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When talking about the concept of "difficulty" perception is absolutely reality. In fact, in lifting, there's literally the term "RPE" for "Rate of Perceived Exertion"
I don't think fat people are morally inferior, but I do think they lack habituation in exerting effort in a physical sense. I have known a former water polo player who let himself go absolutely transform in about six months because he knew how to (and could endure) 2 hours a day in the gym. On the other hand, I have seen an otherwise focused and driven career type (master degrees, high powered consulting job) fail to make any detectable weight loss progress. I wasn't their personal trainer so I can't evaluate details, but that's besides the point - they obviously had the character traits required to commit to something difficult.
Or did they? Physical exertion is different than mental / emotional exertion. Plenty of very smart people who can pull all-nighters on cognitively demanding tasks, perform in professionally high pressure situations (think arguing in court or giving some large format public address) will fold nearly instantly when something physical confronts them. It's strange and hard to describe, but I've seen it throughout my life. There are simply some otherwise exceptional people who can be defeated with two flights of stairs or a ten block walk.
This is why I feel the elimination of meaningful PE classes in primary schools was such a tragedy. It's some level of habituation to doing stuff with your body (side culture war note: I also think bullying is important. It teaches you that assholes exist and how to deal with them).
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