America’s War on the Overweight

[ccharles000]

Practically the minute President Obama announced Regina M. Benjamin, a zaftig doctor who also has an M.B.A. and is the recipient of a MacArthur "genius grant," as a nominee for the post of Surgeon General, the criticism started.

The attacks were vicious—Michael Karolchyk, owner of a Denver "anti-gym," told Fox News' Neil Cavuto, "Obesity is the No. 1 issue facing our country in terms of the health and wellness, and she has shown not that she was born this way, not that she woke up one day and was obese. She has shown through being lazy, and making poor food choices, that she's obese."

"This is totally disgusting to have some one so big to be advocating health," wrote one YouTube commenter.

The anger about Benjamin wasn't the only example of vitriol hurled at the overweight. Cintra Wilson, style columnist for The New York Times, recently wrote a column so disdainful of JCPenney's plus-size mannequins that the Times' ombsbudman later wrote that he could read "a virtual sneer" coming through her prose. A NEWSWEEK post about Glamour’s recent plus-size model (in fact, a normal-sized woman with a bit of a belly roll) had several commenters lashing out at the positive reaction the model was receiving. "This model issue is being used as a smoke screen to justify self-destructive lifestyle that cost me more money in health care costs," one wrote. Heath guru MeMe Roth has made a career out of bashing fat—she called size 12 American Idol Jordan Sparks a "bad role model" on national television, and derided size 2 Jennifer Love Hewitt for having cellulite. (That Roth is considered something of an extremist doesn't stop the media attention.) Virtually any news article about weight that is posted online garners a slew of comments from readers expressing disgust that people let their weight get so out of control. The specific target may change, but the words stay the same: Self-destructive. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Shameful. While the debate rages on about obesity and the best ways to deal with it, the attitudes Americans have toward those with extra pounds are only getting nastier. Just why do Americans hate fat people so much?


http://www.newsweek.com/id/213646/page/1

[BlooInBloo]

1. Funny how that only seems to matter when it's a woman.

[Morning Dew]

13. +1

[Toucano]

15. +2

[redqueen]

23. Completely unsurprising, though. (nt)

[CrispyQ]

51. Men "put on a few pounds."

Women "let themselves go."

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[nolabear]

58. +3

[Skittles]

2. people bash fat folk because it makes them feel superior

I'm a size 4 so you fat bashers, don't accuse me of defending fat folk because I myself am fat

[Xenotime]

10. It also doesn't help making your case either.

[deaniac21]

70. But your frame is for a size 2.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. They want people to feel guilty for being fat.

They don't want to hear that fat people may have metabolic problems, mainly deficiencies in thyroid and testosterone, and possibly also adrenal cortisol.

Over 20 million people in the U.S. have a dead or low-functioning thyroid gland.

All the dieting and exercise in the world will not help you lose weight if your thyroid doesn't work.

It's a very common problem and undiagnosed and undertreated. I know. I have argued with several board-certified doctors about what kind of thyroid to take.

The skinny people are afraid. If fat people can't control their weight, then that means that skinny people can't control their bodies either.

It's all about control of your body and control of your life.

It's about being a control freak in all areas of your life. Fat people are a rebuke of the ability to control your life. So are lots of random occurrences, but fat people are a handy target for the holier-than-thou who are lucky enough to have a fast metabolism.

Science is finding out that weight is not a simple in-and-out process. It's complicated.


www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Also see this thread I posted about another hormone deficiency - testosterone, in BOTH men and women. I believe steroids (testosterone and cortisone & related compounds) have been demonized in the U.S. due to excessive use by professional athletes:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x66961
Conclusions:
Women and Obesity - The Missing Link

I have found in my medical practice that giving women estrogen and progesterone and NOT testosterone makes it almost impossible for them to lose weight/fat.

I also believe that testosterone and other androgens may have a critical role treating some types of female obesity - the estrogen dominant type. Precious little research has been done in this controversial area, but it is obvious that a major reason why women have more difficulty losing fat than men is due to their lower levels of testosterone. Since testosterone can not only help mobilize fat but also build muscle, women can attain higher resting metabolic rates.

