, just like the war that's been taking place for decades against drugs (unsuccessfully we might add,) it's difficult to see how a war against fat might actually work in practice. And just like the War on Drugs, it's actually the criminals who produce and distribute who are the troublemakers.
It's clear that fat isn't a problem worth the government's time. It's about individual choices and about feeling proud and positively perfect in the clothes you wear and the skin you're in. As soon as fat is made into a 'public health' issue, that agency seems threatened; but don't worry, it won't be for long. Fat isn't the problem and healthcare professionals know it. The healthcare system in Britain is strained because of chronic under-funding and legacy systems that need replacing urgently. Fat people, going about their lives — many working within the NHS itself — cannot be blamed for this far more institutional problem.
For all those who are put-off by mention of a 'War on Fat', you're not alone! It's incredibly important to recognise that you are blameless and perfect as you are. And with bigger influencers and activists becoming more visible, the rest of society is going to realise very soon how these proposed 'wars' do no one any good.
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