Tag Archives: weight loss

The 1% efficacy rate and weight loss as a prescription

Talk to nearly any person over a size 12 and chances are, they have run into a doctor or medical professional who recommended that their health would improve if they would only lose weight. Whether that person went to a podiatrist for help with their feet or a gyno for a pap smear or an optometrist to get an eye exam, chances are at least one of these medical professionals has stated that the solution for these health woes is that the patient simply lose weight.

Let’s take a look at that prescription for just a moment. Just how likely is it that one of these people is going to lose any kind of significant weight (and keep it off for any period of time)? A recent study, conducted by a team at King’s College suggests that this prescription is pretty unlikely to be successful. For moderately fat people (BMI 30-35) the chances of returning to a “normal weight” (heavy airquotes here) and staying there for a year is one in 124 for women and one in 210 for men. For very fat people (BMI 40-45), the chances drop to 1 in 677 for women and 1 in 1290 for men. The chances for losing only 5% of body fat were greater (one in 10 for women and one in 12 for men) however the majority of these folks gained the weight back within 5 years.

Keep in mind that there is no evidence that this very tiny percentage of people who had lost weight lived any longer or healthier than those who had not lost weight. While there is some correlation of people who have always been thin and certain health benefits, there is virtually no statistical evidence that the microscopically small group of people who manage to maintain a significant amount of weight loss over the long term enjoy any health benefits at all over the people who don’t.

So, can we talk? Can somebody tell me why, exactly, medical professionals are suggesting a “treatment goal” which in the very, very most optimistic scenarios can be achieved by 10 percent of those who try it and on the low end has a less than 1 in 1200 chance of being achieved? And can anybody tell me why we recommend this strategy when there is virtually no evidence that in the rare case it will be achieved it will do any good?

Let’s talk about this in terms of a pill. We tell the patient that they have somewhere between a 10% and a .1% chance of even being able to ingest the pill. And in the long term, so few people are able to keep this pill down long enough to test, that we don’t have really any convincing evidence that the pill does any good at all. The side effects from even trying to take this pill range from frustration to eating disorders to weight gain, to poor nutrition to death. So what on this God’s green earth is the point?

I think it’s time to recognize that weight loss is not a behavior–it’s a condition. And that weight loss as a prescription is probably not worth the paper upon which it is printed.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie AKA The Fat Chick

P.S. Want me to come speak at your school, office, organization or group? Learn more about my speaking at http://www.jeanettedepatie.com.

Docs Admit Diet and Exercise Don’t Equal Weight Loss, Then Jump to Wrong Conclusion

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An article hit my feed from LA Times today and it seemed to offer some refreshing news. It seems 4 doctors, weight-loss specialists set out to say what so many of us have been saying for so long now. They admit that for the vast majority of obese children and adults in this country, telling them to eat less and move more is a prescription for failure.

They acknowledge that once a fat body begins to lose weight, a whole lot of processes, hormonal and otherwise kick in. Hormones increase hunger signals. Metabolisms slow down. The body struggles to maintain the weight.

Furthermore, the 4 weight loss experts admit that a body that has lost weight are biologically quite different from bodies that have never been fat. One states:

“Few individuals ever truly recover from obesity,” the authors wrote. Those that do, they add, “still have ‘obesity in remission,’ and are biologically very different from individuals of the same age, sex and body weight who never had obesity.” They are constantly at war with their bodies’ efforts to return to their highest sustained weight.

So far, so good. Many of us have been pointing out the studies that show these results for years. So after this, those docs recommend a behavior-based approach where we focus on exercising and eating well for their own sakes (as both have been demonstrated to improve health regardless of whether or not they are accompanied by weight loss), right? Right?

Well, as it turns out, no not so much. The docs are suggesting that we simply increase awareness of other tools for weight loss (pills, potions, surgeries and devices) and turn to them sooner. They suggest we increase fear mongering in the overweight to help keep them from becoming obese. They suggest a greater focus on weight maintenance for those who have lost weight in order to help them keep it off. (They somehow neglect to tell us how this is going to work or how it will help.)

The funny thing is, that the doctors see the stigma. They see how telling patients to just eat less and move more is cruel, since it for the most part doesn’t work. They see how stigmatizing fat patients and simply labeling them as non-compliant isn’t the answer.

