The Most Important Meal of the Day

Schools have started experimenting with offering free breakfast (you know, the most important meal of the day) in the classroom (instead of making the kids go to the cafeteria) and they have gotten great results from the program:

“The results, seen at urban districts across the country, are striking. Without the stigma of a trip to the cafeteria, the number of students in Newark who eat breakfast in school has tripled. Absenteeism has fallen in Los Angeles, and officials in Chicago say children from low-income families are eating healthier meals, more often.”

(From:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/nyregion/with-classroom-breakfasts-some-children-may-eat-twice.html?_r=1)

So great, right?

But now New York City doesn’t want to participate in the program.  Why?  Because, horror of horror – some kids may end up eating two breakfasts (one at home and one at school) and ingest – wait for it – EXCESS CALORIES!!!!

And of course, excess calories means that these kids could get fat.

Yes indeedy, in fear of the possibility that some kids might gain some weight, New York City would rather see kids in need go hungry.

What is the matter with these people?

It’s not like they are giving these kids a huge breakfast – they aren’t getting stacks of pancakes, dripping in butter and syrup with a side of bacon.  They are getting stuff like a muffin or cereal, cheese stick and juice or milk.

And by the way, just because a kid is fat does not mean that child has already eaten breakfast.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me crazy.

Filed under: health

FAT DOCTORS

Here is a study out of Johns Hopkins that says fat doctors are not as likely to diagnose their fat patients as “normal” weight doctors:

http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2011402a.html?cid=xrs_rss-nd

Here are two articles, both of which parrot the party line that it must be bad that fat doctors are less likely to offer diet tips, but are otherwise very different. The first (a short paragraph in the middle of a one-pager at nytimes.com) adds some skeptical snarkiness, while the second adds an extra helping of fat hate, horrifyingly advocating that all fat doctors should lose their jobs.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/18/magazine/the-one-page-magazine.html

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/fat-doctors-less-likely-to-help/

First, I HATE it when people with a certain BMI are described as “normal”.  To me it smells of bias.  It just triggers my skepticism for the rest of it.

What I find disturbing in the research abstract is this:

A higher percentage of normal BMI physicians believed that overweight/obese patients would be less likely to trust weight loss advice from overweight/obese doctors (80% vs. 69%, P = 0.02). Physicians in the normal BMI category were more likely to believe that physicians should model healthy weight-related behaviors—maintaining a healthy weight (72% vs. 56%, P = 0.002) and exercising regularly (73% vs. 57%, P = 0.001).

In other words, the thinner doctors have a prejudice against fat doctors.   (And gee, do you think those prejudices carry over to their treatment of fat patients?)

If nothing else, wouldn’t you think doctors might want to listen to what fat doctors have to say about being fat?  You know, professionals that have the actual experience?  Maybe thin doctors don’t trust the advice of fat doctors, but as a patient, I certainly would rather discuss being fat with someone who knows that there is no way to turn a fat person into a thin person.  And maybe fat doctors have a better (personal) understanding that fat people can also be healthy people.

The study shows that fat doctors are less likely to diagnose a patient who weighs the same or less than themselves as “obese” and less likely to discuss weight loss treatment.  What the study does not appear to show is whether or not fat doctors discuss healthy behavior that is not weight focused.

I’m not saying that fat doctors are all great – I have personally had my experience with a fat healthcare professional who clearly hated her own fat body.  (see My Fat Ass and RNP from Hell, http://wp.me/pB0rE-7o).  And I currently have a thin doctor who is not perfect but is willing to listen and allows me to participate in my healthcare decisions.

But I think this study shows less about the medical treatment one receives from fat doctors and more about the prejudices of thinner doctors; and those prejudices are what needs to be studied and addressed.

Filed under: health, Science, Size Acceptance

A fat man died

Late last year, my father died. His health problems had been mounting so it wasn’t 100% a surprise, but still a shock that I’m adjusting to. Without getting into too many details, (1) he was a fat man, and (2) he lived significantly longer than the average life expectancy of men in the U.S. From about age 50 onward, Dad’s lifestyle was unusually healthy for our society: His work kept him outside and active, and he ate a wide variety of fresh, healthy food.

