Posted on 10/30/2014 2:04:18 PM PDT by walford
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is paying a researcher $17,500 to make students at New Mexico State University wear a fat vest for “weight sensitivity training.”
The 20-pound fat vest will be worn for an “empathy exercise” so non-obese students can experience what it is like to be obese. The premise of the project is to fight “weight prejudice.”
“Weight prejudice (a.k.a. anti-fat prejudice and weight bias) is the presence of negative beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward individuals who appear to be overweight or obese,” a grant awarded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture explains.
The grant claims that weight prejudice is on the rise, increasing by 60 percent over the last decade, and is on par with reported rates of racism and gender discrimination.
Part of the project’s goal is to encourage social acceptance, which will be achieved by an “Experiential Empathy Exercise in which a 20 lb. fat vest will be worn by participants for a minimum of 12 consecutive hours.”
Devon Golem, New Mexico State University professor of human nutrition in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, received the grant after developing her fat suit, which adds 20 pounds of gel around a person’s midsection.
“I wore the mock fat vest while I engaged in my typical routine of exercise, work and errands,” Golem said, in an article for New Mexico State’s website. “I was self-conscious about my appearance in my workout clothes and noticed a couple of passers-by staring. I was sweating much more than normal and was out of breath.”
“One of the interventions I am planning to explore will try to create an experience of being 20 pounds heavier than current weight,” she said. “This way, individuals can experience some of the physical, social, and even psychological aspects of being overweight.”
“Perhaps walking a mile in someone else’s weight will help change negative beliefs and attitudes,” Golem said.
The grant was awarded earlier this year, and the study is scheduled to run through September 2018.
The study will also involve “Weight Sensitivity Education Sessions” that will educate students on “uncontrollable factors of obesity, all forms prejudice, [sic] body image, and psychological consequences of discrimination.”
It is never excusable to taunt or harass someone if they are overweight, but it is very difficult -- especially when one is older -- to stay in shape and those who do should get credit for that. Those who do not, should not expect to be treated the same as those who do not.
But Ms Nancy says our Fed budget is bare bones and there is nothing that can be cut.
insane....
I’m wondering when male students are gonna have “be gay” for night and take one up the. .......... well, you know.
Regarding the referenced article, the states have never amended the Constitution to expressly grant the corrupt federal government the power to tax and spend for such a purpose.
I shudder to think how they might make tall students experience the “prejudice” of “little people”.
Will they shop at Wal-Mart?
I wore a “fat Elvis” costume for Halloween a couple years, can I get a few hundred of that grant money?
It may be more useful for the USDA to invent a “thin vest” which would take 20 lbs off of the wearer. I imagine they could sell these for a decent sum.
"There will come a time when people will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad they will say, 'You are mad; you are not like us.'"
--St. Anthony of the Desert
A 20 lb weight gain makes one obese? Geez, live and let live.
I agree. Further, I will state that some onus to reduce our personal tonnage is a factor in our decisions. It’s a valid useful tool in some respects.
As you state, people shouldn’t be abused, but it should be understood that being overweight is not optimal, and is not looked upon as favorably as someone who is fit.
Reducing this to another “everyone is perfect” moment is self-defeatist to those who need to lose weight.
But it Wallmart sells fat suits online...watchout for heads to explode.
The government has far too much money
Speaking as an ex-fat guy, the problems you face, when overweight, aren’t due to the weight, but due to the metabolic problems that caused you to gain the weight.
You feel exhausted all the time not because you’re hauling around excess weight, but because you’re metabolism isn’t working right. The lethargy comes first. The weight is a result, not the cause. And if you can figure out why you’re sick (in my case, it was a simple case of insulin resistance) the energy will come back, well before the weight comes off.
If you want to experience what it’s like, being overweight, try living for a couple of weeks on 500 calories/day. That should give you about the same energy level.
I fight (and mostly lose, so far) the battle of the bulge, but really I think for the USDA to sponsor something like this is a crazy joke. What, it looks like they want to sell more food!
I think a little courtesy and care between fat and skinny people would go a long way.
Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste, Waste...
Federal bureaucrats and their serfs sit around all day, day after day, just dreaming up idiotic ways to waste money
extorted by the IRS from people who actually work for their living.
Adding much more than 20 lbs. would be required to get most peeps in the US to recognize “obesity”
The AMA now says obesity is a disease. In other words, it’s not your fault. I can see fat people one day suing for discrimination. Lawyers and PC libs would love that one.
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