Buy Walking VideosFeeling Left Out? It’s Not In Your Head…
I have talked before about how ostracized I felt when I was overweight. Some of it was documentable exclusion, but the rest I just chalked up to paranoia. Now, I’m thinking that it wasn’t paranoia afterall.
Dr. Pryor found that for non-stigmatized individuals, there is an “inclusion principalâ€â€”a tendency to reach out and include a group member that has clearly been ostracized. However, this inclusion principal did not apply to overweight group members, and Dr. Pryor concluded that the stigma associated with their size prevented others from including them in typical group behavior.
As if health issues weren’t enough, here is another glaring example of the benefits of eating healthy and exercising more. Next time I feel like bingeing, I’m going to remember this study. If I can stay fit and healthy, I’ll benefit in more ways than just health. People will actually include me more.
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February 22nd, 2007 at 1:10 pm
This kind of study doesn’t make me want to lose weight- it makes me angry and makes me want to become bitingly clever and make some bitingly clever remarks to them.
Examples of funky things that happen to me now that I am bigger than some people are comfortable with (these are in the last couple weeks): – guy at the dance class I am attending mentions I might like another dance class because it is “more aerobic” (He was nice. It’s just that his assumption was that I was there to lose weight!) – my shoulder and right arm hurt. I’ve been typing a lot at work and this happened to me during grad school when I was at the computer too much. My mom’s advice: “You need to get some aerobic exercise. Walk or run everyday.” She didn’t tell me that in grad school when my arm was hurting and I was thinner.
Just interesting…
Also, I’m looking for a man for a relationship and my own mind tells me that maybe I need to lose weight! Nevermind that I have had boyfriends at all different weights, guys like me now, and it didn’t seem to help me any when I was thinner, and I can see from looking around that love is not size predjudiced.
Also, in a women’s group I am in, a woman suggested I lose weight to attract more men, but she didn’t seem to think that would do the trick for my skinny and equally lonely friends.
Sheesh.