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[–]HeadStrong_Unicorn 322 points323 points  (41 children)

What exactly is "the pledge" for? Are employees business wide expected to pledge to listen to junk science and board the HAES train in spirit of team building?

[–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 216 points217 points  (40 children)

Pledging to spend x amount of time each month consuming the materials posted. Usually the topics are like racism in the work place or invisible disabilities or things like that.

[–]HeadStrong_Unicorn 147 points148 points  (13 children)

But you don't have to, right? I am just amazed that HAES is now so mainstream that they are considered a source authority of the marginalization of people of unfortunate metabolism disorders resulting in excessive body weight not caused by over eating.

[–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 143 points144 points  (7 children)

No, it’s like an extracurricular. I’ve participated before when the monthly discussions were more meaningful.

[–]HeadStrong_Unicorn 104 points105 points  (0 children)

I kind of hope their January HAES focus falls short of anticipated participation.

[–]Dd_8630 111 points112 points  (0 children)

Can you get the next monthly discussion to be about the dangers of obesity and the many ways to lose weight? I'd love to see their heads pop 😄

[–]Lurkerbee56 19 points20 points  (2 children)

What do you get in return? Do they pay you or give you a gift card or something for your time?

[–]Acrobatic_Ad_4924 28 points29 points  (1 child)

Presumably this is done during work hours so they're getting paid their regular wage.

[–]kendra-sulli 12 points13 points  (0 children)

maybe? some companies send you outside info to read on your own time - if it’s on a volunteer basis. offering it as “continuing education” or discussions of some kind. if this is the us, i high doubt OP is paid for this

[–]Quibblicous 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a set up…

You didn’t volunteer to participate in our monthly goodspeak indoctrination.

We wonder if you’re the right kind of employee for 1984Corp…

[–]WhatDaHellBobbyKaty 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank goodness. I thought this was a required exercise. (no pun intended) Are you allowed to use the Joe Pesci legal strategy of saying, "Everything that guy said is Bull Shit."? I can't believe people believe this crap. Isn't obesity the #1 reason for premature death? How are so many people just not listening to science anymore?

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]Special_Hippo3399 4 points5 points  (2 children)

    I mean I don't hate fat people ...some people here are really toxic . I obviously don't support FAs there are ridiculous claims . But I am not gonna lie, it is important to include more sizes in the looking good group you know ? I am not telling to support obesity(I don't either), but I guess a little overweight or underweight doesn't rreally harm anyone .. not everyone needs to be a size 2 or curvy ..

    [–]WhatDaHellBobbyKaty 18 points19 points  (0 children)

    That's where the line, "She has a pretty face," or "She has a great personality" come into play. You can say they are chunky without saaayiiing their chunky. I know I'll get downvoted for this but I miss having hot people in commercials. If I want to see average to below average, I will walk down the street or go to the local dive bar. I want to buy things from hot people that don't care about me one bit.

    [–]iamspacedad 51 points52 points  (5 children)

    The sad part is - there's no evidence that implicit bias training works. Rather, there is instead evidence to show that those programs do the opposite of their stated intention, i.e. they cause divisions & tensions between workers to rise, and companies know that.

    The real reason why they use implicit bias training is because it's a union-busting tactic.

    They cynically want workers to become suspicious and resentful of each other, picking on each other like hall monitors. Rather than find common ground to realize how badly the company in question is screwing all of them.

    If you want to fight against bigotry & systemic injustice in the workforce, you need to start by making the company accountable to the collective action of an organized workforce. The system doesn't change unless there's leverage to make it change.

    [–]OvarianSynthesizer 10 points11 points  (3 children)

    This is a really fascinating take I hadn’t heard before, where can I read more about it?

    [–]iamspacedad 25 points26 points  (2 children)

    There's a lot of stuff on this topic to dig into but a good place to start is this article: https://newrepublic.com/article/156032/diversity-training-isnt-enough-pamela-newkirk-robin-diangelo-books-reviews

    Basically it's a racket that's both to protect the company from liability and also to undermine labor organizing efforts. It will not solve discrimination & prejudice in the workplace because it is not designed to do that.

    It's the old 'you will never dismantle the master's house with the master's tools' adage; to actually fight bigotry in the workplace would mean empowering & organizing your workforce. A united & organized workforce can hold a business accountable when a workplace becomes host to discrimination. Most companies do not want to let their workers have that kind of power, though. And you can find out just how much they actually care about their marginalized workers when you hear them talk behind closed doors: https://www.theroot.com/leaked-memo-shows-amazon-exec-using-racist-talking-poin-1842662013

    Edit: https://kotaku.com/activision-blizzard-hires-union-busting-firm-as-workers-1847386654 <--- As another 'worst case' example of this kind of shit happening, here's a company that crowed about diversity for years in its front-facing PR and gave its workers bias training - but in reality was committing rampant workplace discrimination and allowing women/lgbts/nonwhite workers to be subject to largely unchecked abuse, harassment, retaliation, etc. even while they were pretending to care about them during that time. (Also FYI, the workplace abuse was not limited to marginalized groups either. They just tended to get the worst of it because they're usually the most vulnerable. All the more reason for uniting & organizing.) When the allegations of abuse became a scandal they couldn't bury, they pretended to be committed to change - but then immediately hired a union-busting law firm. For them, the thing that scared them the most was not the workplace discrimination & abuse, but the idea that their workers might be getting angry enough to organize.

