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Fat People = Poor People

There's an interesting article at Salon that talks about how the fatter segment of the US population is also the poorer population. I sometimes wonder how stereotypes come about, and I often postulate that they come about because they are, for the most part, true (except for the blonde stereotype).

So it strikes me that poorer people tend to be:

  • Less well educated
  • Less active
  • More likely to drink beer and fast food

Yep, pretty much the same qualities a fat person would expect.

I'm a firm believer that there are certain kinds of people in the world. Yes, there are lazy, fat rich people and there are thin, active poor people. But I'm guessing that a study could show a correlation between intelligence and wealth, and I'm also guessing that a study could show a correlation between intelligence and weight. Yuppies may play golf, but it keeps the weight off more than drinking beer while watching NASCAR as your twelve government-supported kids run around the house on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Does that incense you? Yeah, me too a bit. After all, the author of the book this article links to "presents fat as a heath liability unjustly foisted on the poor and insufficiently addressed by the affluent." The article also points out some scary thoughts like this: "A regular serving of McDonald's French fries contained 200 calories in 1960; now it has 610."

In the end, I'm still fairly certain of another thing: people are the weight they are pretty much going to be. I can eat well and exercise, and my body might change just a little. I can slack off for two months and eat like a cow (multiple stomachs, postponed cud chewing, the works!) and look about the same. Most people I know have always been about the same weight - the few I know that have changed at all have had to work very hard to change.

37 Responses to "Fat People = Poor People"

  1. Fat and poor

    It appears Salon is running on article about how Being fat is correlated with being poor Found at NSLog();

  2. Hi!

    hmmm... I have seen many overweight people who probably aren't the brightest crayon in the box but I'm large.. No fat hanging from my bones but I am considered a larger girl. I don't think its because I'm uneducated. I would agree with the lazy part... but I think its unfair to say that a level of education has anything to do with it. I've seen very skinny people who shouldn't be allowed to start conversations....

    This is my opinion, and I think that uneducated may be better phrased as ignorant...

    Thanks,

    Kimberly

  3. Hello All

    First off, I have to say that, yes I'm fat. I'm 6'7" and I weigh 350 pounds. But because I'm fat, it doesn't mean that I'm lazy. It also doesn't mean I'm poor, it sounds like you are stereotyping people into categories. I am a very smart person, in fact, I just got results from my ACT testing and I got a 33. not too shabby. I also live on my own, but I have no debts to anyone. I can also run fifteen miles straight with only a bottle of water before I get too tired to run, which is more than I can say for a lot of people.

    And on the comment that rich people tend not to be fat, its because if there rich and they used to be fat, they more than likely got liposuction to improve their self-figure without working for it.

    Bye,

    Alan

  4. Excuse me? I've heard a lot of stupid things in my life and this takes the cake. By your definition of unintelligent=fat, you must weigh at least a ton. Or maybe it's just because you need to pull your head out of your arse. Personally, I'm fat, I'm also not poor, I'm not rich exactly, but I'm not poor. I'm also not stupid. My IQ is 185, that's 85 points above the average man. When I took the College placement tests to go to college, I found out that I don't have to take any math classes unless I wanted to get my masters in Mathematics. I also don't have to take any english classes below the 200's. Sure I may be lazy, but I'm more active than other people. MAYBE you should re-think your stereotype because NONE of them are true. NOT ONE.

  5. Fuck you. I repeat. FUCK YOU.

  6. I would like to start by saying this article is, by far, the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. It is hilarious because the person that wrote it is oblivious enough to believe that all stereotypes are true. If someone truly believes that, they are obviously an extremely shallow person that doesn't take the time to think about or get to know anyone but themselves. Also quite funny because the individual fails to back up his/her point with any credible sources other than a very skewed opinion.

    Let's start off by saying that I'm NOT fat. I'm 5'4" and I weigh 145 pounds. I'm also pretty smart. However, weight isn't the reason this post pissed me off. It's the incredible insensitivity the author displayed. A person's financial situation is NOT the only factor that leads to being overweight. There are many situations that can push the problem along. Such a stereotype should be researched before being believed.

