(Gaudior, let me know if this is getting too far off the topic of the post, and I'll bow out. I don't want to derail.)
For the vast majority of people, changing their diet and exercise will improve their health. I'm 5'1 and 100 pounds, and my doctor tells me that I need to exercise more and eat more salad. My doctor also bothered to look at my cholesterol values and general health before telling me that, but it's pretty good advice for anyone regardless of BMI.
Gaudior, below, pretty much covers my opinion of the fat acceptance movement. Short version: I think they oversimplify, and for much the same reason that DARE gets kids to try drugs. Massively overstate the danger of anything, and it's inevitable that some people will understate it. I've also seen a lot of friends, listening to the fat acceptance movement, get over their guilt about body size enough to actually do something about their health.
I've got a couple of stories that illustrate my problem with the emphasis on body size. First, I have one friend who's been massively overweight for the entire time I've known her. For most of her life, she had stomach troubles, which her doctors chalked up to her weight. They all told her to diet and didn't bother inquiring further. Two years ago, a doctor actually did some tests, identified a gall bladder disorder, a couple of dietary sensitivities, and the massive stress of her job. She got gall bladder surgery, a specific diet tailored to her actual body, and meditation lessons. All of this helped her health in general--not to mention started her being able to lose weight for the first time--a lot more than just being told that she lacked willpower.
Another friend, maybe 50-75 pounds overweight, got married last year and started to think about having kids. Her doctor immediately told her that she shouldn't even try till she'd lost an amount of weight that can't be lost in any healthy way in less than a year or two. She's 40, so this may not have been the most helpful advice in the world.
The issue is not that doctors tell people that being fat is unhealthy. The issue is that many doctors refuse to tell people anything else.
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For the vast majority of people, changing their diet and exercise will improve their health. I'm 5'1 and 100 pounds, and my doctor tells me that I need to exercise more and eat more salad. My doctor also bothered to look at my cholesterol values and general health before telling me that, but it's pretty good advice for anyone regardless of BMI.
Gaudior, below, pretty much covers my opinion of the fat acceptance movement. Short version: I think they oversimplify, and for much the same reason that DARE gets kids to try drugs. Massively overstate the danger of anything, and it's inevitable that some people will understate it. I've also seen a lot of friends, listening to the fat acceptance movement, get over their guilt about body size enough to actually do something about their health.
I've got a couple of stories that illustrate my problem with the emphasis on body size. First, I have one friend who's been massively overweight for the entire time I've known her. For most of her life, she had stomach troubles, which her doctors chalked up to her weight. They all told her to diet and didn't bother inquiring further. Two years ago, a doctor actually did some tests, identified a gall bladder disorder, a couple of dietary sensitivities, and the massive stress of her job. She got gall bladder surgery, a specific diet tailored to her actual body, and meditation lessons. All of this helped her health in general--not to mention started her being able to lose weight for the first time--a lot more than just being told that she lacked willpower.
Another friend, maybe 50-75 pounds overweight, got married last year and started to think about having kids. Her doctor immediately told her that she shouldn't even try till she'd lost an amount of weight that can't be lost in any healthy way in less than a year or two. She's 40, so this may not have been the most helpful advice in the world.
The issue is not that doctors tell people that being fat is unhealthy. The issue is that many doctors refuse to tell people anything else.