Hi there, as someone who *has* lost a high amount of weight (from 195 to 130), I think it's important to note that it's a bit of a simplistic and medically-nonviable argument to equate fat with serious mental and physical illness and thinness with health. Both can be true, but neither can be true as well. I think your article, which is interesting and well-researched and written otherwise, would be stronger if you didn't end it by moralizing about health in such a clichéd, generalizing way.
First, thanks for the message!
The reason I ended that article the way I did is that people tend to want to blame overweight and obese people for their weight without taking into consideration the toxic food environment that we live in. Yes a person is ultimately responsible for what he or she puts into his or her body. But at the same time I live in the United States where nutrient deficient, processed foods are cheaper than whole foods. Companies spend millions researching and creating ingredients to make us literally addicted to the worst foods possible. Sure, I have some junk food occasionally; I get a craving for Pringles now and then, for example. But more and more people only eat foods that come out of boxes, cans, or drive-thrus.
Don’t you find it strange that the “Freshman 15” is now a trend? I went to a private university which boasted a very large cafeteria with several stations. The catch was that although there was a variety of food, the quality was compromised. Canned vegetables, powdered potatoes, frozen meat patties, powdered gravy, etc. The only thing you could safely say was fresh was the salad bar. Now I know people will be thinking, “food is expensive , there are so many students, they don’t have time to make fresh food!” When I did my study abroad in South Korea at a university with a larger student body and equal tuition I had fresh food every day. I saw a woman with a pile of potato peelings literally three feet high! The rice was made fresh daily in huge vats three feet across with a man stirring it with a paddle. Dumplings were made by hand in large quantities. Instead of one huge cafeteria there were three or four smaller ones which each specialized in different things. Instead of a flat rate each meal was priced based on how expensive it was to make fresh (but it wasn’t outrageous, maybe $2-4 a meal). There is no such thing as “Freshman 15” in Korea. In fact, it’s not until Korean students come to American universities that they put on a significant amount of weight. So it is absolutely possible to make fresh food for a large number of people.
So those are just two reasons why I think overweight and obese people are not entirely to blame for their health. It is so easy to gain weight here if you have a metabolism that permits it. So yes, it might be a cliché to say that we value a quick fix over slow and steady hard work but it still holds true.
Also, I never said being thin automatically meant being healthy so not sure where you’re getting that from. As for the physical and mental issues, an excess (or shortage) amount of fat is always going to be unhealthy. Let’s take the physical side first. Two people can have the same eating habits and exercise routine, but the one with too much fat is always going to be unhealthier. Fat is not just dead weight; it is a living thing that affects all sorts of chemicals in the body.
And there is also the fact that people do not become obese by having a healthy lifestyle. Ever. You can get thin by unhealthy means, you can also be obese and change your habits to something healthier, but people never become obese by being healthy. Which is why dramatic weight gain is a red flag for doctors to look for underlying causes or help you to change your habits.
I’m not going to go on about it because frankly if you honestly think excess fat is healthy I’m not going to change your mind with one tumblr post. As for the mental side, this has two parts. If you look at HAES advocates and supporters on their site, an unusually high number of people confess to having disordered eating habits in their early years. Eating disorders are a mental issue.They simply swap extreme calorie restriction with fancy sounding plans like "intuitive eating." Intuitive eating is the theory that your body knows what it needs, with no input from your brain. It's amazing how many HAES bodies "intuitively" need cake and fast food. One girl I know put on so much weight from intuitive eating that it's hard for her to do basic functions like stand up. She's 24.
In addition there are people in the movement who are hell-bent on denying that obesity causes any health issues. This is Thin Privilege moderators and followers in particular are happy to create a movement where thin people are called “scum,” “shitstains,” and told to “fuck off and die.” When you have posts saying how sexual assault is a privilege, that is a mental problem. When you have posts saying that thin people do not get bullied or abused, that is a mental health problem. They have dehumanized this imaginary “thin person” to the point where she is immune from basic human emotions like hurt, embarrassment, vulnerability, or insecurity. But of course that’s what makes them feel better. Creating their own boogey man who is completely inhuman so that she is easier to hate. That is a mental issue.
Why do you think that one of the three moderators of TITP Fat Body Politics did not promote that particular tumblr in her CNN interview or article? She mentioned her other ones.
Because if people just read her main tumblr or blog they will pity her, “oh, poor fat girl getting so much hate mail,” but if they read TITP they will see that she is actually a part of a site that is equally disgusting in its hatred of fat or thin people who challenge them. She’s such a blatant hypocrite; I can’t believe she had the gall to call out “trolls” and play the victim.
So I think that addressed all of your concerns. Thanks for the message!
