CNN: Is fat acceptance bad for our health?
natalie
By Tammy Worth
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Many groups champion a new definition of beauty, one not dictated by
waist size
* Expert opinion: Being overweight is bad for your health, particularly
for your heart
* Some research suggests that some people can be overweight and healthy
* Others say it gives overweight people, most of whom aren't fit, an
excuse to be complacent
(Health.com) -- Deb Lemire has always been "short and square," a figure
she inherited from her grandmother and passed on to her child. So when
Lemire took her daughter in for a wellness visit and the well-meaning
pediatrician pulled her aside to talk about her daughter's weight, the
47-year-old burst into tears "because I was the 10-year-old being told
I was overweight."
She took her daughter to a nutritionist, who said her dietary habits
were good. So Lemire decided not to push the issue. "I have spent my
whole entire life dieting and feeling like my worth was attached to my
weight," says Lemire. "I wasn't going to tell her she has to change who
she is. But we're going to encourage healthy behaviors [and] not worry
about translating that into a size that's 'OK.' That message is not
going to come from me -- she'll get that enough from other people."
Lemire also happens to be president of the Association for Size
Diversity and Health, a group that advocates that people can be healthy
at any size. Her group is just one of several in a growing trend
sometimes called the fat acceptance movement.
From the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which portrays underwear-clad
women who tend to be larger than the average model, to the National
Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, which fights size
discrimination, many organizations and businesses are championing a new
definition of beauty -- one that is not dictated by waist size.
Although most people agree that promoting super-skinny models as the
feminine (or masculine) ideal isn't healthy, will the opposite --
accepting that being overweight or obese is fine -- undermine the
progress being made toward heart health?
In fact, experts have recently found that the decades-long efforts to
limit one serious heart risk -- smoking -- is expected to pay off with
longer life spans. Unfortunately, the rise in obesity will likely
undercut that progress.
Can you be fat and fit?
Expert opinion is pretty much unanimous: Being overweight is bad for
your health, particularly for your heart.
"Obesity is probably the only risk factor that has such a global
negative impact on so many risk factors for the heart," says Barry
Franklin, Ph.D., the director of the Cardiac Rehab Program and Exercise
Laboratories at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Obesity's heart disease risk factors include high blood pressure,
inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and trouble with blood-fat levels,
such as higher triglycerides, low HDL (good cholesterol), and high LDL
(bad cholesterol). Obesity is also associated with sleep apnea.
However, research conducted by Steven N. Blair, a professor at the
Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina,
suggests that some people can be overweight and healthy. In a 2007
study, he and colleagues found that unfit people over age 60 who were
of normal weight had higher mortality rates during the 12-year study
than people the same age with higher body-mass indexes (BMIs) who were
fit (as measured by a treadmill test).
And a 2008 study found that the location of fat deposits on the body is
a big factor in the health risks associated with being overweight.
(Belly fat and fat deposits in the liver are bad news.)
Franklin says that studies have indeed shown that fit overweight or
obese people have cardiovascular mortality rates that are lower than
thin, unfit people.
Michelle May, M.D., the author of "Eat What You Love; Love What You
Eat: How To Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle," says, "We use obesity
as a marker of whether someone is practicing a healthy lifestyle, but
that is not a way of determining if they are making healthy eating
choices, are physically active, or have economic, emotional, and social
stability, which is important to longevity."
May, who is a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health,
says, "It is easy to use a BMI and place everyone in the same box, but
it is too simplistic and is not always an accurate description of
someone's health."
But are such studies just an excuse for overweight people -- most of
whom aren't fit -- to remain complacent about excess weight? There
remains concern on the part of physicians that the rise in fat
acceptance is an unhealthy trend.
Franklin says that people who are overweight or obese already have one
strike against them in terms of heart health, and need to compensate by
monitoring other factors like exercise, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
"I don't want to take on any specific organization...but a social
movement that would suggest healthy at any size in many respects can be
misleading," Franklin says. "We can't say that every overweight person
is healthy."
Is body image as important as health?
But for Lemire and others, it is important to balance a healthy body
image with a healthy body.
"Health at any size is helping people be as healthy as they choose to
be, want to be, need to be -- as healthy as they are," Lemire says.
"Everyone at any size can take care of the body they have and support
their well-being."
May says she is concerned about contributing to fear and shame within a
group for which the medical community has few available solutions.
"Where else in medicine do we offer a solution -- dieting -- that is
going to fail and then point to the end user and say, 'You are
weak-willed; you don't have enough willpower'?" she asks. "I know many
thin people who don't exercise and follow unhealthy diets."