This is in stark comparison to most diet drugs that result in loss of muscle and usually the return of lost body fat once drug use is ceased. While androgens will obviously have some side effects in women, hence the controversy, however these side effects are likely less than the often life threatening effects of Phen-Fen and other diet drugs.

Testosterone as a treatment for obesity is probably much safer and actually more effective in the long term than liposuction.

I really hope more research is done in this area, as I believe androgens are crucial in the war against the rapidly evolving plague of obesity in this country.

[IDFbunny]

4. Testosterone should be prescribed more

and anabolic steroids should be decriminalized. I do believe too much sugar and refined carbs in a sedentary lifestyle is the root most obesity and diabetes. People used to walk more an labor more while eating whole foods. Sugared foods should be taken out of schools.

[Scout]

9. i'd like to see a lot more research...

"I also believe that testosterone and other androgens may have a critical role treating some types of female obesity - the estrogen dominant type."

i never had a weight problem until puberty ... i got my period at 13, and started gaining weight gradually. i was never fat as a child. i wasn't one of those skinny little kids, i was "sturdy" but i was not fat.

[IDFbunny]

19. The reason for the lack of research is that

hormones, in general and androgen s in particular, have been stigmatized for no really good reason. When we outlawed anabolic steroids we threw the baby out with the bathwater and now research on this whole class of drugs has been seriously stifled. If steroids were the boogeyman they've been made out to be then why are pro athletes, Schwarzenegger, Stalone, and even Suzanne Sommers (she takes hgh to stay looking young) all not keeling over?

[truedelphi]

43. Good post. I didn't know that.

Except that part about Ahnold not keeling over. (Won't he ever go away!)

[truedelphi]

42. And how many skinny people are really skinny? Look at someone like Jane Fonda

For a while she was held up as an example of how if you really worked at an exercise program and ate right, you too could be thin. (Of course, it helps to have the nannies, the accountatns, the personal assistants smoothing out the stress levels of your life etc., but even so...)

Then it came out that she was bulimic. So that even exercising for hours a day did not do as much for her figure as throwing up her food up did!

I think a great deal of our problem is related to the antibiotics and pesticides in our foods.

If I eat raw foods for a while, I can lose weight, but within one week of eating anything with pesticides or antibiotics and hormones, and boy, I am putting weight back on. Even if the daily amount of foods is at a lower calorie count.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. And it's begging the question that additives in our foods cause obesity.

High fructose corn syrup can be found in Whole Foods Multigrain Whole Wheat Bread and other "healthy" products, if you're lucky enough to have access to something better than Fritos and Pepsi.

[mamaleah]

6. We should be concerned about rising rates of obesity.

But we don't have to get mean about it. Just honest. What's causing it? Additives? A more sedentary lifestyle that leads many people to spend more time in front of the tv/computer/game console? Our oversized portions? Our newly found disgust for eating a meal together with our families or friends in favor of eating a meal made in 4 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave over the sink? All of the above?

We need to rethink what we eat and how we eat and what we do with the calories we eat. I have battled weight issues in the past and recently I have returned to a better diet and exercise plan. No one needs to steal anyone's piece of pie or tax it into oblivion. We just need to understand that maybe a smaller piece of pie, and preferably a homemade one without the additives found in prepackaged pie, followed by a walk is a better choice.

There is no reason to insult overweight people and besides what good does it do?

[sendero]

11. My beef..

.... is with the definition of "fat".

For example, there is this ridiculous metric that should have never been promulgated called Body Mass Index. It is worse than nothing as a measure of obesity because it cannot predict body fat percentage, the only true measure of obesity. As an example, if you are a fit muscular man you are likely to have a really bad BMI.

Studies have shown that people who are somewhat overweight do not have health consequences. It is those who are way way overweight that do. And frankly, you don't have to look too hard to find them, where I work probably a quarter or more of adults are more than 100 pounds overweight.

Villifying these folks is not going to help anyone. But this is a problem that would be worth expending some resources to help with.

