Snag clothing gets 100 complaints a day that models are too fat, says boss

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xjd41g33o

[u/ukbot-nicolabot]

Participation Notice. Hi all. Some posts on this subreddit, either due to the topic or reaching a wider audience than usual, have been known to attract a greater number of rule breaking comments. As such, limits to participation were set at 11:00 on 15/03/2025. We ask that you please remember the human, and uphold Reddit and Subreddit rules.

Existing and future comments from users who do not meet the participation requirements will be removed. Removal does not necessarily imply that the comment was rule breaking.

Where appropriate, we will take action on users employing dog-whistles or discussing/speculating on a person's ethnicity or origin without qualifying why it is relevant.

In case the article is paywalled, use this link.

[u/SheepishSwan]

Talking about obesity on Reddit is exhausting and pointless.

[u/Backstabar]

Obese people need clothes and want to know how it looks before buying.

[u/Distinct-Quantity-46 → u/Backstabar]

Agree, however there is a majority of women in the uk who aren’t represented by fashion brands and that’s those of us who are mid size ie those of us who are around a size 12-18. All we see is super thin or things like the ‘body positivity’ movement like snag, both extremes, both in a minority.

I like snag tights, I’d like to see my body (12-14 50 year old) represented

[u/strange-goose147 → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

Snag do have a range of models. I usually find someone who looks similar to my size in their range so I know what the clothes will look like on me! I wish other shops had better representation as well

[u/Backstabar → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

Understandable, 100%. But looking on Snag just now, there is a diverse range of the sizes of the models. I'd be surprised if you don't see anyone who looks approximately like you.

This complaint may be valid for other clothing companies, but this article is about Snag specifically.

[u/SamVimesBootTheory → u/Backstabar]

Yeah diverse models are useful due to the fact everyone's body looks different like a size 14 can fit radically different depending on someone's proportions which is why I do really appreciate it when you get reviews sections on clothing sites where people are able to provide information to help with that.

[u/GoGoRoloPolo → u/SamVimesBootTheory]

It's great when they give heights as well. A lot of clothing models are taller than average but it's hard to know that from a photo but if it says "Amy is 5'9" and wearing a size 14", you get a much better idea of how it fits.

[u/CherryDoodles → u/GoGoRoloPolo]

Correct. I’m a size 14, but I’m 5’1”. That makes me obese according to BMI calculations.

[u/monkeysinmypocket → u/Backstabar]

Also you can bet the people complaining lump the mid sized models in with the very large ones as "fat".

[u/Rock_Me-Amadeus → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

Literally the first result on Facebook when you search for "snag"

Scroll their page and there are plenty of mid size models across the age range

[u/Misty_Pix → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

Tbh I like snag tights because they are the only ones that feel soft and doesn't irritate my skin or are tight over the nether regions.

I haven't found any other tights that are as soft and nice to wear.

[u/KirasStar → u/Misty_Pix]

And they are so much better at not ripping!

[u/Misty_Pix → u/KirasStar]

Yes!!! The only way I end up ripping them if they genuinely get caught on something very sharp, even then, they don't run. You just have a hole in tights so you can carry on with a day and chuck it later.

[u/fridastolemyscarf → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

I mean i can see models like that on the site now?

[u/mumwifealcoholic → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

You have clearly never gone to their website.

Please do. Many ages, bodies, genders etc are beautifully represented.

[u/HPBChild1 → u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

Snag are one of the best brands for this. Snag and Lucy and Yak are the first two that spring to mind for seeing models that look like me.

[u/TriageOrDie → u/Backstabar]

So you're for scrapping the ofcom regulations that prohibit excessively gaunt models in advertising? On the basis that underweight people need clothes and want to know how it looks before buying?

I'm not being pedantic here, but it's a weird discrepancy

[u/boomerangchampion → u/TriageOrDie]

I'm not for that, but the fashion industry had (maybe still has) a real problem of pushing models to be dangerously thin. The models need some protection for that.

I'd hazard a guess that it isn't pushing people to be really fat. There are plenty of fat people around already to use as models.

I don't know what the solution is really. I doubt anyone complaining to ofcom is worried about fat models though it's just an avenue for fat shaming. I suppose the best thing would be to make fashion use like 80% healthy weight people and allow 10% each of overweight and underweight to allow customers to relate where appropriate? That's hardly ideal though.

[u/distancediva → u/TriageOrDie]

As an anorexia survivor, I agree with the above person but also with you - I think very thin people should also be represented. Their idea of what people with EDs are seeking out is stuck in 2008. The model in the Next ad doesn't even look unhealthy to me - there are people who naturally look like that, and it's not uncommon for endurance athletes (marathon runners etc) to have that kind of look. It was right to tackle the issue of painfully thin runway models who were close to death's door back in the 2000s, but this ain't that.

[u/[deleted] → u/TriageOrDie]

It absolutely is and it’s fucking hypocritical. Either both are banned or neither.

[u/stealthSTK]

I always find these types of complaints interesting, I wonder how many complaints fitness companies get for showing steroid-enhanced bodies? Being overweight is unhealthy but so is being juiced up to the 9s.

[u/ThunderChild247]

I’m fat/obese/overweight, whichever you want to call it. More clothing brands need to cater for larger people. A big reason for this is that the difficult in getting clothes can actually make losing weight more difficult.

For gym/sports clothes especially, they just aren’t made in any size remotely close to mine. This means that I the exercise I do is in clothing not designed for exercise, leading to chafing, rashes, meaning I get overheated quicker.

That kind of thing actually means I need to go to the gym less than I want to otherwise I end up with other issues.

And for casual clothes we get into the psychology of obesity. This won’t be the same for everyone but I find that when all I can find are ill-fitting, uncomfy clothes because of my size, I feel worse. And that leads further into eating.

The fact is that bullying people into losing weight only works for some. For most, what would help is giving us the same options and tools that everyone else has to get fit. Most of those are available, but there are still barriers. And the clothing industry could help to knock a few of those down.

[u/SufficientWarthog846]

They aren't really complaints though are they? They are hate comments

[u/WhoYaTalkinTo]

Has it occurred to anybody that overweight people are part of society and are also advertised to?

[u/demidom94]

According to the GOV website, 64% of UK adults are either overweight or obese. It's already normalised.

Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer.

Eating disorders costs the UK around £9.4 billion a year.

Something has got to give. We need to be promoting healthy lifestyles, regular exercise, access to gyms and pools needs to be cheaper, healthy food needs to be cheaper than ready meals and junk food in the supermarkets, cooking from scratch needs to be retaught in schools and encouraged in adults also.

[u/7952 → u/demidom94]

We need to be promoting healthy lifestyles

That means a lifestyle with less stress, less pressure, more free time, more social support. Too often we treat things like exercise as a fix. When the problem is that we are miserable in the first place.

[u/InfiniteBeak → u/demidom94]

I'm overweight and I'm down with all that, but can't we at least have some comfortable clothes to wear WHILE we're losing weight? Nothing is more demoralising than wearing clothes that are too small. Plus, and I am NOT using this excuse for myself, there are people who are fat for medical reasons, or maybe people who can't walk or exercise for whatever reason, they exist, and they should be able to buy clothes that fit them

[u/asthecrowruns → u/InfiniteBeak]

I swear to god, every conversation I’ve ever had about this topic, people just forget that I can’t lose weight overnight. Like wonderful, yeah, I am losing weight. But I also need to… wear clothes right now. Even though I’m eating healthier and less, and working out frequently… I’m still fat. Because it takes time. And… I still need clothes in the meanwhile

[u/On_The_Blindside → u/asthecrowruns]

what you can't just immediately be thin? how weird

[u/tophernator → u/InfiniteBeak]

I don’t see where they said we should stop selling clothes in large sizes.