But they simply substitute in another bad answer. And this bad answer is likely to drag along much more devastating side effects than the original bad answer. At least suggesting people move their bodies more and eat more nutrient-dense foods is likely to improve health, regardless of whether or not it leads to the holy grail of weight loss. While pills and potions and surgeries and devices are slightly less ineffective than diet and exercise alone for weight loss, these methods can also carry significant dangers like increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, heart defects, permanent disfigurement, malnutrition, depression, suicide and death from other causes. And there is not much evidence that in the long run, the few people who do sustain weight loss from the pills and potions and surgeries and devices end up any healthier than the people who stayed fat.

Meanwhile, there is ample evidence that eating well and exercising have a positive impact on health regardless of whether they are accompanied by weight loss.

So why on earth are we not just focusing on healthy behaviors here? Why do we insist on focusing on weight loss at all? Well these docs do label themselves as weight loss specialists and that may have a lot to do with it. And as a society, we do love to blame fat people for stuff. So I guess they took a few steps out into the light and then fell into a deep, dark hole.

Oh well.

I for one am going to continue my focus on living the best life I can in the gloriously wondrous body I have now. So if you’ll excuse me, I’mma gonna get on with it.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want me to talk about evidence-based medicine and wellness at your school or organization? Learn more HERE.

Belty at CES: Comfortable Technology or Uncomfortable Community Rorschach Test?

Body Love is not a Pant Size

New Study Finds that Losing Weight Won’t Make You Happy

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In the past I’ve talked about how fat people can be happy without losing weight. Now a new study confirms something else I’ve known for quite a while, that losing weight won’t necessarily make you happy. The study, while still managing to pontificate about the “health benefits” of losing weight, points out that fat people who lost more than 5% of their body weight tended to be more depressed than those fat people who didn’t lose more than 5% of their body weight. In fact, after adjusting for health issues and major life events (like losing a spouse) those who lost more than 5% of their original body weight were more than 50% more likely to be depressed than the group that lost less weight.

The study press release goes on to suggest that of course you should still lose weight because it’s good for your health. And the study is careful to suggest that correlation is not causation, so we don’t know that the weight loss causes depression. (BTW this is a good practice that is curiously absent in many press releases about the health risks of obesity, but I digress…) And the study suggests a few possible reasons why this depression might be happening. They use a lot of flowery language, but it boils down to:

1. Constantly dieting and not eating what you want and weighing and measuring every morsel of food you put in your mouth takes a lot of energy and kind of sucks.

2. When you win the weight loss lottery and your life is not as wonderful as promised, it can be a major letdown.

And I suspect both of these suggested reasons are totally true. Constantly fighting the fact that your body is HUNGRY and you want to eat takes a lot of energy. Watching your friends eat fabulous stuff while you order the fish (steamed please, no butter) and vegetables (steamed please, no butter) and salad (dry with cruets of vinegar and oil on the side) gets old really fast. And don’t even get me started on weighing and measuring and obsessive point/calorie counting.

And let me remind you about the big fat cycle. One of the major triggers for the big fat cycle of weight loss and gain is fantasy. We are taught that when we are thin our lives will be perfect. We will be beautiful. We will be like movie stars. Men or women (depending on your preference) will be standing in line to take us out and buy us fabulous stuff because we are gorgeous. Our health will magically be perfect. We will be pain free. We will climb mountains and become CEOs of multinational corporations because that’s what thin people do. Look out for me, baby!

Then we (at least temporarily) get thin. And we are the same. Our lives are much the same. A few people who weren’t interested in dating us before may become interested. But instead of feeling elated about that, we feel hurt and kinda pissed off. We wonder why we weren’t good enough to date before. And we wonder about the fear of dating somebody who will drop us when we gain some or all of the weight back. People tell us how fabulous we look now. And again, it kind of hurts. We wonder what they thought about how we looked before we lost the weight. We still feel pain. We still get sick. We fail to climb mountains or climb the corporate ladder. We are simply smaller versions of ourselves with the same frustrations, insecurities, problems, challenges, frustrations and crud in our lives as before–except without cookies. No cookies are anywhere. And people wonder why weight loss can be accompanied by a side of depression?

This is why a behavior-based approach to health is so much better. There is no before and after. There just is. I feel better when I exercise, so I exercise. I don’t have to do something I hate. I don’t have to do things that feel like punishment. I don’t have to build up some ridiculous fantasy about how my life will change when I do it. I find exercise that I like. I know I feel better when I do it. So I do. It’s pretty simple really.

