“Fat Stigma – not Fat – is the Real Enemy”
Das Buch Health at Every Size
„This demonization of fat flies in the face of not just psychology (calling people names never made anyone thin), but economics and medical science, too. Persuasive, peer-reviewed evidence abounds that – hold onto your stethoscope – fat is blown out of proportion as a health risk and may actually confer some protection against early death. Mortality analyses from the Centers for Disease Control and elsewhere show that “overweight” people actually outlive those in the government-defined “normal” range. Other research makes it evident that diet and activity habits wield far more impact than weight on individuals’ health status. And, since diets don’t work, our government is spending millions of health “care” dollars on programs doomed to failure.
Even the well-meaning talk about obesity isn’t doing any good. It hasn’t made people thinner – and is downright damaging. Eating disorders, poor body image, stress and discrimination are collateral damage in our war against fat. Few of us are at peace with our bodies, whether because we’re fat or afraid of getting that way. That very stress can initiate or aggravate some so-called “obesity-related” conditions, like diabetes and hypertension, helping to explain why they’re often associated with weight.
For those who try to reduce, whether freelance or under doctor’s orders, only a tiny minority keep it off more than a couple years. Most regain the weight regardless of whether they maintain their diets or exercise programs. It is well-established that biological safeguards – some we understand and others we don’t – cause our bodies to resist long-term weight loss.
As for “try, try again,” that’s even worse: Weight-cycling has been found to cause some of the very conditions, like cardiovascular disease, weight losers seek to avoid. (Fat but stable-weight people log better outcomes.) Evidence is scarce, in any case, that losing weight prolongs life – the vast majority of studies show that weight losers have decreased longevity, even when the loss is intentional.”
