Negative Side Effects Of Overweight

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Recommended: How media has affected body image over the years

In modern society, the media has a very big influence on our lives. Whether it be a film, a cartoon, or a television series, it is going to impact our daily life in some way. A nasty habit that the media has started is casting overweight characters as gluttonous eaters, aggressive, overtly funny, bullies, reassuring best friends, or sloppy dressers. This makes society as a whole look negatively at overweight people because of their presumptions. Sadly, those stereotypes have been around for over fifty years and still exist today. To understand what is wrong with the overweight stereotype, one must first understand why being overweight is considered a negative thing. Of course, the negative health-related side effects are a big part of it. Hypertension, type two diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, and respiratory problems are all potentially fatal side effects that come from being overweight. (obesity bad) People have taken this stereotype and twisted it to also imply that obese people are lazy, stupid, sloppy, gross, and a number of other negative things. This is taking an already bad stereotype and emphasizing it to make it seem way worse than it really is. Filmmakers have taken this cliche and ran with it …show more content…

The television series, The Honeymooners, is about Ralph Kramden and his wife Alice, who are still struggling financially fifteen years after the depression. It includes all of Ralph and his best friend Ed Norton’s schemes on how to get rich quick. When Ed was asked how to describe his buddies build, he uses the terms good bone structure, fine frame, and covered with fat. Even his wife gives him a hard time about his weight. In one episode, Alice says “The only thing big that’s close to your heart is your stomach”. (the honeymooners) The whole series has an underlying theme of the struggles of excessive weight and the damages that it can

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