    Due to RESEARCH, there are undoubtedly some statistics that show those in a less stable financial situation tend to be overweight. However, let's look at some reasons why:

    -Fast food is cheap.

    -If the financial situation IS that dire, many times the family is supported with high-calorie foods received from food banks; they don't have a choice.

    -Ever been inside a health food store? Prices are extremely high. Actually, just go to a regular grocery store and compare prices.

    -Lower income families are usually always on the go, working and attempting to make money. They may make poorer food choices- yes, this may be their faults, but it's easier and more realistic to eat something quick than prepare a healthy meal.(In fact, the "well bodied individual with twelve government-supported children" scenario you provided is VERY rare. Only about 2% of those on government assistance are unemployed. Do the research, it's not hard.)

    I'm a FIRM BELIEVER that whoever wrote this needs to wake up and get a little taste of reality.

  7. And I'm a firm believer that you've done nothing but use yourself - a single person - as an example to prove the falsity of a generalization. Sorry, but that doesn't work.

    I never said a person's financial situation is the only factor. I did say that I suspect you could find a correlation. In fact, that correlation has already been found and formed the basis of this entry!

    FWIW, the person that wrote the article is "Laura Miller." The book she discusses was written by "Greg Critser." Both of their names appear within about 100 pixels of the title of the article.

    Now, I've failed to comment much on the content of your entry. The great thing is this: I don't have to. Greg Critser already has. Go read his book and comment on specific portions of it if you'd like. Generalizing about what he may say in his book without reading it is not going to get any of us anywhere.

  8. I know this girl, and she is fat among fat! i mean she is soo fat.

  9. Fat people are fat because they are lazy and don't want to work, therefore yes that makes them stupid. No one wants a fat person, and to be honest with you not one person I know likes fat people. FAT ASS lazy mother fuckers are gross and need lives. So enough wasting my time, just thought I'd give you fat asses some motivation!

  10. I lived for a year with very litte money and I gained ten pounds. I have never been fat and the ten pounds did not put me in the fat category. What I found out is that when you have very lmited money to buy food---like $15. to last you a week,you buy cheap stuff that will fill you up. I ategg sadwiches, butter sandwiches, cooked macaroni with butter and garlic, ramen noodles. I had no mone for meat, vgetables, fruit. Also, that bland diet left me feeling deprived and I also ate even though I had just eaten trying to get a feeling of satisfaction. That puts on weight. I had little energy and my moral was hard to keep up. It costs money to buy food for a balanced diet and the least fattening foods cost too much. I cook and never buy ready-made food and I do not eat out. Until you have been there, don't sit n your moneyed world and be critical of those that you have never walked in their shoes. I had lived in a big house, had money, but decided to leave my abusive husband and the only way I could see doing it without harm, was to just walk out.I can truly understand how poor people tend to be heavier. I was so happy to get on my feet again after that year. After eating normally, I eventually lost that weight, but I felt terrible when I had no money for food. I couldn't eat fast food either---too expensive---once in a while I ate a McDonalds double cheeseburger off the dollar menu. I drank water. It isn't easy trying to live on no money and to survive, the cheap food is the high carb and high fat.

    1. yes but how can you binge eat on a limited budget. if you were rich, it is easy to binge eat because the food is easily available. As i became financially comfortable, i put on weight.

  11. I wonder if this trend continues as those who grow up in poverty become affluent? Are self-made people more likely to be over-weight then those born into affluence?

  12. Just a little mistake to point out. NASCAR races are typically run on Sunday afternoons. It is true that the Busch series (a NASCAR sactioned event) typically runs on Saturdays, but the races that have the big names and the big crowds are on Sundays. Sorry, but as a lazy, poor, fat, uneducated, beer drinking NASCAR fan I had to point that out.

  13. if fat ppl are poor, where the hell do they get the fucking money to buy food. or is it because they used all their money to buy food and there's nothing left for other stuff. THINK!!!

  14. I agree. Fat people are, for the most part, poor and stupid. And people, don't get pissed off because you don't fit the stereotype. Stereotypes are not laws and your anecdotal evidence isn't any more valid than someone who actually did research.

