Obese - The meaning of this word has changed significantly. It used to simply mean someone who was extremely overweight from a visual standpoint. Now it simply means someone who has a BMI of 30 or above, or someone who is 20% above their ideal weight. BMI, though, is simply a ratio of someone's height to weight. It does not take into account the amount of muscle vs. fat that comprises a person. Therefore, if someone is extremely muscular (my husband, for example, has the most muscular legs I have ever seen. He is uncomfortable in most pants because they cannot accommodate his muscular thighs). He is also muscular through his shoulders and neck. Using the word "obese" to describe people may be doing more harm than good. For some, it may be a wake up call for them to change their habits. For other, though, it can be insulting and not a good portrayal of their situation, resulting in shame and a dismissal of the intended message. For some, calling them "obese" can further plant their feet into the ground and cause them to more fully commit to their ways.
Furthermore, the definition of "obese" was changed in 1998. As a result, close to 30 million Americans were shifted from "overweight" to "obese."
William Quick adds this analysis:
According to an American Medical Association report, 14.5 % of Americans in 1980 were obese, a total of 32,700,000 (based on a population of 226,000,000). If, as the above article states, the numbers of obese Americans have "doubled" in the past twenty years, this would mean there are now about 66 million of them. But thirty million of those fatties were created by a change in definition, so by the standards of 1980 [we would calculate an] obesity percentage of 12.85 percent, an actual decrease in obesity percentage since 1980.
Hmm... so while "obesity" isn't made up, it is an adjective whose definition has been changed to encompass a much larger group of people unfairly.
Which leads me to my second severely disliked word:
Epidemic- An epidemic in previous generations was used to describe things like cholera, small pox, and the Bubonic Plague. But obesity? The World English Dictionary defines an epidemic as: adj. (esp. of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area.
Now, is obesity a disease? No. You can't "catch" fat, and while some have genetics that make them more prone to accumulating fat, it is not a completely genetic thing. Being obese or overweight, however, does have an increased association and risk for other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc. But is obesity in itself a disease? No.
If anything, this is simply clever bending of the truth by those who would like to condemn those who are fat. We have seen increased bullying in our society against those who appear overweight. I know, I used to be one. With the beauty ideal increasingly becoming more thin, we as a society have grown a distaste for anyone with a fuller figure. The portrayal on the news of the "American Obesity Epidemic" has often been cited by other countries to poke fun at us and preen their feathers against us. This stance has also been taken in the States by those who do not understand that some people who are "obese" have become so as a result of medical issues or are simply a product of the corrupt food industry. While 70% of disease can be avoided with diet or exercise, just because a person appears overweight does not mean that you know them or can judge them. Why do we condemn people for judging others based on their gender, race, or religion, yet we as a society consider it completely OK to judge someone based on their body? We see a person who is overweight and immediately judge them as lazy, disgusting, pathetic... I am against making blanket statements to any group, and while some of these things may be true on an individual basis, if we have to validate ourselves by judging those around us, I think the change has to come from us first. Perhaps we are afraid of becoming fat. Perhaps we are reminded of that half gallon of ice cream we consumed during a particularly trying time. We see that obese person and we project all of our body fears and issues onto them. We want to persecute them for our fears of death and disease. Meanwhile, these individuals are people, too. Did you know that most people who are actually obese can trace the beginnings of their weight gain to an emotional trauma? The next time you try to judge someone for the way they look, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, "What fault in me is causing me to judge this person?"
Finally, while it might not seem related to the above arguments, my third most hated word is...
CEO- I see this word all the time lately. People like to tout it around to claim the unbased success and tenure it suggests. CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer and is used to describe someone at the head of a company. If someone is the CEO of a large and well-developed company, that is saying a whole lot more than Suzy down the street who started selling Avon and is the CEO of her own company. Come on, people, let's get real. Being a CEO comes with a large amount of responsibility. Just like being the quarterback of a football team, if your team wins, it's your fault. If your team loses, it's your fault. Simply calling yourself "CEO" does not make you successful. Winning makes you successful.
With the large amount of internet start-ups, anyone can call themself a CEO if they start their own company... but this does not mean they are successful. I think they should spend more time trying to make their product successful then preening their feathers to impress the opinions of others.