A single case doesn’t prove much, except that such a case can exist.  Consider that, amidst the whole “obesity epidemic” furor, that it is possible for a fat man to live a long and healthy life.

Filed under: health

Responding to Fat Shaming in Georgia

A quick note: Marilyn Wann has created a campaign of size positive “Stand4″ posters in answer to the ads and billboards in Georgia targeting fat children. And fat dancer and blogger Ragen Chastain has followed with a fundraising campaign to pay for billboards in Georgia with a HAES (Health at Every Size) message. Consider participating in one or both of these!
http://marilynwann.tumblr.com
http://www.gofundme.com/dp16w
http://www.supportallkids.com

Filed under: Fat Activism, health, Size Acceptance, Size Discrimination

Walkby Shouting

I was walking in the park one day late last year (I walk every work day during my lunch break), and a stranger who was walking the other way asked me how much weight I had lost. I told him “I’m not trying to lose weight, and that’s not a proper question to ask people in the park.” He responded, “You look great; I remember when I first saw you.”

He was trying to be nice, I guess, but the question hit me the wrong way. As a fat man, I don’t get much criticism about my weight, and obviously, I didn’t get criticism this time either, other than the implied criticism of a past me. Still, my weight is my business, the same as with anyone else. Even before I had size acceptance, I wouldn’t initiate a conversation with a stranger by asking about his/her weight, even in the course of making a compliment.

He didn’t seem to grasp my objection, so I didn’t respond any further. I’m happy with how I responded, but it probably didn’t do any good.  He may not even have realized why I objected. To understand an observed event, we (adults, anyway) have to plug it into a known framework, and I don’t think he had a framework for what I said.

That’s why it is so important to proclaim and explain size acceptance in all media we can. Even if we don’t change anyone’s mind, we’re at least letting people know that there are such things as body self-acceptance, fat pride, and HAES. Then at least strangers will understand why we object to weight-loss-based compliments, even if they don’t agree.

Filed under: Body image, Fat Activism, health, Size Acceptance, Size Discrimination

You Never Know

I am feeling a bit pleased and proud of myself.

I got an e-mail, that had been sent to all the staff at the law office I work for, saying that they were going to do a Biggest Loser type game for the staff.

Total trigger for me.  I’m furious.  I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to hear about this.

So I sent an e-mail to everybody at the office saying, “Please do not put me on copy for any of this.  I am a proponent of size acceptance with a focus on health and not weight.”

What I did was take care of me.  If other people at work want to do this, that is not my problem.  None of my beewax.  As Samuel Goldwyn once said, “Include me out.”

And now I know that several other staff members have now spoken up about not wanting to participate or even hear about this.  One acknowledging that I had put into words what she felt.  Yea me. Yea them.

I feel like not only did I stand up for myself, but I helped some other people stand up for themselves.  To tell the truth, I was a bit surprised that other people at the office would feel as I do.

So when you stand up for yourself, you may be helping or educating others.  You never know.

Filed under: Fat Activism, health, Size Acceptance

Even If They’re Right . . .

Think about this. Let’s suppose for a minute that those who believe in the “obesity” epidemic are right. That we fatties are eating more than we need to make up for sadness elsewhere in our lives. Or perhaps we are self-medicating for depression. In any case we’re making ourselves fatter and happier, and we could choose to be thinner and healthier (by some measures), but less happy.

My answer is, “so what?” There are two points here: (1) all medicines have side effects, and (2) mental health is as important as any other type of health. People are prescribed anti-depression drugs even though weight gain is a common side effect because the disease is so crippling that it’s an acceptable tradeoff.

There might be some fat folks who eat more because they’re self-medicating. That is, they’re cutting out the middleman, so to speak, and rather than take anti-depressants, just eating more to feel better. To me, that’s also an acceptable tradeoff. Why is the weight gain acceptable in one case and not the other?

Filed under: health, Science, Size Acceptance, Size Discrimination

DIETING MAKES YOU (LITERALLY) FATTER

I’ve been saying this for years.