    Seriously, do you think there might be a biological mechanism? If we subconsciously feel poor, like we may not be able to provide for ourselves, maybe our bodies kick into a mode to conserve energy and store more fat.

  15. I LOVE YOU FAT PPL!!!! CAUSE I AM ONE OF THEM!! I am 299 pounds !!!

  16. I have never been so disgusted in all my life...who can possibly think overweight people are just lazy and stupid... I think some people are genetically predispositioned to carry more weight... I am heavy... I work out vigorously three times a week...40 minutes of cardio...weight training....I willl never be skinny...and what's more... I don't care.

    I have a friend who started a medication... she was very skinny... the medicine made her gain weight and she could not take it off not matter what she did... if medicine can alter body chemistry that is ample evidence that individual inborn metabolism also determines weight... it ain't rocket science....

    Thin people ruthlessly judge heavier people but consider this... would you chose to live a life a life of abuse if it were simply in your power to change your circumstances ? Heavier people are often more hungry... skinnier people tend not to be...hunger is controlled by the brain...weight is a function of the set points in the brain...even lab rats demostrate this....yet people feel the need to hurt people for who they were born to be... you wouldn't dream of ridiculing a parapalegic for being unable to walk ? No sorry...forgot myself...of course you would ...because your track record already speaks for itself...

    I am not lazy; I work and continue to take courses to better help the people I serve...I am intelligent ... I have 3 degrees including a degree in pharmacology ... I have published medical research that has caused many people to experience great relief from their disease..and I have made a real difference in the lives of many people, including street people, the homeless, the dying and AIDs victims....

    You people make me wretch... you have no idea of what is truly important in life besides what you find visually appealing...how utterly and deeply selfish.

    I cannot possibly understand how any of you could be remotely happy... you don't know how to give and you don't have the slightest idea about the basic value of kindness... I guess the only thing for you to do is to sit in your obvious misery... maybe you think others ought to be as unhappy as you are...the truth is... you must be very miserable yourselves to be so hopelessly shallow....

    I guess what makes me feel so sad is that there is so much emphasis on this in our society today...being healthy is of course good... but this whole thing just seems another way for people to demonstrate just how really bigoted they truly are...it is like one thing is not acceptable to criticize now.. like race or religion... so people find another thing to hate someone for....something that is difficult to change and which is easily identified... how pitiful... how positively ignorant...

    Gosh... I want to live in a world where people are praised for what they do and who they are rather than their waist size.... this is a shallow shallow

    culture... we have been hypnotized to believe these lies... there are lazy people ....but what is worse....laziness or hatred ? At least a lazy person will never harm you.... the hatred that spews out from people is the greatest tragedy of all....most overweight people don't want to be as they are...

    young girls shove their fingers down their throats... and starve themselves...for what ?? Your selfishly motivated approval ?

    I eat healthy food...I exercize and I have the body I was born with... if people cannot accept and love me for who I am and for common decency and goodness, then too bad... I don't feel sorry for me... i feel sorry for them...

    they have no souls...and are clearly dead on the inside... this is what the whole world should cry about...

  17. "drink beer and fast food" -your a moron

  18. Uhh, Bill, "you're" the one who typed "your a moron."

  19. Why is there so much hate towards fat people? i few moments ago i was reading this article and gosh i have never heard so much hate from anyone in my life!. By the way im 15 and like in the uk and no i am not fat but thts not the point. I cant believe people can be so mean! i was really shocked when i read that, i could read all of it i was to upset by it. I dont mean to sound all defencive but i just think that is really tight, and i no you guys didnt say it, but... . I know things may be different in the USA than from England, but people over here do not display as much hate or anger towards overweight people as in the US. I understand that the USA may have more fat people and have to tolerate them more, but its the principals. I understand that people may feel diferently about it than me, as everyone has there own opinions, but this is an issue very close to my heart and this is my view so i am going to fight for it. And ( i know you cannot start a sentence with and but anyway) if people do want to share there views then please do, but before you do please think about what you are going to say and the effect it might cause. If you were an overweight person reading it, what would you feel like?. I am not saying that i am all for fat people, i agree that they are not aesthetically pleasing to look at but the way in which i address them is different. After all we are all humans. O.k you people reading this might be thinking what on earth am i taking about this is a load if shit,thats ok i dont mind. At least you guys had the time to read this, and make me think that maybe i might have made a difference. Even if i only got one person to think about the wat they treat overweight people. Please just think before you write. Thankyou