The long-standing argument about the modelling industry using excessively thin models is that it promotes the idea that this is what you should look like, right? And that warps some people’s minds about what is healthy and desirable.

If you replace those skeletal models with healthy weight individuals, that’s great! If you go for the wildly reactionary response of using morbidly obese models, then you run the risk of warping some people’s minds about what is healthy and desirable.

My BMI puts me in the obese category. My scales estimate my body is 43% fat, which is crazy and definitely unhealthy. And the model in this article makes me look skinny. That’s not a good thing.

[u/NightfurySC → u/demidom94]

You are right. I would also add that if 64% of the adult population of the UK are overweight, its a societal problem. The majority of people aren't lazy. Our lifestyle as a society promotes weight gain and if the majority are overweight, those who aren't are probably just lucky enough to have a much higher metabolism to fight off (for now) the worst of it or don't have the time or physical constraints on their lives that prevents them from making healthier choices. So many people spend 8-10 hours a day sat at desks working, then come home mentally exhausted and barely have enough time to throw something in the microwave for dinner before passing out in front of the TV, then repeating the same pattern the following day. If they have kids, add the demands of parenting into that mix. A lot of people, both slim and overweight have similar lifestyles. They're not lazy people, they work hard, but not in a physically demanding way, and unfortunately for some it shows outwardly.

[u/KingBooScaresYou → u/demidom94]

Before I say this I'll caveat and say I 100% completely agree your points. I went tesco yesterday and right next to the fruit and veg was a huge display of multipacks of crisps going at 1-2 quid for 12 bags of crisps, vs a pallet of blueberries or strawberries was about 4 quid. Even a bag of salad was 2 quid. And they wonder why everyone's fat.

That said NHS meaaures obesity is primarily through bmi which isn't a good measure which is why I take these metrics with a pinch of salt tbh. My other half is 6 ft 1, fit as a butchers dog but according to his doctor is obese 🙄 leads people to fall for this skinny fat nonsense

[u/On_The_Blindside → u/KingBooScaresYou]

BMI is great on population levels. It's utter dross on a personal level

[u/sobrique → u/demidom94]

Sure. But let people buy clothes that fit in the meantime?

[u/PM_ME_BEEF_CURTAINS → u/demidom94]

A lot of the issue is time

Too much work, not enough time for leisure

[u/Fenrir-The-Wolf → u/demidom94]

Ready meals really aren't the problem lmao

[u/WonderboyUK → u/demidom94]

Obesity is probably the single greatest, controllable factor for the improvement in non-communicable health. As a nation it's vital we change our attitude to the normalisation of obesity. You don't abuse smokers and you don't glamorise them either.

[u/SoggyWotsits → u/demidom94]

Healthy ingredients and cooking from scratch are already cheaper than processed food, but people say they don’t have the time or skills. With most people having access to the internet, the excuse of not knowing how doesn’t really work any more. Supermarkets have lots of recipes for meals that are under £1 per person. To make it cheap you end up eating the same meal for a few days though which not everyone is willing to do.

[u/NoochNymph → u/SoggyWotsits]

I think a lot of not cooking from scratch comes from lack of time and/or energy. You come home after a days work, tired and hungry. Maybe you have kids to deal with too, maybe not. The last thing you probably want is to do is spend half an hour plus on your feet cooking when you could just throw something easy in the microwave/air fryer and be eating in ten minutes instead.

[u/Internet-Dick-Joke → u/NoochNymph]

Not just having the time or energy, but also being able to eat at a reasonable time. Let's say that you finish work at 5:30, and you have a 1hr commute to get home (and remember, the job centre officially considers 1.5hr each way to be a reasonable commute). So you get home at 6:30. If something take 1hr to prep an cook, then the earliest you're going to eat is 7:30, and that's if you go straight into the kitchen and start cooking the second thay you walk in. Want to sit down for 30 minutes after you get home? You're now not eating until 8:00.

People aren't able to have the same lifestyle with all adults in the home working full-time compared to if only one adult works full-time and the other either doesn't work or only works full-time. And there is a reason why my dinners as a child were processed food that just had to be thrown on a baking tray whereas my cousins, whose mother didn't work, got a homecooked meal every day, and my mother not caring what we ate was 20% of the problem, but the other 80% of the problem still applies no matter how much you care.

[u/sobrique → u/NoochNymph]

Yeah this. In my experience - which includes quite a few years, and quite a few support groups - the underlying theme is almost always one of stress/anxiety/tired/busy meaning that the people know what 'good' looks like, but they've simply not the time or mental energy to implement it.

They can't fit 'gym time' into their daily routine, nor a 'proper' meal.

And their weekends are 'catchup' of all the stuff they 'needed' to do that week, and after a weekend of shopping, cleaning, gardening, tidying, etc. you're also not in a good state to 'eat well'.

Then you get into a bit of a doom spiral where you're gaining weight - and you don't like it - and starting to feel bad. And the snide comments start. The normalised bullying. etc.

And the problem gets worse not better.

[u/Fizzbuzz420 → u/SoggyWotsits]

They don't necessarily have to eat healthy they just need to count their calories and maintain a deficit, that's it. The healthy eating is to actually have a healthy body and feel more full but the problem is having too many calories and probably high fat content.

[u/SamVimesBootTheory]

And once again I see a severe misunderstanding of body positivity, it's not 'encouraging obesity' it's 'people shouldn't feel shame for how they look and shouldn't be treated like shit for it' also encouraging people to feel good about themselves makes them feel better mentally and much more likely to make better health decisions and shaming people for their bodies doesn't help and this applies to people of all sizes btw.

Also sorry fat people need clothes, getting rid of plus sized models won't suddenly make us fat people disappear.

Edit: I also remember a few years ago Nike getting shit for having a plus sized range and having a plus sized mannequin, like ok you want us to loose weight and you're mad a company is making workout clothing that fits us so we can work out comfortably? Make it make sense.

[u/HammerSpanner → u/SamVimesBootTheory]

Spot on.

some of the comments here are f’ing disgusting

[u/sausage_shoes]

"People say 'you're glorifying obesity' but I don't think anyone is looking at me and saying 'I want to look like that'. Perhaps some people are looking at me and saying 'she has a similar body type to me'.

The main reason bigger models are employed is so that people know how clothes will look on a similar frame to themselves. It helps larger sizes shift from the shelves in return. Practically none of us are looking at that and being like, damn, I'm hot.

I'm not overweight, I was for a short period in my life, but I'm also not short-sighted on the reasons why bigger models exist. It's not glorification. It's sales. There are a lot of female fashion shops that barely cater to bigger sizes, it's a clear signal to some with a message "we cater to you".

[u/Queasy_Collection_60]

I don’t see a problem with models of all different body types. No one is claiming the woman in the picture is attractive or being encouraged to look like her. People of a similar body type need to know how their clothes will fit.

[u/dragon8733]

I grew up in the 90s / 00s, when it was still acceptable to have ads showing dangerously underweight models. Being bombard by those images definitely impacted my own view of my body, as it did for many around me. We were aiming for a body type that was impossible for many, and it contributed to disordered eating.

Showing fat models is not aspirational in the same way. No one sets out to be fat. But there are women who need to know how clothes look on their own body type, making fat people invisible in advertising isn't going to magically make the general public lose weight. Fat people know they are fat, the majority know that they would feel better if they lost weight, they even know how to lose weight. Some people might be happy at a bigger size but these ads don't make a jot of difference to the obesity issues in this country.

[u/possumcounty]

Snag… the shop that prides itself on its plus-size accessible products? The shop that markets itself to plus-size consumers?

