“My name is Sasha.
"I am a single parent to two children and have suffered/been struggling with obesity since childhood. As far back as I can remember I have always been overweight and for many years as a child my weight in stones matched my age and peaked at 21 stone.
Quick to judge
“Living in the UK in 2024 with obesity is a hard and judgemental life. People are so quick to judge and stereotype and assume that all obese people are lazy. Whereas there is so much more to it than that. Obesity in my opinion is not caused by being lazy, but in many cases there are underlying issues. In my circumstances I have experienced a lot of trauma in my life both as a child and as an adult, and when going through these traumatic times, food became my therapy and to this day I still turn to food for comfort, and as a stress relief.
“Obesity in my opinion needs to be "accepted" like a drug or alcohol addiction is. There's been many times over the years where health professionals have judged me and have been shocked when assessing me that I haven't had any other health conditions or illnesses. For example, late in 2023, I was going through a hard time and my anxiety got worse. I was suffering from chest pains and breathlessness. Whilst I was certain it was my anxiety, my GP advised that I went to hospital to get checked over.
"When the doctor came to assess me at the hospital, she asked what medication I was on. When I told her “none”, she asked me if I was sure, to which I replied “yes”, but then she asked "what about diabetes?" I advised I don't have diabetes or any other health conditions and that I knew I was overweight but I'm healthy. She looked at me as if I had suddenly grown a second head and then carried on to ask me if I was on medication for heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol. She was shocked when yet again I reiterated to her, I had no health conditions and wasn’t on any medication.”
Sasha feels that had she been slimmer, her word would have been enough and the doctor wouldn’t have questioned her in the same way.
Viscous cycle
“Being obese often means I feel ashamed and embarrassed. I avoid eating in public with people I don't know for fear of judgement - "no wonder she's fat when she's eating chips". Society makes it shameful to be overweight. Many clothes stores only stock plus sizes online, or if they have them in store, it's a small section at the back of the shop, which implies obese people don't belong in here or aren't good enough to be able to purchase items in store unless they go to a specialised plus wear store. Why can't I look round River Island as a size 20-22 but a size 16 person can?
"Over the years I have lost weight and then put it back on, and carried on with the viscous cycle."
Sasha is currently taking part in a programme which encourages exercise which she says she is enjoying but wishes there was some talking therapy to go alongside it.
If only it was that simple
“If the issues which cause people to be overweight aren't dealt with, then how are they ever going to recover? I imagine when a drug addict or alcoholic gets help, they are offered some sort of therapy, and not just told to stop drinking, like overweight people are told to eat less and move more. If only it was that simple!”