[Cid_B]

20. Right here....

225 lbs - 6'0' - BMI 29.8 ( .2 away from obese )

Bodyfat percentage hovers between 14-16%

BMI is retarded

[mamaleah]

41. Oh I definitely agree.

What is considered "fat" today was healthy normal 50 years ago. But we seem to get lost in the weight wars with an all or nothing approach. It's either demonizing people who need to lose maybe 15 lbs or pretending that being 100lbs overweight has no health consequences.

There is a nice middle ground, but for some reason it's hard to find in our society.

[anneboleyn]

60. Check out "obesitymyths.com" for more on the "epidemic" as pushed by the media.

[ccharles000]

7. kick

[Dutch]

8. The so called "obesity crisis" is all too often simply used as a flimsy moral license for bullying.

Of course there are helath consequences to obesity- but that doesn't mean anything to the same old shitheads like Roth who just want to pick on the fat kid because they enjoy it.

[anneboleyn]

55. Yes! It it just that -- bullying and cruelty thinly disguised as "concern."

"Concern" can be kind and well-intentioned. That is not what we are seeing in this case, however.

[AnnieBW]

68. Yeah. Assholes like that made my life hell

Still do.

Fat, yes. Lazy, no.

[barbtries]

12. i don't know

but i'm glad i don't watch tv anymore. signed, fat woman

i'm heavier than i have ever been, and i've been fighting the fat for over 40 years. i am distressed at my weight, and i don't need the vitriol and unthinking hatred of strangers adding to my angst.

[CrispyQ]

49. The other day I was remembering high school phys ed class.

Our PE instructor, a very nice looking fit woman, was disdainful of any of her students who were not fit. It's like she expected her students to come to class already in great shape.

As a kid, I was a skinny bean pole, but I was not fit, in the least! I couldn't run a quarter of the track without stopping & gasping for breath. She could have said something along the lines of "Crispy, let's see if next time you can run a little further, ok?" Instead, this woman would ridicule me in front of the class, calling me pathetic. And as bad as she was to me, she was even worse to the heavy girls.

So here I am, in my fifties, & maintaining my weight is a constant battle that I don't always win. Exercise is a key element to keeping my weight under control, but I hate it. I can absolutely & positively trace my hatred of fitness & sports back to this mean-spirited woman. I often wonder, if she had not been contemptuous of the heavy & out-of-shape students, but rather showed the benefits of fitness & then tried to encourage us to become fit, instead of making us feel like losers, how positive of an effect that would have had on us, vs the effect it did have?

[barbtries]

52. good question

my brothers used to dance around me singing hey, hey, hey, FAAAAAAAAAT Barbara!

i don't think that to this day they realize how hurtful that was.

[Mari333]

14. snotty little bobo's arent they

i am thin, who cares. On Rodeo Drive, I would probably look fat because I am a NORMAL sized woman..size 10-12. evidently the whole idea in some places is to look like an anorexic straw.
One of my 'bobo' acquaintances is 58 yrs old, like me, and I ran into her at a soiree' ..she looks like she weighs about 90 lbs soaking wet..I could see the BONES sticking out of her back..she insists she looks wonderful, feels great..I have NEVER seen her so thin and gaunt..Its a weird phenomenon..the idea that the thinner you are the more prestigious your status..very odd ...
thank god I dont give a rats fart about status.
Thank god, also, I live in the Midwest and not on Rodeo Drive or in Manhattan.

[Jennicut]

16. I go anywhere between a 10 and 12 too.

Watching tv or reading magazines, I feel fat. When I am in my everyday life, I feel normal.
Somehow society goes to extremes. To be obese is not good...health-wise. Anorexia is bad health-wise. But normal average sizes are derided? And anyone who is overweight does not need to be slammed, they slam themselves enough. My best friend was overweight for years and then developed anorexia because she was so self conscious over her weight.

[Mari333]

17. I dumped my TV and dont read magazines anymore

most of those people are airbrushed anyway..
strange world we live in, isnt it. Being a hermit certainly works for me.

[CrispyQ]

50. "...an anorexic straw."

That reminds me of Matt Dillon, in the movie "In and Out." His character was dating a model & in the end he likes this normal sized chic. He tells the model to go eat something. "You look like a swizzle stick!" I died laughing, when I heard that.

A few years ago I read an article about 'lollipop girls,' starlets that are so skinny their heads look like lollipops on top of their stick figures.