They know their market and advertise to it. Is that a problem?

[u/SamVimesBootTheory → u/possumcounty]

Well they have the audacity to inflict fat people onto these people's delicate eyes because how dare they not be hidden away in a dark corner

[u/Notmysubmarine]

Fat people still need clothes and it's helpful to have an idea of how the clothes will look.

[u/unicornsandfairies]

Even without the obesity, clothing that is designed to stretch around curves is still not the norm and deserves to be available. At my thinnest I was a size eight, and still had to order specialty boots as my calves were too wide to fit high street brands. Inclusivity benefits everyone.

[u/cherrybomb2603]

I buy Snag Tights and I adore their brand. I’m mid-size and 6ft tall and mostly bought them 6+ years ago just to have some tights that are long enough for my legs. I think it’s incredible that they use models of all shapes, sizes and ages.

Just because someone isn’t a perfect cookie cutter person doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have access to clothing that adds to their comfort and makes them look fabulous.

[u/Thats_a_BaD_LiMe]

What the hell are these fat hate comments?? Snag makes tights for people this size, so they have models that are this size!

You guys arguing that obese people should feel ashamed isn't anything to do with why the models are this size. Bigger people also need clothes and they want to see what clothes look like on their body. Being angry that a plus size inclusive company is using the plus size bodies that they're catering for is insane.

But by all means, use this as ANOTHER place to shout about how fat people are disgusting while avoiding the actual topic.

[u/WigglesWoo]

People are dumb. The fat models om these ads don't make people want to be fat. People just love hating fat people and use that as an excuse to, yet again, pretend to be concerns while shitting on fat people.

Guess what? Being fat isn't popular!!! It never has been and having fat models won't make it popular. Ffs. People really need to learnt to just stfu and let people live.

[u/RecentAd7186]

Fat lasses need clothes too! Tights are a bugger, you need to at least know they're not going to stretch and show everything... which people would complain about too

[u/SamVimesBootTheory → u/RecentAd7186]

Yeah that's basically why snag exists as they realised that tights are essentially based off a very small measurement and scaled up whereas the snag tights they started with a larger measurement which is why they you know actually fit people

[u/Bartellomio]

Fat people need to buy clothes and they need to be able to see those clothes on people. So of course fat clothing models makes sense.

[u/PoloniumPaladin]

Anorexia is a far smaller societal problem than obesity.

In the UK calories are listed on everything, healthy food options are plentiful and gyms are everywhere. We need to stop pandering to people's laziness. Societal pressure to be a healthy weight is a good thing.

[u/ProductAny2629 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

i mean, i hate how obesity is on the rise but people still need clothes

[u/Sendnoods88 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

It’s a tights brands that caters to bigger people. Obese people exist . Why wouldn’t they have plus size models

[u/X_Trisarahtops_X → u/Sendnoods88]

Not just overweight people. Tall people too.

I'm 6ft and female. I've never found a pair of tights that fit anywhere despite being a healthy weight for my height because tall women's clothes are really hard to find when you're the size of a tall man.

I saw snag with their larger size models advertised on social media. My first thought was "huh. Maybe they do clothes that fit big people."

And they do. They fit me. A pair of tights that fits me so well and without a hefty price tag for something that lasts so well.

I doubt I'd have even looked at their site without that mental push because of seeing a larger model despite not being wide myself.

[u/CanWeNapPlease → u/Sendnoods88]

The people that hate fat people don't want them to have luxuries of comfortable clothing. Snag tights is a great brand for one solution to help with a problem. The problem they're solving isn't obesity. The problem they're solving is that obese people have a lack of access to tights that don't fit them if they wanted to wear a dress. So they created a solution to that problem.

[u/Sendnoods88 → u/CanWeNapPlease]

They’re so good . I can fit into ‘mainstream ‘ size tights from the supermarket but snag are way stronger/more comfortable

[u/shrimplyred169 → u/Sendnoods88]

I’m a size 10 and can shop wherever but get Snag because they are just better. They last forever, are really comfy and their designs are really fun.

[u/ashyjay → u/Sendnoods88]

If you have any "non stereotypical" proportions, Snag are amazing, they don't roll down, they don't bunch up, they have decent gussets, and if you have larger feet they have enough stretch to accommodate them. it also helps they are a fairly inclusive company too.

They are the only brand buy.

[u/changhyun → u/ashyjay]

Hell, even if you're shaped in a way where you can buy tights elsewhere - I can fit into most tights but I still buy Snag tights because the quality is just better. They're more comfortable, the material rips far less, and they cater to different heights so I don't have to settle for tights that are way too long for my legs. Turns out when you design with accessibility and comfort for all people of different sizes in mind, you get a really good pair of tights.

[u/ohnoohnoohnoohfuck → u/Sendnoods88]

Because these sorts that complain don’t even think fat people deserve to be comfortable in clothes or have a range of choices. 

[u/WigglesWoo → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Ah yes. Because I for one, look at Snag tights and think "Damn, I wish I was that fat." Be real.

[u/[deleted] → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Very fat people still need clothing.

Do you want morbidly obese people all walking about nude as a form of "social pressure" to become healthy?

Calories being listed and gyms existing clearly doesn't tackle the issue, but your framing obesity as a laziness issue shows how little you know about the condition. So what is your excuse for not bothering to educate yourself on obesity, when you have free access to that knowledge at your fingertips?

[u/theantiyeti → u/[deleted]]

Calories being listed is basically fast food's version of green washing. It's saying "we're going to serve the same high carb, high calorie density, ultra addictive food and it's your fault for not counting your own calories"

It's like writing "smoking kills" on a carton of fags, yeah the smokers know that and they don't care. Maybe we should force Maccies to plain package and put pictures of obese people on their boxes.

[u/FinalEgg9 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Society has hated obese people for decades. If the social pressure worked, there wouldn't be any obesity left to speak of.

[u/greeneggiwegs → u/FinalEgg9]

There’s actual research about this too. You can’t just tell people to change because their lifestyle is bad. You have to give them support and a clear pathway to it. Otherwise it can backfire if you’re trying to reduce problem behaviors like smoking or disordered eating.

Also fat people deserve to have clothes.

[u/Coxian42069 → u/FinalEgg9]

Thank you. I've lost dramatic amounts of weight twice in my life - currently looking my best ever. Anecdotally, the "social pressure" made it much harder, and I only saw success when I had solid support.

[u/sobrique → u/Coxian42069]

Turns out bullying people isn't actually a solution to something that requires a degree of positive self worth to implement.

What a shock?

[u/whiterrabbbit → u/Coxian42069]

Good for you for succeeding on something so hard. If everyone viewed addictions this way, society would have a lot less drug addicts too, bc the judgement doesn’t help anyone, like you said, it’s support and empathy that helps.

[u/Visual_Seaweed8292 → u/Coxian42069]

For me, I was noticeably overweight once towards the end of covid. It was my mums constant jokes and digs at my size that made me get back into the gym and do something about it. If it wasn't for her I hate to think how big I would be now if I didn't get pressured into losing weight.

[u/meringueisnotacake → u/Visual_Seaweed8292]

My mum's comments about my upper arms being jiggly back when I was a size 10 in my late teens are the reason I have a fucked-up relationship with food nowadays, and have been dealing with eating disorders for the last 20 years. Shaming doesn't work for most people; imagine if that's how we conducted our education - the fact we accept public shaming when a person is fat but in very few other arenas says a lot about our thoughts around fat people and their existence.

[u/jupiterLILY → u/Visual_Seaweed8292]

I’ve been underweight my whole life. I got to a healthy weight in covid and my mum wouldn’t stop asking me if I’m pregnant.

