Walt Disney World's Epcot Center has a new, misguided exhibit aimed at combating obesity. See the link below from Weighty Matters, a blog by an obesity medicine doctor. See pictures from the exhibit and detail of their approach to the subject of weight management. He is outraged as am I that Disney could be so cruel.
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/02/disneys-horrifying-new-interactive.html#comment-form
They have several exaggeratedly fat characters named The Glutton, The Snacker
and Leadbottom. Naturally they are completely to blame for their afflictions by eating too quickly, too often and not exercising. While I do not deny that these habits can be harmful there is certainly more to the equation. I've seen children in the same family vary greatly in dimensions and not because parents fed one child any differently than the other. There are the factors of processed food, environment, overly structured recreation and emotional problems. So much junk food is marketed directly to children. So-called fruit snacks are really just candy. Juice boxes are mostly sugar. School lunches are high in fat and carbs. A child who is on a sports team may spend most of the game on the bench. Wouldn't they be better off just running around playing hide and seek?
Disney even has a phone app called Habit Heroes that has self-righteous thin superheroes combating the evil fat people. THIS IS INSANE!!!
I recall two recent disturbing animated movies had negative treatments of obesity. The first was Monster House in 2006. A haunted neighborhood house was really the reincarnation of a psychotic former circus fat lady.
The second was Wall-E in 2008. While in the foreground is the theme of our trashing of the earth, the background theme was that all the survivors of the apocalypse became non-ambulatory fatties. They didn't even notice they had a pool!
Even in The Little Mermaid character the Sea Witch was fat! Good characters are supposed to be thin!
I do not understand how this type of bigotry can be tolerated in a country where people are afraid to use the Pledge of Allegiance in school because it contains the word God and may offend people? Why does no one care about offending the obese? Does our fat insulate our feelings and emotions? No. Inside we cry. We soothe ourselves with comfort foods. Society would be more sympathetic if we turned to alcohol, pills or crack. Bulimics and anorexics are perceived to be tragic. The obese are merely thought to be lazy, gluttonous or stupid.
Wake up Fat Nazi's! Fascist Germany tried eliminating the "Jewish Problem" by negative stereotyping and campaigns to isolate and humiliate the population. Where are we headed? Suppose some fat gene is discovered? Will the obese be prevented from passing on the "evil hereditary affliction"? This sounds extreme today but in twenty years? Who knows?
So Disney World, the self-proclaimed "Happiest Place on Earth", has created an exhibit to demean and embarrass kids who struggle with their weight. It doesn't sound so happy to me.
Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan
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