# Obese Boy Scouts not allowed to attend Jamboree. Fat discrimination or common sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634 "2013-07-16T02:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/261 "2013-07-23T14:33:26Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > . It is absolutely a “minor inconvenience.” I agree, but for some reason it’s very difficult to put up with a minor inconvenience hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year. As an analogy, consider if somebody calls your phone accidentally. It happens now and then; you just tell them “sorry wrong number” and it’s no big deal. But imagine if you got a few calls like that a day. Imagine you got a few calls like that an hour. Eventually there’s a pretty good chance you will lose patience and either yell at the people who were calling or call the phone company and demand a new number or whatever. So too with long-term weight maintenance. Your body is constantly whispering to you to eat more food; to eat junk food; whatever. It’s a minor inconvenience but there is a pretty good chance eventually you will slip and fall into a downward spiral. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s definitely a big challenge for most people. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/262 "2013-07-23T14:37:03Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > By the time they are 35, they weigh 300 pounds and they can _maintain_ that weight on as little as 1500 calories a day. That’s a fact. Are there any studies supporting this claim which do not rely on self-reporting? > [@](#): > > That’s another thing that people never think about: fat people are weight stable in the same way that thin people are, going for long periods of time at the same weight, even though it’s a very high weight. What’s the evidence for this? My impression is that fat people tend to get steadily fatter over the years whether or not they diet. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/263 "2013-07-23T14:56:27Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > So I was starving? Well it’s a matter of semantics. For the sake of this discussion, I would define “starvation” as food deprivation which is so severe that there is a serious risk of death or serious injury. Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine if there were a weight loss camp where fat people had their eating carefully monitored and they were given a daily amount of food which was healthy, well-balanced, and two or three hundred calories less than the amount necessary to maintain their weight. Otherwise there are plenty of fun activities to do. After a few weeks, I doubt any of the camp residents would feel that they are “starving.” Probably most of them would feel pretty good as they slowwwwly lost weight. At worst they would feel mild discomfort now and then. Eventually those feelings would diminish (but never go away completely). It would be a different story, of course, if the campers were subject to severe food deprivation. I think **Stoid** is conflating the two. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/264 "2013-07-23T15:09:44Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > It would be a different story, of course, if the campers were subject to severe food deprivation. Well, who’s asking anyone to do that? I mean, what leads to all these discussions and studies of severe calorie restriction? I wouldn’t expect anyone who is fifty or more pounds overweight to subsist and feel okay on less than 2,000 per day, but I might expect them to skip the fries and opt for a second beef patty instead, replace the Big Gulp with water and maybe avoid chips, mayo, and cookies altogether. Where is the pressure to deprive obese people of sustenance coming from that leads to all these claims of starvation and misery? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/265 "2013-07-23T15:23:13Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Well, who’s asking anyone to do that? I don’t know – certainly not me. My position is that (non-crash) dieting is only mildly uncomfortable, but at the same time it’s difficult to endure mild discomfort over an extended period of time. (If, of course, you can easily get instant relief from that discomfort.) ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/266 "2013-07-23T17:52:14Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I don’t know – certainly not me. My position is that (non-crash) dieting is only mildly uncomfortable, but at the same time it’s difficult to endure mild discomfort over an extended period of time. (If, of course, you can easily get instant relief from that discomfort.) People who frame dieting in extreme terms are doing themselves any favors. I’d never expect someone who is already supporting 75+ extra pounds to suddenly subsist on less than I eat each day. I’d never expect them to suddenly jump on a stair climber and hike 10 miles, either. (Likewise, I’d never expect a kid to suddenly switch from 3,000+ calories each day to the diet the Jamboree kitchen offers, or expect him to keep up with his healthier peers without plenty of prior exercise first, but this conversation has evolved beyond the original topic). But the fact remains that some motivated and overweight people do successfully lose weight and keep it off, so we have evidence which disproves a barrage of testimonies that claim it’s impossible for an obese person to change his or her habits and maintain a healthier lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/267 "2013-07-23T18:41:30Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > But the fact remains that some motivated and overweight people do successfully lose weight and keep it off, so we have evidence which disproves a barrage of testimonies that claim it’s impossible for an obese person to change his or her habits and maintain a healthier lifestyle. I completely agree with this, and I suspect that peoples’ chances of success are significantly higher than the 5% which is normally quoted if they avoid fad diets, crash diets, and pretty much any diet or diet advice which promises to let them eat large amounts of very tasty food. But it’s still pretty challenging by all credible accounts. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/268 "2013-07-23T18:45:49Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Okay, so I experienced the same thing you did when I dieted and exercised to lose the weight I gained after pregnancy. I was accustomed to eating quite a bit more, and had to eat smaller portions and less fatty food, and definitely had to cut out the extra ice cream. So I was starving? Because every definition of starving I know refers to conditions in impoverished countries, third world, prisoners of war, lost hikers, etc. If food is available, I’m not starving. Please define it for me. That’s the way we are accustomed to using the word, but in fact it means simply to deprive the body of sufficient nutrition to supply the body’s needs, forcing it to use fat and/or lean tissue to keep basic processes functional. To diet by calorie restriction is, by definition, to starve the body. If you don’t starve it, you won’t lose weight that way. You can starve it slowly or quickly, but you’re starving it one way or another if you are losing weight by cutting back. In addition to using its stores and tissue, the basal metabolic rate slows and the body eventually stops losing, forcing you to feed yourself even less. Then when you go back to normal eating, you gain eating less than you did before and you almost always end up fatter. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/269 "2013-07-23T18:57:56Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > That’s the way we are accustomed to using the word, but in fact it means simply to deprive the body of sufficient nutrition to supply the body’s needs, You are free to define the word any way you like, but it does not change the reality that there is a big difference between the sort of modest energy deficit which comes with a sane diet and a massive energy deficit which comes from severe food deprivation. You are trying to pretend that the two are the same but they are not. And calling both situations “starvation” is just semantic games, aimed at obscuring an important distinction. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/270 "2013-07-23T19:05:39Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > You are free to define the word any way you like, but it does not change the reality that there is a big difference between the sort of modest energy deficit which comes with a sane diet and a massive energy deficit which comes from severe food deprivation. > > You are trying to pretend that the two are the same but they are not. And calling both situations “starvation” is just semantic games, aimed at obscuring an important distinction. This, and it’s harmful false information you’re attempting to put out there. Replacing 40 ounces of soda at 600 calories with water and skipping the 600 calorie large fry will not starve a thin person, much less a morbidly obese one. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/271 "2013-07-23T19:08:13Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Then when you go back to normal eating, you gain eating less than you did before and you almost always end up fatter. You think you are doing obese readers a favor by feeding them these loaded buzzwords but all you’re doing is promising desperate people looking for validation that they will fail. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/272 "2013-07-23T19:09:22Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > This, and it’s harmful false information you’re attempting to put out there. Replacing 40 ounces of soda at 600 calories with water and skipping the 600 calorie large fry will not starve a thin person, much less a morbidly obese one. Yeah, I don’t think starvation is an appropriate term. I get what Stoid is saying, but if you are overall taking in enough calories to survive, you’re not starving no matter how uncomfortable it is. I’m relatively slim, and I’m also hungry for a significant portion of every day. If I’m hungry, no doubt my body is burning calories I haven’t taken in lately, but I wouldn’t call it starvation. It’s kind of offensive to call it that, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/273 "2013-07-23T19:18:05Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Yeah, I don’t think starvation is an appropriate term. I get what Stoid is saying, but if you are overall taking in enough calories to survive, you’re not starving no matter how uncomfortable it is. I’m relatively slim, and I’m also hungry for a significant portion of every day. If I’m hungry, no doubt my body is burning calories I haven’t taken in lately, but I wouldn’t call it starvation. It’s kind of offensive to call it that, actually. I agree. It’s offensive because we have the media to show us what starvation looks like, even for those of us lucky enough to have never experienced it or seen it up close. I can see why anyone coping with obesity would frame their problem in terms of addiction using words like craving, withdrawal, triggers, etc. But starvation is just one too far, and completely removes sympathy from the abuser of the word. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/274 "2013-07-23T19:18:35Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > 1560 calories a day isn’t starvation by any measure. Most people would have to be pretty active to lose weight at that intake level. > I wonder if there were dietary deficiencies involved in that study, missing vitamins or minerals. I recall that the men were forced to perform a lot of physical activity. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/275 "2013-07-24T01:01:38Z")
It doesn’t matter to me one way or another what you guys think of the word starvation, that’s your issue. The important part is that these men were living off a little less than 1600 cal, and the results showed exactly what I talked about… Anyone who thinks that losing weight and keeping it off is just a matter of willpower or a little bit of discomfort Does not understand what other people experience, but what other people experience is quite real as this scientific experiment demonstrated very dramatically. What they ate: > [@](#): > > “The major food items served were whole wheat bread, potatoes, cereals, and considerable amounts of turnips and cabbage. Only token amounts of meats and dairy products were provided." But what is most striking is how much food they were given to eat: 1570 calories per day. > > 1570 calories a day, which is \*\*\*130 calories more \*\*\*than the globally recommended caloric intake for a 5’3", 200 pound sedentary female with a BMI of 35.5 \*\*\*told to lose 1 pound per week, \*\*\*according to the widely accepted Mifflin-ST Jeor equation. (And a little over 200 calories more than it took for me to lose wei > Ht last time I did it via calorie restriction, And i am 5’8") Selections from the book written about the experiment: > [@](#): > > . > > Despite little interest in culinary matters prior to the experiment, almost 40% of the men mentioned cooking as part of their post-experiment plans. For some, the fascination was so great that they actually changed occupations after the experiment: three became chefs, and one went into agriculture. > > During starvation, the volunteers’ eating habits underwent remarkable changes. The men spent much of the day planning how they would eat their allotment of food. Much of their behavior served the purpose of prolonging the ingestion and hedonic appeal or saliency of food. The men often ate in silence and devoted total attention to consumption. > > \ > > During the starvation regimen, all of the volunteers reported increased hunger; some appeared able to tolerate the experience fairly well, but for others it created intense concern, or even became intolerable. \*\*Several men failed to adhere to their diets and reported episodes of bulimia followed by self-reproach. While working in a grocery store, one subject suffered a complete loss of willpower and ate several cookies, a sack of popcorn, and two overripe bananas before he could “regain control” of himself. He immediately suffered a severe emotional upset, with nausea, and upon returning to the laboratory he vomited. He was self-deprecatory, expressing disgust and self-criticism. \*\*(Keys et al., 1950,p. 887) > > During the eighth week of starvation, another subject “flagrantly broke the dietary rules, eating several sundaes and malted milks; he even stole some penny candies. He promptly confessed the whole episode, [and] became self-deprecatory” (Keys et al.,1950, p. 884). > > When presented with greater amounts of food during rehabilitation, many of the men lost control of their appetites and “ate more or less continuously” (Keys et al., 1950, p. 843). Even after 12 weeks of rehabilitation, the men frequently complained that they experienced an increase in hunger immediately following a large meal: > > [One of the volunteers] ate immense meals (a daily estimate of 5,000 to 6,000 calories) and yet started snacking" an hour after he finished a meal. [Another] ate as much as he could hold during the three regular meals and ate snacks in the morning, afternoon and evening. (Keys et al., 1950, p. 846) > > This gluttony resulted in a high incidence of headaches, gastrointestinal distress and unusual sleepiness. Several men had spells of nausea and vomiting. One man required aspiration and hospitalization for several days. (Keys et at., 1950, p. 843) > “Subject No. 20 stuffs himself until he is bursting at the seams, to the point of being nearly sick and still feels hungry; No. 120 reported that he had to discipline himself to keep from eating so much as to become ill; No. 1 ate until he was uncomfortably full; and subject no. 30 had so little control over the mechanics of “piling it in” that he simply had to stay away from food because he could not find a point of satiation even when he was “full to the gills.” . . . Subject no. 26 would just as soon have eaten six meals instead of three.” (Keys et al., 1950, p. 847) > > After about five months of rehabilitation, the majority of the men reported some normalization of their eating patterns; however, for some the extreme overconsumption persisted: “No. 108 would eat and eat until he could hardly swallow any more, and then he felt like eating half an hour later” (Keys et al., 1950, p. 847). > > \*\*\*More than 8 months after renourishment, a few men were still eating abnormal amounts, and one man still reported consuming “about 25 per cent more than his pre-starvation amount; once he started to reduce but got so hungry he could not stand it” \*\*\*(Keys et al., 1950, p. 847). > > Factors that distinguished men who rapidly normalized their eating from those who continued to eat prodigious amounts were not identified. However, the important point here is that there were tremendous differences among volunteers in their responses to the starvation experience, and that a subset of these men developed bulimia, which persisted many months after they were permitted free access to food. > > Emotional Changes > > \*\*\*The strict procedures used to select subjects for the experiment led the experimenters to conclude that the “psychobiological ‘stamina’ of the subjects was unquestionably superior to that likely to be found in any random or more generally representative sample of the population” \*\*\*(Keys et al., 1950, p. 916). Although the subjects were psychologically healthy prior to the experiment, most experienced significant emotional changes as a result of semi-starvation. Some reported transitory and others protracted periods of depression, with an overall lowering of the threshold for depression. Occasionally elation was observed, but this