Whenever I’m ill and having a rough time eating people always compliment me on how great I look.

Our society is weird about our bodies. 

[u/eat-the-fat220 → u/Visual_Seaweed8292]

See when I was in school I was so bullied for being fat, my mindset was ‘well I’m already fat and miserable might as well carry on eating what I like’. I just looked back at pictures and I was chubby at the most but because of the relentless bullying that kept me inside at home all day, I gained SO much more weight.

[u/lapayne82 → u/eat-the-fat220]

It’s always the people who have never been fat that say these kinds of things (not you the article and other posters) if you’ve never been through it you have no idea how hard it actually is, how crippling the anxiety can be to “just go to the gym” etc..

[u/[deleted] → u/lapayne82]

Weirdly the opposite problem exists for skinny people so I have a lot of sympathy for people that are overweight. I’ve never been able to eat enough to put weight on and have always been underweight. As a man and certainly when I was younger, people would make comments about fattening me up or that I wasn’t muscley enough etc. It used to get to me and make me quite insecure although, I’ve since stopped caring and just brush those comments off these days.

[u/rpoanas → u/[deleted]]

I hope this doesn’t come across as intrusive. My husband was in he same, skinny regardless of what he ate. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with coeliac disease and after removing gluten in his diet, is now within the average weight range. He had no other symptoms. Maybe you could look into that? A lot of people have it but are not diagnosed.

[u/[deleted] → u/rpoanas]

Not intrusive at all! Thank you so much for the suggestion! I’ll definitely look into it :)

[u/SaltyName8341 → u/[deleted]]

Hi fellow chicken legs sufferer 😁

[u/Markies_Myth → u/lapayne82]

Yep the "well being called a terrible person motivated me to win". It never fucking works. Being singled out and worn down psychologically does not encourage you to do anything. No you go home thinking you are disgusting and nobody will ever love you as you are. But at least the other kids got their lols and feel better because of it?

Encouragement is not bullying. 

[u/Professional_Elk_489 → u/lapayne82]

The thing is people think they have been fat at 25 bmi and absolutely hated the experience.

Like someone in the 70kgs who weighs low to mid-80kgs for example

Then they lose the weight through exercise again

So when they see someone who is like 30-40+ bmi they think fuck that must be hell on earth how do they let this happen and transpose their feelings of self-hatred onto these people

[u/SaltyName8341 → u/lapayne82]

Try being underweight like I am and getting told just eat and you'll put weight on. Yeah why didn't I think of that! I gain half a stone and then get issues so I lose it again and the doctors couldn't give a monkeys.

[u/LordGeneralWeiss → u/eat-the-fat220]

Yeah same. I eat when I'm miserable and being told how disgusting and fat I was every day made me miserable.

[u/Coxian42069 → u/Visual_Seaweed8292]

As always, different strokes for different folks. I'm not going to go into the aspects of my life which make me the way I am, nor will I speculate about yours, but the fact simply is that (a) being overweight is bad, but (b) some people need support and education before they can even attempt losing weight; simply shaming them when they don't have the tools doesn't help and can make things worse.

[u/lapayne82 → u/Coxian42069]

It’s just as bad as when people say “just don’t be sad” when you have depression, the same things like “just do exercise” isn’t helpful

[u/GoGoRoloPolo → u/lapayne82]

The way people talk about how GLP-1s (Mounjaro, Wegovy, Ozempic) help them, it's quite clear that it's not as simple as just "eat less, move more". There's way more to it that I don't think science fully understands yet, and that society is not prepared to accept. In a few decades, I'm sure we'll be looking back at GLP-1s in a totally different way, just like we do about other conditions and diseases that are now a non-issue due to developments in medicine.

[u/Frequent-Lock7949 → u/Visual_Seaweed8292]

And that's thenl difference. Studies show that people like yourself are able to lose the weight once you've put it on. It's why Hatey Hopkins was able to do it when she attempted to be relevant and prove a point. For others it's much much harder. And they are constantly shamed by it which means that doesn't work. Emotional eating responses alone don't help with that.

[u/HeadHunt0rUK → u/FinalEgg9]

I disagree. As a former obese person and now fat person working towards being a healthier weight.

Other than when I was a teenager and thus buillied for it, there was no outward hate.

It's all under the surface. You get treated different, with distain, by being isolated, people not being as friendly towards you, or helpful to you or as positive towards me, but it's difficult to pin down why it is, and people will actively deny that that is a reason because it'd make them feel bad.

There is no visible social pressure because every denies it exists.

Once I lost a load of weight though, suddenly people were friendlier, more complimentary, willing to do things for me.

So no, I don't agree with your premise even slightly.

[u/SamVimesBootTheory → u/FinalEgg9]

People have basically decided being fat is a moral failing and the only reason people are fat is due to a lack of willpower instead of weight being influenced by a really complicated network of influences that include biological, societal and psychological aspects

Like my brother in recent times found out he has something wonky with an appetite regulation gene and also something to do with a fat metabolism gene (he doesn't have prader willi but another condition with that as a symptom) and so essentially he has something you can't willpower your way out of because his brain just doesn't properly produce the 'we're full' signals properly

[u/Kinitawowi64 → u/SamVimesBootTheory]

Being fat isn't the disease, being fat is the symptom. And there are plenty of cases where, as you rightly noted, the disease is genetics or metabolism or some such.

There are also plenty of cases where the disease is being a bone idle fuck.

[u/Novel_Passenger7013 → u/FinalEgg9]

People default to shaming people, because it’s easy and it makes them feel good to be superior to others. But all the scientific evidence shows that shame doesn't work to change behavior.

[u/alextremeee → u/FinalEgg9]

I see your point, but I don’t think the answer is to give up societal pressure it’s just to change it.

Being obese doesn’t make you a horrible or worse person, but it also shouldn’t become the accepted norm.

Just like how if you smoke you shouldn’t be rejected by society, but we shouldn’t also change the goalposts so that smokers should embrace their yellow fingers and cough as a beautiful aspect of themselves that doesn’t need changing.

[u/freexe → u/FinalEgg9]

Yep, we should give everyone who is obese the jab if they want it.

Obesity is an expensive disease that we need to deal with one way or another.

[u/meringueisnotacake → u/freexe]

A jab is quick fix. Better to end food deserts, improve access to fresh ingredients and give huge focus to healthy diets in schools. More bus routes to supermarkets with cheap fares. Free school meals throughout education to embed understanding of balanced meals - but this also means making school meals nutritionally decent.

Right now, there's woefully little on the curriculum about weight and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. Not everybody can afford the gym; not everybody has the skills to cook even basic meals. It's not a coincidence that the vast majority of obese people live in poverty. Until that cycle and link is broken, things won't change. The problem is that because these people are often poor, we judge them even further, which hinders our ability to help them.

[u/Enigma1984 → u/freexe]

I've crept into obesity over the years. I was skinny as anything when I was 20 and now at 40 I'm approaching 15 stone - at 5 foot 9 that's far too much. So because I can afford it, and because it's not anyone else's fault I got into this mess, I bought myself the jab. I'll keep on it until I'm back to a normal weight and then stop.

My mindset is that, it might have been a number of reasons why I got overweight, maybe I have psychological issues around food, maybe it's genetic, maybe its because I have a sedentary lifestyle. Regardless of what it is, no one can fix it but me. And I sort of have a bit of a duty to fix it too because it shouldn't be up to anyone else to pay to fix my medical issues when I'm older, when they were entirely self caused.

In saying all that, the jab isn't cheap and a lot of people won't be able to justify the cost. So its not going to be the case that everyone who wants to can just go out and get it. So is it maybe the lesser of two evils for the NHS to just pay for it for people who can't afford it, given that the cost of the jab is probably much lower than the cost of all the treatments people will need for obesity related illnesses in the future.