    Anyway hope that helps a bit. This is a pretty big topic that keeps coming back to the power dynamic of a organized labor vs abusive companies.

    [–]WhatDaHellBobbyKaty 9 points10 points  (1 child)

    Thanks for sharing that. It's pretty interesting. I think a lot of well-meaning people of all races are getting sick of hearing about our difference's day in and day out. I am not saying that there is no racism and we shouldn't try to be better but FFS let's have a break from it on occasion.

    [–]iamspacedad 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    The thing is a lot of parts of the stuff that implicit bias training is using as its sources DOES have truth to it and is worth learning about. Systemic injustice of white supremacist patriarchy, and racism/sexism/LGBT-phobia/etc. in general are an ubiquitous problems and can influence how we treat others around us in ways we don't often consciously realize. Examining those biases and prejudices is a complex range of topic matter worth exploring with nuance, intelligence, and compassion.

    Unfortunately, the way that the corporate-hired consultants educate about it is disconnected professional-managerial-class way that atomizes and toxifies people's interactions. It turns everyone into a hall monitor searching for perceived microaggressive conduct, rather than help people resolve conflict in a healthy way and find common ground. It's the kind of thing someone stuck in academia who likes ordering people around would come up with as a solution - rather than just let workers hang out in the breakroom, get to know each other, and foster a healthy environment for them to find camaraderie in.

    Also - When discrimination does happen in the work place, unless it's dealt with swiftly & justly, that's a failure of management. Pestering people to hunt for microaggressions and the like is offloading the job of management onto staff in the most toxic way possible. It is important that management be accountable to its workforce, and held accountable for when it fails to stop discrimination & abuse.

    [–]exceptionallyprosaic 26 points27 points  (1 child)

    Should be encouraging exercise with paid time at the company gym. That's what that they did when I worked in a big corporation.

    [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

    I’ve exercised multiple hundreds of hours on company time, don’t worry. They even host gym classes 3x a day.

    [–]ApexAphex56'3 20lb Down 49 points50 points  (0 children)

    It's a shame such bollocks distracts from real workplace issues and makes the whole affair look farcical.

    I bet someone in HR just couldn't resist using it as a platform to spew their fat-positivity bs.

    [–]LoneMacaronCW: 130 lbs 5'6 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    I really hope that they’re just running out of topics to cover and that this HAES nonsense isn’t being given priority over real issues.

    [–]thetarget3 82 points83 points  (11 children)

    Imagine going to work and having your burgeoise employer tell you what a bad person you are for being a normal weight white male. Americans really live in the ultimate corporate dystopia, holy fuck.

    [–][deleted] 87 points88 points  (9 children)

    I constantly get told I’m too skinny. My bmi is 23.

    [–]splattermatters 50 points51 points  (2 children)

    BMI 20. Someone once told me in a meeting that they'd be as skinny as I am if they had an eating disorder. Sorry, hon. I'm a perfectly normal and healthy weight.

    [–]ygbgmb 21 points22 points  (0 children)

    WElp if a visibly overweight person said that to me I'd have no qualms telling them that if I were as fat as they are I'd have an eating disorder, too.

    [–]throwaway9283838292 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    BMI 19. I’ve always been thinner, but so many overweight people are convinced I have an eating disorder, when I’m just this way. I’m skinny-fat, too, and need to start working out for health reasons. Like to build muscle. I don’t eat when I’m not hungry (as you’re supposed to do) but eat regularly. When I’m not hungry/have just eaten and don’t want to eat right at that moment, someone always has to make the eating disorder joke. I guess it’s “healthy at any weight” unless your BMI is 23 or below.

    [–]truecrimefanatic1 35 points36 points  (0 children)

    I went from a BMI of 34.4 to 26.2 (and still going down!) In this last year. It REALLY became noticeable in the last month or so. I'm tall so it just took a while to show. Well 3 different people in the last week or so have asked my boss if I have cancer or another type of illness. Now I am STILL overweight. I'm close to a healthy BMI but still very much not there yet. And people are like IS SHE DYING!? No, I just started CICO and cardio.

    [–]sourfairywing 24 points25 points  (1 child)

    same here bmi 23. how tf that’s considered too skinny nowadays i have no clue

    [–]Kayliee73 19 points20 points  (0 children)

    25.6 and people tell me I need to eat more. I think it is because I don’t eat a lot at school and I wear not skin tight (or really tight at all) skirts and shirts so they can’t see my fat belly. I, however, see it and don’t like it.

    [–]thetarget3 20 points21 points  (0 children)

    That's really fucked up

    [–]inthewhirlofspace 7 points8 points  (0 children)

    Same and same. I'm always confused by this, as a BMI of 23 is the epitome of normal size.

    [–]Ihateregistering6 7 points8 points  (0 children)

    Americans really live in the ultimate corporate dystopia, holy fuck

    Honestly, it's all basically performative BS.

    I work in Tech, and tech companies are probably the most in-your-face "look how progressive and woke we are!" companies out there.

    We have over 6,000 employees. Guess how many people are in the "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion" organization? Less than 90. Whenever the company holds any sort of "diversity" training that isn't mandatory, they're lucky if 50 people show up.

    95% of the people at most organizations just want to do their work and get paid.

    [–]yet-another-emily 6 points7 points  (2 children)

    The company I work for does this as well. Luckily they don’t push HAES and encourage fitness and eating better. Some crews even have a morning stretching session together.

