I intended for my article to spark a realization, followed by positive change, or to encourage those in the process of making that change. I understand how the opening paragraphs may feel unnecessarily harsh and may have caused offense. I apologize to readers that were hurt by my words. However, my introduction was meant to provide a first-person perspective of what I see in everyday life—people suffering from obesity. My comments on the physical characteristics of obese individuals were part of that first-person perspective and were not meant to attack obese people.