  20. some are fat, some are thin... I'm thin and I hate to get my ass kicked by a fat person for being insensitive. They tend to be able to just "toss you around". I think there are too many factors involved to call one correct. Genetics, ignorance ( I state ignorance, not stupidity; there is a difference), laziness, etc... and in each variable there are more variables. I don't like the gym but I walk to work about a mile and a half in the mornings while many of my friends drive from closer yet hit the gym 3 + times a week. Who's lazy? Peace, y'all

  21. i don't see why we're always criticing others opinions like "Fuck you" or "your article was a load". seriously, whats the point, it's just there to make you reconsider your views of the world. another thing what's with being so pc about everything, you feel bad for a group you don't belong to, and in truth it's just to make yourself feel better.
    I'm fat and lazy, and i'm certainly a far way from stupid, and yet i take no offense from this. there's truth in everything you just have to look for it.

  22. Fat haters are jerks. Quit hatin' on me because I'm different from you.

    I am not stupid. My IQ is 140. I am not lazy, either. I've been discriminated against in the office for being fat. It's people like you that think fat people are unintelligent who are always speaking down to me, talking about me behind my back.

    Discrimination = poor, not fat

  23. why are poor people heavier? That's an easy one: white rice and white pasta and white bread are cheaper than whole grain products and less nutritious. A kettle of ghoulash or macaroni & cheese lasts longer than a "one serving" each type of meal and is less nutritious. Cheap burger is fattier than ground round or sirloin and less nutritious. Cornflakes are cheaper than whole grain cereals and less nutrious. Everything cheap is limited in nutrition and full of salt and preservatives.. No wonder poor people are fat and less healthy!

  24. FAT = sick

  25. There's never been a more poignant time in history when the power of the almighty dollar counts. We're a nation of excess, and it's starting to show in ALL OF US. Those with natural tendencies toward thinness are just as vulnerable to the weight-gain trend as anyone. Our food industry is giving us what we want: high fat, salt, and sugar in everything we eat.
    Perhaps we need to unite as consumers and demand healthier choices at reasonable costs. And less advertising!

  26. Yall seriously dont have anything better to do than to dawg on fat people and make them feel worse.. they know that they are fat, they get reminded of it everytime they walk outside and someone makes a remark or a face.. trust me they notice....

    QUIT BEING MEAN BITCHES!!!!! KARMA IS A BITCH AND I HOPE ONE DAY YOU BECOME FAT YOU SKINNY-ASS HOE!!!!!!

  27. I agree! Statistically most overweight people are in the South and Midwest, and the thinner ones on the east coast. Need I say more? The east coast is by far more educated, intelligent, and thin!
    Highest IQ's by state:

    Connecticut 113
    Massachusetts 111
    New Jersey 111
    New York 109
    Rhode Island 107
    New Hampshire 105
    Maine 100
    Vs.
    Tennessee 94
    Arkansas 92
    Georgia 92
    Kentucky 92
    Texas 92
    Alabama 90
    Louisiana 90
    South Carolina 89
    Mississippi 85

    Can you say "Southern Slow"?

    More than a quarter of adults in these 10 states were obese. Those states are:
    Mississippi 29.5%
    Alabama: 28.9%
    West Virginia: 27.6%
    Tennessee: 27.2%
    Louisiana: 27%
    Arkansas: 26.1%
    Kentucky: 25.8%
    Texas: 25.8%
    Indiana: 25.5%

    We're getting fatter too... but not as bad.
    Massachusetts: 18.4%
    Connecticut: 19.7%
    Montana: 19.7%
    Rhode Island: 19%
    Vermont: 18.7%
    Colorado: 16.8%

    Percent of population with Bachelors Degree or higher

    Massachusetts 35.8
    Colorado 34.7
    Connecticut 34.6
    Maryland 34.5
    Virginia 32.2
    New Jersey 32.1
    Vermont 32
    New Hampshire 30.3

    Least Educated (Percent with Bachelor's degree or higher)
    Tennessee 21.5
    Louisiana 21.3
    Alabama 21.2
    Indiana 21
    Nevada 19.5
    Arkansas 19
    Mississippi 18.7
    Kentucky 18.6
    West Virginia 17

    These are just facts guys. "Fat states" are less educated, poorer, and less globally aware.