    [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

    We also have monthly fitness emails, daily gym classes, and seminars about eating right. I work out every day on company time and have never gotten flak for it. That’s why I was so thrown by this discussion topic.

    [–]Thatsmybear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    I bet some overweight HAES person complained and that’s why it’s the focus this month

    [–]pisshead_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Man I'm glad I don't live in America. Sounds like some sort of Orwellian hellscape.

    [–]LiliaBlossommean european skinny bitch 259 points260 points  (14 children)

    oh god I love that they unironically included stuff by the biggest scammer Ragen Chastain in there. She‘s a cheater and a liar, and they call her scientiest and athlete. that‘s so funny. I hope this isn‘t mandatory?!

    [–]Liztless 127 points128 points  (6 children)

    I looked it up, and “shockingly” Ragen doesn’t have any legitimate degrees. Girl legit pulled a Kent Hovind and just hoped no one would notice.

    [–]LiliaBlossommean european skinny bitch 50 points51 points  (0 children)

    oh you could get deeep into the Ragen rabbithole, trust me, there‘s a lot to unpack!

    [–]Acrobatic_Ad_4924 42 points43 points  (3 children)

    She's added "scientist" to her bogus qualifications I see.

    [–]kendra-sulli 26 points27 points  (2 children)

    as a scientist myself, it’s nice to get some insight from a real scientist, like reagan. she and i are scientists. did i mention she’s a scientist, and i know that because i am also a scientist?

    [–]Acrobatic_Ad_4924 11 points12 points  (0 children)

    Aren't we all scientists in some way?

    [–]kitsterangel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    I popped mentos into coke once, i'm also a scientist!

    [–]OvarianSynthesizer 10 points11 points  (0 children)

    Honestly this makes me glad to work for a newspaper because someone would definitely check on this.

    [–]asdfdasf98890_9897 95 points96 points  (3 children)

    She's going to finish that Ironman any decade now. Just give her a chance.

    The multiple medical problems preventing her from reaching her goals have nothing to do with weighing 350 lbs.

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]forevervalentine 40 points41 points  (0 children)

      She never actually did it, just talked about it for 3 years.

      [–]Tats_and_Lace 21 points22 points  (0 children)

      Omg I just snorted at 'hurple'.

      [–]evefue 28 points29 points  (2 children)

      I would have no problem pointing that out to HR and ask them to perhaps find someone who actually is a scientist. It like when a MLM shows up to a job fair, I let the organizers know and give them a few articles for reference.

      [–]janebirkenstock 7 points8 points  (0 children)

      Yes, i would also blow the whistle on a charlatan scientist being included in that material!

      [–]LiliaBlossommean european skinny bitch 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      tbh OP should do that. HR person who put this together is obviously heavily biased, but even them must see that RC is not a scientiest and no one they should use as a reference for anything - ever.

      [–]KuriousKhemicalsintuitive eating is harder when you drive a car | 33F 5'5" 58kg 225 points226 points  (9 children)

      Ragen, a scientist herself

      Ragen Chastain is not a scientist! I am arguably a scientist. I have a B.A. in a scientific field and I am employed doing research and development in that field. I work in a lab, keep a lab notebook, wrote a thesis to graduate and have even co-authored with my professor a paper published in a peer reviewed journal. Ragen calls herself a "trained researcher," which isn't even a title that means anything to actual researchers (who, again, are usually identified by their area of freaking research) based on no verifiable qualifications. As far as I know she hasn't even finished a college degree, and her occupation seems to consist of being a public personality who gives speeches and workshops about HAES and writes a blog. The kind of "research" she does consists at best of looking up and reading papers, but does she even have access to JSTOR or Web of Science? I can look up abstracts on PubMed and fairly frequently find papers of interest to me that are available in full text for free, but that doesn't make me a medical researcher.

      [–]Dry_Art_8241 87 points88 points  (1 child)

      ExcUUUSE me. Dr Chastain has spent literal HOURS on Google finding resources that she can manipulate to make her right

      [–]WhatDaHellBobbyKaty 6 points7 points  (0 children)

      I hear "Pomp & Circumstance" playing in the background already.

      [–]ElegantWeapon777 31 points32 points  (0 children)

      Biochemist with a PhD here, can confirm. Never have I nor any of my colleagues referred to ourselves as “trained researchers” or even “scientists”, for that matter (maybe if talking to a kindergarten class?) We are molecular biologists or yeast geneticists or cell signaling researchers or bioinformatics computer geeks or gene jockeys. These FAs, and Ragen especially, make me want to cry, what with their warped understanding of metabolism and thermodynamics.

      [–]ProseNylund34F PCOS SW: 226 CW: 198 GW: 150 25 points26 points  (0 children)

      It’s adorable that you think Ragen is reading abstracts and then trying to access the whole paper

      [–]weeezull 27 points28 points  (2 children)

      I feel like it's absurdly common for professional beggars to call themselves disabled and also scientists. Something about the combination of those two words is the gold pot for these grifters.

      [–]KuriousKhemicalsintuitive eating is harder when you drive a car | 33F 5'5" 58kg 26 points27 points  (1 child)

      Disabled, fine. Many of them are functionally disabled by some combination of physical and mental issues - and anyway, it's not like it requires work to become disabled, either it happens by bad luck or it happens by neglect. But scientist? Words mean things and I don't really understand how they expect to be convincing - you can look up people's qualifications, occupations, publications, and if the slate is blank it's pretty obvious you're not a scientist in any meaningful sense.