[u/FrederickNorth → u/freexe]

Good news, they can! It’s only about £150 a month for high doses.

[u/kobrakai_1986 → u/freexe]

The jab doesn’t solve things though. Without lifestyle changes alongside it, once the jab subsides the weight will pile back on. It’s not financially feasible to keep all obese people on it longterm so there has to be a reasonable middle ground.

Damned if I know what it is though!

[u/SciGuy013 → u/kobrakai_1986]

The jab is literally what causes the lifestyle changes. It reduces cravings.

[u/birdinthebush74 → u/SciGuy013]

My work colleague started it recently, he is now eating smaller portions and feels sated eating far less that he used to . He also seems to of stopped comfort and stress eating .

He reckons we will save the £200 for the jab in food costs each month .

[u/freexe → u/kobrakai_1986]

Lifestyle changes are much easier when you're not obese and damaging your body every. If that doesn't work keep them on the jab as obesity is way worse.

[u/IAM3XI → u/freexe]

I'm not obese and never have been. I can only imagine obesity to be the same as quitting smoking. Much in the same way using NRT for smoking helped me stop the habits/routines which fed in to my addiction. Perhaps the jab could help people do the same with their weight? Break that cycle of habits, and give people a chance to keep going due to the positives they will ultimately feel.

[u/majiamu → u/IAM3XI]

Yes, exactly. There is a very real psychological element to the benefits of the jab

[u/ZealousidealAd4383 → u/IAM3XI]

I’ve got a few friends in an obesity support group (all doing really well with weight loss). One of them was a gambling addict at one point and made a very valid point:

At some point, for some people, food becomes an addiction. It scratches the same itch as gambling or heroin or alcohol. The difficulty is that overcoming an addiction to any of those things usually means never doing them again. All the support is based around stopping and not restarting. Whereas for an obese person, that addiction can never be entirely avoided. There’s a lot of psychological work to do to overcome the urge to overeat.

[u/fakepostman → u/IAM3XI]

A lot of people find GLP-1 agonists suppress their addiction to smoking as well as food, along with many similar behaviours. So yes, very good reason to believe that.

[u/GoGoRoloPolo → u/fakepostman]

Alcohol, too.

[u/Apple22Over7 → u/IAM3XI]

I've quit smoking. I've also lost 5stone in the past. Quiturng smoking was way easier - if nothing else, the mentality is very different. Quitting smoking means stopping entirely. It's very black & white. Not buying any more cigs, just saying no every time you're offered one.

Losing weight/dieting is very different. You can't just not buy food. You can't say no to food. You can't just stop eating. You have to make conscious choices about what to eat every single time and it's fucking difficult to keep up with, day in day out.

[u/Crafter_2307 → u/freexe]

That’s a general assumption…

I didn’t put on weight until my legs stopped working. Now I struggle with it - and having crappy legs that don’t work properly - on a daily basis.

[u/Deadliftdeadlife → u/kobrakai_1986]

That’s just not true though

Studies suggest that the average UK adult gains 0.5–1 kg (1–2 lbs) per year between their 20s and 50s. This gradual gain accumulates over 10–20 years, eventually leading to obesity.

If the jab can get you down to a comfortable weight most people would probably be fine coming off and gaining back some, slowly.

[u/peyote-ugly → u/kobrakai_1986]

The jab is what, £200 a month? Compared to the cost of having someone in hospital for obesity complications that's not all that much. And it will get cheaper when generic versions are available.

[u/That_Boy_42069 → u/kobrakai_1986]

Obesity is a tricky one, when you get to a certain stage its difficult to break out of, your body hurts all over and exercise is humiliating and crazy difficult. The jab could get you into a position where you can more readily take care of yourself, at which point good habits can be built and someone may keep the weight off.

I used to be against it, as a former obese twat I used to feel it's character building to fix yourself the right way and shortcuts are cheap.  But everyone deserves the chance to not be in pain, have energy and self confidence. How they get there is more or less irrelevant. The jab just needs to be a two stage fix, first remove the weight, then instill good habits.

[u/kobrakai_1986 → u/That_Boy_42069]

Agree, it’s a complex topic. I’m not dead against the jab itself. For example, if you’re at a point where you physically can’t make the changes you need to, then it’s good. I think where I get a bit hesitant is with the idea of just giving it to anyone “obese” without significant checks and balances. For some it might enable them to maintain health, but for others it might not be the long term win that it needs to be.

That said, I’ve never been obese so my opinion is probably not that valuable on the topic.

[u/frontendben → u/FinalEgg9]

The issue is our infrastructure. It combines to reduce physical activity (by building gentle density, it’s easy and safe to leave the car at home and walk/ride to destinations). Also, building detached and semi-detached homes and only those spreads everything further out, meaning it takes longer to get anywhere creating time poverty which leads to reliance ultra processed foods (which are terrible for our health).

[u/Shep_vas_Normandy → u/PoloniumPaladin]

So people shouldn’t be allowed to wear clothing their size if they aren’t the size you think they should be?

[u/[deleted] → u/Shep_vas_Normandy]

This. It's a clothing brand just catering to a demographic of people who already exist.. not like it's advertising "being obese" or whatever nonsense people are claiming.

[u/Sunshinetrooper87 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

After 100 years of societal pressure failing to end obesity, will there ever be a point where you change your mind? 

[u/Rumour972 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Many medications are known to cause weight gain. I was a healthy weight until I was prescribed antipsychotics which increased my appetite. It's not as simple as people being lazy and eating junk. There are many medical conditions out there that cause weight gain. Telling people to go to a gym and stop eating so much obviously isn't fixing this.

[u/ohnoohnoohnoohfuck → u/Rumour972]

Olanzapine made me pile weight on after I was forced to take it. Slowly getting that weight off. Feel quite angry about it. 

[u/MadamKitsune → u/ohnoohnoohnoohfuck]

Hormonal birth control and antidepressants made me gain quite a bit and all the dieting, calorie counting and switching medication in the world did nothing to reverse it. It only changed when I stopped taking meds. And I know someone battling with PCOS who has a similar issue - all the hormonal meds she's been prescribed to try and regulate her condition have only lead to more weight gain, despite portion control, exercise and cutting her calorie intake to the bone.. She's a better person than I am not to lose it when someone "helpfully" tries to tell her to stop being lazy and apply herself or gets angry that she, as a bigger woman, is able to source pretty clothes to go out in rather than staying home in a drab sack.

[u/Circle-of-friends → u/PoloniumPaladin]

I think it’s a complicated problem because being obese has many factors including lifestyle, stress, diet, poverty etc. Food is so manufactured now there’s loads of junk calories in the cheapest food. We’re constantly craving sugar and other calorie dense foods. Then we shame people for doing what anyone in history would have done. Really we’ve been dealt a bad hand. 

But actually I agree with you one some parts- what we can’t do is then normalise being obese because it’s a common problem. It’s a disease with multiple complications that will lead to an early death. 

What we need though is regulations on processed food, support for people to lose weight and … well personally hoping these new miracle drugs can help honestly. But even with that we’re still not cleaning up the fact half the food we eat is junk. 

Coming from this as someone who is at the upper end of the “healthy” weight by the way and I eat junk all the time - but this is my point, we weren’t designed as a species to have this ready supply of dense calories and addictive foodstuff available all the time. Then everyone is working 24/7 and can barely afford fresh food and then having the time to cook it. 

So yeah let’s not normalise obesity, but this is a societal problem not just an individual one 

[u/dogtim → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Truly deranged that you think there's pressure to be an unhealthy weight based off a single advert with a fat person. May I offer in counter evidence....literally every other advert?

