You keep mentioning overweight/obesity as evidence that “neckbeards” don’t care about their bodies or see themselves as worth improving. Given the current state of our knowledge on obesity, eg this I think there are much better explanations for why some nerds are fat. It’s possible to love yourself and think you deserve to look great and still have a slow metabolism. Also, do we even know that being nerdy correlates with being fat?
In my youth it correlated with being rail thin. But today neckbeard is a fattish stereotype. (Hiding chin.) I would say obesity is not a key factor here, head and facial hair alone, or clothes, or hygiene are better predictors.
But the point is, today the world has changed. Today it seems to be almost everybody who does not consciously work hard against it are obese. Today basically obesity is the default shape for all who do not have it in their to-do list things like exercise 3 times a week, pay attention to food and drink etc.
So it is neither a predictive nor a typical trait. Almost everybody is obese today who does not give it high priority to not be one.
The reason is the current social normality to derive hedons from snacks and when adult, booze. I know this—at 36 I do care, do pay attention, and am still borderline obese, because of too much free time being bored, especially socially. Uncle comes over. What do? Oh, lets have vodka or two. Beer. Eat something. Etc. time gets passed. Even if you pay attention, the “bored, no idea what to do” → snack up, pig out or get drunk gets you fat. Because today it became normal.
I think it takes a special sort of discipline to not be fat today. Or, like, really, really being good at being the opposite of depressed, like, always-having-fun: so much time to fill out and so little challenge.
Today basically obesity is the default shape for all who do not have it in their to-do list things like exercise 3 times a week, pay attention to food and drink etc.
Are you aware that obesity highly correlates with genetics when you make such a statement?
You keep mentioning overweight/obesity as evidence that “neckbeards” don’t care about their bodies or see themselves as worth improving. Given the current state of our knowledge on obesity, eg this I think there are much better explanations for why some nerds are fat. It’s possible to love yourself and think you deserve to look great and still have a slow metabolism. Also, do we even know that being nerdy correlates with being fat?
In my youth it correlated with being rail thin. But today neckbeard is a fattish stereotype. (Hiding chin.) I would say obesity is not a key factor here, head and facial hair alone, or clothes, or hygiene are better predictors.
But the point is, today the world has changed. Today it seems to be almost everybody who does not consciously work hard against it are obese. Today basically obesity is the default shape for all who do not have it in their to-do list things like exercise 3 times a week, pay attention to food and drink etc.
So it is neither a predictive nor a typical trait. Almost everybody is obese today who does not give it high priority to not be one.
The reason is the current social normality to derive hedons from snacks and when adult, booze. I know this—at 36 I do care, do pay attention, and am still borderline obese, because of too much free time being bored, especially socially. Uncle comes over. What do? Oh, lets have vodka or two. Beer. Eat something. Etc. time gets passed. Even if you pay attention, the “bored, no idea what to do” → snack up, pig out or get drunk gets you fat. Because today it became normal.
I think it takes a special sort of discipline to not be fat today. Or, like, really, really being good at being the opposite of depressed, like, always-having-fun: so much time to fill out and so little challenge.
Are you aware that obesity highly correlates with genetics when you make such a statement?
Look how quickly genes change!
Doesn’t change anything about the claim. Studies that measure the effect of genes measure how much of societal variation is due to genes.
If you believe everybody is fat and it’s not because of self-hatred, why did you list neckbeards’ weight as evidence of their self-hatred?
It is an evidence of not simply not caring about looks.