I know that when I eat too much of certain things, I feel kinda icky. So I don’t usually eat too much of certain things. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I know I’m going to feel kinda icky and I eat it anyway and I enjoy it. But I don’t like feeling icky so the next day I probably won’t eat too much of that thing.

I know when I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, my body feels better. I don’t count servings or weigh or measure my broccoli. I don’t eat fruit or vegetables because I won’t allow myself to eat anything else and I’m starving. I just kinda know I feel better when I eat fruits and veggies so I do. I eat the ones I like when I am hungry for them. I don’t imbue them with magical powers. I am not suddenly going to grow taller or develop forearms like Popeye because I’ve downed a little spinach. Fruits and veggies feel good, so I eat them.

It may seem revolutionary to some. But I think when we stop focusing on how our bodies look and start focusing on the messages our bodies are sending us, we feel better. And I don’t really know if I need a study to tell me that.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. We are only a few days away from the Fat Activism Conference. It’s only $39 or pay what you can. Check it out here!

P.S.S. Looking for a fabulously funny speaker who can talk about body image, HAES, eating disorder prevention, fitness and more? Book me here!

Skinny Scientists and Pseudoscience and the New Scientific Method

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This week was kind of a bad news good news week for the science of fatties. On the good news front, Dr. Oz got a very public spanking in Congress for continually touting snake oil “miracle cures” for weight loss. Claire McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate’s consumer protection panel, brought Dr. Oz to task for presenting a variety of supplements, potions and cures as effective methods of weight loss without having any, you know, science to back it up. When grilled by McCaskill, Dr. Oz admitted that some of the “miracle” weight loss cures (like green coffee beans) do not pass scientific muster to be presented as fact. But he insists that he has studied them himself and recommended them to his own family. He says he recommends stuff to his audience that he would give his own family. Which is cool, except he is not described on TV as “Papa Oz” or “Uncle Oz”. He’s touted on TV as “Dr. Oz”. And TV watching people are gullible. If a TV doctor tells them that green coffee supplements will make them miraculously thin, many people believe it is so. And they think that if a doctor recommends something, there’s a little more scientific proof that it works than “my cousin tried this and it was awesome”.

The fact that Dr. Oz underwent this very public spanking is in some ways very encouraging. It is in line with many other efforts by the FTC to bring “miracle weight loss” companies to task for making a whole lot of money from lying to people about the effectiveness of their products. But if Dr. Oz behaves in a way remotely similar to these other weight loss companies (including Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers) we should be prepared for some “bobbin’ and weavin'” in the boxing ring. After huge fines were levied by the FTC, Weight Watchers and many other competitors have started to put a tiny asterisk after weight loss claims and the teeny-tiny mousetype on the bottom of their ads says “results not typical”. Which is a start. But let’s face it. When you have three glorious examples of anecdata with startling before and after pictures, that little asterisk has to work pretty darn hard. The FTC said as much in “Gut Check” their new spotters guide to weight loss fraud. Dr. Oz will have to begin including his own “asterisk” regarding his “miracle” weight loss cures. But the guy has his own TV show. He has writers and editors that are extremely talented. I have no doubt that he will find a way to appear to follow the letter of the law regarding truth and weight loss, while leaving the spirit of the law firmly behind.

And in this same week, I came across this piece by budding scientist Rachel Fox. In the piece she describes why she has decided she can no longer pursue a career in science. She has been told in no uncertain terms that she cannot be a scientist because she is fat. And being a scientist and being fat just don’t mix. In the piece, Fox describes the discrimination, both subtle and overt she has experienced as a budding scientist. At one job interview for an exciting student researcher position at a prestigious lab, Fox was told that the work was “collaborative” and that the lab didn’t want anybody on board who “was going to eat more than their fair share of the pizza”. Fox describes other incidents where fellow researchers are appalled that she doesn’t seem to understand the “calories in, calories out” rules of nutrition. And as we’ve seen with Dr. Terrible earlier this year, scientists and academics seem think they are free to draw whatever conclusions they like about fat and self-discipline because you know, science.

It’s important to understand that science is subject to prejudice and politics just like any other field. Scientists expressed beliefs about the flatness of the earth and geocentric nature of the universe long past the sell by date of these notions not because they had evidence, but rather because it was politically prudent to do so. Modern scientists may not find themselves in an actual dungeon. But I’m sure many other scientists like Ms. Fox can attest to the notion that doing science while fat can lead to “The Inquisition”.