was inevitably followed by “low periods.” Although the men had quite tolerant dispositions prior to starvation, tolerance was replaced by irritability and frequent outbursts of anger. For most subjects, anxiety became more evident. > \ > > Various changes reflected an overall slowing of the body’s physiological processes. There were decreases in body temperature, heart rate, and respiration, as well as in basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is the amount of energy (calories) that the body requires at rest (i.e. no physical activity) in order to carry out normal physiological processes. It accounts for about two-thirds of the body’s total energy needs, with the remainder being used during physical activity. \*\*\*At the end of semi-starvation, the men’s BMRs had dropped by about 40% from normal. This drop, as well as other physical changes, reflects the body’s extraordinary ability to adapt to low caloric intake by reducing its need for energy. One volunteer described that it was as if his “body flame [were] burning as low as possible to conserve precious fuel and still maintain life process” (\*\*\*Keys et al., 1950, p. 852). > > \ > > The changes in body fat and muscle in relation to overall body weight during semi-starvation and rehabilitation are of considerable interest. While weight declined about 25%, the percentage of body fat fell almost 70%, and \*\*muscle decreased about 40%. \*\*Upon re-feeding, a greater proportion of the “new weight” was fat; in the eighth month of rehabilitation, _ **the volunteers were at about 100% of their original body weight, but had approximately 140% of their original body fat!** _ How did the men feel about their weight gain during rehabilitation? > > \ > > \*\*One of the most notable implications of the starvation experiment is that it provides compelling evidence against the popular notion that body weight is easily altered if one simply exercises a bit of “will power.” \*\*It also demonstrates that the body is not simply “reprogrammed” to adjust to a lower weight once it has been achieved. The volunteers’ experimental diet was unsuccessful in overriding their bodies’ strong propensity to defend a particular weight level. One might argue that this is fine as long as a person is not obese to start with; as we point out later, however, these same principles seem to apply just as much to those who are naturally heavy as to those who have always been lean So perhaps, now that you know better, you will do better. By “you”, I mean those of you reading this who feel generally that fat people are just a bunch of self-indulgent whiners who could be thin if they just tried a little harder, and by “better” I mean now that you are no longer ignorant of the reality for those who struggle with obesity, you will be less likely to be unkind and judgmental about what their lives and their struggles _ **actually** _ are. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/276 "2013-07-24T01:40:30Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > That’s the way we are accustomed to using the word, but in fact it means simply to deprive the body of sufficient nutrition to supply the body’s needs, forcing it to use fat and/or lean tissue to keep basic processes functional. To diet by calorie restriction is, by definition, to starve the body. If you don’t starve it, you won’t lose weight that way. You can starve it slowly or quickly, but you’re starving it one way or another if you are losing weight by cutting back. > > In addition to using its stores and tissue, the basal metabolic rate slows and the body eventually stops losing, forcing you to feed yourself even less. Then when you go back to normal eating, you gain eating less than you did before and you almost always end up fatter. This is nothing more than semantic bs. And as far as that starvation study you linked to above me in the previous post, those 1500 or so calories were almost _totally_ comprised of carbohydrates; virtually no protein or fat. A calorie restricted diet that _also_ heavily protein and fat restricted is going to produce much more insatiable hunger and cravings than a typical, high protein, reduced calorie diet. It will also produce much more lean body mass loss. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/277 "2013-07-24T02:29:22Z")
Yeah, wow, that changes things. The effects of protein deprivation are pretty well understood. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/278 "2013-07-24T04:17:48Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Yeah, wow, that changes things. The effects of protein deprivation are pretty well understood. No kidding…reduction of calories is one thing, but this diet was devoid. of necessary nutrition. Stoid, you of all people ought to be able to see that. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/279 "2013-07-24T07:02:14Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > No kidding…reduction of calories is one thing, but this diet was devoid. of necessary nutrition. Stoid, you of all people ought to be able to see that. I’m beginning to wonder whether there is an ulterior motive. **Stoid** , “could you be persuaded to share your personal experiences with weight and diet?” ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634/280 "2013-07-24T07:39:51Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > I’m beginning to wonder whether there is an ulterior motive. > > **Stoid** , “could you be persuaded to share your personal experiences with weight and diet?” I have already…look for my username and keyword obese. My motive is very plain: to educate people who see the issue of obesity as simple and the struggle against it as a minor discomfort easily overcome if you try hard enough, particularly people who, like you, believe it is nothing but calories in and out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obese-boy-scouts-not-allowed-to-attend-jamboree-fat-discrimination-or-common-sense/663634.md?page=15)