Fat Chicks Rule

Foodies, Fat and HAES

I'm not really a "foodie" per se. I try to eat organic, I'm going into my second year with a Community Sustained Agriculture share (CSA), I work at a  writing desk older than I am, I buy almost all my clothes gently used or discounted. Although I drive a mini-van, I only put 8000 miles on it per year. I believe in sustainable farming, buying locally, reducing, reusing, recycling. While I'm not a vegetarian I think animals slated for food should be treated and slaughtered humanely.  When I have red meat it tends to be from grass fed, organic beef. I will tell you right now, it's expensive. And while my CSA is cheap in the long run, it is expensive upfront. There would be no way I could eat the way I do now if I was poor.  The reason why I choose to eat organic is this: I kind of like my food without poison or antibiotics and I think organic food tastes better. I don't know how much organic aids in health since Americans have been living longer despite "gorging on junk food." Being a foodie also helps me learn to enjoy food again instead of feeling ashamed when I eat.

You think I would get more involved in the movement, but I can't. Because I feel ostracized due to my weight. Many movements that encourage sustainability use ending fatness as a reason.  Fat people are put into two different groups: On the one hand we're villains,  where groups like PETA use images and messages that it's fat people's fault because they don't eat vegetarian (I actually know a couple of fat vegetarians and some rail thin meat eaters.)  They also pick on children. On the other hand the more dangerous aspect is being labeled as a victim. The poor fat people don't know how to eat right, and are too stupid to realize that if they just changed to organic they would be thin and happy. Victimization makes fat people less than human. We become unable to make our own decision and have to be told what to do. At least with being labeled a villain, people are honest.  

Where does that leave me and the food movement? Still on the outside looking in, however not all seem to think "organic = thin!".  Linda Bacon, Liz Snyder, and Jill Richardson are all pro-foodies and pro-fatties. There was also a blog post from 2 years ago on Feministe complaining about the get rid of fat with good food meme.

If you want people to begin changing to sustainability, you need to not alienate them. The movement isn't all for people with a BMI under 25.

And to go completely off topic, if you're in the NYC metro area and you want a fat dose of high self-esteem, awesome bargains on clothes, please get to the Fat Girl Flea Market!

Another diet drug bites the dust

According to Canadian researchers, Xenical aka Alli aka Oilyshit has shown to potentially increase kidney problems. It can also cause liver damage in rare cases. Public Citizen is asking that the drugs be removed from the market. This is on top of Meridia finally being pulled.  Even Glaxo, the makers of Alli are abandoning the sinking ship by selling the brand.

Glaxo once tipped Alli as a possible blockbuster, but sales never took off, and the drug was hurt last year by reports that a small number of people taking it experienced liver damage...

Here is my mantra again: NO diet drug has been proven to work in the long run. In fact some of them are dangerous.  From the same article about Glaxo: Glaxo hoped to fight that phenomenon by marketing Alli as only part of a sensible dieting plan that also needed to include healthy eating and exercise.  This is pretty much exactly how dexatrim the first OTC diet drug I ever took was marketed. (It turn out dexatrim had Phenylpropanolamine which can cause strokes)

So once Alli is finally off the market, after causing both kidney damage and embarrassing oily stains, drug companies are working overtime to get the new obesity drug out and they are working hard to get Qnexa approved (Despite a previous FDA rejection.) 

I'm sure that there are many drugs that help people. I know many people alive who would be dead or have a severely diminished life if it wasn't for drugs. However diet drugs won't do this. They won't save a life (They have in fact killed many people), they won't make people's lives better (unless you call kidney disease and liver problems a better life) and they won't make you thin.  

You might as well do Health at Every Size. You eat well, you learn to enjoy food, and movement and there is no kidney damage. 

Making fat kids thin

A recent study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Health discovered that an intervention to reduce junk food, soda consumption and television viewing failed to reduce weight in pre-school children ages 2 to 6.9.  The study however showed that a year later the kids were still watching LESS TV.

The first problem with this intervention is that it would be considered a failure because it did not make fat children thin, even though it got them to watch less TV and eat less junk food. Anyone at any age or size can go with the good and simple advice of eat your vegatables and go out and play.  I'm all for walking or reading instead of watching TV and let's eat more veggies and less McDonalds. (When I grew up McDonalds was considered a rare treat.) However considering the failure of it to make children slender, what will be next? Calorie reduction? Hardcore dieting? Children should not be reducing calories. They need them to grow. 

Second this intervention program "High Five for Kids"  (which comes out of fat hating Harvard) singles out fat children. This gives the impression that it's perfectly okay for thin children to watch a lot of TV, drink soda, and eat fast food.

Just accept that some children are fat, provide healthy food and movement to all children of all sizes and allow occasional junk food. 

So please leave the fat kids alone. They have it bad enough from their peers, they don't need it from adults, too. 

Speaking of the Grand Canyon.

http://www.change.org/petitions/worldwide-campaign-to-save-the-grand-canyon

The Grand Canyon

I've never been to the Grand Canyon. I always wanted to go before they decide to fill it with cement and put in a mall.

But right now I can't. I don't want any of my money going to the State of Arizona which was one of the last states to recognize MLK's birthday, which treats their citizens of hispanic descent as second class, who won't cover organ transplants, and oh now wants to charge their fat citizens who get medicaid an extra $50. 

So let's get this straight. Fat people due to stigma, victimization and villianized suffer low ecomonic standards of living which means we are more likely to rely on state services. $5o to a poor person can mean no rent or food. $50 less could mean eating crappier cheap foods. 

And of course dieting and weight loss works. Just look at the 2-15% average success rates of long term dieters. Obviously fat people should lose weight because it's "healthy" even though a recent study has shown again that fat and fit people are heart healthier than thin and unfit people or that stigma and stress can cause health issues in fat people. What's more stressful than being told that despite your repeated attempts to lose weight, it's all your fault fattie.

So I won't be visiting the Grand Canyon anytime soon. I hope other people will stand with me and that residents of Arizona move to a more accepting state. Empty the state until there is nothing left but a lovely giant hole.