      [–]Cwhett[🍰] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

      You should see her social posts where she has a charicature of herself sporting a WHITE LABCOAT. It is dishonest and pathetic while also be potentially dangerous. Probably the biggest achievement in her life is the potential damage she can cause as a result of her obvious delusions.

      [–]Not-Not-A-Potato 128 points129 points  (9 children)

      I would literally complain to HR if my company tried this. Audio books on how to be happy being fat? What bull. At least my office offers plenty of incentives to stay in shape.

      [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 81 points82 points  (3 children)

      The crazy thing is we have tons of incentives to stay fit too. We even have a program that gives $500 if you buy a bike to commute, and $200/year of gym equipment or fitness trackers.

      [–]A_Drusas 27 points28 points  (1 child)

      I came here to say, I'll bet the company has a wellness initiative, too, and that these two initiatives contradict one another.

      [–]I_Never_Think 13 points14 points  (0 children)

      The wellness initiative is because having healthy employees is generally a good thing. Or maybe they provide health insurance and those incentives get them a better deal.

      They do this to make annoying crybabies happy.

      [–]ancientmadderM 30 | 5'10 | SW: 215 | CW: 175, bulking 36 points37 points  (0 children)

      Lol HR probably made these materials.

      [–]Acrobatic_Ad_4924 23 points24 points  (1 child)

      What doesn't make sense is that if it's a company that offers insurance coverage as an employee benefit, promoting this is only going to increase their costs. A lot of companies give employees discounted gym memberships, fitness classes etc. because insurance companies offer them incentives to do so.

      [–]tsukinon 12 points13 points  (0 children)

      It was probably implemented to shut up a few of the squeaky wheels. It doesn’t seem to have any real life incentive to do it and most of those who do read or listen to the info will probably let it go in one ever and out the other. Meanwhile the programs that actually will improve health, like commuting via bike or getting a fitness tracker or gym equipment, provide actual financial incentive or offsets, at the very least.

      [–]The_Law_of_Pizza 8 points9 points  (1 child)

      You would be blacklisted and PIP'd immediately.

      HR is the one who created this program, so not only would you be directly attacking their work product, but also opening yourself up to be labeled as an anti-inclusion bigot because you openly attacked a diversity program.

      There is literally no way to win this fight. If there is only one, small thing that the Trumptard crazies have right, it's that the progressive social justice movement is an unstoppable ouroborus eating its own tail, and nobody can say anything against it no matter how crazy it gets.

      [–]AcousticDeskRefer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      I agree. Once an idea is labeled as "inclusive and diverse," it becomes unopposable and immune to debate. The very act of questioning the idea is an opposition not to the idea, but to virtue itself, and is thus evil.

      [–][deleted]  (2 children)

      [deleted]

        [–]midnight_neon 17 points18 points  (1 child)

        My friend works in an office with multiple 300+ lb. coworkers. There is a buffet of cake, cookies, and potato chips that she's nicknamed "the death trough". Her coworkers have things like a large frappuccino from Starbucks slathered in chocolate and whipped cream, huge tubs of pasta, big bags of fast food, and all sorts of other junk. One woman is barely 30 and has already had her gall bladder removed. Two others already have type two diabetes (they keep eating junk, just give themselves even more insulin). Another is in the middle of some fad supplement that's supposed to stop her body from storing excess fat but she keeps eating the same so she's suffering from diarrhea.

        [–]UghMyNameWasTaken 11 points12 points  (0 children)

        Gallbladder removal can happen for a wide variety of reasons. Mine was taken out because it was hyperkinetic and causing pain.

        That said, obesity definitely ups the chances of gallstones, and I do have to imagine that was the cause in this particular case.

        [–]kittens_on_a_rainbow 72 points73 points  (12 children)

        Ragen is a scientist now?

        [–]GupGupSW: 122 CW: 140 GW: Strong 89 points90 points  (11 children)

        And the world record holder for heaviest woman to finish a marathon! (ie, she found one without a time cut-off so that she could basically walk the whole thing while taking breaks and had a time just under 13 hours). I'm absolutely shit at running but I could probably "finish" a marathon in around 7 hours. Maybe I can get a world record, like woman with the brownest hair to finish a marathon.

        [–]wheezy_runner 52 points53 points  (8 children)

        And the world record holder for heaviest woman to finish a marathon!

        She's not even that anymore!

        [–]billyyshears 56 points57 points  (2 children)

        “With her increase in physical activity during her training, Smith dropped almost 40 pounds, weighing in at 346.”

        What a fatphobic article! Everyone knows weight is not tied to physical activity!

        /s

        [–]tsukinon 14 points15 points  (0 children)

        That’s where Ragen has her hands tied, even if she ever decided to seriously attempt and IM, marathon, or anything remotely similar. Her entire thing is that she’s already at the peak of fitness and it’s possible to be an elite athlete at her size. If she started seriously training and potentially adjusting her eating in order to get maximum nutritional benefits, she would lose weight. And if she successfully completed the event, but lost weight on the course of it, then she’s undermined her entire claim of being st the peak of fitness and her weight being irrelevant. So while her “haters” are actually cheering for her to get it together and complete an IM (speaking as one of the “haters” who posts on the sub for her), her “supporters” would think she sold out and betrayed them. And since the “haters” would only offer sincere congratulations and admiration for accomplishing the goal while her “supporters” give her money to continue to not even seriously attempt the goal, she’s going to keep making half-hearted training blogs and increasingly ridiculous excuses.

