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Using the phrase “pig out” is no longer acceptable as obese people feel like animals under new guidelines.
Talk of a “war on obesity” makes overweight people feel like the enemy, and they should be called “overweight individuals,” according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA).
In the latest effort to tackle “stigmatizing” language, dietitians have focused on “dehumanizing” words for overeating.
They caution against using phrases such as “pig out,” “eating like a horse,” or “wolfing down dinner,” which, they claim, can make people feel like animals.
Dr. Adrian Brown, of the Center of Obesity Research at University College London, who helped draft the guidelines, has even expressed concerns about terms such as ‘chubby’ and ‘morbidly obese’.
According to new guidelines from the British Dietetic Association (stock image), using the phrase “pig out” is no longer acceptable because obese people feel like animals.
Critics today denounced the ‘ridiculous’ guidelines issued to all BDA members.
Tam Fry, president of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘In establishing “balanced guidelines” for their internal communications, the authors have taken medical correctness to a somewhat ridiculous level.
“As health professionals, dietitians should never use language that someone might consider offensive, but to state that an obese person is a “higher weight individual” is disgraceful.
“Overweight and obesity are clear and universally recognized medical terms and should be used.”
The guidelines, published late last year, warn that people who are embarrassed about their weight may prevent them from seeking medical help.
They recommend using language such as “health-enhancing behaviors” and “supporting overweight or obese people,” while vetoing “fighting obesity” or the “obesity crisis” — despite figures showing that nearly two-thirds of people in the UK overweight or obese, which increases the risk of health problems including type 2 diabetes.
They also suggest that the term “overweight individual” may be appropriate in some cases and state that depictions of obese people should not represent them as lazy, unhappy or eating very poorly, but show them as human beings engaged in with everyday life. activities.
Dr. Brown, chair of the BDA’s specialist obesity group, said: ‘There are so many expressions around food and obesity that are dehumanizing, whether it’s ‘bragging’ or ‘stuffing your face’.
“People who live with obesity are made voracious, which is discriminatory.
Obesity is a long-term, progressive, recurrent disease with genetic, biological and social causes.
“We need to stop blaming people for their weight in a society where there is very accessible, cheap, high-calorie food that our brains are drawn to.”
He added: ‘People with obesity need to be protected from discrimination, but we see it everywhere, especially on television, from the character of Monica in Friends who was the butt of jokes when she was obese, to Daddy Pig in Peppa. Pig, who Peppa often points to his belly and makes comments about his weight.’
Dr Duane Mellor, a member of Aston University’s BDA, said: ‘Living at a higher body weight is too often judged by others and seen as less good or less able, which is just wrong.
“We focus on weight and appearance, not health and function.
In the latest effort to tackle “stigmatizing” language, dietitians have focused on “dehumanizing” words for overeating (stock image)
‘So words like ‘pig out’ have the effect of making the person less human and more animal.
“In the same way, expressions such as the war on obesity have the effect of making society appear to be reacting against groups that happen to live in a larger body not by choice, but by a combination of genetics, environment and situation.”
Lee Monks, from the Plain English Campaign, said: ‘Fat-shaming is a real problem, but the idea that we’re avoiding factual, scientific terms to avoid reality – for whatever reason – seems unnecessary.
“There is no cruelty in stating facts if done in a neutral manner.
Obesity is not a pejorative term, but a term that describes a medical condition. “Individuals with a higher weight” seems complicated and picky.
Pig out is an easy-to-understand term for overeating.
“Again, context and tone are key, but offense generally seems far-fetched in this case.”