Friday, January 23, 2004
The World Is Out To Get Us
The World Health Organization actually has an International Obesity Task Force. Apparently, the U.S. supports an executive resolution that asks the 192-nation World Health Assembly for approval of the WHO's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
According to Jonathan Fowler, Associated Press, "Some 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight, including 22 million children under age 5, according to the International Obesity Task Force. Once largely a problem of industrialized nations, obesity now is hitting developing countries too."
The World Health Organization actually has an International Obesity Task Force. Apparently, the U.S. supports an executive resolution that asks the 192-nation World Health Assembly for approval of the WHO's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
According to Jonathan Fowler, Associated Press, "Some 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight, including 22 million children under age 5, according to the International Obesity Task Force. Once largely a problem of industrialized nations, obesity now is hitting developing countries too."
Guest On A Talk Show
A couple of evenings ago, I happened to be flipping channels and lit on a well-known talk show, Conan O'Brien. The guest that was featured was morbidly obese. He kept making fun of himself. He said things such as, "I make my clothes look fat." Guffaws.
I truly do like to see people being comfortable with themselves. In this case, however, I thought that he was telling fat jokes just for laughs (or, maybe he was beating people to the punch). I don't know.
When we laugh at our bodies, we tell others that it is ok to do so.
A couple of evenings ago, I happened to be flipping channels and lit on a well-known talk show, Conan O'Brien. The guest that was featured was morbidly obese. He kept making fun of himself. He said things such as, "I make my clothes look fat." Guffaws.
I truly do like to see people being comfortable with themselves. In this case, however, I thought that he was telling fat jokes just for laughs (or, maybe he was beating people to the punch). I don't know.
When we laugh at our bodies, we tell others that it is ok to do so.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
The Onion's Commentary
This is great. I can always count on The Onion for some insightful commentary on the diet industry:
"14-Word Diet Stretched To 200 Pages
BOSTON—The Florida Keys diet, which can be adequately described in 14 words, has been padded into a 204-page book: Losing Weight The Florida Keys Way, available in bookstores Tuesday. "The diet is pretty much, 'Avoid saturated fats and simple carbohydrates, eat mostly fresh vegetables and seafood, and exercise," said author Dr. Harris Jegen. "Unfortunately, no one is going to shell out $24.95 for one sentence, so I've got some recipes and charts in there, a bunch of testimonials, and a 50-page Diet Diary." Jegen's previous books include The Florida Keys Diet and The Florida Keys Diet Made Easy."
This is great. I can always count on The Onion for some insightful commentary on the diet industry:
"14-Word Diet Stretched To 200 Pages
BOSTON—The Florida Keys diet, which can be adequately described in 14 words, has been padded into a 204-page book: Losing Weight The Florida Keys Way, available in bookstores Tuesday. "The diet is pretty much, 'Avoid saturated fats and simple carbohydrates, eat mostly fresh vegetables and seafood, and exercise," said author Dr. Harris Jegen. "Unfortunately, no one is going to shell out $24.95 for one sentence, so I've got some recipes and charts in there, a bunch of testimonials, and a 50-page Diet Diary." Jegen's previous books include The Florida Keys Diet and The Florida Keys Diet Made Easy."
Monday, January 19, 2004
Still Hard to Believe...
My husband and I were watching television the other night and were very surprised by a commercial for an upcoming reality programme: My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. I actually thought that it was a pseudo-ad on a comedy show at first.
I have always been critical of most television programming but this is beyond anything I dared fear could happen. What is going on with television?
This reminds me of a conversation that I had with my husband the other day. I pointed out that every major empire that I could think of has disappeared--not by some sudden fall--by a steady decline.
My husband and I were watching television the other night and were very surprised by a commercial for an upcoming reality programme: My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. I actually thought that it was a pseudo-ad on a comedy show at first.
I have always been critical of most television programming but this is beyond anything I dared fear could happen. What is going on with television?
This reminds me of a conversation that I had with my husband the other day. I pointed out that every major empire that I could think of has disappeared--not by some sudden fall--by a steady decline.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret.
I read this book long before most girls would have, so I struggled with the idea of menstruation intellectually for quite some time. It may have frightened me but I read it several times. It was the book to read and Judy Blume was one of the most prominent children's writers at the time.
Recently, I found an old paperback of exactly the same vintage that my original copy would have been when I was a child. That was a great experience!
Given my issues with body image, I intend to re-read this book very shortly.
I read this book long before most girls would have, so I struggled with the idea of menstruation intellectually for quite some time. It may have frightened me but I read it several times. It was the book to read and Judy Blume was one of the most prominent children's writers at the time.
Recently, I found an old paperback of exactly the same vintage that my original copy would have been when I was a child. That was a great experience!
Given my issues with body image, I intend to re-read this book very shortly.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Lecture
I have been informed of a great opportunity. There is the possibility that I may be able to speak to groups of junior high school-aged children and/or their parents about eating disorders.
This is a giant step for me. That I might be able to help children see what kinds of pressures and pitfalls surround them: diet industry, covert pro-ana lists, parental and peer expectations, makes me very happy.
