The Prado Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world. one of the most appreciated rooms by painting lovers is what contains the collection of works of The Bosco. The spectator should not leave Madrid without admiring the splendid *Table of Capital Sins*.
In this piece, the flamenco artist represents with great mastery the seven sins that are principle and source of others according to the Christian tradition.In one of the “radios” of the “wheel” (the work has a circular shape) the gluttony appears through a man with obesity that eats regrettably sitting in a chair, while a small child, also overweight, claims the adult who shares the feast.
Obesity in art over time
This painting is a good example of a negative portrayal of obesity in art. It is notable to mention that, formerly, excess weight was a symbol of fertility, as the famous Venus de willendorf which we can see in the Natural History Museum of Vienna. However, with the transmission of the centuries, that perception was transformed gradually.
Thus, what at the dawn of humanity was a positive physical characteristic, associated with fertility, over time it ended up becoming a denied trait. It is essential to emphasize that this judgment goes beyond its body dimension, to end up also valuing the character of the person with excess weight.
An example: the double stash
The process by which obesity ceases to be seen as a mere health problem to be also perceived as a morally reprehensible state (associated with defects such as laziness, lack of self -control or irresponsibility) is what we know in psychology as “moralization of obesity”. That is, we are “moralizing” an individual when we believe that an external physical characteristic (weight) is a reliable indicator of the character.
A good current example of this phenomenon is found with the semaglutida.This drug, marketed with names such as Ozempic or Wegovy, helps reduce blood sugar levels and reduce hunger by promoting feeling of satiety. At the beginning they had mainly patients with type 2 diabetes, but it was soon seen that this compound also worked very well for weight loss.
Read more: verbal and physical aggressions to people with obesity: a worrying reality
The overwhelming success of the Semaglutida produced that at the end of 2022 there was a shortage of the product worldwide. Who were the culprits that this miraculous drug was fatigued? According to some users, the obese were “Robin
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