Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’re thinking, “that’s all fine and well that you’re talking about body acceptance and not dieting, eating what you want when you want. But that’s not for me because I have to lose weight. You know, for my health. It’s not about vanity!”
Wow! I’ve never heard that one before! Just kidding. But really, it’s not all that original.
Yes, we all have heard about how bad being “overweight” is for your health. And god forbid someone should be called “obese”. Yes. I know. You know. We all know. Nothing new.
Here’s the thing….that is not a complete picture. As any good (or even mediocre) scientist will tell you, correlation is not causation. And…here’s the other thing, human beings are complex and weight studies cannot take into account a number of things.
An example of this might be weight stigma. Weight stigma is when an individual is discriminated against because of their size. I’m carefully linking to an article here from Harvard Medical School because it talks about how weight stigma is very harmful. However, I DO NOT agree with much of this article, which talks about how saying “a person with obesity” instead of “obese person” is going to lessen the stigma. That’s fucking bullshit. Pardon my language. “Obesity” in and of itself is a problematic term because the numbers are made the fuck up. Check out this amazing quote from The Atlantic.
“The national obsession with weight got a big boost in 1942, when a life-insurance company created a set of tables that became the most widely referenced standard for weight in North America. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company crunched age, weight, and mortality numbers from nearly 5 million policies in the United States and Canada to create “desirable” height and weight charts. For the first time, people (and their doctors) could compare themselves to a standardized notion of what they “should” weigh.”
Read that again in case you missed it. LIFE-INSURANCE companies created a set of norms that, for the first time ever, told people how much they “should” weigh. And just like that, being over a certain imaginary number became a disease.
Cool. Moving on.
As I was saying, weight stigma is harmful. We have no way to look at people in our society who are perceived as overweight and isolate them from their social experience. Not to mention, doctors do not treat people they view as overweight the same as people they consider “normal weight”. And guess what. That messes with your fucking health!
So yeah, “overweight” people might very well be in worse health and it ain’t because of their weight! What the actual freaking hell, people?
Can you tell I’m a little worked up over here?
To summarize, there are plenty of studies that say that being fat means you’re unhealthy. Meanwhile people, including (or especially) doctors and healthcare workers, treat you worse than others and provide subpar care yet it’s your actual weight that’s to blame? Hmm…
Let’s mix in a little extra fun in here, shall we?
To add to this, most people who are “overweight” (I am using the quotes because, in case you already forgot, that is a made up term based on random numbers, not rigorous academic studies) have done a lot of…want to guess? Dieting! And what does dieting most likely lead to? Weight loss followed by weight gain! 10 points for Gryffindor! And what do we know about weight cycling (that weight loss weight gain cycle anyone who’s ever dieted knows so well)? That it leads to poor health outcomes! Well done, class.
Side note here. This topic appears to be getting me worked up in a tizzy. Why? Not because I have personally experience weight stigma. I am lucky enough to say I haven’t. And I do mean lucky because that’s what it is, luck. I am lucky that where my body weight naturally falls, while not on the thin side, has never pushed me into a weight that is stigmatized (as far as I’m aware). This is called “thin privilege”. I have never ever considered myself thin, but I recognize that I don’t have the experience of a fat person. And really, what does that say about our society?
Oh my, that was another tangent.
As I was saying, why am I getting so worked up? Because I love logic. I love things that make sense and when a logical fallacy or hole in my argument is pointed out, I will reassess my viewpoint.
Therefore, it really bothers me that despite all of these arguments, fat people still have to live in a world that considers their bodies to be a disease that is putting a strain on our healthcare when in fact, they are not.
What IS putting a strain on our healthcare is a lack of understanding.
One can be both fat (side note, when I say “fat”, I don’t mean this in any derogatory sense. I mean this as a reclaimed word that can be used neutrally just like “brunette” or “short” can be) and super fit and healthy.
At the same time, one can be both thin and unfit and unhealthy.
I have a friend. She’s tiny. She does not work out at all. I doubt she could do one push-up (to my friend, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry! But you know it’s true).
I am probably twice her size if not more. If we go by the stereotyping of correlating one’s size to one’s health and fitness, you would say she is more fit and healthy. I will counter with I am 1000% fitter and potentially healthier. You just can’t tell by looking at us.
Additionally, our mis-informed viewpoint is actually a self-fulfilling prophecy that’s not doing anyone any good. The weight stigma we push onto those who are viewed as “too big” is actually creating a much bigger health crisis than the size of their bodies is.
And…even worse, the “solution”, aka diets, creates an even bigger health hazard, weight cycling!
And that doesn’t even touch on the toll this all takes on mental health! How the fuck would you feel walking around as people look at you judging you and blaming you for your “disease”? And then you try combating said “disease” with risky and ineffective “solutions” that don’t work.
Ahhh! I cannot with this injustice!
In my upcoming book, I compare weight stigma to racism. The two are incredibly related. You are being judged for something that is not on you to change.
You could change your body size (and skin color) with ineffective and risky methods. Sure! Diets, surgery, sketchy creams that bleach your skin. Why the hell not? Anything to fit in, right?
Okay. I need to go calm myself down right now. This topic aggravates me too much.
Keep in mind, this is me editing myself in written form. You don’t want to get me started in person. It’s ugly.
Your crazy Substack friend,
Asya
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.