8/28/09

A good read...

And a complicated issue.

As a "former fat girl," I still struggle with thoughts about my body in general (all the time, in fact). And the way America treats those with weight problems doesn't help.

An excerpt:

"It's a fallacy to conflate the unhealthy action—overeating and not exercising—with the unhealthy appearance, says Schwartz: some overweight people run marathons; eat only organic, vegetarian fare; and have clean bills of health. Even so, yelling at the overweight to put down the doughnut is far from productive. 'People are less likely to seek out healthy behaviors when they're criticized by friends, family, doctors, and others,' says Schwartz. 'If people tell you that you're disgusting or a slob enough times, you soon start to believe it.' In fact, fat outrage might actually make health-care costs higher. In a study published in the 2005 issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law,Abigail Saguy and Brian Riley found that many overweight people decide not to get help for medical conditions that are more treatable and more risky than obesity because they don't want to deal with their doctor's harassment about their weight. (For instance, a study from the University of North Carolina found that obese women are less likely to receive cervical exams than their thinner counterparts, in part because they worry about being embarrassed or belittled by the doctor because of their weight.)"

Read on here.

1 comment:

marisa said...

fascinating article with some things I'd never thought of before. thanks for sharing.

and thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment on my blog. i love 'meeting' new people. :D hope you keep up with your writing! it's such a great outlet.