HAES & BMI vs Longevity Links
Some references regarding Health At Every Size (HAES); BMI (Body Mass Index) vs. Longevity and other health indicators; weight/size bias; and diabetes. Drawn from all over the web, and some of the text here isn't even my own (quoted directly from some of the other sources.) This material was intended to address the (paraphrased) statement (by someone in a position of relative power and authority-not particularly thin themselves, BTW) to someone with a fat body that
"I'm not judging your body! You can have any body you want. Of course, carrying some extra weight will have health consequences down the road, like dying sooner."
I felt it was important to address the several levels of mixed messages, and outright mis- or disinformation packed into this short statement, so these are references that I sent in email. I particularly recommend watching the TEDx talk in reference 1), and paying attention to the graph at 240s in. In fact, I recommend it so highly, I'm going to embed it below. Enjoy.
Dawn
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1) This TED talk by Julie Rochefort called “Shift the Focus” discusses and displays a lot of really important data based around the fact that health is possible at EVERY size. A short 8 minute video that covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. NOTE: There is an excellent GRAPH at this point in the video, 240seconds in, I believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=V9aQUWeu7ag#t=240s. The graph is from a publication by Orpana et al in the "Obesity" journal of 2009. I can't quite make out the rest of the information, and I haven't found a better, static, copy of it, sorry.
2) This article (on a website devoted to real life stories about weight discrimination by doctors and healthcare professionals in particular) is unfortunately formatted very poorly. However, the information contained therein is a reasonable summation of WHY I feel it is vitally important to take care in quoting statistics, and using certain language in discussing fat and health, given the high prevalence in our society of weight-discrimination, weight-bias, shaming based upon body size and weight, and the results that this oppression has on individuals.
http://fathealth.wordpress.com/study-on-physicians-disrespect-of-fat-patients/
EXCERPT:
"Stigma against persons with obesity is pervasive in our society.(1) Persons with obesity earn less money, face
discrimination from individuals and institutions, and experience insults on a frequent basis.(1) Obesity stigma is harmful and has been associated with low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders.(2,3) Despite the increasing commonness of obesity, obesity stigma is increasing even as other disparities are decreasing or have remained unchanged.(4) Persons with the highest levels of obesity are more likely to experience weight-related stigma.(4)" [Dawn's note: References are listed at the end of that article; they don't correlate to my references here.]
3) http://www.mesomorphosis.com/articles/gaesser/obesity.htm
This extensive article by Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D. called Obesity, Health, and Metabolic Fitness debunks a number of myths regarding fat health. Many important topics are covered, from “thinner is not necessarily healthier” to “emphasis on weight loss” being “misdirected and hazardous”, to challenging the link between obesity and heart disease. A very comprehensive and informative resource.
4) If you were to read only 1 BOOK (and I recognize you may not choose to allocate the time), then I recommend this one on Health At Every Size by the ironically named Linda Bacon, PhD:
http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook/
5) Here are a couple of excellent articles that reference the "paradoxical" relationship of BMI and life expectancy:
a) http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-scares-become-deadly-weighing.html
EXCERPT:
“Launched as the world’s largest epidemiological study of BMI and life expectancies, which followed 1.8 million Norwegians for four decades, the Norway Study found that the most morbidly obese women with BMIs of 40 or above reduce their life expectancy about as much as “ideal” weight women who are light smokers. “However even these extremely obese women still have a longer life expectancy than normal-weight men,” said Ernsberger. Yet, we are not being inundated with scares about the deadliness of being male, millions aren’t spent to eradicate maleness, and men make up a fraction of bariatric patients.”
b) http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/03/obesity-paradox-4.html
EXCERPT:
"But interestingly, when they did a secondary analysis of just nonsmokers, they found a statistically significant association between increasingly higher BMIs among the parents and longer life.
Nearly everything on her site is worth reading, especially the "Obesity Paradox" series along the right hand side (scroll down.)
