THIS is such, SUCH an important read. I will share this until I am blue in the face. It bothers me to my absolute core. I wish this would land in the inbox of every doctor, every specialist, every family member — every stranger who has ever commented on my weight as some kind of pathetic “goodwill” effort. My life bears the truth of this article a thousand times over, and yet people are still so hostile to these FACTS — not opinions, not just mere anecdotes, not sob stories, but FACTS (as in, quantitative evidence and trends shown over a period of time). So much of what is said to fat people is fatphobia dressed up as “I’m trying to help you.” Don’t hide behind your unsolicited advice. Just say what you really mean: you hate fat people. You hate us.
Anyways, please read:
“The emotional costs are incalculable. I have never written a story where so many of my sources cried during interviews, […] where they shook with anger describing their interactions with doctors and strangers and their own families.
“Yes, nearly every population-level study finds that fat people have worse cardiovascular health than thin people. But individuals are not averages: Studies have found that anywhere from one-third to three-quarters of people classified as obese are metabolically healthy. They show no signs of elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance or high cholesterol.
[…]
“”If you looked at anything other than my weight,’ Enneking says now, ‘I had an eating disorder. And my doctor was congratulating me.'”
For decades, the medical community has ignored mountains of evidence to wage a cruel and futile war on fat people, poisoning public perception and ruining millions of lives. It’s time for a new paradigm.
Source: Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong – The Huffington Post
Simone Samuels 