While I write a bit about bodies, fat and ‘the obesity epidemic’ I don’t write that much about the health aspects of this. Mostly because I largely find them irrelevant. Other people can do very good jobs of proving that the causative relationship between having a high BMI and negative health outcomes remain unproven at best. I think that in many ways this gives too much ground. Even if, someone down the track, they managed to prove that there is a causative relationship between being fat and dying earlier, then my problems with the way people talk about ‘the obesity epidemic’ wouldn’t change. Partly this is empirical – we have a couple of generations of women (particularly white middle-class women) who have been (and are being) told that their value as a human being was dependent on not taking up space, that hasn’t made all middle-class white women skinny. But it’s also part of my wider analysis: I don’t believe that health issues are an individual problem (let alone an individual moral problem).
But sometimes I read something that makes me go ‘How can anyone believe the shit that gets promulgated?”
In this case I was listening to a radio interview and they were talking about the death rate among Pakeha and Maori.* In this discussion the interview mentioned part of this was because the death rate from cardio-vascular disease has decreased hugely (over 50% for some ethnicities). This was partly because cadio-vascular disease is decreasing, and partly because people with cardio-vascular disease are living longer.
So where’s this ‘obesity epidemic’ and how is it supposed to be killing people if death from cardio-vascular disease has halved?
* Apparently the gap has gotten smaller, which is great until you hear that the Maori death rate between the ages of 1-74 is still two to three times that of Euopean/Other. Also just because it can’t be repeated enough health disparities were widening in the 80s and 90s:
It seems likely widening social gaps during the 80s and 90s, including income and unemployment differences between ethnic groups, were at least partly responsible for the widening health inequalities, Prof Blakely said.
If you can’t lower your weight the health effects either way are rather irrelevant. I have never been complacent about my health, although the best methods of increasing my feeling of healthiness has always been through changing the way I think.
> Maori death rate between the ages of 1-74 is still two to three times that
> of Euopean/Other.
There is only one way I can read this: A Maori of any age is as three times more
likely to die within a particular period of time than an European of the same age.
If this is what you mean, I would be stunned to learn that it is true, but if it is,
then it is a disgrace to New Zealand. Or to Maori genetics.
I’m not arguing with you on the disgrace to New Zealand front Petar. But what I think it means is that if 15% of Pakeha die between the ages of 1 and 74 then 30%-45% of Maori die between that age. The rest either dying before they’re 1 (bad) or 75 or older (good).
B.Adu – that’s another important angle where I disagree witht eh whole ‘obesity myth’ discourse.
Umm, is this after the storm? Does this mean that even with the payoff of a massive sense of superiority and righteousness, most people with a scintilla of living intelligence have realised that the ‘obesity crisis’ is tedious beyond belief?
If so, it might be an idea to actually have a discussion about fat that isn’t about other people projections about it.
I’d love to know what ended it as far as diet’s are concerned, what was the moment you finally knew that it was over, that you were not going to actively pursue weight loss.
For me it was after the best part of 20 years trying, I eased off slightly for a bit, then decided to step back on the diet treadmill, when what I can only describe as the whole of my nervous system shouted NO!!!! It was weird, but I knew I had exhausted my reserves of endurance so I felt I had no choice but to lay off, temporarily….
It didn’t work out that way, I am very curious about what did it for you.
Sorry if this is inappropriate.