Not-so-random Poll: Is it ok to be fat?

I think part of the reason obesity is so stigmatized is because it's symptomatic. It's not just a condition, it's a symptom of something--of low self esteem or laziness or gluttony or self indulgence or lack of control or depression or a medical defect or ignorance or a combination of any/all of the above. People don't usually tend to just be fat for the fun of it, because they REALLY love chili cheese fries, y'know?

Obesity usually represents some much more complicated, negative issue. We're so far removed from the era when fatness was a sign of prosperity and health, so people don't view it as something positive. For a lot of people, I think looking at an obese person is a little like looking at someone with some obvious deformation. They subconsciously know there must have been something wrong in that person's life or health for them to end up that way, but they don't know what, so it makes them uneasy.

Whether or not it's okay to be fat isn't something I can decide. I know it wasn't okay for me. But I also know that I never hated myself when I was. I've always had healthy self esteem, fat or thin. But living with obesity was like living with an untreated illness--there is obviously something wrong, and until I get it under control, it's only going to get worse.