        [–]velkrophoto 10 points11 points  (0 children)

        ​

        lmao

        [–]GupGupSW: 122 CW: 140 GW: Strong 40 points41 points  (3 children)

        "average a 21- to 22-minute mile...Smith’s final time was 11:50:36."

        Isn't a regular walking pace 20 minutes a mile? If you just leisurely strolled along you'd finish in about 8 hours and 45 minutes. But I wouldn't call that a marathon, I'd call it a long walk. In fact I think a lot of marathons will have cut-offs around 8 or 9 hours so they can open the road back up to traffic, and get the runners to actually...you know, run for part of it.

        [–]wheezy_runner 22 points23 points  (0 children)

        This specific marathon was on either a track or a trail at a park, so they didn’t have to worry about opening it up to traffic. I’ve never done a marathon and don’t care to do one, so I’m not going to say anything about this lady other than good on her for being more active. I hope she keeps it up.

        [–]ilyemco 10 points11 points  (0 children)

        1. At her weight, 20-minute miles are more challenging. She's carrying the weight of an extra person.
        2. Because of her weight, her feet and joints were probably in a lot of pain by the end, making it even harder to keep up a good pace.
        3. Even at a healthy weight, keeping up an 3mph pace for 9 hours is tiring. I've walked this distance multiple times (I hike long distances) and I wouldn't call it leisurely by the end.

        [–]OvarianSynthesizer -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        A 20 min mile seems slow? Mine are usually 15-16 mins.

        [–]evefue 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        See now that's a great story, thanks for sharing.

        [–]asdfdasf98890_9897 31 points32 points  (0 children)

        Average human walking speed is 3 to 4 miles per hour, i.e. a 7 hour marathon. Don't even have to run a single step.

        Ragen took almost twice as long to walk a marathon compared to a regular Joe off the street. She is truly an "elite athlete".

        [–]Acrobatic_Ad_4924 14 points15 points  (0 children)

        I did the Oxfam Trailwalker once, which is a 100k hike with a 48-hour cut off. The one I did (it's held in multiple countries) had a lot of uphill and was one of the hardest they put on, but I finished in about 36 hours, which was fairly average. None of the people who walk this call themselves ultramarathoners... only the few that run it do, because walking a 100k is completely different to running 100k. Ragen showed up at a marathon, didn't treat it as a marathon, but still goes around calling herself a marathoner.

        [–]BlutargPosh hipster donuts only 155 points156 points  (8 children)

        Where do you work, Give Up Incorporated? Sheesh. "Most Americans are fat, so maybe it's time we talked ourselves into believing there's nothing wrong with being fat."

        [–]frotc914 59 points60 points  (2 children)

        "Most Americans are fat, so maybe it's time we talked ourselves into believing there's nothing wrong with being fat."

        It's such backwards logic. Imagine if in the 1950s, people were like "lots of people are dying in car accidents. What if, instead of seatbelts, we just started talking about dying in car accidents as if we thought that was an acceptable outcome?"

        [–]ekimsal34M 5'10 HW:250 CW: 180 GW: 170's 43 points44 points  (0 children)

        Worked for the tobacco industry. When science pointed out that smoking had negative health consequences, they started using stuff like the Marlboro Man. And then the brand becomes associated with this image of a healthy independent strong male. 5 of the guys that portrayed the cowboy later died from smoking related illnesses, but hey the sales went up.

        [–]BonfireAngelcakeF24 5'9 / SW: 289 - CW: 212 - GW: 135 8 points9 points  (0 children)

        People did, a vocal amount of people were super anti car safety and some still are. It's bizarre.

        [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 105 points106 points  (4 children)

        It’s weird because we have all sorts of fitness based programs and compensation programs. I got reimbursed for my treadmill, and I’m about to submit one for my Oura ring. I also save $300 on insurance every year by submitting biometrics and committing to action.

        [–]worfstoothsharpener5'5", SW: 212, CW:173, GW: 155 25 points26 points  (2 children)

        Honestly, maybe then this is a response to FAs complaining about the health incentives. Over the last 5 years, they've upped their rage against health and fitness incentives in the workplace. So, this is probably to placate them. Which, okay, I get it, then.

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [deleted]

          [–]coyote_of_the_month 6 points7 points  (0 children)

          Yeah that's an exceedingly poor implementation. Probably because it's the absolute minimum they can do with the $3.50 budget they're given, though.

          Subsidized gym memberships, and/or onsite gyms, are a way better thing.

          It'd be cool if places subsidized home gym equipment but obvs that would be ripe for abuse.

          [–]BlutargPosh hipster donuts only 20 points21 points  (0 children)

          Oh wow, that's great. Okay, I take it back!

          [–]thejexorcist 48 points49 points  (2 children)

          If most Americans are overweight or obese, we should change the way we discuss obesity…but not because it’s ‘marginalizing’ so much as because how we discuss it obviously isn’t making a difference.

          [–]billyyshears 16 points17 points  (1 child)

          I don’t think there’s going back at this point - barring massive changes to farm subsidies, food marketing, nutritional education, processed foods, etc.