So, as much as I wish I could jump up and down with glee over Dr. Oz’s trip to the Congressional Woodshed for “making stuff up” to give us fatties “some hope”, I am simply saying let’s wait and see. When you’ve got a guy with an audience with millions of adoring fans, his own TV show, his own writers, editors, makeup people, lawyers and PR firms, we can expect a whole lot of fancy dancing, and very little scientific fact. In fact, make it up and make it look good on TV might just be the 21st century scientific method.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

Study Proves “Not all Fat People are Unhappy”–Follow up to indicate Papal Affiliation With Catholicism

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So I got a notice in my inbox this week that a study has been announced that indicates “Not All Fat People are Unhappy.” And honestly, my first thought was, “Duh.” I mean it seems quite obvious to me that not all Fat people are miserable, much as it seems obvious that the Pope is Catholic. But apparently the notion that not all fat people are sick, miserable, about to die and ready to throw in the towel is something we need to prove again and again.

But you know, before I cast to many aspersions on the study, I think maybe we really just need to look at the headline drawn from the study results. Because there are actually quite a few interesting things indicated by this piece of research. Let’s look at a few:

1. Your happiness seems to have a lot more to do with homogeneity than body size. If you are a fat person who lives in a town with lots of other fat people, you tend to be more happy than if you live somewhere with no other fatties.

2. The study creators speculate that being fat does not in itself make people unhappy. In the accompanying press release, study co-author Philip M. Pendergast states:

“In that light, obesity in and of itself, does not appear to be the main reason obese individuals tend to be less satisfied with their lives than their non-obese peers. Instead, it appears to be society’s response to or stigmatization of those that are different from what is seen as ‘normal’ that drives this relationship.”

3. Women tend to pay a higher emotional price for being fat than men do. The study creators speculate that this is because women face more social stigma based on body size then men do. In the press release Pendergast also says,

“Think about the advertising we see on television or in magazines—we are bombarded by images of thin women, and we are told that is the ideal,”

So here is yet another study that seems to indicate that how we feel about our size may have a lot more to do with our actual health and wellness outcomes than what we weigh. It follows on the heels of many other studies we’ve talked about on this blog regarding stigma and health outcomes like this one or this one. And all of these studies lead me to ask one very important question.

Even if we knew how to make people permanently thin (which we do not) should we ask them to change their body size to fit in? If being different leads to social stigma, and social stigma leads to poor health outcomes, should we encourage everybody to be the same for the sake of their health?

Even if we knew how to make people all be the same size (which we categorically do not) it seems to me that the answer is to deal with stigma rather than to make a completely homogeneous society to reduce stress on everyone involved. What if we actively worked to fight stigma based on body size? What if we actively worked to help people accept their own differences? What if we could feel better about our bodies? Might we be singing a song like this magnificent lady right here?

I mean just check these fabulous lyrics:

I looked in the mirror
What did I see a brand new image
Of the same old me ohhhh
But now I wonder why should I be surprised
I like the things about me that I once despised

There was a time
When I wished my hair was fine
And I can remember when
I wished my lips were thin

Makes no difference now y’all
How you may feel
I’ve done reached the point
Where I wanna be real
I’m tired of living living in disguise
I like the things about me that I once despised

Let’s face it, Mavis Staples has got it going ON! But she leads me back to my original question. Why can’t we take some of this time, money and energy that we are currently spending on stigma-inducing ineffective advertising that convinces people that they not only must be thin, but may easily obtain this state of grace by eating yogurt, and spend it on something that might actually help people feel better? It will help them feel better emotionally, and it will help them feel better physically. Why can’t we take some of the time, energy and money we are spending driving wedges into our society, by creating classes of otherness which we can blame for all our problems from the high cost of airplane tickets to soaring healthcare prices and spend it on something that teaches us to celebrate our differences. It will bring us together. It will help us live and breathe as a community rather than a simple pile of competitors in a winner-take-all, Victoria’s Secret model competition. When will we reach the obvious conclusions? Bears poo in the woods, stigma doesn’t help people, and yes, the Pope is indeed Catholic.

Call me captain obvious if you like. I’ve stopped spending on diets and weight loss schemes and self hatred because I like the things about me that I once despised.

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

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Is Godzilla Yo-Yo Dieting?

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Japanese fans are up in arms about the new Americanized Godzilla’s hefty size–citing poor diet as cause for the unwelcome change.