    95% of the time obese people are obese simply because they eat too much crap and they are too lazy to change their habits.

  28. Hello people!

    I'm overweight too, i am 5'1" and i weight 215 pounds... I think is true to be fat is to be sick... I'm trying so hard to loose
    weight, but i love myself, and i know i am very well educated... I am smart, cute, and so proud of myself... I am so sad of those who said that fat people are not educated and blah blah blah... You don't even know what you saying, i bet that what i have of fat you have of idiot... everybody has a thousands defect so firstable see yourself in a mirror! You do not know what can happen tomorrow… Hopefully that God does not punish you with something worse!

  29. I'm not fat but I do live poverty level. I've worked most of my life while raising children. My husband also works but we both had and have jobs that pay very little. Our rent is high so we can't afford health care which makes it hard when we're sick and need a doctor. Doctors and dentists charge outragous amounts these days.
    That aside, if there were no people working the 'lower' paid jobs then this country would fall right on it's face. Do you think the wealthy are going to run the gas stations, change your tires and do your lube jobs for you? Are they going to work in grocery stores and cleaners? Are they going to do road contruction or sweep the streets or pick up your garbage? I think not and without people doing these jobs, the very jobs that make it possibly for people to go to work, home, parties, buy food, have clean clothes, our nation wouldn't survive!
    Now, you take people who have to pay high rents because lets face it, rent along with everything else today, is high even living in the most modest home. After also paying utility bills, there's very little left for food. So what does a family do?
    They buy noodles, bread, milk, butter and I can tell you that we, my own family has lived months, sometimes years eating nothing much more than this. The problem is, these are the exact foods that cause weight gain. Starch is a cheap food and goes the farthest. You can put sauce on it, cheese on it, boil it, bake it and make a lot of dinners to stretch the dollar.
    Toast in the morning is cheaper than other breakfast foods and lunch is usually more toast or more pasta. There you go, poor people very well can equal fat people but not because they want it that way and not because they're all over eating.

    Life on this earth is hard enough without people judging others before they even know what the truth is. Many who judge poor people judge by what they hear on the news. But guess what, when people are doing what's right, that's not news! News is when they can make people think what they want them to think, believe what they want them to believe. If a bum on the street robs a store, the news will have us believing every homeless person or family for that matter, is going to rob someone or some place. We all get scared when we see one because our mind has been set to believe something that only a handfull of people are doing. Yet we now believe they're all doing it.
    We need to get our facts straight first. We also need to have kind hearts and not hard hearts against our neighbors no matter what they look like on the outside.
    Being poor has become a crime in the U.S. We shouldn't be judging people by how much money they have, how smart they are, how large or small they are or any other thing aside from their heart. If they are a loving, caring human being, that should be all that matters. And thank God for those who are loving and caring. Funny, the most loving and caring people I've ever met, are poor people. Most are ready to give someone the shirt off their back, even if it leaves them without a shirt.
    Wealthy, poor, middle, some are bad, some are good, some are thin, some are fat, that's life. Seek out the inside of people and even you will find your heart softening up some.
    God bless,
    Sheri

  30. I know the truth hurts. But, let's be realistic. If you choose to eat like a pig, shouldn't expect to look like one? Fat people are fat because they CHOOSE the fatty lifestyle. No one forces fat people to eat junk and sit on their lazy tanks all day. So, the next time you look at one of us skinny people like you want to rip our heads off because you are so freaking jealous, just remember it takes alot of intelligence, work and discipline for us to stay so beautiful. If you want what we have so bad, your'e going to have to work for it. Otherwise, get over it and live with the stereotyping. By the way, I am 5'3" 100lbs, got tons of money, a college education, blond. What does that tell you???? Livin' it and lovin' it!!!