6) A good article on size diversity and health. I especially recommend the bottom "article" on the page, by Paul Ernsberger, PhD, called "Changing Definitions" which discusses some of the issues caused by "moving the goalposts" in the realm of healthcare (including discussion of diabetes). The whole website is worth perusing, BTW. (Not that I think you really have the time!)
http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=122
7) On diabetes, fat, and shame. (NOTE: a work of satire, within an excellent blog on HAES by a Nutritionist)
http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/diabetes-is-hilarious/
"I'm not judging your body! You can have any body you want. Of course, carrying some extra weight will have health consequences down the road, like dying sooner."
I felt it was important to address the several levels of mixed messages, and outright mis- or disinformation packed into this short statement, so these are references that I sent in email. I particularly recommend watching the TEDx talk in reference 1), and paying attention to the graph at 240s in. In fact, I recommend it so highly, I'm going to embed it below. Enjoy.
Dawn
***************************
Click to view1) This TED talk by Julie Rochefort called “Shift the Focus” discusses and displays a lot of really important data based around the fact that health is possible at EVERY size. A short 8 minute video that covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. NOTE: There is an excellent GRAPH at this point in the video, 240seconds in, I believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=V9aQUWeu7ag#t=240s. The graph is from a publication by Orpana et al in the "Obesity" journal of 2009. I can't quite make out the rest of the information, and I haven't found a better, static, copy of it, sorry.
2) This article (on a website devoted to real life stories about weight discrimination by doctors and healthcare professionals in particular) is unfortunately formatted very poorly. However, the information contained therein is a reasonable summation of WHY I feel it is vitally important to take care in quoting statistics, and using certain language in discussing fat and health, given the high prevalence in our society of weight-discrimination, weight-bias, shaming based upon body size and weight, and the results that this oppression has on individuals.
http://fathealth.wordpress.com/study-on-physicians-disrespect-of-fat-patients/
EXCERPT:
"Stigma against persons with obesity is pervasive in our society.(1) Persons with obesity earn less money, face
discrimination from individuals and institutions, and experience insults on a frequent basis.(1) Obesity stigma is harmful and has been associated with low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders.(2,3) Despite the increasing commonness of obesity, obesity stigma is increasing even as other disparities are decreasing or have remained unchanged.(4) Persons with the highest levels of obesity are more likely to experience weight-related stigma.(4)" [Dawn's note: References are listed at the end of that article; they don't correlate to my references here.]
3) http://www.mesomorphosis.com/articles/gaesser/obesity.htm
This extensive article by Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D. called Obesity, Health, and Metabolic Fitness debunks a number of myths regarding fat health. Many important topics are covered, from “thinner is not necessarily healthier” to “emphasis on weight loss” being “misdirected and hazardous”, to challenging the link between obesity and heart disease. A very comprehensive and informative resource.
4) If you were to read only 1 BOOK (and I recognize you may not choose to allocate the time), then I recommend this one on Health At Every Size by the ironically named Linda Bacon, PhD:
http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook/
5) Here are a couple of excellent articles that reference the "paradoxical" relationship of BMI and life expectancy:
a) http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-scares-become-deadly-weighing.html
EXCERPT:
“Launched as the world’s largest epidemiological study of BMI and life expectancies, which followed 1.8 million Norwegians for four decades, the Norway Study found that the most morbidly obese women with BMIs of 40 or above reduce their life expectancy about as much as “ideal” weight women who are light smokers. “However even these extremely obese women still have a longer life expectancy than normal-weight men,” said Ernsberger. Yet, we are not being inundated with scares about the deadliness of being male, millions aren’t spent to eradicate maleness, and men make up a fraction of bariatric patients.”
b) http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/03/obesity-paradox-4.html
EXCERPT:
"But interestingly, when they did a secondary analysis of just nonsmokers, they found a statistically significant association between increasingly higher BMIs among the parents and longer life.
Nearly everything on her site is worth reading, especially the "Obesity Paradox" series along the right hand side (scroll down.)
6) A good article on size diversity and health. I especially recommend the bottom "article" on the page, by Paul Ernsberger, PhD, called "Changing Definitions" which discusses some of the issues caused by "moving the goalposts" in the realm of healthcare (including discussion of diabetes). The whole website is worth perusing, BTW. (Not that I think you really have the time!)
http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=122
7) On diabetes, fat, and shame. (NOTE: a work of satire, within an excellent blog on HAES by a Nutritionist)
http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/diabetes-is-hilarious/