Summary or Mary Rae Worley's "fat and Happy in Defense of Fat Acceptance"

Summary: “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” By Mary Ray Worley

Skyler Gillespie

In her essay “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance,” Mary Ray Worley purposes a solution for acceptance of obesity in the twenty second century. She provides a personal connection to her claim by stating that she attended NAAFA (The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance). Worley delves deep into the convention explaining how everyone began to feel normal, and had more confidence with their size. To illustrate the event Worley describes the pool party, all the way to the talent show held that night. Worley depicts the convention by saying it was so different it was as if they were visiting another planet. Soon after she goes into detail on a speech given at the convention by Dr. Diane Budd, who concludes that fat individuals should try and lose weight. Worley after seeing the presentation saw that a majority of size is based off genetics, and lists reasons why trying to lose weight might not be the best thing for larger people. She further warns that this kind of pressure makes fat people more reluctant to go to the doctor for help due to the prejudice they can receive. Worley proceeds to give a first hand experience with dieting, explaining that fat people spends a numerous sum of money for, in many cases, it not working. Worley then offers the solution that the body adapts to the diet and slows the metabolism based on the amount of food you intake. For this reason she began to eat what she wanted to again, and really relish the food she did eat instead. In another example the author says that exercising is an option that requires a large amount of discipline and results in discouragement for many people who try to lose weight with that method. Worley solves this problem by finding fun and more unique ways to get her daily workouts in, such as hiking.