    Fat = Ugly, poor, uneducated and diseased
    Skinny = Beautiful, successful, intelligent and happy.

    The facts are the facts. Quit your fat cry baby whining.

    1. if i were poor, it would be impossible to binge eat because the food has to last 4 or 5 people for a month and it would run out if i overate.

  31. OK this is messed up just cuz I'm poor and a Lil overweight dose not mean I'm stupid and i don't eat junk food i had a baby a year ago and don't have any money to get lipo like rich ppl and i don't have the money to go to a gym shit i don't even have a car to go to a gym so this is stupid and Alison not all ppl had mommy and daddy to put us threw nice school just cuz I'm poor I'm not stupid I'm a little over weight 5'7" 185 i was 195 a week ago and all i do is chase my Lil boy around and take the only diet pills i can afford and they seem to be working anyway some ppl are fat cuz they chose that life the dont try to get out and eat a lot and some have disorders i do nether i don't have money to buy any pills really i do but is that a healthy way no but i cant get to a gym so that's the only chose i have right now i would love to be at a gym right now and be running or swimming but what rich ppl don't realize is its not easy lets see what u would look like if you grew up like some of us did and do what we can right now and lets see what u would look like stress is the number one thing that make some fat the other is the ppl that just eat and eat and eat and so no one should feel sorry for them its no ones fault but there own and no I'm not saying to feel sry for me cuz its no ones fault I'm just saying don't judge everyone that's over weight cuz sometimes it is not there fault they are the way they are its life god gave us what we can handle and he didn't think u can handle the criticism so he gave u what u can deal with i think everyone is beautiful in there own way find urs cuz u may act like u have no problems but ur not being true to your self would u like it if everyone said u looked like a crack whore no so don't call us ugly cuz where fat fat doesn't make us ugly stupid or poor there are a lot of rich fat ppl so yeah you may have a better body but mind set no

  32. I was never fat, but I gained weight due to my pregnancy. I had a miscarriage after an accident that wasn't my fault, so I put on weight due to depression. I ate to keep my mind off the thought of my child being torn away from me. I lost my baby, and now people like you are criticizing me because I put on weight? I seriously want to know how you sleep at night. I pray you never lose a child. I cannot lose weight, as hard as I've tried. I got to the point where I was starving myself. I was on every diet there was. I even hired a personal trainer (which btw cost me a pretty penny, so your so called "facts" are completely false), but I still could not lose weight. I went to a doctor because my trainer said I may have something wrong with my thyroid. I didn't have anything wrong. Oh yes, about your "fat people are stupid" theory, I was valedictorian at my high school, as well as being accepted in Harvard University. So go screw yourself. I have no respect for scum like you.

  33. I am highly educated, work on Wall Street, make a high income, vegetarian, eat a mostly organic diet,have a nutritionist, have a personal trainer 4 times a week and I have never lost 1 pound in my life. I am 5'4" 205lb and a size 16 on a good day.
    I am always regarded as the smartest and best thing since sliced bread wherever I work yet I will never be promoted. I get the top score on all reviews every single year and no boss can even tell me one item of improvement that I need to do yet when it comes to promotions -- it's a no go. No one will promote me. They dodge the question, leave the room, won't answer me -- anything and everything not to promote me to a position of visibility -- why is that?! Because people perceive fat people as a lazy, dumb, poor, scumbags.
    I come from a long line of fat and ugly people. We all look alike --- Hee-Man arms, stomach rolls, fat thighs, big butts, black circles under the eyes, chin rolls -- to the point where there is no neck.
    I have had many doctors test me for various things and every single one eventually gives up and says "well, there's a lot we don't know about obesity".

    So while people get offended by the article...it's what people really think.

  34. I am fat due to liver issues, PCOS, depression, and genetics. Your opinions are null and void. I can lose some weight through diet and I keep things reasonable through diet and moderate exercise, but I will never be skinny. My IQ is about 150. Your opinions are null and void.

    1. Not much above is my opinion, and the original article from nearly 20 years ago is a 404 right now, so…