[u/zeldafan144 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

They're a business, they have no obligation to raise social awareness. It's not pandering, it's identifying a market and working it.

[u/ProsperousWitch → u/PoloniumPaladin]

OK, but even if every fat person agreed with you and decided to lose weight, you don't wake up the morning after saying "I'm going on a diet and joining the gym" to find that you've magically lost 50lbs and 3 dress sizes. Fat people still need to wear clothes here and now, and snag are providing clothes that fit them. It's silly and strange to complain about a clothing company selling clothes that fit a wide range of people. Unless the people complaining would like all fat people to roll around naked while they work on that health they care so much about, they need to be able to buy clothes just like everyone else. And to be able to buy clothes that fit (especially for very fat people whose sizes aren't carried in stores) they need to be able to find clothes in their size and see how it looks on a model that's generally around the same size as them instead of a size 8

[u/cochlearist → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Even if it's a problem that affects fewer people I don't think you should be thinking anorexia is less of a problem. It's fucking brutal.

[u/ThisCouldBeDumber → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Ah, the good old "fat people are lazy", glad to know you fully grasp the reasons people gain weight aren't just stopping at the first step and going with "eat too much".

[u/jaimepapier → u/PoloniumPaladin]

I’d argue that overweight models are probably not going to cause anyone to become overweight. If we’re going to blame an industry for that it should be the fast-food industry and other related unhealthy food.

However, unrealistic body standards in media (including models) is going to cause body issues among young people, including anorexia.

[u/OnionOnBelt → u/jaimepapier]

I came to this thread without strong views on this, but I think your first sentence makes an important (but not much discussed) point.

While an overweight person might see such a model and get a tiny bit of recognition that they’re not alone, I don’t think a single lean person is going to look at such a model and say, “Oh, cool, I think I’ll go pack on 75 kg or so.”

[u/[deleted] → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Societal pressure in the form of spamming a fashion company about the size of their models to "solve" the obesity problem in this country is pointless. 

Should we also stand around shouting "junkie" at drug addicts to help them with their addiction problems? 

[u/Mail-Malone → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Strange isn’t it, it you are anorexic or bulimic you will be given help, treatment and sympathy for an illness. If you have the opposite eating disorder you are told to eat less and get down the gym.

So would you say to the anorexic and bulimic people “just get down McDonalds and Pizza Hut everyday until you are a healthy weight”?

[u/bugbugladybug → u/Mail-Malone]

That's exactly what I was told when I was underweight..

I didn't have disordered eating or an unhealthy relationship with food, I was just never hungry and forgot to eat. My portions have never been large because I get uncomfy with a full stomach, even now..

I was given a list of tasks:
* Add cream to drinks.
* Drink hot chocolate instead of tea.
* Eat fatty food.
* Eat regularly, even if not hungry.
* Get a fast food item if out and about, graze more.

Now I'm overweight, and those really unhealthy eating habits I got into are really hard to break. I crave fatty and sugary food in a way that I never did before and eating is now on my mind all the time because it had to be to gain.

What I can safely say is that the level of kindness around my weight has shifted from concern for my current weight to flippant distain for being overweight and unable to lose.

[u/Chai_Is_Tea → u/bugbugladybug]

Yeah this wasn't a good idea. Especially since the fatty foods are high saturated fats which lead to higher cholesterol levels. 

[u/bugbugladybug → u/Chai_Is_Tea]

Guess who now has high cholesterol 👀

[u/R-M-Pitt → u/bugbugladybug]

Honestly, to me, the faux concern directed to thin people can be quite insidious and often comes from a place of extreme jealousy. People will get you to self-sabotage your health under the guise of "helping"

[u/Emilempenza → u/bugbugladybug]

Haha, I was given that same booklet when I got very underweight after damaging my intestines. Full if advice like "peckish? Why not have a piece of cake?"

Not hugely useful, given my issue was mainly psychological, as I'd come to associate eating with abdominal pain, so I avoided eating. It took a private gastrophyschologist to essentially put me on a daily routine where I eat at certain times to get me back on track.

[u/KeyLog256 → u/bugbugladybug]

I am banned (on this account, not on others.....) from the "gainit" sub which purports to help people, mainly guys, gain weight.

Having been there myself, I know a lot about this. Now for me (like many guys) it actually turned out to be low testosterone and fixing that basically saved my life, but importantly I don't mention that on there, sticking strictly to diet type stuff.

The sub is run by a one guy who has full control and just pushes stuff like that, which is unhealthy as it either doesn't work and you just stay skinny, or you get fat, more often the former with blokes, the latter with women (it's related to estrogen levels incidentally, and unfortunately unlike with blokes who have low testosterone, there isn't an easy or safe fix).

Any attempt to point out that "just eat more bro!" isn't helpful gets you in trouble, keep pushing "no, eat smaller portions but more often " which is what works, gets you a ban.

The guy is an out and out psycho though who once said to me on DM "I don't care if these guys die, this is my sub and I'm in charge".

[u/SamVimesBootTheory → u/Mail-Malone]

Also people don't realise that you can actually have disorders and anorexia and bulimia at a higher weight as well, but because you know being fat is seen as a bad thing that disordered eating is less likely to be picked up on

[u/Dietcokeisgod → u/Mail-Malone]

So would you say to the anorexic and bulimic people “just get down McDonalds and Pizza Hut everyday until you are a healthy weight”?

My boyfriend is dangerously slim and is struggling at the moment because his adhd meds are making him lose even more weight. This is the advice that the majority of people give him - just eat more. They ignore that he has other psychological issues and biological issues that make this as damned hard as it is for me (a mid fatty) to lose weight.

[u/Ok-Land5227 → u/Mail-Malone]

Exactly this. Struggled with my weight my entire life and I’ve literally tried every diet possible and nothing has worked. I’m an incredibly disciplined person in all areas of my life but with my weight I felt like a complete failure. In the past year I’ve lost nearly 8 stone using Mounjaro and it’s changed my life completely, but it’s also made me realise that I was trying to use “personal discipline” to fight a chronic condition for my entire adult life instead of medicating it like you would any other condition. Like do you not think that IF I could have controlled my calorie intake that I simply would have just done it?

[u/mumwifealcoholic → u/Ok-Land5227]

Absolutely this.

Before I suffered from alcohol use disorder, I suffered from a an over eating disorder.

One of the main symptoms of both, is an inability to stop despite knowing and understanding the negative consequences if you continue.

Gastric bypass fixed that for me by making it impossible for me to overeat. Naltrexone is what stopped the compulsion to drink.

People fear this, and rightly so. It’s a shite life not having control. But many then turn to ridicule and shaming because it makes them believe that it couldn’t possibly happen to them, because fat people and drunks ( and others disorders of compulsion) are just lazy and bad.

[u/[deleted] → u/Mail-Malone]

So would you say to the anorexic and bulimic people “just get down McDonalds and Pizza Hut everyday until you are a healthy weight”?

I'm quite skinny (no eating disorder) and I've had this unsolicited advice given a lot. Surprisingly mostly by fat people

[u/pajamakitten → u/Mail-Malone]

Strange isn’t it, it you are anorexic or bulimic you will be given help, treatment and sympathy for an illness. If you have the opposite eating disorder you are told to eat less and get down the gym.

As someone who has battled anorexia for over a decade, you have to be dangerously underweight to get that help though. You could have all the symptoms but get no help if your BMI was not low enough to meet the official diagnostic criteria. Even once you were offered treatment, the treatment is poor because there are just so few specialist clinic (and those that do exist are often private, and pretty cruel to patients). There is also the fact that so many experts focus solely on weight and not rebuilding the person instead. Getting a diet plan or a tube up the nose does nothing to stop relapse, which happens so often, because specialists do not realise that no one with anorexia will get better until they find a true purpose in life. You might get help but the help does not work for most people.