The trailers for the newest Godzilla film have hit American shores and has spawned some significant controversy. It appears that Godzilla has come “under fire” not for his acting (which has been notably wooden in the past) but for his BMI. No we are not talking about the Bad Monster Index–where Godzilla holds the undisputed title of King of the Monsters. We are talking about the Body Mass Index. Many are currently arguing that Godzilla is just sporting too much weight on his 350-foot high frame. Using the current BMI, Godzilla could weigh about 750,000 pounds before he hit the dreaded “Obese” category. Godzilla has not been forthcoming about his weight, but many Japanese fans have calculated that the hapless lizard may have stomped out of the “ideal weight” category.

“He’s so fat I laughed,” was one particularly cutting remark found on Japanese forum 2chan. Others have referred to him as “metabozilla”, “marshmallow Godzilla” and even “pudgy and cute”. Some have speculated that Godzilla’s size is due in part to his American diet and sedentary lifestyle. “That’s what happens when all you do is eat Snickers bars,” said one commenter.

Much of this has led to speculation about Godzilla’s diet. He has never been shown on screen eating (although he has ingested a nuclear reactor and seemed to absorb energy from that). He has been seen in comic books eating raw seafood. Most people guess that he lives largely on radiation and sushi.

It seems pretty likely that Godzilla has to eat quite a bit to sustain is 350 foot high body. An African elephant weighs in at about 7,000 pounds and needs to eat about 500 lbs. of plant matter per day to sustain itself. Using that same ratio, Godzilla would need to eat about 50,000 pounds of plant per day. Now the King of Monsters might be able to absorb some of his energy via nuclear radiation. And naturally protein sources like fish are more dense in calories than say, trees. But I ask you, do we really want a creature that needs to eat 10,000 pounds or more of food per day to turn to a protein diet? So far as we know, Godzilla does not eat people, yet. But I don’t know if I want to encourage him.

But Godzilla hasn’t always been svelte. A quick look at his film debut publicity photos in 1954 show a relatively “fluffy” monster with more of a pear-shaped figure.

There is no question that Godzilla has gotten bigger over the years. Traditionally, the giant lizard has grown larger in proportion to the buildings he stomps around. The Godzilla of 1954 was a mere 50 meters tall. The newest Godzilla is over 100 meters tall and noticeably beefier:

But if you look carefully at the creature’s shape, you might notice something very interesting and somewhat familiar. It’s even clearer if you look at this picture here:

Clearly the great monster’s shape has cycled too. He appeared to have shed some pounds in the the MusoGogi period (1964) beefed up considerably in the BioGogi period (1989-91) gone through some sort of radical weight loss program in the Shodaijira period (1998) and bulked back up for his current appearances. Seem familiar to you? Seemed that way to me too. In fact, I think Godzilla is experiencing the most common outcome of trying to stay slim. I think the King of Monsters is weight cycling–probably from yo-yo dieting.

Now there is no way to know for sure. As my good friend Ragen Chastain says, the only thing you can know about a fat person (or monster) by looking at them is your own prejudices about fat people (or giant lizards). But if our good friend Godzilla is experiencing weight cycling, he would certainly be experiencing the same thing that most people who try to lose weight experience. Most people are able to keep some weight off for a while, but the vast majority of folks (90 percent or more) regain the weight they’ve lost and often a little more.

So this leads us to the question of what should be done about Tokyo’s most famous building-stomper. I think if we are seriously going to spill digital ink regarding the size of a fictitious reptile who bangs buses together for fun, we should use this as a truly teachable moment. Let’s talk about what really works in making creatures of all shapes and sizes happier and healthier. I think the first thing we should do, is to stop trying to shame the poor creature. There is ample evidence after all, that shame doesn’t help anybody lose weight. I’m sure the producers at The Biggest Loser are planning epic monster battles between Godzilla and their “Monster Trainers” as we speak. And even though the King of Monsters’ agent is probably taking calls right now from diet companies seeking his endorsement for the new “Monster Weight Loss Formula”, we should probably discourage him from falling into his old habits of dieting and weight cycling.