Part of the problem is that even when people -- or their kids -- are
overweight or obese, they don't think they are. In fact, 8 percent of
obese people think they are healthy and don't need to lose weight (even
though 35 percent of those people have high blood pressure, 15 percent
high cholesterol, and 14 percent diabetes), according to a study of
nearly 6,000 people presented in November 2009 at the American Heart
Association meeting.
It's not clear why there's a disconnect. But with the rise in obesity,
people may have a skewed perception of a "normal" weight. Right now,
more than 60 percent of American adults are obese or overweight. (This
map shows the states with the highest percentage of overweight people.)
Lemire and May believe that the focus should be placed on an
individual's health as much as his or her weight, and that people can
make great strides just by taking small steps toward improvement.
"I think it's a given that we understand physical activity is good for
your body," Lemire says. "Most people find that when they are more
physically active, it makes us feel better and makes the machine run
better. But we shouldn't be promoting it just on the backs of fat
people."
However, people who don't think they have a health problem may be less
likely to exercise, visit a physician, or talk about dietary changes
with their doctor.
Stephen Nicholls, M.D., the clinical director of the Cleveland Clinic
Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention, says it's never
too late to improve your health by eating better, becoming physically
active, quitting smoking, and seeing a doctor for checkups.
Health.com: How to burn more calories running
However, Nicholls is still concerned that fat acceptance may send the
message that being overweight isn't a health issue.
"As a population, we have moved the yardstick ourselves as what we
consider to be a problem and what we don't consider to be a problem,"
Nicholls says. "We consume processed, high-fat, easily available food
and reduce the amount of exercise and activity we perform on a daily
basis. There is complacency about developing obesity, and it could
suggest that we underestimate what its implications might be."
He adds, "Obesity is the single greatest public health problem we face
in the U.S. today and is now spreading beyond the developed world into
developing countries."
--
Lady Veteran
You really have nothing better to do, right? No job, no family, no
education? You poor pathetic twit.
>Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?
>By Tammy Worth
Any movement that challenges the concepts of idiot such as you is not
a bad thing at all.
>
>STORY HIGHLIGHTS
>
>* Many groups champion a new definition of beauty, one not dictated by
>waist size
That is a bad thing? Oh, yes it is. Fools cannot feel good about
themselves unless they are insulting other people.
>
>* Expert opinion: Being overweight is bad for your health, particularly
>for your heart
>
Expert opinion is that scientific papers are a long way from real
life.
>* Some research suggests that some people can be overweight and healthy
Yes they can. Science is being turned on it's ear because people are
not fitting into their little black and white categories.
>
>* Others say it gives overweight people, most of whom aren't fit, an
>excuse to be complacent
>
Why shouldn't they? Tell the food nazis to stuff themselves.
>(Health.com) -- Deb Lemire has always been "short and square," a figure
>she inherited from her grandmother and passed on to her child. So when
>Lemire took her daughter in for a wellness visit and the well-meaning
>pediatrician pulled her aside to talk about her daughter's weight, the
>47-year-old burst into tears "because I was the 10-year-old being told
>I was overweight."
Again, she is not fitting the standard so there is something wrong
with her.
>
>She took her daughter to a nutritionist, who said her dietary habits
>were good. So Lemire decided not to push the issue. "I have spent my
>whole entire life dieting and feeling like my worth was attached to my
>weight," says Lemire. "I wasn't going to tell her she has to change who
>she is. But we're going to encourage healthy behaviors [and] not worry
>about translating that into a size that's 'OK.' That message is not
>going to come from me -- she'll get that enough from other people."
Excellent example of idiots dancing on someone else's emotions.
>
>Lemire also happens to be president of the Association for Size
>Diversity and Health, a group that advocates that people can be healthy
>at any size. Her group is just one of several in a growing trend
>sometimes called the fat acceptance movement.
People are rebelling against idiot thought. That is good.
>
>From the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which portrays underwear-clad
>women who tend to be larger than the average model, to the National
>Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, which fights size
>discrimination, many organizations and businesses are championing a new
>definition of beauty -- one that is not dictated by waist size.
Again, this is not a bad thing. Bullies have no right to run things.
>
>Although most people agree that promoting super-skinny models as the
>feminine (or masculine) ideal isn't healthy, will the opposite --
>accepting that being overweight or obese is fine -- undermine the
>progress being made toward heart health?
I say no. One should eat with a little common sense. Moderation is key
and yes, there are some people who will overdo it. That is still no
excuse for idiot to run roughshod over another person's emotions.
>
>In fact, experts have recently found that the decades-long efforts to
>limit one serious heart risk -- smoking -- is expected to pay off with
>longer life spans. Unfortunately, the rise in obesity will likely
>undercut that progress.
