Fat Acceptance Activist Insists Childhood Obesity Isn’t A Problem After All — That’s Just White Supremacy

De-stigmatizing Obesity for Kids: The Newest Frontier of the Fat Acceptance Movement

At least, that’s the goal of author Virginia Sole-Smith. Her new book “Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture” advocates for parents learning to embrace their overweight children just the way they are. She also believes in letting kids eat whatever they want, including candy and sweets, without forcing them to try vegetables or enjoy balanced meals of traditionally healthy foods.

The Case for Letting Kids Eat What They Want

The author, who describes herself as an “anti-diet journalist,” spoke with The Cut about some of her thoughts on kids and diet. In the article titled “What If You Weren’t Scared of Your Kid Being Fat?” Sole-Smith said that one of the most common questions parents ask is how often their kids should be able to eat certain foods. Using the example of ice cream, she gave her usual response. 

• “There are seven days in a week. Your child can have ice cream seven days a week. There is no law against this,” she said, while insisting that if a parent inquired over their teenager asking for an entire box of Oreo cookies, her response would be, “Pour a glass of milk — so they can dunk them?”

The 41-year-old mother of two makes the argument that limiting certain foods just makes them more appealing to kids. Her approach assumes that children learn self-control by not having any rules at all, thereby making sugary treats less exciting. 

“Vegetables are the least important part of it to me,” she told the publication. “They have their whole lives to decide if they want to eat kale.” Sole-Smith also described some of the dinner rules at her house, which include, “No pressure/Listen to your body” and “You don’t have to earn dessert.”

The Other Side of the Argument

Sole-Smith attempts to “debunk” the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States by arguing that society’s fear of fatness could be more detrimental than minors being overweight. “The real danger to a child in a larger body is how we treat them for having that body,” she writes in “Fat Talk.”

Meanwhile, the CDC called childhood obesity a “serious problem” which leads to problems including “high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, breathing problems such as asthma and sleep apnea, and joint problems.” They reported that 19.7% of children aged 2 to 19 were classified as obese according to BMI charts. That’s 14.7 million children and adolescents who could face health problems due to their weight.

The Debate Continues

As more and more people advocate for fat acceptance, it’s only a matter of time before activists decide that overweight kids existing on a diet of candy and soda should just be left to live as they please. Who are we to judge?