On Facebook a woman named Misty responded to my post about Whole Foods horrible benefits by BMI program with the following (spelling and punctuation are copied verbatim):
“Bigger people do have more health issues. If they didnt docs wouldnt stress the importance of being thin. And michelle obama wouldnt be campaigning tn end obesiety.”
This perfectly frames the problem with our conflation of weight and health, and demonstrates the reason for the frustration that those of us who are actually looking at the research and drawing informed conclusions experience.
I can only imagine that this woman is insisting on bloodletting to cure her throat infections, taking thalidomide to cure her morning sickness, using the bumps her head to determine if she is a future criminal, and being treated as mentally ill for being a female who speaks her mind. Doctors have made all kinds of mistakes over time, however well-meaning, and it’s important that we realize that.
I like Michelle Obama, but I don’t think that she is infallible. I believe that she was well intentioned but dead wrong when she chose to focus on children’s weight instead of on their health. And I think she knows it. She seems to have been making a concerted effort lately to talk about health instead of weight. I appreciate that, it’s a step in the right direction.
But I wish that she would stand in front of the same press to which she called obese children a “problem” that “needs to be fixed”, and tell them that she made a mistake. I wish that she would say “In addition to teaching our kids how to be healthy, I think it’s important to teach them that when you’re wrong you admit it and change course. When I suggested a war on childhood obesity I did what I thought was right, based on the best evidence that I had at the time. But I have since learned that focusing on their weight poses dangers to children of all sizes including increased risk of eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self-esteem issues, and bullying. I’ve also learned that BMI is not a useful measurement of health and can cause confusion and harmful misunderstandings. Our children are precious and they deserve our best efforts to support their physical and mental health. So moving forward I am removing weight and BMI from the discussion of children’s health. We are going to focus on providing education, access to healthy foods, and helping our kids develop a lifelong love of movement. And we are going to do it in ways that support kid’s self-esteem and mental health. “
That would be brave. It would be noble, it would show integrity, and it would help our Facebook friend and people like her understand that First Ladies and doctors are fallible. (If you are reading this from the White House and want to hire me as a speech writer I can be contacted at ragen at danceswithfat dot org. Just sayin’)
I know that “reality” is a fluid concept. (The Earth revolves around the sun and is round. Antibiotics are more effective than bloodletting for strep throat. We’re pretty sure that the heart, not the liver, is what moves blood around the body.). Therefore, I am extremely selective about the “reality” that I choose to accept and the “reality” that I choose to change.
What I hope fat people remember is that whether people are making the mistake of confusing weight and health because they are well intentioned or because it’s incredibly profitable for them, it’s still a mistake; and even if a million people are screaming a myth at the top of their lungs that doesn’t make it the truth, no matter how powerful or credentialed they might be.
Our weight is not a barometer for anything – not for our health, value, intelligence, abilities, or anything else. From looking at our size, people can determine our size, and what their prejudices and preconceived notions about people of our size are. Anything else they think they know is just them making stuff up in their heads based on those prejudices and preconceived notions. That’s not our fault, though it does become our problem. There are many ways to deal with this problem ranging from acquiescence to activism, at those are discussions for future blogs. Regardless of how we deal with the problem it is imperative that we remember that the mistake theirs.
Speaking of activism, the petition asking the National Eating Disorders Association to end their partnership with the STOP Obesity Alliance now has 403 signatures, almost to our goal of 500. You guys rock so hard! Thanks to everyone who has signed it and passed it along so far!
Published by Ragen Chastain
Hi, I’m Ragen Chastain. Speaker, Writer, Dancer, Choreographer, Marathoner, Soon to be Iron-distance triathlete, Activist, Fat Person.
View all posts by Ragen Chastain
Dances With Fat 
“…and even if a million people are screaming a myth at the top of their lungs that doesn’t make it the truth, no matter how powerful or credentialed they might be.”
This reminds me of something my grandfather used to say, “Eat s&!%! A million flies can’t be wrong.”
Weight may not be a barometer, but it’s a predictor. That’s why the concern.
Jenny,
That’s not exactly true. First of all, weight is definitely NOT a predictor of value, intelligence or abilities. It is a poor predictor of health for several reasons, the first being that in studies in cultures where there is no stigma on obesity, we do not see the negative health outcomes. So in cultures where there is no stigma on weight loss, obesity is not a predictor of anything. Even in cultures where people of size are stigmatized constantly studies show more than a third of obese people and more than half of overweight people to be metabolically healthy. Based on this evidence, and especially as since attempts at weight loss fail 95% of the time, it is likely much more effective, not to mention possible, to remove the stigma than to try to change people’s size. There is no causal relationship between weight and health (weight is not proven to cause any health problems), there is only a correlational relationship (they sometimes, but not always happen at the same time). It’s similar to baldness and heart disease. Men who are bald have a greater incidence of heart disease, but it’s because of a hormonal issue that causes both things. Therefore although you might call baldness a “predictor” shaving someone’s head won’t increase their risk of heart attack and growing hair will not decrease the risk.
Also, since we have simple, inexpensive diagnostic tools at our disposal there is simply no need to look at a person’s size and guess about their health. It does a disservice to fat people by telling them that healthy habits don’t matter unless those habits make them thin (which isn’t what studies show) and it does a disservice to thin people by telling them that their habits don’t matter.
~Ragen
So is time. Should everyone strive to live a short life?
Part of the problem is the tendency of humans to think that in the past we believed silly and wrong things about the way the worl/universe/human body works, but science nowadays is right and true and will never be overturned by new thinking or new evidence. When FA is an accepted way of thinking there will still be many things that we (humans) are wrong about but don’t realise it
And what medical school did the sainted Dr. Misty attend, pray tell? I must remember next time I petition the Universe for anything health-related to bow down to her all-knowing glory.
Even if Misty were right, is it ethical for Whole Foods to give higher level benefits to healthier employees? “Hey, fatties, you’re unhealthy! Pay up!”
EVEN if she were right, Whole Foods is still wrong.
That’s profiling. And profiling is wrong!
Speaking of facebook, I requested you! If you don’t want to add me, that’s fine. I’ll understand.
But I agree with you about Michelle. It’s nice that she’s been changing her direction, but it would also be nice if she admitted why she is.
And will this lady jump off a bridge if doctors tell her to do so?
another thought do they penalize their older employees as well or women who might get pregnant?? they can be expensive too I hear
Exactly!
Awesome, awesome post yet again. 🙂
And I remember kids sitting around deciding which flavor of M&Ms tasted best… never mind the fact that the only difference between them was the color of dye used in the hard candy shell.
You couldn’t tell anyone in my third grade class that they all tasted the same. We knew they didn’t. So there.
But some of us do learn to logic just a bit after the age of eight. Alas, not everyone does.
You’ll never know for sure whether certain health issues that appear to be caused by fatness are in fact caused by stigma and its repercussions until you can get rid of the stigma. Stigma itself is a predictor of bad health among populations.
I still can’t get over this whole foods thing. I’ve been telling everyone about it.