And when the fuck did we come up with size 0? Zero? Really? I'm waiting for the day I hear some woman tell me she's a size -2. :eyes:

I also have friends like yours, who look emaciated & gaunt, but think they look fantastic. My one friend, when I give her a hug, I'm worried I'm going to snap her like a twig.

At 5'8", I look pretty damn fine in a size 12 & I'll bet you do too! :thumbsup:

[anneboleyn]

61. I am the same size, mainly because I have a large chest and round butt/hips but a narrow waist

(not being creepy) I guess I am an hourglass going by the body-type measurements that are online. This means that clothes often fit in odd ways -- I am very big-busted and this means I need shirts and dresses in larger sizes.

And I feel the same way as you do -- I don't give a shit anymore what some asshole fashion editor or jerk journalist thinks. I get all of the attention I need and my husband wouldn't change a thing about me. Once I turned thirty that was it -- I stopped caring about what my hyper-critical friends thought about our bodies anymore.

[mrs_p]

18. i've read several posts even here on DU

deriding overweight people. the hatred is everywhere.

[anneboleyn]

57. I have too and found it extremely depressing.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Join the military and hope you get stationed over there.

[rapturedbyrobots]

25. um...

or i could just get a job and move. that's one of the benefits of being educated and well trained. i'm considering a very well-paid post-doc position there next year. japan pays their first year post-docs about 50% more than the u.s. no wonder people are dropping out of higher education like crazy here...well...the american students at least. i just heard last week that one of the students in my program is quitting the ph.d. to go teach high school. and there's no shortage of indian and chinese students ready to replace them. the brain drain is speeding up.

[treestar]

32. What is the rate of smoking in Japan?

Has it gone down?

[anneboleyn]

62. Not sure -- very high in Europe, though...

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. Good luck with your trip. I think your leaving would be beneficial to both you and us. Win-win!

[flvegan]

24. Aren't you just a precious snowflake.

[Missy Vixen]

28. Gosh. I'm going to have to tell my husband it's over.

How could I possibly spend one more minute of my life with someone who loves me as I am, when I could be putting up with the BS Mr. Robot is spewing?

:woohoo:

[flvegan]

34. I'm sure the poster is a god among men or Miss Universe in his/her own mind.

Most snowflakes don't hardly match up to what they think of themselves, honestly.

[rapturedbyrobots]

35. nope.

actually i'm a huge nerd. and socially awkward. because i tend to tell people what i really think. but you could've guessed that.

[flvegan]

39. Um...how to put this nicely.

That doesn't make you "socially awkward" per se. When you put it the way you do, it's just rude. But you could've guessed...oh, nevermind.

[rapturedbyrobots]

45. that's the point

you shouldn't have to 'put it nicely'. go ahead and tell me you think i'm an offensive asshole and a bigot. i'm a grown ass man, i can take it. i don't agree and don't take it personally. and i should be able to tell you that i find fat people unattractive and don't want to play your politcal correctness game. if that's rude, then oh well...it is what it is.

[Lex]

53. Well, with that attitude, the thin ladies will flock to you

because being a rude asshole is something women really look for. LOL.

[anneboleyn]

65. I can promise that the troll has NO lady friends. Metaphysical certitude.

[anneboleyn]

64. Why would any of us care whether or not you like "fat chicks?" I really don't think anybody here

gives a shit what you prefer. BTW -- your Mom needs you to take out the garbage.

[Missy Vixen]

26. I could be persuaded to chip in $1 or so for your plane ticket

I'd like to get away from clueless bigots. Could you tell me where I might be able to do that?

:eyes:

[rapturedbyrobots]

27. i'll start a fund

thanks for the support.

[Missy Vixen]

30. Support? Hardly.

I don't intend on spending any time in Japan at all, so I'm thinking it's a dandy place for you to be.

:eyes:

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[anneboleyn]

66. Nobody gives a shit, I promise,

[Lex]

31. the meanness gene seems to be flourishing however

good luck to you on finding ANY partner ever

[demmiblue]

37. Maybe a 2-D partner is in order!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-2DLove-t.html

[Lex]

40. Weird, but you are probably right.

Esp. this part: "attributed in part to the difficulty many young Japanese have in navigating modern romantic life."