Some people should resume smoking. Their existence is nothing more
than an annoyance to others. Anti-smoking people are not interested in
anyone's health-they just don't like the smell. A little honesty as to
what their true motives are would go a long way.
>
>Can you be fat and fit?
Yes you can. Fat is a subjective issue. If one meets the height/weight
requirement of X they can still be fat because the BMI is too high.
However exercise will cure that.
>
>Expert opinion is pretty much unanimous: Being overweight is bad for
>your health, particularly for your heart.
Yes and these are the same people who helped McCarthy chase
Communists. I have no respect for experts who are so removed from the
real world that they have their own zip code.
>
>"Obesity is probably the only risk factor that has such a global
>negative impact on so many risk factors for the heart," says Barry
>Franklin, Ph.D., the director of the Cardiac Rehab Program and Exercise
>Laboratories at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Yep-play up that bugaboo.....
>
>Obesity's heart disease risk factors include high blood pressure,
>inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and trouble with blood-fat levels,
>such as higher triglycerides, low HDL (good cholesterol), and high LDL
>(bad cholesterol). Obesity is also associated with sleep apnea.
You may have a fat guy under your bed. WATCH OUT!!!
>
>However, research conducted by Steven N. Blair, a professor at the
>Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina,
>suggests that some people can be overweight and healthy. In a 2007
>study, he and colleagues found that unfit people over age 60 who were
>of normal weight had higher mortality rates during the 12-year study
>than people the same age with higher body-mass indexes (BMIs) who were
>fit (as measured by a treadmill test).
I guess this poor guy will be drowned out by hysterics.
>
>And a 2008 study found that the location of fat deposits on the body is
>a big factor in the health risks associated with being overweight.
>(Belly fat and fat deposits in the liver are bad news.)
Maybe so, but there is still no excuse for bullies to be bullies.
>
>Franklin says that studies have indeed shown that fit overweight or
>obese people have cardiovascular mortality rates that are lower than
>thin, unfit people.
How about that?
>
>Michelle May, M.D., the author of "Eat What You Love; Love What You
>Eat: How To Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle," says, "We use obesity
>as a marker of whether someone is practicing a healthy lifestyle, but
>that is not a way of determining if they are making healthy eating
>choices, are physically active, or have economic, emotional, and social
>stability, which is important to longevity."
There is quantity and quality....do you know the difference?
>
>May, who is a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health,
>says, "It is easy to use a BMI and place everyone in the same box, but
>it is too simplistic and is not always an accurate description of
>someone's health."
Fools will use it as an excuse to bully.
>
>But are such studies just an excuse for overweight people -- most of
>whom aren't fit -- to remain complacent about excess weight? There
>remains concern on the part of physicians that the rise in fat
>acceptance is an unhealthy trend.
You force-they rebel.
>Franklin says that people who are overweight or obese already have one
>strike against them in terms of heart health, and need to compensate by
>monitoring other factors like exercise, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
>
>"I don't want to take on any specific organization...but a social
>movement that would suggest healthy at any size in many respects can be
>misleading," Franklin says. "We can't say that every overweight person
>is healthy."
>
>Is body image as important as health?
>
>But for Lemire and others, it is important to balance a healthy body
>image with a healthy body.
>
>"Health at any size is helping people be as healthy as they choose to
>be, want to be, need to be -- as healthy as they are," Lemire says.
>"Everyone at any size can take care of the body they have and support
>their well-being."
>
>May says she is concerned about contributing to fear and shame within a
>group for which the medical community has few available solutions.
>
>"Where else in medicine do we offer a solution -- dieting -- that is
>going to fail and then point to the end user and say, 'You are
>weak-willed; you don't have enough willpower'?" she asks. "I know many
>thin people who don't exercise and follow unhealthy diets."
Idiots seem to forget that, don't they?
>
>Part of the problem is that even when people -- or their kids -- are
>overweight or obese, they don't think they are. In fact, 8 percent of
>obese people think they are healthy and don't need to lose weight (even
>though 35 percent of those people have high blood pressure, 15 percent
>high cholesterol, and 14 percent diabetes), according to a study of
>nearly 6,000 people presented in November 2009 at the American Heart
>Association meeting.
>
>It's not clear why there's a disconnect. But with the rise in obesity,
>people may have a skewed perception of a "normal" weight. Right now,
>more than 60 percent of American adults are obese or overweight. (This
>map shows the states with the highest percentage of overweight people.)
It isn't skewed. It is rebellion. That is why ridicule doesn't work.
>
>Lemire and May believe that the focus should be placed on an
>individual's health as much as his or her weight, and that people can
>make great strides just by taking small steps toward improvement.