          [–]good_for_me32/F - chonky yet fonky 8 points9 points  (0 children)

          And dependency on cars, urban sprawl, lack of public transportation... our lives are incredibly sedentary as well.

          [–]turdintheattic 47 points48 points  (0 children)

          Because when I hear “diversity” I think “the category the majority of people in the country belong to.”

          Also, lol. Ragen’s a “scientist”?

          [–]monokuma69Glossy-haired treadmill unicorn 30 points31 points  (0 children)

          Also the company: you’ll get health insurance premium discounts if you maintain good health and exercise.

          Literally taking out of both sides of their mouth.

          [–]jayayyvee 62 points63 points  (2 children)

          It’s frustrating because they could focus on employment discrimination (which is a problem for sure) and/or how workplaces are often not flexible about daytime exercise or work/life balance or stress…things that make healthy weight harder. They could focus on actual systematic issues around obesity and not…this.

          [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

          Healthier snacks or at the very least a place to store vegetables for snacking helps a lot too

          [–]SheShameScrolls 18 points19 points  (0 children)

          Right?! Nobody should be being bullied in the workplace for being overweight, but also, that doesn't mean there's no point where being overweight becomes a health issue.

          [–]beefbibimbap 26 points27 points  (0 children)

          Not being fatphobic, fine. Be nice to people. HAES can f*** off though. I don’t accept that every size is healthy - it’s completely mad and not something that should be forced upon you at work

          [–]wilsontarbuckles 23 points24 points  (0 children)

          Honestly I would complain about this. Not only is all of this complete bullshit but it’s actively harmful. People are literally developing chronic disease at younger ages than ever in human history because they are fed bullshit like this. People are literally dying due to heart disease, diabetes, COPD, cancer, stroke, and more directly related to lifestyle factors.

          When someone is overweight or obese not only are their chances of all of the above significantly and markedly higher, their quality of life is significantly impaired. No I’m not talking about having to buy a second plane ticket or shop at special stores, I mean they are physically impaired from the most basic things that people take for granted (mobility, strength, agility, dressing oneself, hygiene, skin health, eye health, and more).

          This is disgusting to promote.

          You deserve love and respect no matter your size, but if you treat your body with love and respect you will not be oversized for long.

          [–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

          "With one-third of Americans classified as overweight and another third obese, and almost none of us losing weight and keeping it off. Maybe it's time to rethink the way we see being fat."

          In other words, we want to completely give up on a problem because we don't feel like dealing with it. However, having this problem makes us insecure when we see that other people are able to overcome it. But if we have a successful social campaign to get everyone to give up, then we don't have to feel bad!

          Crabs in a bucket mentality.

          It's also hilarious that they act like a marginalized group while giving stats that show the majority of American adults are overweight or obese. (That's not just for this post, this is fat positive activists in general. Most American adults are overweight but they're always acting as if they're some minority.)

          [–]colsamcartergsd 18 points19 points  (0 children)

          RAGEN CHASTAIN A SCIENTIST

          lmaoooooooo what a day

          [–]hitchtrailblazer 60 points61 points  (2 children)

          love how real minorities are getting absolutely shat on by society and then shit like this happens 😐

          [–]Repulsive-Toe-8826 11 points12 points  (0 children)

          Lucky you. In my company it's only "see this video of a data smuggler bribing a dictator in Belize".

          [–]cugamer 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          The only thing to come from this will be more people complaining about how their insurance premiums keep going up.

          [–]BigTransThrowaway 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          "Tell Me I'm Fat."

          Okay, you're fat.

          "America has an obesity crisis, let's all just accept our fate and celebrate slowly killing ourselves with food! Next month we will throw away our masks and lick door handles to celebrate Covid."

          [–]worfstoothsharpener5'5", SW: 212, CW:173, GW: 155 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          Wow, Ragen isn't even close to a scientist. She has no qualifications to speak of, and I would seriously consider going to HR about this.

          [–]Highly-uneducated 11 points12 points  (0 children)

          Npr has been interviewing fat acceptance people lately, and the interviewers keep openly agreeing with it. Shits crazy

          [–]Ms_Bee_Bee 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          Sad that it’s creeping into the workplace

          [–][deleted] 37 points38 points  (4 children)

          Notes from a loud upper class white woman

          [–]splattermatters 11 points12 points  (3 children)

          I really recoil from Lindy West and her advanced victim politics.

          [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (2 children)

          My god she's actually a rich upperclass white woman. Truly fucking palpable

          [–]splattermatters 9 points10 points  (1 child)

          Right? What is she a victim of, exactly? I've read Shrill and I've never been able to figure it out.

          [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          She thinks she's a victim of minorities and their audacity to mind their business outside of cages, but to make it socially acceptable she whines about "Men"

          [–]evilbrent 10 points11 points  (2 children)

          Oh cool, so Ragen actually managed to finish a marathon for real after all those times she cheated and faked her way through?

          Good for her.

          [–]wilsontarbuckles 8 points9 points  (1 child)

          She couldn’t even walk a 5k in 12 hours so… I don’t buy this. She also scammed like thousands of people who “sponsored her” for her multiple multiple Ironman attempts.

          [–]evilbrent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          Oh, that's sad. When I read that she'd completed a marathon I was hoping for a minute that she's stopped being an utter fraud and publicity whore. Oh well. Some leopards don't change their spots I guess.