That cut-out looks like a skinny pre-pubescent girl not a grown woman with curves. Makes one wonder what the real problem is.

[rapturedbyrobots]

44. i'm not sure

2 dimensional might not be thin enough

[demmiblue]

46. I am sure it would suffice for your one-dimensional appendage

[rapturedbyrobots]

47. ouch.

i suppose i should respond with something about your mom. she's fat...or something. that's how this goes right?

[demmiblue]

48. Knock yourself out

[redqueen]

29. I'm not naming any names... but

[reflection]

38. Hey! That troll has a belly.

You know better than to post that here. We don't want to look at fat trolls! :rofl:

[Sebastian Doyle]

69. Well, considering the trolls here eat nothing but pizza every day

it's easy to understand how they might gain weight. :evilgrin:

[anneboleyn]

67. amen, redqueen. I always get irritated by the stupid posts and respond to them.

Then I get irritated with myself for giving in to the stupidity.

[anneboleyn]

54. I absolutely agree with your post. Open discrimination and abuse are perfectly acceptable when obese

people are the targets. This cruel and utterly inhumane turn in Western discourse is deeply disturbing. I am repulsed by the abuse that is heaped on the obese. The daily nasty comments, open hostility, and outright ridicule are just unbelievable. I see them experiencing it -- I am a witness to their suffering and to what they endure, the rude stares, the never-ending rude comments, the looks from restaurant workers if (for example) my obese colleague orders ANY food (no matter what that food might be). Every day someone asks her why she is obese and why she "chooses" to be that way. Never mind that many of her skinny colleagues smoke, don't exercise, and eat three times what she eats on a normal day (she has a troublesome thyroid but not enough to be medicated).

She has told me that her stuggle has taken up her whole life and she feels that it consumes her (pun intended) -- it is clearly genetic in her case as she does not have a poor diet and she exercises as best she can. But the hostility is overwhelming. It has crippled her psychologically. For example -- she told me that she is terrified of trying on clothing in a store or being around children since so many of them blurt out "You are so fat!" (and the parents aren't always critical when their children make these comments). She has been called hideous names by people driving past in cars -- imagine. I (and other more "acceptable" women) have to endure wolf-whistles while she gets vile comments screamed at her. She gave up walking in the neighborhood in the evenings because so many people yelled comments at her (and she could hear them even when she was blasting her Ipod, which also made her nervous because she was worried that it might be a danger to use the Ipod all the time).

These comments posted in the OP about the Surgeon General candidate are so outrageous they make me ill. One wonders if the obese need to be a protected group since they are so openly discriminated against.

Truthfully, I think the hatred of the obese has to do with two of the most pathetic aspects of American culture: our hatred of the "other" and our overwhelming fear of mortality. I think that for some reason rooted in our despicable puritan urges the obese remind Americans of mortality issues -- people aren't always physically perfect, people get sick, people have health problems, and people eventually die. The obese bring out the most cruel and inhumane impulses in American culture, everything the "I'm okay You're okay" 1970s shows like Sesame Street tried to teach us as kids to overcome -- hating "different" people instead of loving them as our fellow human beings, our friends, wives, husbands, partners, colleagues, relatives, etc.

Thank you for posting this. The nearly nightly hatred of the obese speech on cable news (usually disguised as some kind of health care discussion) and requisite video of the evil fat people (with their heads cut off by the positioning of the camera) is disgustingly dehumanizing.

[anneboleyn]

56. Good website -- "obesitymyths.com" Explains a lot about obesity and the myths surrounding it.

Here is a link to the section discussing the often-repeated diabetes/"obesity epidemic" canard:

http://www.obesitymyths.com/myth8.1.htm

[EndersDame]

59. If it is ok to criticize models for being underweight than it should be ok to criticize for being

overweight. What is good for the goose is good for the gander so to speak

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. We will blame the individual, but gosh darn it, not the Food industry

that is mostly responsible for this... or the fact that gosh darn it, we as a society have created the conditions for this.

But NO, we shall never go after the corporations or our cheap food policies...