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Furthermore, "[O]verweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease."
Take that, popular conceptions of health that assume heavier = unhealthy.
I've always been skeptical of that assumption myself, because I've always been skinny, and yet not always healthy. My gangly body has long been susceptible to various minor health problems. However, since I match the popular idea of what's a good body size for women (well, except for the 32D bust size, of course), I don't get hassled for my unhealthiness the way "fat" people do. People don't assume that my eating habits are bad, that I don't exercise, that I'm "too lazy" to take care of myself ... when, in fact, at various points of my life, those have all been true.
Recently, I've been trying to improve my health habits by going to the gym, cooking for myself instead of relying on frozen or canned food, and cutting down on soda and coffee. But any improvements I get out of that stuff tends to happen on the inside. I don't look much different in terms of shape or size. Even when I build up muscle, I don't look buff, even if I feel stronger. And however high my cholestorol is or however much fat is clogging my arteries, you can't tell by looking at me; it's not lower when I'm "skinnier" or higher when I'm "fatter."
The point is, whether or not I am healthy, I look like what most people consider "healthy." So only a few people - those who know me well and are paying attention - hassle me about my health habits. On the other hand, anyone who is naturally larger or heavier gets hit with all the assumptions about their "laziness" or "irresponsibility."
And yes, people are naturally one size or the other. We're not all built to be 6'0" and 115 lbs. with a C-cup, if only we "made the effort" to lose weight. Some of us will be as healthy as can be and still be 170 lbs. (especially if we're muscular). As Dr. Mitchell Gail, one of the authors of the paper in the article, puts it, "If you are in the pink and feeling well and getting a good amount of exercise and if your doctor is very happy with your lab values and other test results, then I am not sure there is any urgency to change your weight."
I'm not the first one to say this, of course, not by a long shot.![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
naamah_darling is one person who writes eloquently on the subject, and so do plenty of other fat-positive/fat acceptance bloggers. (I recommend starting out with this post, which debunks the myth that losing weight is easy.) But it's something I've been exploring more and more lately.
I also recommend checking out Kate Harding's BMI Project. Especially for the triathletes who are labelled as "morbidly obese." Yeah.
Take that, popular conceptions of health that assume heavier = unhealthy.
I've always been skeptical of that assumption myself, because I've always been skinny, and yet not always healthy. My gangly body has long been susceptible to various minor health problems. However, since I match the popular idea of what's a good body size for women (well, except for the 32D bust size, of course), I don't get hassled for my unhealthiness the way "fat" people do. People don't assume that my eating habits are bad, that I don't exercise, that I'm "too lazy" to take care of myself ... when, in fact, at various points of my life, those have all been true.
Recently, I've been trying to improve my health habits by going to the gym, cooking for myself instead of relying on frozen or canned food, and cutting down on soda and coffee. But any improvements I get out of that stuff tends to happen on the inside. I don't look much different in terms of shape or size. Even when I build up muscle, I don't look buff, even if I feel stronger. And however high my cholestorol is or however much fat is clogging my arteries, you can't tell by looking at me; it's not lower when I'm "skinnier" or higher when I'm "fatter."
The point is, whether or not I am healthy, I look like what most people consider "healthy." So only a few people - those who know me well and are paying attention - hassle me about my health habits. On the other hand, anyone who is naturally larger or heavier gets hit with all the assumptions about their "laziness" or "irresponsibility."
And yes, people are naturally one size or the other. We're not all built to be 6'0" and 115 lbs. with a C-cup, if only we "made the effort" to lose weight. Some of us will be as healthy as can be and still be 170 lbs. (especially if we're muscular). As Dr. Mitchell Gail, one of the authors of the paper in the article, puts it, "If you are in the pink and feeling well and getting a good amount of exercise and if your doctor is very happy with your lab values and other test results, then I am not sure there is any urgency to change your weight."
I'm not the first one to say this, of course, not by a long shot.
naamah_darling is one person who writes eloquently on the subject, and so do plenty of other fat-positive/fat acceptance bloggers. (I recommend starting out with this post, which debunks the myth that losing weight is easy.) But it's something I've been exploring more and more lately.I also recommend checking out Kate Harding's BMI Project. Especially for the triathletes who are labelled as "morbidly obese." Yeah.