Obese children don`t choose to be obese, and the last thing we should do is make fun of them because of the way they look, writes Tehreem Zahid

“Motto! Elephant! Look at that baby hippo!”These are some of the remarks little Momina has to hear in school every day. She, like millions of others around the world, faces great embarrassment and humiliation due to being overweight.

Humiliation due to being obese is very common in our society. Everyone admits to have either teased or made fun of a fat person at some point in their lives, or undergone a lot of trauma at the hands of the `normal people` because of being overweight themselves.

“Sometimes the teasing and nitpicking is okay, but sometimes it gets really serious and hurts a lot. I always face taunting and sarcasm at school. Even my close friends and family don`t spare me. At times it becomes very unbearable,” says Momina.

“It`s not our fault that God made us like this,” says 17-year-old Ahmed. “It`s natural. It is a medical condition. Even if we don`t eat for days, we don`t lose any weight.”

According to psychologists, obesity humiliation has various adverse affects on the victims that can result in loss of concentration, lack of self confidence, feelings of isolation and loneliness, etc.

Following is a list of personality damaging affects obesity humiliation has on people

1. People facing such humiliation loose confidence in themselves and in society
2. They are forced to take extreme measures such as crash dieting, etc., to save themselves from the embarrassment 3. They have serious problems socialising 4. They lose concentration in their work whether in school or at work

The above-mentioned factors, along with numerous others, create severe hardships for these otherwise brilliant people. They have problems finding jobs and making friends. Though the stronger ones get used to the psychological torture and move on with life, the more sensitive ones spend their entire lives living in a vacuum.
If you can relate or are the victim of obesity humiliation, you can deal with such problems in the following ways

1. Never hit out at these people, always stay calm and simply try and ignore them
2. Never overreact; doing so will only make them tease you again and again
3. Never resort to extreme measures to lose weight such as over-exercising or refusing to eat
4. Always believe in yourself. Whatever the situation, if dealt with confidence, it will change people`s mindsets forever
5. Don`t feel embarrassed at the way you look, after all it`s just natural

With the help of these suggestions, try and have a more positive approach towards life. As for other people, they need to understand is that obese children don`t choose to be obese, and the last thing we should do is make fun of them because of the way they look.

Overweight people are also a part of our society and we should not blame them for being the way they are.
We should not let people discriminate others on the basis of physical appearances. Living in peace and harmony, understanding and overcoming minor differences can help us become united and strong .