Has someone told you that you are overweight, obese or fat? Who was that person, how did they arrive at that conclusion, and what was their purpose in making that statement to you?
I recently has a 14 year old girl come in for a session in tears because her pediatrician told her she was "overweight". The doc actually wrote the declaration out on a prescription pad! She is a fit, athletic girl in the midst of puberty who is clearly anything BUT fat. I sat there wondering why in the world someone who is suppose to be an expert in dealing with children and adolescents would make such a statement. He had not asked her about her exercise level or nutrition. The physician had used the (in my opinion) useless Body Mass Index (BMI). There has been several studies within the past year that have questioned the use of BMI as a determinant of "fatness". In March 2009 a study was published in Medicine and Science in Sports Medicine that indicated that use of BMI measurement as an indicator of fatness in athletes gave no credit for muscle mass. Many top athletes would be categorized as overweight or obese with this measurement. Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo has a BMI of 28.8. That places him in the "nearly obese" category. Another study completed at the Baylor College of Medicine in April of this year demonstrated the weaknesses of the BMI when used to evaluate fatness in Asians, Hispanics and African Americans.
I am of the belief that talking about fatness is useless. If someone is genuinely obese, giving them a BMI report is about as helpful as telling them that their hair color is brown. They have that knowledge. We need to talk about health habits, behaviors and attitudes. For someone that is at a time in their life that telling them they are fat could trigger disordered eating behavior, that fat talk is dangerous in addition to being useless. Labeling people according to body weight or size is not health promoting.
Let's change our conversation!
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Interesting information about the BMI - I tend to be a skeptic, so wasn't that thrilled with it anyway. Thank you, Reba, for the good work you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jody - such interesting info about BMI testing - thanks, Reba.
ReplyDeleteI love it! I am tired of fat talk!!! Everybody I know wants to lose 10 pounds and wants to talk about everything we eat and what size everybody wears. I'm done! AND I'm not listening to it either :) I'm telling them to stop it, because "friends don't let friends fat talk"! It gets a good laugh and opens the door for better conversation. Thanks for all you do Reba!!!
ReplyDeleteA psychologist pulled me up to a BMI chart he had, found me on it, and told me I could stand to lose a few if I would just watch what I ate. I never went back and sought help from someone who was more understanding.
ReplyDeleteBecause of a thyroid issue, I gained 34 pounds and was miserable. No one said anything, but I couldn't stand it. Nothing fit. Everything hurt. Now the problem has been diagnosed and I'm losing what I gained. Now that I feel good and am wearing my regular clothes and getting back to my "normal," people are butting in to say they hope I won't lose much more weight. "It's aging." "No weight safety net in case you get sick." "Are you seeing someone?" Nutz! Change the conversation! Read any good books lately???
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the number of people who, when hearing my daughter has an eating disorder, will say "I wish I could have a little bit of one". Not only is the insenstive, but totally ignorant. We need to stand up to people who continue to value themselves by their size - no more FAT talk.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. We need to talk about becoming healthy and learning healthy habits. I'm a big believer in the law of attraction...Let's attract health no matter what size we are.
ReplyDeleteI agree. At age 11 I was put on diet and my doctor prescribed a diet-which my parents followed religiously. My family made numerous comments about up and down weight for years.
ReplyDeleteI lost weight but began a history of disordered eating. Now I am focusing on the healthy eating habits instead of beating up on myself for weight gain,and eating foods that are considered not healthy.
Whenever I think about restoring weight or other related body image issues, I have to remind myself that God made me the way I am to fulfill His purpose for my life. As long as I'm treating my body well and doing what I know if right for me, I'll be the way I'm supposed to be--and that's how I'll be happiest if I let myself!
ReplyDeleteChanging the conversation is crucial to all of our wellbeing because most people seem to be always comparing themselves to someone else or a former self ("I used to be . . . "). From experience I have come to realize that when I beat myself up for being 'fat' I tend to engage in unhealthy habits (i.e., laying on the couch, eating cookies, not working out, etc . . .). On the flipside, when I focus on my actions and whether or not they are healthy I do much better and am able to feel good about the healthy habits I am forming (engaging in more social activity, going to the gym, and I tend to not even crave the cookies!).
ReplyDeleteReba, this is outstanding. I find many of my clients constantly assessing progress by the scale. I try to redirect that focus to habits just as you discuss. Your article gives me new inspiration to address these situations with a healthier, proactive approach. Thanks.
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