Situation Six: Parental Obesity
You are an adult affected by obesity who is out in public with your child. Another adult calls you “fat.” Your child asks why. What do you say?
“Yes, I do struggle with carrying extra weight, but that doesn’t mean that it is right for anyone, particularly a stranger, to make a comment about how I look.”
Tips for what a parent might say:
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Yes, I do struggle with carrying extra weight, but that doesn’t mean that it is right for anyone, particularly a stranger, to make a comment about how I look. In fact, it hurts my feelings and I hope it hasn’t hurt yours. |
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I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The extra weight I’m carrying around is a lot more important to my health than it is to how I look to other people. |
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Most people who don’t struggle with their weight have no idea how hard it is to lose weight. |
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But I know that it’s important because my extra weight is making my body work harder than it has to. Just like when you don’t like it when your teacher gives you extra homework, my body doesn’t like to do more work than it has to. |
