by Kelly - 02/02/2015 7:33AM
I am American, but I have lived in France for over 10 years. When I came here, I was quite overweigh... Read More ›
Dr Scott likes this blog post.
You are right when you talk about culture and food. I immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa with my Californian husband and life here is very different. Food is very expensive in South Africa and items such as coke and candy are luxuries and sold in small quantities. Fat people back there are viewed as being poor because the carb heavy diets of corn meal are predominantly what poor people eat to stay energized. I'm not saying everyone is thin but I grew up that fat was like a US size 12. What floored me when I moved here a decade ago was the really big big clothing sizes. In South Africa you could not find really big clothing let alone fashionable clothing. I think it's a disservice because it seems that it's ok to be any size, you can find clothing and still not sacrifice on fashion. I think it can put a false idea in people's minds about their overall state of health and wellbeing as a result. My thoughts ...
I have done a lot of travel throughout my career, and I remember at first being shocked over a series of trips to India where I had gained some weight. Some of the people there - who were all generally super friendly - would come up to me and express very directly that I had gained weight, and just looked at me smiling, waiting for a reply. I didn't really know what to say at first. But later on I realized that they didn't express themselves to be mean or cruel, rather, they just wondered in a casual way. It wasn't a big deal to them, but they were far more open about it than others.Simliarly, my wife is Czech, and I met her in Prague, and over there, at least 10 years ago, it was rare to see obese young / middle-aged people. They have a more direct way of discussing things such as weight as well.Perhaps being open and candid with others is helpful if done in a tactful way. We shouldn't use excuses or ignore potential health problems in our friends/family.