A mother who has stirred controversy by saying she didn’t want her daughter to go to a nursery with overweight staff has defended her comments saying it’s ‘beautiful to be healthy.’
Hilary Freeman from London appeared on the Lorraine show with plus-size blogger Becky Barnes to discuss the issue, and insisted that she wasn’t passing judgement on the appearance of anyone who is overweight.
‘I think it’s touched a nerve. I think people are incredibly sensitive about weight. Maybe it’s the way I phrased it. I think the debate has got mixed up with appearance. I don’t mind, I think big women can look fantastic. Becky looks amazing,’ she said.
Explaining again why she’d been concerned, Hilary recalled that one of the assistants at a potential nursery for her daughter was ‘very obese’.
Freeman told, ‘Morbidly obese I would say. She moved very slowly. She couldn’t breathe very well. I was concerned she wouldn’t have the reactions necessary to look after a toddler who darts all over the place.’
Responding to Hilary, who admitted she’d been ‘vilified’ for her views, Becky said: ‘Myself I come from a health at every size viewpoint. I think you can’t make a snap judgements on people’s health just by looking at them.’
She continued, ‘If you’re doing that job and you’re doing it well you deserve to do it regardless of your size.’
It’s no surprise that Twitter had a lot of responses to the heated panel, with viewers arguing both sides.
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