Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Thin is the new Fat

Well it's official, even thin people are too fat. A Washington Post article explains why even thin people can be secretly fat, or as they label it, have "normal weight obesity."

"Lopez-Jimenez said the study shows that just because your weight may be normal for your size, it doesn't mean you aren't at risk for heart disease and diabetes. "

hmmmm....I do understand that stigma dies hard, and the obesity panic is so ingrained in the health researcher psyche that it constitutes an unhealthy obsession, but couldn't they just as easily take from this study the conclusion that since thin people get these diseases as well, fat doesn't actually CAUSE heart disease and diabetes? That there's some other cause unrelated to body composition (like, say, genetics or lifestyle?)

Sadly, that more obvious conclusion goes whizzing over the heads of reporter and researcher alike. Instead of eliminating fat stigma, they're simply going to extend it to include anyone with any body fat at all:

"Even a small amount of extra fat where it matters most can wreak metabolic havoc, increasing risk for diabetes and heart disease, while leaving you with a body weight that looks perfectly innocent," Katz said. "Excess body fat in the belly is a menace, whatever your weight. This study should sensitize patients and providers alike to this concern."

Sensitize = make paranoid? Seriously, at what point does society “Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let loose the dogs of war”? When will the average person realize it's gone too far, that everyone's going to die eventually, and no measure of obsession with fat or health will make one immune? When everyone is starved into an "acceptable" 10% body fat?

All I know is, the more people they push under the fat umbrella, the more will eventually push back with the sudden realization that instead of numbers, they're talking about you.

"One expert agrees that normal body weight is not synonymous with good health. "

Absolutely, my dear anonymous "expert." but with the opposite meaning you intend it. One more step will get you there...here, I'll even help. Repeat after me: "...and therefore, high body weight is not synonymous with poor health." Atta boy. You'll get there.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting. The mind set definitely is "must attack fat" no matter where it's found or why the human body has it in the first place.

Anonymous said...

"the more people they push under the fat umbrella"

oh I wish I could draw, that phrase is *so* crying out for a cartoon...

Your post reminds me of when my 8 year old 45lb son asked me if he was too fat...

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but what does this even mean? Have they actually changed the definition of obesity now? Reading the article, I think they have! Obesity is now not actually size related! So FAT PEOPLE AREN'T NECESSARILY OBESE! Ta-DA! Skinny people can be OBESE TOO! Did you get that? Way to go, morons! You have just counterproved the FA movement's own argument, which is! That being big doesn't necessarily mean you are unhealthy!

Anonymous said...

HOW many months has that article or something like it been recycled onto the front pages of big website news now? It seems to have been coming up every couple months for the past year or two, or something like that. Not uncommon for popular "scare" articles.

I'm probably one of those "fat-inside people," because I'm apple-shaped. They're trying to scare people like me into dieting. But personally, I think that's probably just going to make things worse, because yo-yo dieting in itself is known to lead to health problems. If you're already prone to metabolic syndrome, then what good is messing with your metabolism gonna do? They ought to be advising us all - thin, average, or fat, apple or pear, to exercise moderately, and if the sugar hype is true, eat the lowest-Glycemic foods we can afford as staples. (Which I don't do, because I'm admittedly lazy/negligent/just wanting to have fun.)

Ginger said...

Loving your blog!

You know - as an obese woman, I do not have the typical "issues" that doctors harp on obese people for. So - what can they gripe at me about? (not diabetic, good cholesterol and blood pressure) I'm sure they'll figure out something...