There’s a difference between caring about someone’s health and using their body as a target when they are at their lowest.

When a man got ambushed by a sibling conference call dedicated entirely to criticizing his divorced sister’s weight and snacking habits, he told them both they were being awful.

But when they pulled rank as the older siblings, things really got ugly.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for yelling at my siblings for how they’re treating our sister

My (29M) sister — let’s call her “Lauren” (33F) — got divorced about a year and a half ago, and it really hit her hard.

Lately she’s picked up some new coping strategies that some of her other siblings have found a little alarming.

She turned to food and now finds herself in a pattern where she sees every emotion as a reason to overeat.

Happy, sad, anxious — anything.

Our other siblings seem to ignore the emotions and just focus on Lauren’s weight.

He starts arguing with his other siblings about this.

I’ve told them that approach is misguided, and they’ve told me I’m enabling her and not looking out for her health.

This morning, I got a call from my sister, who then basically turned it into a conference call with my brother.

His sister continues to torment Lauren about her food choices.

In the worst possible tone, my sister told us that Lauren keeps big bags of M&Ms around as well as lots of chips.

I asked what the significance was.

His siblings don’t hold back at all with their criticisms.

My sister pointed out that Lauren, being bigger now, doesn’t need chips and M&Ms.

My brother agreed and let us know he had invited Lauren to exercise with him. My sister said she was at her wit’s end.

Still, he tells them that they’re being just plain cruel.

I told them both they were being absolutely awful and that what they don’t seem to understand is that Lauren is in pain.

They said she should just move past her feelings about the divorce. I told them how ridiculous that sounds.

Now it’s a huge argument between all of them.

They brought the argument back to Lauren looking bigger each time we see her.

I told them they could just back off.

They then tried pulling the “we’re older, so you can’t yell at us” card.

AITA?

 

He can respect his sister and also still get her the help she needs.

The execution could use a little work, but his siblings have the right idea at heart.

It’s possible he may be setting a bad example for his struggling sister.

They may not agree on the best methods, but one thing’s for sure: their sister needs her siblings’ help.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.