Cali ... I agree with you in that we ought not let our weight become a dividing issue ... we must work that nothing becomes a dividing issue ... just because someone is thin, doesn't mean they are going to be rude; just like fatness doesn't imply sensitivity.

However, this thread is very important because more often than not, being severely overweight IS a health issue ... a genetic presupposition to store fat rather than use or eliminate the energy we consume.

It's wrong, then, to assume that a person who's fat has a character flaw (lazy, undisciplined, uncontrolled appetite) ... at least any more than you would assume that a thin person has the same flaws. It's stereotyping ... and it's wrong. Yet this is the kind of treatment so many of us have received because of our weight.

I was told once, that a church should not ordain a fat person to the ministry ... because being fat showed moral weakness (gluttony) ... I am an ordained pastor, and I was over 100 pounds "overweight." While I didn't profess to be spiritually or even morally perfect (we all make mistakes, we all fall short), I don't think my weight should be a bearing on whether or not I can be a spiritual leader. And I don't think my weight alone is a sign of spiritual impropriety.

I am overweight for a variety of reasons ... metabolism, low thyroid, PCOS, inactivity, addiction to chocolate and sugar etc. I have a goal weight listed because it's the number in the height/weight charts that fits ... but I honestly don't know if I could or really want to reach that goal ... my real goal is not a number, it's a way of life -- to be healthy, balanced, and well. To some extent, I'm already living that goal ...

To laugh at "fat jokes", to be disgusted by people who are too big to fit in airplane seats, to pass over overweight people for jobs, promotions, etc. because they don't fit an image (or a uniform) ... these things are hurtful, discriminating, and wrong.

I should be able to choose to eat a half a peice of cheesecake at a luncheon without being shamed by the colleague across the table ... I am an intelligent human being who can make reasonable decisions regarding what I eat and what I don't eat. That colleague across the table may be just as addicted to sugar, but is blessed with a metabolism which doesn't store the sugar in the hips. Does that make her any better than me?

I choose this woe because I was fed up with the fact that I was not "fit" enough to hike up a mountain in Guatemala. I am not doing this because "thin is better", I'm doing it because I was not physically able to live the life I wanted to live ... and, luckily, this woe combined with regular excersise is working for me. But I realize that I may not always be in control of these things ... that health is not guaranteed for every person ... and people with health problems should not be shamed, laughed at, disdained etc.

Ok, I'll stop now (stepping down off the soapbox)