Woah, fat acceptance is just accepting people's bodies for how they are. The way our culture views "health" does not accept that a healthy body shape/weight is different for every individual. Besides, even if someone is unhealthy, that's really none of your business. Is it so hard to let people try to feel good about themselves?
If a diverse range of body types were accepted into the mainstream, larger bodies would not be so fetishized as they would not be seen as anything unusual. Fat acceptance won't increase feederism. That's quite an implication to put on a body-positive movement.

the comments regarding feederism also presupposes that the fetish is only shared by men, IE the women are not satisfied sexually when being fed. This seems to assume no woman would ever have the fetish to be fed or gain, when some do.

heard of but dont know what to think of it

Well said!

That's really great to hear that it was encouraging for you.

I think everyone should be happy with how they look and it's up to them to change it if they don't like it. In whatever means they wish. Your body is your business.

What I think is so amazing is that in every issue we face when it comes to being labeled or judged is that there is always a section of people who turn it into a fetish. The list is long and distinguished. That's when I start scratching my head.

Didn't we used to preach that it was mind over body and it was the person inside that counted? Where did that line of thinking go? Now, everyone has a label to bear. Some wear them proudly, while others induce major issues with self-esteem.

Well said at the end. We all have flaws and every one of us has a vice.
For some it's sex, for some it's fashion magazines, and for others it's food. Pretty much anything can become a vice when you learn to rely on it. No one should be shamed. But, if they want help it should be available.

This is so true- some peoples vices are more apparent (like an over eating sweet tooth), but that doesn't mean we can shame them just because our vices are more easily hidden.

This is an interesting phenomenon. I have not thought about it a lot, usually being within 15 lbs of my target weight, with a few exceptions that I worked on and was able to bring into control. (Still, sometimes those 15 lbs are stubborn, but I admit readily, I am not as active physically as I should be.)

I have seen people who come from families in which the matriarch or even the patriarch are overweight who have had to nearly cut off connections with their family to lose the weight. Their family members who were staying large did virtually everything in their power to sabotage their weight loss, from cooking their favorite foods to outright intimidation.

It never occurred to me, thought, that there could be fanatics in the "Acceptance" movement. I guess it can happen in any movement.

When I was trained as a nurse, "gland disorders" were presented as something that never, ever caused weight problems, we were told people used them as excuses not to exercise and to continue to overeat or eat unhealthy foods. (The funny part was, one of the nurses who taught this course was about 50 or 60 lbs overweight, an irony that did not escape us students.) I still vaccinate on the validity of those teachings. With the advent of barometric gastro procedures it is found that everyone loses weight, unless they somehow re stretch the small pocket that then serves as their stomach. And, during these procedures, the stomachs of overweight people are universally found to be unusually large and stretched well beyond normal size. (Meaning at some point in that person's life, they ate enough to effect the size of the organ itself.)

If "glandular disorders" (or PCOS or other hormonal issues) were a true cause of weight problems, then people would stay overweight when these procedures performed. They simply don't, unless they slowly restretch the stomach again.

I agree that hormones can certainly play a role. I have a harder time staying in my target weight area when I am on the Pill, taking Depo Provera or using estrogens, but it's not impossible, only more difficult.

With the coming future of Universal Health Care (and I do think it's coming) we will all be directly paying for each other's health. Even more than we do now, or at least it will be more obvious that we do so. (We already do, based on hospital costs, medication costs, doctor office visits etc.)

I think there will be more pressure in the near future to stay healthier. Everyone from smokers, to the overweight, to those who over indulge in junk food to even those who don't to exercise to make more of an effort to help themselves and reduce health care costs for all.

When one realizes that there are health care problems that are completely out of one's control (I mentioned a friend of mine's little boy who had a heart transplant on an other thread) those who need health care resources for things completely out of their control, and those who simply need little or no health care dollars used for themselves will most likely continue to put pressure on health care problems for which people do have some modicum of control.

My guess: smoking, addictions and overweight will be the first targeted.

"Shouldn't everyone strive for optimal health? Shouldn't people be encourage to strive for optimal health?"

That would likely involve giving up meat, any sugar, dairy and many more products. The thing about optimal health is that the margins aren't worth it. I'd rather live 1 or 2 years less than spend those extra years not eating meat, sugar or animal products. The question is whether or not what's sacrificed is worth the gain. For many, the slight improvement in health may not be worth the sacrifice. Note, i'm not talking about not changing a lifestyle when someone has high blood pressure and cholesterol and diabetes or is at high risk. Rather someone who is at average or below average blood pressure, cholesterol etc, etc, may not abstain from red meat and dairy even though they're not at optimal health, they consider it a good fit for their lifestyle.

P'Gell, I could not have said it better. I have struggled with weight my entire life. At my heaviest, I was 360 pounds. I've experienced my share of ostracism and discrimination, and I don't think anyone should be treated poorly for looking a certain way. However, obesity kills. If a person were anorexic, they would be encouraged to get help. On the other hand, some seem to perceive telling an obese person to get help as being "mean" or "intolerant". It's not!

I don't think optimal health requires giving up ALL meat and sugar. One can use moderation.

One or two years of extra life? That's one thing. Ten or 20 years of extra life, and living what years one has in better health? Not having to use a "scooter" because one is too big too move, not being so diabetic that one goes blind, cannot perform sexually, cannot enjoy life at all? YES, it's worth some moderation.

It doesn't require eliminating all meat or all sugar. Only eating healthily for your body type.

Thank you. I agree, people should be kindly encouraged to become healthy. KINDLY being the key concept.

which is why i said i wasn't referring to the extreme cases, I agree with you on that on that.