>
>"I think it's a given that we understand physical activity is good for
>your body," Lemire says. "Most people find that when they are more
>physically active, it makes us feel better and makes the machine run
>better. But we shouldn't be promoting it just on the backs of fat
>people."
Idiots seem to forget that too.
>
>However, people who don't think they have a health problem may be less
>likely to exercise, visit a physician, or talk about dietary changes
>with their doctor.
Who is going to pay for that?
>
>Stephen Nicholls, M.D., the clinical director of the Cleveland Clinic
>Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention, says it's never
>too late to improve your health by eating better, becoming physically
>active, quitting smoking, and seeing a doctor for checkups.
>
>Health.com: How to burn more calories running
>
>However, Nicholls is still concerned that fat acceptance may send the
>message that being overweight isn't a health issue.
So do something about the bullies and you may not have to.
>
>"As a population, we have moved the yardstick ourselves as what we
>consider to be a problem and what we don't consider to be a problem,"
>Nicholls says. "We consume processed, high-fat, easily available food
>and reduce the amount of exercise and activity we perform on a daily
>basis. There is complacency about developing obesity, and it could
>suggest that we underestimate what its implications might be."
>
>He adds, "Obesity is the single greatest public health problem we face
>in the U.S. today and is now spreading beyond the developed world into
>developing countries."
No one mentioned ridicule as a factor.I think it is the main reason
for the fat acceptance movement.
LV
"I rode a tank and held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank."
---Sympathy for the Devil-The Rolling Stones
--------------------------------------------
"Some people are only alive because it is
illegal to kill them."
---Anonymous
----------------------------------------------
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My Blog http://ladyveteranslog.blogspot.com
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Orlando Enrique Fiol
>"Where else in medicine do we offer a solution -- dieting -- that is
>going to fail and then point to the end user and say, 'You are
>weak-willed; you don't have enough willpower'?" she asks.
For me, the question has boiled down to a choice between eating what I want all
the time versus following the South Beach diet, which I have already proven
capable of taking my weight off. Balancing those two extremes is the ticket.
it's not that the diet doesn't work or that I lack will power; it's that I have
to experiment with how much pleasure eating I can do before I stop losing
weight. Giving up the diet entirely, even for a few days or weeks, can really
make it hard to get back on. Any diet has to constitute a long-term shift in
terms of the go-to foods one eats every day. Most diets can withstand some
straying, but straying can't turn into yet another shift away from the diet.
Orlando
Far Away
> > Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?
> > By Tammy Worth
>
>
> Any movement that challenges the concepts of idiot such as you is not
> a bad thing at all.
Robin King claimed that she was fat and healthy, but expired at a young
age of natural causes.
--
Lady Veteran
wrote:
Cancer even gets thin people. Odds are that she was short-changed at
the doctor's office and told that any complaint she did have was due
to her weight. Who wants to argue with obnoxious morons who think they
know more than God?
So, yes, people can be fit and fat and then die in a year because of
shortsighted idiots.
Lady Veteran
If you want to talk diet go ahead but take SSFA out of the discussion.
This is a violation of charter.
Tina
> On Fri, 8 Jan 2010 01:20:31 +0000 (UTC), "Far Away" <f...@away.not>
> wrote:
>
> > Lady Veteran wrote:
> >
> >> > Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?
> >> > By Tammy Worth
> >>
> >>
> >> Any movement that challenges the concepts of idiot such as you is
> not >> a bad thing at all.
> >
> > Robin King claimed that she was fat and healthy, but expired at a
> > young age of natural causes.
>
>
> Cancer even gets thin people. Odds are that she was short-changed at
> the doctor's office and told that any complaint she did have was due
> to her weight. Who wants to argue with obnoxious morons who think they
> know more than God?
>
> So, yes, people can be fit and fat and then die in a year because of
> shortsighted idiots.
Robin King claimed to have a "fat-friendly" doctor.
--
Fred
> > Robin King claimed that she was fat and healthy, but expired at a
> > young age of natural causes.
>
>
> Cancer even gets thin people.
How ironic! Robin King claimed that fat protected against cancer.
Where's Jade when you need her?
--
Lady Veteran
wrote:
Good for her. Too bad that the specialists were just ball park idiots.
Lady Veteran
wrote:
Fat does indeed protect against some forms of cancer, but not against
others. Jade can stay buried if that happens to be where she is. This
group has enough idiots.
Adkins Success
> > How ironic! Robin King claimed that fat protected against cancer.
> > Where's Jade when you need her?
>
>
> Fat does indeed protect against some forms of cancer, but not against
> others.
Please provide credible cites for this claim.
--
Lady Veteran
Why don't you prove me wrong if you can. The OP didn't cite anything.