The group that I would most like to reach, however, is the parents: they are often the source of incredible pressure. One example comes immediately to mind. I was grocery shopping in the cereal aisle when I happened to overhear a conversation between a mother and her young teenaged daughter. The mother was reading the labels of the cereal boxes when the daughter picked up a box of a well-known, chocolate-bar-inspired cereal to show her with a pleading look on her face. The mother, raised voice, scolded: "No! There's no way you're having chocolate for breakfast. Look at the size of you!!"
Stupid, stupid woman! I thought. The daughter was slightly overweight (but also very tall). There was no need for this woman to (1) humiliate her daughter publicly and (2) to make the girl feel bad about her appearance. That was, undoubtedly, emotional and verbal abuse. I could not help but wonder what the future held for this young woman: the conversation suggested that the pressure to be thin exists strongly at home.
When I was about the same age, my own mother would constantly say things like, "Oh, you're putting on weight now. The more you put on, the harder it will be to take off." I was 12 and I had just hit puberty. Of course I was gaining weight! It is called the "transition to womanhood", when the body begins to take a womanly shape, and it is normal.
The pressure starts, however, much sooner than puberty. People expect their babies to be thin! A nurse told me that she had taken her 15-month-old son to the playground. While there, another mother indicated that this nurse's child had lots of "babyfat" but, not to worry, "he'll lose it as he grows." The nurse looked at the woman and said, "Really? I hope he doesn't lose it."
Then, this past summer, I was invited to a party given by acquaintances with a year-old child. When one acquaintance asked the mother, "Does she drink 2% milk yet?" The other acquaintance replied, "No...I want her to have skim milk. Frankly, she doesn't need the fat." I could not believe it! Yes, this child had weight and she looked perfectly healthy! Babies need lipids! Besides, contrary to popular belief, there is no relationship between the intake of dietary fat and the acquisition of body fat.
My own sister has decided to help her daughter stay thin so that she will not face the discrimination and disadvantages confronted by the obese.
Without going into great detail at this point in time, there are several predisposing and precipitating factors where the development of eating disorders is concerned. Not the least among them? A parent's preoccupation with body image/weight aversion.
I have been informed of a great opportunity. There is the possibility that I may be able to speak to groups of junior high school-aged children and/or their parents about eating disorders.
This is a giant step for me. That I might be able to help children see what kinds of pressures and pitfalls surround them: diet industry, covert pro-ana lists, parental and peer expectations, makes me very happy.
The group that I would most like to reach, however, is the parents: they are often the source of incredible pressure. One example comes immediately to mind. I was grocery shopping in the cereal aisle when I happened to overhear a conversation between a mother and her young teenaged daughter. The mother was reading the labels of the cereal boxes when the daughter picked up a box of a well-known, chocolate-bar-inspired cereal to show her with a pleading look on her face. The mother, raised voice, scolded: "No! There's no way you're having chocolate for breakfast. Look at the size of you!!"
Stupid, stupid woman! I thought. The daughter was slightly overweight (but also very tall). There was no need for this woman to (1) humiliate her daughter publicly and (2) to make the girl feel bad about her appearance. That was, undoubtedly, emotional and verbal abuse. I could not help but wonder what the future held for this young woman: the conversation suggested that the pressure to be thin exists strongly at home.
When I was about the same age, my own mother would constantly say things like, "Oh, you're putting on weight now. The more you put on, the harder it will be to take off." I was 12 and I had just hit puberty. Of course I was gaining weight! It is called the "transition to womanhood", when the body begins to take a womanly shape, and it is normal.
The pressure starts, however, much sooner than puberty. People expect their babies to be thin! A nurse told me that she had taken her 15-month-old son to the playground. While there, another mother indicated that this nurse's child had lots of "babyfat" but, not to worry, "he'll lose it as he grows." The nurse looked at the woman and said, "Really? I hope he doesn't lose it."
Then, this past summer, I was invited to a party given by acquaintances with a year-old child. When one acquaintance asked the mother, "Does she drink 2% milk yet?" The other acquaintance replied, "No...I want her to have skim milk. Frankly, she doesn't need the fat." I could not believe it! Yes, this child had weight and she looked perfectly healthy! Babies need lipids! Besides, contrary to popular belief, there is no relationship between the intake of dietary fat and the acquisition of body fat.
My own sister has decided to help her daughter stay thin so that she will not face the discrimination and disadvantages confronted by the obese.
Without going into great detail at this point in time, there are several predisposing and precipitating factors where the development of eating disorders is concerned. Not the least among them? A parent's preoccupation with body image/weight aversion.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Deuced
I recently watched the movie, "Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo".
Unfortunately, the depiction of obese women was simply disgusting. I suspect that it reflects what many people think of the eating habits of the obese. The movie went to great extremes to show a manly, morbidly-obese and amorous woman eating disgusting items stowed away in various parts of her clothing.
The movie was, in fact, extremely funny and it could have survived without this grotesque caricature of the obese female.
I recently watched the movie, "Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo".
Unfortunately, the depiction of obese women was simply disgusting. I suspect that it reflects what many people think of the eating habits of the obese. The movie went to great extremes to show a manly, morbidly-obese and amorous woman eating disgusting items stowed away in various parts of her clothing.
The movie was, in fact, extremely funny and it could have survived without this grotesque caricature of the obese female.