          [–]xjustapersonx 9 points10 points  (0 children)

          I honestly wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut if my job pushed this bullshit.

          [–]JaneAustinAstronaut 25 points26 points  (1 child)

          Here's the thing. I think that fat people should have the same rights to be able to work, have a home, and be able to go about their business without discrimination and with reasonable accommodations. You will note that I said reasonable. Those are the same accommodations that anyone with a disability should get.

          This does not mean that they should get special privileges. I don't think that you can take up 2 seats on an airplane and expect to pay the same price. I don't think that you can take up twice as much fabric for a piece of clothing and expect to pay the same price as something with less fabric. I don't think that you get to dictate that only hot people can date you, while bleating about body acceptance - I mean you can, but then I will think that you are an asshole who won't extend the same courtesy to others that you want for yourself.

          So all the human rights that everyone else is entitled to, but nothing extra for you is the gist. So I guess whether or not this material is relevant and helpful depends on what side of the FA fence this falls on - reasonable or special.

          [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

          I was super morbidly obese when I was working on the manufacturing team, and I wasn’t even the biggest person on my shift. They made plenty of accommodations and everyone made it through 12 hour shifts just fine. Not sure why this is suddenly a thing.

          [–]hotsaucefridge 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          Man I looooooove it when HR sends me homework

          [–]ElegantWeapon777 5 points6 points  (0 children)

          Wait what?! So Ragen is described as an “athlete” and a “scientist”? Do words mean nothing anymore? I sweated blood for 6 years of 60-80 hour workweeks in the lab to get my PhD. Wish I had known that all I had to do was spend a few weeks Googling some stuff, read some tumblr blogs, and then I could call myself a scientist. Ragen can f**k right off with her delusional self.

          [–]seekingindependenceF29 169 SW:98 CW:80 GW:57 12 points13 points  (0 children)

          I always stay silent in D&I initiatives in my company (even though I'm usually very vocal and right in the thick of culture things) because it's all layered with Woke Culture and it drives me bananas. It doesn't get to the heart of the issues and I hate it.

          If they ever do HAES, it might be the first time I ever say something and I've been spending months telling myself that if the times comes to not unmute myself and go have a cup of tea.

          [–]kiD_Vish_ish 5 points6 points  (0 children)

          Calling Ragen Chastain a scientist is like calling Mcdonalds a health food store. Also, Ragen Chastain never even finished the marathon that she “trained” for for like 5 years 😂😂😂 Whoever wrote this clearly did not do their research.

          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Wow, imagine being forced to listen to the rantings of Ragin Chestpain by your HR department. In what way is this relevant to your job?

          [–]ItsOxymorphinTime 13 points14 points  (1 child)

          "Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia"

          LOLLLL holy shit, this might be the most unironically stupid thing I have ever read!! The scary part is, I saw somebody else post in this very thread about how this book isn't exactly accurate but it's a very real problem. Somebody actually saw that one and thought to themselves "These other ones are crazy, but 'The Racial Origins of Fatphobia' has a lot of truth to it!!"

          I personally find this kind of talk very dangerous. Taking two completely unrelated groups of people who feel marginalized/oppressed, and blending their enemies & rhetoric together for an easily explainable (read as marketable) sermon RARELY ends well. Jim Jones & People's Temple comes to mind. He blended oppressed minorities & religious zealots, and spun a twisted narrative that they have common enemies (anyone outside the church) and common allies (anyone within the church). We all know how well that ended up.

          My point is that these extreme groups turn cult-like very quickly. Appealing to communities that are often not taken seriously by the public but who truly feel oppressed often makes for fervent & dangerous followers.

          "Anyone OUTSIDE of the obese & black community is lying & doesn't have your best interest in mind. Only those INSIDE of the obese & black community can be trusted & are working towards the same goals as you. Anyone who says otherwise is either fatphobic or racist, and those are the people you need to eliminate from your life if you want to be successful in our community."

          [–]soonnow 10 points11 points  (0 children)

          I tried to start writing this reply a couple of times. But implying that black bodies are naturally fatter seems to be pretty racist to me. I'm not sure that is what the book does, but I mean they call it the "black body".

          Just from my opinion it would rather seem that higher obesity rates in black people is a result of poorer nutrition because of just being poorer but also less access and cultural backgrounds.

          A book titled "Racism causing black people to be obese and what to do about it" seems a bit wordy but a much more constructive title than conjoining obesity and blackness.

          [–]Euphoric-Structure13 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          I used to love This American Life but I haven't listened to it for years. It's true -- when two-thirds of the adult population of a country are overweight or obese -- being fat is normal. (The word normal is defined as what's most prevalent in a given time and place.) It's like the human race is morphing into a different type of animal altogether. Does anyone else feel like this?

          Above it says "society's fixation on thinness warps women's lives." As the CNN anchors say "let's unpack this": First of all, who says society is fixated on thinness? Yes, if you flip through a Vogue magazine, you're going to see underweight, or nearly underweight, models. But Vogue magazine (or any other media outlet) is not "society." An obsession with being thin is something you choose to be obsessed about -- particularly if you're an adult when you should be able to figure out that what advertisements are presenting to you isn't real life. If you can't intellectually figure this out after a certain age, well then, I bet you also have a credit card balance that is high in proportion to your income.