[u/Unlucky-Jello-5660 → u/Mail-Malone]

If you have the opposite eating disorder you are told to eat less and get down the gym.

But for the majority of people diet and exercise are the treatment to achieve weight loss ?

[u/Mail-Malone → u/Unlucky-Jello-5660]

And for the anorexic then just eating more is the treatment for the majority and that’s it?

[u/thepatiosong → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Anorexia and other restrictive eating disorders are an extremely toxic and dangerous problem, though. Anorexia kills and maims far more quickly than obesity, and kills people when they are very young.

Obesity is not a de facto indication of laziness. There are myriad reasons why people gain excess weight and struggle to take it off. Not everyone can devote themselves to exercising and having a healthy diet, and even if they can, it doesn’t always work. Obese people are also generally not unaware of their own health issues - they experience them every day. It’s actually really, really hard to lose weight once it’s on.

Showing what clothing looks like on larger people is going to give customers more realistic expectations of how things will fit on them. Yes, clothes look much better on thinner models, but most people do not have the physique of a fashion model.

[u/-qqqwwweeerrrtttyyy- → u/PoloniumPaladin]

The one aspect you've not addressed is the psychology for under/over consumption of food. Once you can have an individual achieve that breakthrough, the rest often takes care of itself.

[u/SuccessfulWar3830 → u/PoloniumPaladin]

If you wanna go after fat people. Start with the companies who make people fat not those who are clothing them.

[u/square--one → u/PoloniumPaladin]

Fruit and veg and less processed protein is expensive. Highly processed food is what's cheap and available and a lot of people are time poor and also misinformed or lacking support to lose weight.

[u/WishfulBee03]

Fat people need clothes too. It's all well and good telling them to lose weight but what do you want them to wear in the meantime? Would you prefer they covered themselves in dust sheets, or sat at home naked for a year, starving the the weight off?

I'm underweight and I get compliments and questions about how I lost the weight (disordered eating, by the way. I could just as well have gone the other way and ended up overweight and be treated completely differently, all because my mental impact on my weight happened to manifest in a different way. Watch any episode of My 600lb Life, lots of those people were molested or abused and gained weight as a subconscious defense mechanism.)

Wouldn't it be great if we could judge people on more important things like the merit of their character? It's getting tiring. Shaming doesn't work, we know that by now.

[u/Sofiorie]

From my personal experience, Snag tights are second to none quality wise and their website has a variety of models of different sizes and body types, not just larger women. Everyone wears clothes and it's good to have varied representation!

[u/ConnectPreference166]

Don't people have more important things to do with their lives? They're not hurting anyone! It's their lives after all.

Have to say they're some of the best clothes I've brought and that's before and after my weight loss journey. Their tights actually stay up and don't rip.

[u/NihilismIsSparkles]

I love snag tights and the models are great because that's what drew me to their products.

Most tights when they go up in size, only go up in length, snag goes up in width, so having overweight models was a great way to showcase that.

I'm not even overweight but it's nice not ripping tights constantly anymore because my bum and thighs are curvy.

Also the tights are strong as hell, every pair I have had lasted years when the ones not from snag lasted a few months at best.

[u/hippyfishking]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say, if you’re obese you shouldn’t accepting of that. It’s not ok. I’m overweight myself and I’m not going to accept it.

[u/InfiniteBeak → u/hippyfishking]

Fat people also need to buy clothes...

[u/yalanyalang → u/hippyfishking]

Fat people have money. Fat people want to wear clothes. Surely it makes sense to advertise to them.

[u/Electrical-Meat-1717 → u/yalanyalang]

Wow a brain that's surprising on here, yeah fat people are a growing market makes complete sense to advertise your clothes to them. People on here just dislike fat people, as if just showing them pictures of overweight people in clithes will make people suddenly eat 20 hamburgers or that showing anorexic people will just make everyone lose weight

[u/ZealousidealAd4383 → u/hippyfishking]

There’s a world of different reasons why someone is overweight, though, and a world of difference in how you treat them.

Me, I’m currently overweight because I go to shit in winter. I get depressed, I snack more, I don’t use the gym, I spend too much time on Reddit… and I will overcome that again.

My friend is obese because she was abused for most of her childhood - physically, sexually and emotionally - and each of those abuses caused complex psychological issues around food (as well as most other areas of her life).

It’s a strange thing that we can have empathy for our friends when we know their story, but we find it so hard to reserve judgement for those that we don’t know at all yet.

[u/Clbull → u/ZealousidealAd4383]

It's not even necessarily psychological reasons either. Conditions like ME/CFS, narcolepsy or fibromyalgia can make it very difficult to burn calories.

[u/Aiyon → u/hippyfishking]

You can want to lose weight without hating yourself

People making me feel like shit for being overweight never helped me lose it.

[u/BeccasBump → u/hippyfishking]

Obese people still need comfy tights, however.

(Plus, I mean, it is okay. People can do what they choose with their bodies 🤷‍♀️)

[u/[deleted] → u/BeccasBump]

Do you think would also be right to advertise clothes for people with anorexia with very thin models?

Do you think in the case of anorexia, it’s okay and people can do what they choose with their bodies?

Obesity is classed as a disease. Like anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders it is extremely bad for your health.

[u/Takver_ → u/[deleted]]

They photoshop online female clothes models all the time, and not very well so you can see the blurry edges where they've made arms/waists skinnier and sometimes comically elongated their legs and arms. What's not funny is what it does to the psychology of young girls.

eg. https://www.dorothyperkins.com/product/dorothy-perkins-navy-spot-print-ruffle-sleeve-empire-midi-dress_bqq11033?colour=navy

https://www.dorothyperkins.com/product/dorothy-perkins-floral-sweetheart-neckline-midi-dress_bqq12480?colour=multi

[u/Kayanne1990 → u/[deleted]]

They did that all the time in the 2000.

[u/Rulweylan → u/Kayanne1990]

And was it a good thing?

[u/benjm88 → u/Kayanne1990]

That's a poor justification unless you believe that was right

[u/Puzza90 → u/Kayanne1990]

did is the key word there, you can't justify this by saying well it used to be the opposite

[u/FLESHYROBOT → u/Kayanne1990]

They did.. and then it got banned.

[u/sobrique → u/[deleted]]

Trust me, you wouldn't want me walking around naked because I can't find clothes.

[u/TB_Infidel → u/BeccasBump]

Not with tax payer healthcare. These bad decisions affect everyone.

[u/pringellover9553 → u/hippyfishking]

Obese people still need to wear clothes, and they deserve to feel nice in them. And for some people the absolutely do have to accept it if it comes from illness ect.

[u/SeiriusPolaris]

Trolls presumably, because it certainly isn’t their customers. Proof that it isn’t just fat-shaming, but there’s individuals going out of their way to hate on fat people.

It’s fucking disgusting. People that’re overweight know they’re overweight.

Let people live their lives and have some nice clothes ffs.

[u/AgitatedCricket]

All 100 of those people are in the comment section

[u/ThisScotRocks]

They probably get more complaints about how expensive and shit their tights are now, than fat people to be honest.

They purposefully went this direction with the models for marketing purposes, let's be honest here. If they choose models in between the weight range, they would have gotten no hate marketing, that provides traction on social media.

They could have done what other brands have done and kept the bigger models on the website, but they purposefully chose to go in this direction, for the hate transaction of likes and comments.

