Fat people are being abused, kicked, yelled at, poked, beat-up and insulted at an ever-growing rate. They already have a word for it: fattism. Now some are considering laws to protect fat people from fattism crimes.
“The government and the press have created an atmosphere where people think they have a legitimate right to go up to an overweight person and tell them how to live their lives,” says Ms Coupe.
“To them we are all the anonymous pictures of fat people they see in the papers and are the cause of all society’s ills, as well as a drain on the NHS. We deserve what we get. We’re not people with feelings.”
Some health professionals agree the handling of the obesity issue has increased negative attitudes towards fat people.
“It’s created a huge social stigma,” says Dr Ian Campbell, a specialist at the Overweight Clinic at University Hospital in Nottingham and honorary medical director of the charity Weight Concern.
“The result is the people who need the most help don’t seek it. They are left feeling guilty and undeserving.”
Campaigners agree, saying the constant bashing fat people receive in the press and in their everyday lives makes them stay in doors and retreat from society.