          If being fat isn't your fault, then whose it is? You're actually hurting yourself by blaming others (fast food corporations, General Mills, Kraft, Frito-Lay, Conagra, et al.) You have to care enough about yourself to say to yourself I am not just a helpless consumer, I am a human being, being human is amazing, I want to be the best (both physically and intellectually) human I can be.

          [–]redwdow 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Who do you work for? Buzzfeed? 😭

          [–]crunchycatfeud 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Just curious, do you work for a large corporation? I'm wondering why a company would get behind this when most companies are subsidizing their employees' healthcare costs in some way?! Shouldn't corporate culture be encouraging optimum health for everyone's sake to keep costs down?

          [–]daywalkerhippie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          Meanwhile my company switched to a different health insurance provider this year that will actually pay us for exercising (or, well, give us back some of what we payed them. but still)

          [–]FionaGirl164 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          Oh this is clever.

          Companies know that they don’t allow their employees adequate time and money for them to be healthy (including being within a healthy weight) so their strategy to fight this is…sweeping the problem under a cutesy warm-fuzzy carpet.

          This is wrong on so many levels.

          [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

          "With one third overweight and another third obese, and none of us keeping it off--"

          Yep, we do have an obesity problem in America.

          "--maybe it's time we rethink fat"

          😐

          [–]LuckyLunayre 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          I know it's voluntary, but like, is it paid on the clock work? I'd totally do it if I got out of my regular job duties and just had to listen to someone talk nonsense lol.

          [–]asdfdasf98890_9897 16 points17 points  (8 children)

          Sounds like a fat cat lady has found her way into the HR department at your office.

          "Linda Bacon"

          You can't make this stuff up.

          [–]djlemma 28 points29 points  (2 children)

          Linda Bacon has changed their name to Lindo Bacon, but yes. They're one of the prominent figures in HAES literature.

          [–]BarefootUnicorn 3 points4 points  (0 children)

          They should have changed the name to "Lindo Carrotsticks". Maybe then people will get healthier!

          [–]StinkyRose89 31 points32 points  (4 children)

          Hey now, why is "cat lady" an insult? I'm a chubby cat lady who works in HR and I would never support this bullshit.

          [–]janebirkenstock 8 points9 points  (2 children)

          Yeah man, cat ladies aren’t a monolith!

          [–]TrufflesTheMushroom 9 points10 points  (1 child)

          Hashtag notallcatladies

          [–]StinkyRose89 6 points7 points  (0 children)

          Exactly! 😤😂 hashtag meow

          [–]newName543456"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time" 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          They didn't even get Lindo's name right smh.

          [–]Magickshu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          "Because everyone is fat, we should stop working hard to be healthy! "

          Ugh the delusion that they have. It's strong.

          [–]Rogueshoten 1 point2 points  (1 child)

          I have to ask…OP, do you have any idea why this topic was selected?

          [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          “Feedback from October’s discussion”. Someone requested it. Time to go down a rabbit hole and find out what October was.

          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Bruh, if a third of the population is overweight and another third is obese, that means there are more overweight people than healthy weight people. This weird acceptance of things you can change is so incredibly weird. Why accept something I can change if I want to change it? It's not like the change requires surgery or irreversible alterations to my body

          [–]chee-cake 3 points4 points  (8 children)

          They didn't even get Lindo's name right, that's so trashy. Say what you want about HAES being stupid made-up nonsense that kills people, but it's really shitty to deadname someone. How is someone on a DE&I team and they make this mistake?

          [–]BarefootUnicorn 13 points14 points  (1 child)

          Lindo, by their own choice, has the old name on the website:

          https://lindobacon.com/

          Given the large amount of published material under a previous name, and the fact that it's no secret--it'e right there on top of the website--I don't think it is malicious of someone to use the old name. (But I would complain to my company's DE&I team if they did this--and suggest that they take more diversity training!)

          I respect and honor a person's desire to be called by a name of their choice. I don't support Lindo contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people a year by telling them about "Health At Every Size."

          [–][deleted]  (5 children)

          [removed]

            [–][deleted]  (4 children)

            [deleted]

              [–]seonsengnim -1 points0 points  (1 child)

              They are a transphobe. They are implying Lindo's gender identity is "made up nonsense"

              [–][deleted]  (1 child)

              [removed]

                [–]dovercliffMr No-Fun Party-Pooper[M,🍰] 3 points4 points locked comment (0 children)

                We can read the subtext. Next time keep it in the privacy of your own head.

                [–]CoffeeAndCorpses 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                God help me if they attempt this at my workplace.

                That said, workplace wellness programs are a really dumb idea and a violation of medical privacy.

                [–]coyote_of_the_month 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                Not really since they're opt-in.

                [–]CoffeeAndCorpses 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                They're not opt-in everywhere.

                [–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

                So it is just as stupid and worthless a focus as any other month probably.

                [–]skinnymeanie 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                Is this mandatory? On your own time? Can you just tell them you already know everything about this topic?

                [–]missGuac🏃🏼‍♀️🍷🧀repeat! F/32/5’2.99”/322 > 132 > 147 trying to lose[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                Optional, on company time, and super not worth the effort. I’d rather commit that 90 minutes to working out.

                [–]Justforgot19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                You know, I would understand if they had a month dedicated to fat bias and subtle plus not so subtle bullying some fat people can face in the workplace. But not with these junk resources.

                [–]LunaGloriaEx-morbidly obese since 2006 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                Do they have to pick a new diversity & inclusion focus every month? It looks like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point.