In a recent (find here)statistics showed 29 percent of adults in England are classified as obese. But what is it really like to either live with obesity or identify as fat in modern Britain?
A two-part BBC Two documentary, Who Are You Calling Fat?, looks to answer that question. Nine people spend a week living together and while they face the same stigmas about their weight, the way it’s shaped their attitudes differs hugely. Here, three of the housemates and obesity expert Dr Giles Yeo explain their views.
“We’ve been told for so many years that obesity is a lifestyle choice – people have chosen to live this way. That absolutely isn’t the case. Obesity is a very complex condition, there are so many factors at play.
“I have a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and I now know the science behind obesity.
“But I don’t like the way I look, I don’t want to stand out. I want to have a ‘normal’ body, one that doesn’t restrict me. I don’t want to have to get on an aeroplane and ask for a seatbelt extension, I don’t want to question whether a chair will hold me.
“Yet while I’d like to be smaller I’m more at peace with myself now. My understanding of obesity has allowed me to be kinder to myself. It took time, though, to feel like this.