Okay.  A study looks at how when older women diet and they regain the weight (as we know they are going to do), what is it that they are losing and what is it that they are regaining.  And the answer is:

Specifically, for every 1 kg fat lost during the weight-loss intervention, 0.26 kg lean tissue was lost; for every 1 kg fat regained over the following year, only 0.12 kg lean tissue was regained.

Get it?  You lose fat and lean tissue.  When you regain, you end up literally fatter and with less lean tissue, even if you don’t weigh more than when you started the diet.  (And they don’t even get into the fact that fat cells are forever – unlike lean tissue cells, fat cells do not go away – they simply “deflate”, unless you physically remove them – and even then, there is evidence that your body will create more fat cells to replace those your removed.).

And while there are a lot of new studies out there talking about the protective nature of fat as we get older, loss of muscle and bone is detrimental, especially to older people.

Now want to go crazy? Here is what the lead author of the study had to say about weight loss for older women:

“But despite the great likelihood that people will gain it back and the suggestion that it will have an unfavorable impact on their lean-tissue-to-fat composition, ‘I think there are huge benefits to losing weight,’ she says. When older obese people deliberately slim down, their osteoarthritis improves, Nicklas says. They can get up out of chairs and climb stairs more easily. Even if they eventually regain all of the weight, she says, it usually takes a few years to do it.”

Except the study showed that 80% of the women had regained the weight within one year!  And I’m pretty sure in order to get out of chairs and climb stairs you need muscle (i.e. lean tissue).

So this doctor ADMITS that dieting will ultimately have an unfavorable impact on most of her patients, and yet she is still pushing for dieting.  Talk about drinking the Koolaid.

http://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20111216/weight-regained-in-later-years-has-more-fat

http://www.ajcn.org/content/94/3/767.abstract

 

Filed under: health, Science

Staying Informed

The popular media have just now found out about a horrible ad campaign in Georgia that stigmatizes fat children. I am heartened that the size rights community has responded, but I wish that there had been an equivalent response when NAAFA first reported on these ads ten months ago:

http://www.naafaonline.com/newsletterstuff/oldnewsletterstuff/March%202011%20NAAFA%20Newsletter.html

There’s only so much that NAAFA can do to raise awareness. There’s not really a NAAFA army, just a handful of volunteers who issue press releases (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naafapressreleases/message/61), talk to news organizations, and basically try to work the media. Some readers of that issue of the newsletter probably did do as NAAFA asked and e-mailed the organization’s director, but the effect of these actions isn’t apparent. One additional thing NAAFA could have done was start a petition like this one: http://www.change.org/petitions/childrens-healthcare-of-atlanta-end-the-stop-sugarcoating-campaign; petitions can do a lot of good sometimes.

As I said, the current reaction by the fatosphere is great, but the ads have been on for a while, and a lot of damage has already been done.

So do me (and yourself) a favor: go to the first link above and take a look at last March’s NAAFA Newsletter. (There are more (and newer) newsletters here: http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/about/NEWSLETTERS.html) If you like what you see, and want to stay on top of issues like these Georgia ads, click on the button in the right column that says “Join Our Mailing List”, and you’ll get a NAAFA Newsletter once a month. (Note: I help prepare the newsletter.) It’s free, it’s only one e-mail a month, it’s fun, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Try it!

Filed under: Body image, Fat Activism, health, Size Discrimination, NAAFA, petitions

The REVOLUTION is on for 2012!

It’s happening again. The New Year’s REVOLUTION is on for 2012!

Instead of making new year’s resolutions involving weight loss, you know, the ones that end in sadness and self-revulsion, join us in the REVOLUTION. Make a resolution (or goal, or idea, or just something to have fun with) to love your body and yourself, and spread the message of HAES, health at every size. Change your facebook page to a size-positive image, tweet about HAES with the #HAES hashtag, read a fat-friendly book, or just be the fabulous person you are!

Check out the resources here: http://revolutionsresources.blogspot.com

Filed under: Body image, Fat Activism, health