As a woman with lipedema, I have to say I think there should be more inclusion around different body types in schools and other areas.
I have a lot of body fat on my body, and because it is lipedema fat, there is very little I can do about it. I exercise an average of 8 hours a week, and live in a state of ketosis, and have so for the last 5 years. Yet my BMI places me as obese, and not just a little obese, pretty high up there.
There was nothing I have done that caused me to have lipedema, and it first started when I was age 12. Suddenly, I had the legs of a morbidly obese person and it didn't matter how much I exercised, or even when I was anorexic, I stayed large.
At this time a school nurse came a long and did a presentation on healthy body weight, which for my group was considered 95 lbs - 115 lbs. I at age 13, was 140 abs because of my lipedema. It felt like school sanctioned body hate.
No one noticed I had lipedema or knew what it was. No one considered that I had a medical condition that caused large amounts of fat on my body. Instead, I was just fat and unhealthy, no matter how healthy I ate or how much exercise I get. I didn't learn about lipedema until literally last year, at age 39. Knowing about this condition in my teen years would have prevented me from the years I spent struggling with anorexia and bulimia. And yes, I did have bad problems with anorexia and bulimia and although I started getting sick with way to low blood pressure, no one considered the fact I had an eating disorder because I was fat due to the lipedema all over my legs and lower half.
My doctors today tell me that I am very healthy and they don't consider me obese. There is literally no more diet and exercise I can do on a weekly basis. However, I will forever be added, and included well into that category of obese with my BMI of 33. I too will always be added to that statistic claiming adults my age are unhealthy because we are obese, despite what my doctors say about me.
I think our culture needs to realize that just because someone is fat, doesn't necessarily mean it's their own fault. This is the way my body is, and I've done everything I can to change it and it won't. If there are conditions like lipedema (which is very common, 11% of women have this) then I bet there are more conditions that make people fat without their choices. It should be okay. I'm sure I was classified as a fat teenager, despite the fact I exercised a lot and ate only very healthy foods. Lipedema often starts around the time of puberty and mine certainly did.
We like to blame all fat people for their conditions, but I tell you, I didn't chose mine, and I'm sure many other's didn't.
