Using my backup account for this one (again) because of the sheer vitriol which will be undoubtedly flung my way.
Do I believe we should actively bar overweight individuals from having a political opinion? Not necessarily. However, intrinsic flaws and inherent biases exist due to being overweight; indeed, the condition symbolizes deeper, often damaging psychological tendencies. I list three supporting arguments below.
All studies included herein apply to the USA, but all conclusions may be applied to any country.
 
First, fat people are more impulsive. A 2017 study from seven University of Paris scholars demonstrated that, through an analysis of 50,000 individuals, “highly impulsive participants [are] more likely to be class III obese” (Bernard et al., 2017). The scientists demonstrated a clear, direct link between impulsivity and obesity, highlighting the “importance of psychological factors in causing obesity” (Bernard et al., 2017). Moreover, the adoption of a high-fat or high-sugar diet- like many overweight individuals have- has been shown to causatively “induces impulsive choice” and act as a “precursor to other disorders” (Steele et al., 2017).
The evidence here is unambiguous and telling. Several peer-reviewed studies upheld the general connection between impulsivity and obesity. When applied to a political setting, impulsivity translates to “poorly conceived… and unduly risky” action, often “without foresight” (Goldman, 2012). When such “unduly risky” or inadequately supported opinions begin gaining traction, that damages societal outlook; politics requires logical, supported thinking, which is a demonstrable paucity among the overweight population.
 
Second, obese people are often mentally ill. Those with obesity, either correlatively or causatively, suffer “significant increases in lifetime diagnosis of major depression… bipolar disorder… or agoraphobia” (Simon et al., 2007). Similarly, a meta-study of 21 eligible articles uncovered “maximal evidence… for the association between depression and obesity… demonstrating a bidirectional link between the two conditions” (Rajan and Menon, 2017). Both individual studies and meta-studies agree: obese people suffer from considerably higher diagnoses of mental illness.
Whether or not mentally ill individuals should participate in politics is another argument entirely. However, as a 2017 study concluded that “anxiety and depression positively and significantly predict the occurrences of risky behaviors,” obese people often have impaired risk-awareness. I’m extremely (and I’d say justifiably) apprehensive when it comes to entrusting society’s, as well as my and your, wellbeing with those who demonstrate an impaired perception of risk.
 
Third, overweight people prioritize themselves over the populace. It’s an objective, irrefutable fact that obesity heavily damages the United States economy. A widely-quoted Cweley and Meyerhoefer study estimated that obesity accounts for “21 percent of medical spending- $190 billion” (2005). That number has increased over the last fourteen years. To characterize the impact on the individual US citizen, Tsai et al estimated the “per-person direct medical cost” of obesity was $1723 annually (2012).
Fat people’s widespread and wide-scale unwillingness to lose weight underscores a predisposition towards their wellbeing rather than to society’s. Those $1723 come from each person’s – collectively, the populace – wallet, whereas the aggregate $190 billion mark (and decreased productivity) obstruct US economical growth. Both adversely impact the common person’s standing. Such selfish holdings undoubtedly translate to selfish viewpoints, which are toxic to political discussion.
If society’s ultimate political orientation is to improve the general wellbeing of the populace, as it logically ought to be, then obese people stand strictly perpendicular to our goal.
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Concluding Remark
If I presented to you an impulsive, mentally ill, and selfishly-oriented individual, would you feel comfortable with him/her making decisions which directly impact you? How about millions of them? Through a lattice of empirical, objective, and impartial studies, I demonstrate that overweight individuals have all of those three qualities. A simple logical inference suggests that the political opinions of fat people adversely affect society, upholding my original claim that overweight people shouldn’t have political opinions.
But fuck me if I say this in public, right?
 
Works Cited
Goldman, David. “DNA on Trial: Impulsivity and Impulsive Choice.” ScienceDirect. 2012, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/impulsivity&gt;.
 
“Obesity Prevention Source: Obesity Consequences: Economic Costs.” Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. n.d, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/economic/&gt;.
 
Rajan, TM and Menon, V. “Psychiatric Disorders and Obesity: A Review of Association Studies.” NCBI: US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. July-Sep 2017, accessed 30 March 2019.
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5525483/&gt;.
 
Simon, GE et al. “Association Between Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders in the US Adult Population.” NCBI: US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. 11 July 2007, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1913935/&gt;.
 
Solemani, MA et al. “The Relationship Between Anxiety, Depression, and Risk Behaviors in Adolescents.” NCBI: US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. 11 May 2017, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28493817&gt;.
 
Steele, CC et al. “Diet-Induced Impulsivity: Effects of a High-fat and a High-sugar Diet on Impulsive Choice in Rats.” NCBI: US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. 29 June 2017, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5491254/&gt;.
 
Tsai, AG et al. “Direct Medical Cost of Overweight and Obesity in the United States: a Quantitative Systematic Review.” NCBI: US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. 1 Jan 2012, accessed 30 March 2019. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2891924/&gt;.