I see the ad on television, before a series. It simulates a game show. The contestant is a woman who is overweight, but not obese. The host asks the woman to complete the sentence: "Obesity increases..." And she says: "The capacity for self-acceptance." And adds: "And it also increases the risk of heart disease." The formula is repeated several times. The woman says many things that wouldn't be out of place in a television program about what we now call fatphobia, so the host's words are like a warning sign for self-help. The ending, however, is corny and cheesy and ruins the beginning. The woman breaks down and says that obesity is "Not being able to play with my children" or "Feeling ashamed when I eat in front of others," and ends by saying that "Obesity is an illness."
Anyway, the woman in question, who—as we said—is not morbidly obese but simply fat, can play with her children perfectly well and even climb Pedraforca. Feeling ashamed of eating in front of others would imply that all fat people are fat because they eat too much, which isn't true, and neither should being hungrier be embarrassing. Now, it's true that obesity is a disease. And the first part of the ad is an interesting reality check that points out the euphemisms of today's society with all sorts of peculiarities. But since nothing is by chance, the company paying him is Novo Nordisk, which makes the weight-loss drug Ozempic. And what did you think?