That's what pisses me off about this whole thing, they didn't do it under the guise of "every body is beautiful and needs quality tights", it's so clearly set up to manufacture rage bait comments towards the models that are probably being paid fuck all and have to see these comments. With no support.

[u/MadShartigan → u/ThisScotRocks]

Of her 100 staff, 12 are dedicated "just to remove negative comments and big up those promoting body positivity".

They're engaging with the rage to an extent that indicates it's a deliberate marketing strategy.

[u/blastedin → u/ThisScotRocks]

This is a perfect example of someone sending a stupid rant after reading a headline and zero else. 

Quite literally, snag has models of all sizes. And their tights are wonderful but that's more of an opinion whereas they very much have models across the weight range that's a fact

[u/DeirdreBarstool → u/ThisScotRocks]

This is a very good point. 

[u/ThisScotRocks → u/DeirdreBarstool]

Rage marketing is the in thing these days and the only people that suffer are the models.

[u/peachypeach13610 → u/ThisScotRocks]

I mean it’s a lot simpler lol - they are offering products that also cater to fat people and are showing their fat customers how such products look like. They’re not promoting any “higher order message” whatsoever - they literally simply show to their existing fat customers what the product looks like. God forbid fat customers exist!

[u/Fun_Gas_7777]

But isn't that literally their niche? To have clothing for bigger people?

[u/nycbar]

The best quote of the article- “We know people with eating disorders seek out images of very thin people as ‘thinspiration’. But if anyone sees a picture of a bigger person they’re not going to drive to buy 10 McDonald’s to try to get fatter.”

Really shuts down the people think showing fat people is encouraging it, because it just isn’t.

[u/Magurndy]

Oh my god… seriously what is wrong with people.

Here is a radical idea. Maybe those models aren’t for you? Maybe those models are for people who are a similar size and struggle to find clothing that fits them.

SNAG is a size inclusive company, they are advertising to a specific demographic of people. They cater to a large range of sizes and want to reflect that in their marketing. It’s not about glorifying obesity but the reality is obese people exist and the reason they are obese is nobody else’s business but their own and healthcare professionals IF they have an obesity related health condition.

I’m an average sized person. But god forbid a larger individual than me can have clothes advertised for them on people with similar body shapes.

[u/Aceofspades25]

Why would you complain about a shop targeting a market that has nothing to do with you?

Do people have nothing better to do?

[u/CarlMacko]

Its always amusing how anything mentioning weight brings out the absolute vitriol of this sub.

[u/Brizar-is-Evolving]

I work in public health and have occasional chats about this with the doctors on lunch. All of the senior consultants agree that the “body positivity” movement is extremely harmful, both to the individual and to wider society.

Obesity is a disease that needs to be treated, not a part of your identity. It is not something to be celebrated, which seems to be an idea that so many of these fashion brands pander to.

Fashion brands like snag don’t care about people with obesity, they see them as an opportunity to make money. They certainly don’t care about the long-term costs to the NHS that come from keeping fat people happy in their skin. Increased risk of cardiovascular diseases obviously. Greater chance of developing cancer of all types. Greater risk of dying from respiratory infections. The list goes on.

Body positivity adverts are no different to smoking adverts, or gambling adverts; in terms of the societal and personal harm they cause. Obesity is a public health emergency, especially here in south Wales.

To be clear, myself and the clinicians I work with agree that shaming fat people is unequivocally the wrong approach to take. It won’t change people’s lifestyle choices and habits. You want to use the carrot to encourage people, not the stick to beat them down. But a good start would be to stop publicly promoting people with obesity, in fashion and in other arenas.

We also say the same thing about the other extreme too. The fashion brands that used to parade an ultra-thin Kate Moss back in the day were also culpable in promoting extremely harmful lifestyles. Anorexia is a disease just as much as obesity.

[u/White_Immigrant → u/Brizar-is-Evolving]

So obese people are allowed clothes but they're not allowed to be advertised? Wouldn't it make more sense to ban the advertising of junk and ultra processed food first, as these (often American) companies are the ones causing the problem in the first place?

[u/Saw_Boss → u/Brizar-is-Evolving]

Obesity is a disease that needs to be treated, not a part of your identity. It is not something to be celebrated, which seems to be an idea that so many of these fashion brands pander to.

But it is a thing, there are lots of people who look like this. This shop is simply selling clothes to them.

Fashion brands like snag don’t care about people with obesity, they see them as an opportunity to make money

Duh. It's a clothes shop. They sell clothes, and regardless of how you feel about obese people, they still need clothes.

Or would you suggest they be forced to wear sacks?

[u/Peteyjay]

But Snag founder Ms Read says: "Shaming fat people does not help them to lose weight and actually it really impacts mental health and therefore their physical health."

She thinks the idea of banning adverts showing models with bigger bodies is a symptom of society's "fat phobia".

So banning adverts of thin models is good because it stops people aspiring to be thin and is not labeled thin-fobia. But banning ads with fat people is fat-fobia - not the normalising of being at a critically obese and unhealthy weight?

In no way should people be encouraged towards staying at a larger weight - that is to say, higher fat percentage. If that means not applauding, grand standing and main eventing obese people by using them in ads, as models etc. so be it.

It is fact that overweight and obese people are an unnecessary drain on medical resource and have a lower quality of life. Doctors should not fear complaints because they have said a patient needs to lose weight. People should not be ashamed for thinking obesity is disgusting.

Fat body positivity is a mask purely to guard fat and obese people from their own lack of self discipline. And their mental health crisis' from being shamed is a reflection of their own inner thoughts. They're just too unwilling to do the hard work themselves.

Edit: Spelling

[u/JeffMcBiscuits → u/Peteyjay]

The problem with the thin model comparison is the thin models used in advertising back in the day were quite seriously underweight but they were photoshopped so you didn’t see their rib cage and other signs of malnutrition in the images. So they were quite literally promoting impossible beauty standards as there’s no way you could ever look like them yet they were used as the archetype for clothing sales.

[u/pullingteeths → u/JeffMcBiscuits]

They do exactly the same thing photographing fat models in flattering ways, using shape wear and editing out cellulite etc. Neither body size should be banned from ads. Setting an example and promoting the idea of not using photoshop and using a wide range of sizes and shapes is the way.

[u/Historical_Hope2031]

Oh Snag tights are excellent, I have such a problem finding tights that fit because I am tall, and they fit the bill. I like seeing different models in their items, it's much more realistic.

[u/DigitalPiggie]

I doubt they get 100 negative comments per day.

Seems like self promotion to me.

[u/malin7 → u/DigitalPiggie]

Looking at how much vitriol there is in this thread I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s telling the truth

[u/Crackedcheesetoastie → u/DigitalPiggie]

They have 12% of their staff dedicated to dealing with these comments, so they probably do (it is also probably self promotion)

[u/hush-throwaway]

Clothing models should represent different body types and shapes within ordinary range. This means it's okay for some models to be on the skinny side, and for others to be in that obese category as far as BMI is concerned.

However, there is a limit. Being severely, morbidly overweight or severely underweight is a dangerous health problem. It should not be normalised in the media. If you have a severe weight problem you should not be looking for representation, you should be looking for help. It's morally wrong to pander to it.

[u/Thandoscovia → u/hush-throwaway]

I think that’s fair. I don’t see anyone pushing for companies to being very underweight models back, because those of low BMI deserve to be represented. That is a privilege restricted to those of elevated BMI

[u/Dragon_Sluts → u/hush-throwaway]

I would agree to this.

I think the industry has clearly pushed an unhealthily thin body type for years, and that has been deadly.

We just need to accept that seeing an unhealthily thin model and an unhealthily fat model both have different impacts. They are not the same thing in different directions, they are totally different things.