It’s overwhelming to hear people say things like, «If so-and-so knew what it was doing to your health, he’d stop eating and start exercising,» or «Why can’t so-and-so stop eating? or even, “So and so is setting such a bad example for his children!”.
Let’s set the record straight about fat women, because shaming overweight or obese people doesn’t help anyone.
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This is especially important considering that the link between body mass index (BMI) and health is unclear at best. In fact, BMI measurements they were never designed to be used by doctors in the way they are today.
«The person who devised the BMI explicitly said that it could not and should not be used to indicate the level of fat in an individual»writes Keith Devlin, director of the Stanford Mathematics Extension Project in the Graduate School of Education.
«The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a doctor. He produced the formula to provide a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity in the general population to help the government in resource allocation. In other words, it’s a 200-year trick.».
Furthermore, Devlin explains that the concept of BMI is «scientifically absurd» Y «physiologically wrong»since, among numerous other issues, «it does not take into account the relative proportions of bone, muscle, and fat in the body. But bone is denser than muscle and twice as dense as fat, so someone with strong bones, good muscle tone, and low fat will have a high BMI.»
Even if you’re not convinced that BMI is a flawed measurement, there are plenty of other myths about obesity and fat women that are worth considering from a new perspective.
Here are 10 common things people say about obese women that put even fat to shame and the real facts about what’s true.
Myth #1: Fat women should be educated on how to eat better.
Is not true. In fact, because popular society constantly reinforces that being a tall woman is undesirable, many tall women have a Ph.D. in knowledge of food, calorie intake, and exercise. When you are an obese woman, you are constantly reminded of it.
Your doctors (and others who like to act like they are) tell you that any ailment will be fixed with exercise and a proper diet, and sometimes people yell shit at you in the street. Friends often try to be «helpful» by giving you diet advice.
Believe me, a woman who has been dealing with obesity knows more than her doctor about nutrition, so having information and knowledge about calories, carbohydrates, fats, etc. she is not what she needs most.
Myth #2: Fat women should go to the gym and work out.
This is totally ridiculous. First of all, there is such a thing as being fit and fat.
The Health at Every Size movement aims to remind us that it’s okay to stop focusing on weight loss and, above all, get carried away by health. Many tall women are fit and exercise regularly.
Why don’t you see many fat people in the gym or jogging? Wow, I don’t know, maybe some people don’t like to be embarrassed, made fun of, stared at, or patronized.
Say things like, «Hey buddy! Great job! You’re doing great!» they are not helpful.
Myth #3: Fat women are «easy.»
This is unpleasant. I have a lot of problems with any woman, regardless of her size, who is called promiscuous or something like that.
It’s hard to even verbalize why this misperception is so bothersome and wrong.
A tall woman won’t just accept whatever scraps she can get because of her size.
Why does that idea persist? We do not know. But we must record that a tall woman has as much discretion and intelligence as a thin woman and she does not go through life taking all the opportunities that destiny gives her to embark on a relationship with anyone.
Most women want to find a kind and caring partner to be with. There are no statistics available to show that obese women are more promiscuous than smaller women.
Myth #4: Fat women are setting a terrible example for their children.
To hate yourself, to be self-critical and self-destructive is to set a bad example for your children, and a mother doesn’t have to be obese to do that.
Making an effort to love yourself and your children exactly as they are, regardless of body shape or size, is a great example to set.
When you love yourself, you take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean being skinnyIt means eating lots of healthy foods often and less healthy foods in moderation, exercising in a way that works for your body, and being kind to yourself both physically and psychologically.
Myth #5: Fat women are de facto unhealthy.
You can’t judge how healthy someone is by looking at them or weighing them. Blood tests, energy levels and quality of life are a better indicator of health.
One study found that «elevations in metabolic risk factors are much more associated with mortality risk than with obesity.»
That is, regardless of your weight, those blood tests and other objective measures of health are much more revealing about your risk of death than your BMI.
So yes, you can be obese and be healthy!
Myth #6: People are fat because they all have binge eating disorder.
This is simply not true.
Studies of binge eating disorder (BED) have found that weight «It is not a risk factor for BED itself. People with binge eating disorder may be overweight, obese, or at a healthy weight.»
You can’t tell who has an eating disorder based on what a person looks like, including binge eating disorder.
Myth #7: Fat women have no willpower.
I would dare to say that it is quite the opposite.
As I said earlier, many tall women have been on multiple diets and have wanted to lose again and again and again. But as we know, restrictive diets don’t work in the long run.
In fact, one of the prevailing myths about fat women is that they would be healthier if they just lost weight. In reality, it’s hard to keep your weight down through starvation diets or extreme exercise, and yo-yo dieting often works.
Multiple studies have shown that yo-yo dieting (technically called weight cycling) is really terrible for anyone’s health.
Myth #8: Fat women have low self-esteem.
Many women have low self-esteem and body image issues, not because we are fat, but because we are constantly bombarded by the media with information that tells us we are not good enough.
Being skinny doesn’t make a woman immune to low self-esteem, and being bigger doesn’t make a woman more likely to have it.
Self-esteem is an inside job. It is a practice of letting go of the beliefs about yourself that the outside world has given you that tell you that it is not okay to be yourself. You don’t have to drop the weight to let go of beliefs that affect your confidence.
Myth #9: No one will marry a fat woman.
That’s stupid. Just look around.
Myth #10: Fat women should go on diets.
Nobody should go on a diet, ever. Most people who go on diets will gain the weight back. In fact, many people who start out at a lower weight go on diets that later lead to disordered eating and weight gain.
As researchers studying weight cycling and yo-yo dieting discovered, «One to two-thirds of the weight lost is often regained within a year, and nearly all of the weight lost is regained within five years.»
Oh!