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Chrisler, J. C., & Barney, A. (2017). Sizeism is a health hazard. Fat Studies, 6(1), 38-53.

Hwang, K. O., Ottenbacher, A. J., Green, A. P., Cannon-Diehl, M. R., Richardson, O., Bernstam, E. V., & Thomas, E. J. (2010). Social support in an Internet weight loss community. International journal of medical informatics, 79(1), 5-13.

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By: Katrina Plasse and Aishwarya Shrestha

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By: Katrina Plasse and Aishwarya Shrestha

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If fat-shaming worked, we wouldn't have any fat people.

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If fat-shaming worked, we wouldn't have any fat people.

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Although Nicole Arbour can claim that she was trying to "help", she certainly is not representative of the people she is trying to reach, and it seemed quite inappropriate for her to address a situation causing distress for many people who struggle with their weight. Even if she were truly trying to help, the research shows that fat-shaming only works as an added stress and is certainly not a healthy approach. This said, her tasteless attempt at helping was far from productive.
As the research shows, being able to have someone whom you can relate and share experiences, leaves a better and more positive impact on people who are dealing with any difficult situation, including the fat body in our society.

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Is she an accurate representation of people dealing with obesity?

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Is she an accurate representation of people dealing with obesity?

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It does not seem fair that an attractive skinny white figure like her gets to harass fat people and claim that it is comedy. Her indifference and inexperience of being fat makes her jokes irrelevant and unacceptable. It is comparable to a famous white celebrity making a joke about racism and black people.

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Nicole Arbour Claims 'Dear Fat People' Was a Pre-Planned Marketing Ploy 

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Nicole Arbour Claims 'Dear Fat People' Was a Pre-Planned Marketing Ploy 

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In an article she claimed that her video "Dear Fat People" was nothing more than any other marketing strategies that people use to gain more viewers and become sensational!

IS THIS FAIR?  People suffering from obesity are being harassed on the internet by individuals who claim that they are there to help them be better, but in the end they just want to earn money and gain viewers.

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This material focuses on content from Nicole Arbour, more specifically, fat-shaming people in her video "Dear Fat People" which went viral for her outrageous rant attempting to encourage people to lose weight.

Here we take a look at how a public figure can objectify fat people and claim it as comedy for their own popularity. We also look at some fellow youtubers' response to Arbour, and research based on whether fat-shaming is the right way to motivate people to stay healthy.

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The Role of Peer Support: Who's Input is Truly Valued by the Fat Community?

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The Role of Peer Support: Who's Input is Truly Valued by the Fat Community?

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Community support has been shown to be extremely valuable when it comes to many situations, with everything from mental health to social struggles. As Nicole Arbour considers her words as a guiding principle and important advice to fat people, she fails to acknowledge that her lack of experience in being or ever having been fat, makes her criticism all the more ineffective. This said, it is important to consider the potential value of fat identifying people communicating with other people that are in, or have been in, the same situation as themselves.
One study looking at social support in an internet weight loss community found that it played a prominent role in the participants' weight loss efforts. Here, participants found that the non-judgemental interactions were an important part of this support (Hwang, Ottenbacher, Green, Cannon-Diehl, Richardson, Bernstam & Thomas, 2009). As such, having both support from peers and a non-judgemental environment were beneficial.

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The Detrimental Effects of Fat-Shaming: Sizeism and Health

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The Detrimental Effects of Fat-Shaming: Sizeism and Health

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Research has shown that sizeism and stereotypes regarding fat people can negatively affect their physical health and well-being (Chrisler & Barney, 2017).
Further, disrespectful treatment and medical fat-shaming induces stress and can actually lead to a delay in seeking healthcare or even avoid interacting with health providers altogether (Chrisler & Barney, 2017).

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Does Nicole Arbour's Attempt to "Help" Actually Work?

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Does Nicole Arbour's Attempt to "Help" Actually Work?

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Content creator Gabbie (Gabrielle Hanna, 27) responds to Arbour, not from the perspective of a self-identifying fat person, but simply as someone who struggled with their weight.
In her response, she reminds viewers that you are your now worst critic. She follows up by saying that if she herself had seen the video while she was struggling with her body image, it would've been extremely hurtful. Gabbie criticizes Arbour's "audacity to use her voice to tell people they are disgusting and need to change", which certainly brings to the forefront, this idea that Nicole Arbour's opinion truly has very little place in the matter. She explains how she hopes and prays that people do not take Arbour's words seriously.
Finally, she says that "whether you're fat and healthy, fat and unhealthy, skinny and healthy, or skinny and unhealthy, it shouldn't be addressed by some snarky bitch". Here, Gabbie makes an important point in reminding her audience that weight and health do not go hand-in-hand.

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Youtuber boogie2988 (Steven Jay Williams, 43) was actually friends with Arbour until this video. In his response, he starts by saying that he agrees with her in that being overweight damages your body and that we owe it to ourselves to be healthy.
However, "the problem is, I have never met a fat person that has not had this pounded into their brain over and over again by everyone around them". He continues to say that every fat person has heard these things a million times. He makes an important point, that not everyone is ready or capable of readily changing the state of their body. He says that a huge problem here, is that she is aiming her words towards some nonexistent fat person, that has no other problems other than loving burgers. The reality, he states, is that there are realistically lots of problems.
He explains that fat-shaming makes people feel bad, disgusting, and simply hate themselves, adding that "for someone to do these massive changes, they have to give a shit about themselves, and it's hard to love yourself in a society with so many people telling you you're a worthless piece of shit."
Finally, he concludes by saying that fat-shaming doesn't work or help, it just makes things worse.

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- "I'm not talking to the people who have legitimate health conditions, I'm talking to people that are obese... that means you're so fat that you're affecting your own health."
- "Fat shaming: Shame people who have bad habits until they f*cking stop!"
- (Referring to body positivity) "If you want to be positive to your body, work out and eat well."
- "I'm not saying all this to be an asshole, I'm saying this because your friends should be saying it."
- "The truth is, I will actually love you no matter what..."

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What does "Dear Fat People" seem to be saying?

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What does "Dear Fat People" seem to be saying?

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Nicole Arbour proves very early on in her video, that she is not educated on the topic. By linking obesity to one's own fault, she not only shows her lack of knowledge, but provides a misinformed definition that forms the basis of her video.
Arbour seems to believe that making people ashamed of being fat, and excessively reassuring them about how disgusting they are, will somehow lead to their weight loss. That said, she never even refers to any complex outcomes or solutions to this "problem" of fatness. To her it is simple, fat people need to not be fat.

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Dear Fat People Response | The Gabbie Show