BMI is stupid
*belatedly yoincked from curtana's post about everything.* And yes, I do mean everything. *shamelessly promotes the new linkfest friend*
Finally, Neil Gaiman already linked to it, but I wanted to share this article, an unapologetic, and fascinating, diatribe against the current obsession with fat. A few select quotes: "Consider this: from the perspective of a profit-maximising medical and pharmaceutical industry, the ideal disease would be one that never killed those who suffered from it, that could not be treated effectively, and that doctors and their patients would nevertheless insist on treating anyway." And "If one were forced to come up with a six-word explanation for the otherwise inexplicable ferocity of America's war on fat, it would be this: Americans think being fat is disgusting. Fifty years ago, America was full of people that the social elites could look upon with something approaching open disgust: blacks in particular, of course, but also other ethnic minorities, the poor, women, Jews, homosexuals, and so on. Nowadays, a new target is required." And perhaps most striking, "The single most noxious line of argument in the literature about obesity is that black and Hispanic girls and women need to be "sensitised" to the "fact" that they have inappropriately positive feelings about their bodies."
I always knew BMI was *beeeeeeeeeeep* stupid. But now this article presents some proof. The only thing that got left out is the historical perspective on weight. When food was scarce (medieval/renaissance and earlier), fat was seen as beautiful. It indicated that the person had enough resources to obtain lots of food and to eat it themselves.
Edit: A corroborating article from infojunkies. On another note, just why do we obsess about food so much? An oldish Kuro5hin article presents a most interesting theory.
Finally, Neil Gaiman already linked to it, but I wanted to share this article, an unapologetic, and fascinating, diatribe against the current obsession with fat. A few select quotes: "Consider this: from the perspective of a profit-maximising medical and pharmaceutical industry, the ideal disease would be one that never killed those who suffered from it, that could not be treated effectively, and that doctors and their patients would nevertheless insist on treating anyway." And "If one were forced to come up with a six-word explanation for the otherwise inexplicable ferocity of America's war on fat, it would be this: Americans think being fat is disgusting. Fifty years ago, America was full of people that the social elites could look upon with something approaching open disgust: blacks in particular, of course, but also other ethnic minorities, the poor, women, Jews, homosexuals, and so on. Nowadays, a new target is required." And perhaps most striking, "The single most noxious line of argument in the literature about obesity is that black and Hispanic girls and women need to be "sensitised" to the "fact" that they have inappropriately positive feelings about their bodies."
I always knew BMI was *beeeeeeeeeeep* stupid. But now this article presents some proof. The only thing that got left out is the historical perspective on weight. When food was scarce (medieval/renaissance and earlier), fat was seen as beautiful. It indicated that the person had enough resources to obtain lots of food and to eat it themselves.
Edit: A corroborating article from infojunkies. On another note, just why do we obsess about food so much? An oldish Kuro5hin article presents a most interesting theory.