Want to know one of the reasons I'm especially aware of the social risks of obesity in our society?
Because I work here, for this asshole
And it's not the only workplace I've heard this discussed. Because, obviously, this is the logical solution for a largely genetic issue that comes with some risks and some benefits, healthwise -- everyone knows the risks, but did you know I'm less likely to get osteoporosis, or lung cancer, and more likely to survive a severe illness? And that over and over the well-designed studies show that weight is radically less of a factor than activity level, despite our society's fat-obsession? Yeah, thanks. "encourage" me to take the "treatment plan" (dieting) that fails for 98% of the people that try it. What other medical "treatment" do we recommend with those kinds of odds, and then excoriate people for whom it doesn't work as "failures"? Especially since yo-yoing has been shown to be substantially harder on the body's system than simply being fat. *headdesk* OK, I could rant about this all night.
This is the same man who tried to make all the cafeterias carry only sugar-free (ie aspartame-laden) jams and jellies. As a migraine sufferer, I say "Fuck you very much" to that. I also fought it, hard, and at least in our building, I won. My housemate made a "Jelly Activist" poster for me *grin*.
Paternalist much, motherfucker?
We already know that fat people are less likely to get hired, less likely to get promoted. How about taking away our livelihoods entirely? It's all for the greater good, really. /sarcasm
Incidentally, as I was searching for new docs recently (my much-beloved gynecologist is now a minister in New York instead), and without much to go on except a picture and brief list of specialities, I found myself consciously deciding to choose fat doctors. It's no guarantee, and there are plenty of slender doctors who don't try to treat every illness under the planet with a diet, but it's the only way I've found to raise the odds of finding a good doc quickly.
Because I work here, for this asshole
And it's not the only workplace I've heard this discussed. Because, obviously, this is the logical solution for a largely genetic issue that comes with some risks and some benefits, healthwise -- everyone knows the risks, but did you know I'm less likely to get osteoporosis, or lung cancer, and more likely to survive a severe illness? And that over and over the well-designed studies show that weight is radically less of a factor than activity level, despite our society's fat-obsession? Yeah, thanks. "encourage" me to take the "treatment plan" (dieting) that fails for 98% of the people that try it. What other medical "treatment" do we recommend with those kinds of odds, and then excoriate people for whom it doesn't work as "failures"? Especially since yo-yoing has been shown to be substantially harder on the body's system than simply being fat. *headdesk* OK, I could rant about this all night.
This is the same man who tried to make all the cafeterias carry only sugar-free (ie aspartame-laden) jams and jellies. As a migraine sufferer, I say "Fuck you very much" to that. I also fought it, hard, and at least in our building, I won. My housemate made a "Jelly Activist" poster for me *grin*.
Paternalist much, motherfucker?
We already know that fat people are less likely to get hired, less likely to get promoted. How about taking away our livelihoods entirely? It's all for the greater good, really. /sarcasm
Incidentally, as I was searching for new docs recently (my much-beloved gynecologist is now a minister in New York instead), and without much to go on except a picture and brief list of specialities, I found myself consciously deciding to choose fat doctors. It's no guarantee, and there are plenty of slender doctors who don't try to treat every illness under the planet with a diet, but it's the only way I've found to raise the odds of finding a good doc quickly.