I recommend the same thing for Godzilla that I recommend for everybody else. He should eat a varied diet including foods that he loves (but not including people). He should engage in joyful and pleasurable physical activities (not too close to major cities). In fact, I think he should try my DVD. He should sleep well. And he should manage his stress (again, hopefully not too close to major metropolitan areas). At 60 years old, Godzilla is showing no signs of slowing. If he follows these simple recommendations, he’s likely to stay happy and healthy for many years to come. Which is good. Because I freakin’ LOVE this guy.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

CEO: Every BODY Can Exercise.com

Even more research on Fitness and Fatness

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For the 1,000th time, fitness is more important than fatness when it comes to overall health outcomes. In the midst of the holiday hubub, I came across yet another study regarding weight vs. exercise as a determinant of health. This was actually a metastudy, which means the scientists gathered together a lot of other studies and used math and science to determine what most of those other studies said. And it’s no surprise, at least to me, that fitness is much more important than body size in determining how long and how well people live.

This metastudy analyzed the results of 10 other studies. And these studies in turn measured the results of tens of thousands of participants (the largest single study included 21,856 participant) and perhaps more importantly measured these people over a significant span of time (ranging from 7 to over 16 years). It’s important to note that the studies analyzed included both enough participants to be statistically significant and were conducted over a long enough period to see what was actually happening in the lives of the participants. Many of the studies cited regarding the effectiveness and efficacy of weight loss are conducted over a period of three years or less. Given the fact that long term studies indicate that weight loss participants tend to regain all the weight that was lost and often a little more in the 3-5 year range, it’s clear that the duration of the study is an important factor in determining actual results.

And what were the actual results in this case? I think they were pretty astounding. The metastudy indicated that unfit people, no matter what they weighed, had twice the risk of dying during the study than fit people. And the study showed that if you are fit and fat, your mortality risk is about the same as if you are fit and thin. That means that all those thin and unfit folks had about a 50 percent greater chance of mortality than the fat and fit folks during the course of the study.

Whoa.

So here we are heading into the holidays. This is a time when we have access to fabulous food and friends and fantastic food and family and well, FOOD. This is a time when many of us feel more and more panic regarding weight and body size, culminating in a full blown panic that hits full force right around January 1st. We live in a society where the commercials are full of food porn shots of holiday turkeys lovingly basted in butter and mountains of chocolate until December 25. Only to be replaced on December 26 with shots of impossibly tanned and ripped bodies exhorting us to make 2014 the year where we too get to look like a movie star.

Bah Humbug!

The bad news is, no matter how many mashed potatoes we eat or avoid, and no matter how many crunches and squats we do, we are probably NOT going to look like the perky fitness models gracing those commercials on January 1. The good news is, we don’t have to. You don’t have to look like that to be a successful exerciser, and you don’t have to look like that to achieve massive health benefits from engaging in regular exercise. And that regular exercise doesn’t have to include 2 hours per day at the gym or running marathons. We’re talking about a cumulative total of 150 minutes per week here. Eventually. If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry. You can get there! Just start wherever you currently are with your fitness level and increase gradually, up to 10 percent per week until you get there. Some studies show that even as little as 75 minutes per week of exercise can have a significant effect on health.

So, so what?

Why am I being such a Negative Nelly and bursting your exercise bubble? Why am I not suggesting that you’ll look like that hateful woman with the three kids and the super flat abs and very tiny shorts who is all over the internet and your television asking you what is your excuse? (Because, of course, she says, if you do some exercise surely you’ll look a lot like she does!) I’m telling you this because exercise is not only a wonderful way to improve health outcomes, but is also a wonderful tool to help you feel better, feel better about yourself, enjoy a better quality of life and have a darn good time. And far too often, I’ve seen people approach exercise thinking it will make them look like a supermodel, only to give up a short time later when they find that they are not accosted by modeling agencies or Hollywood directors eager to make them millionaires or at least take them out to very expensive restaurants to tell them how pretty they are.

God, I’m GORGEOUS!

Exercise is wonderful. I’ve seen exercise work magic in the lives of many, many people. But it rarely works the sort of magic seen in “before and after” photo shoots. The sad thing is, by looking exclusively for the “magic of exercise” as seen on TV, many people miss the magic that is right in front of them.

Here’s wishing you a calm, lovely, peaceful holiday. And a 2014 that is full of all the magic that a moderately active lifestyle can bring to you!

Love,

Jeanette

AKA The Fat Chick

P.S. There is a lot of great advice about how to go from zero to moderately active in YOUR life in my book–The Fat Chick Works Out! Now get both the book and DVD for only $25.

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New Zealand Tells South African Chef, “You’re Too Fat to Live Here!”

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I know I am not the first and I certainly hope I’m not to write about this story. Because you know what? This scares me right out of my sparkly, yet sensible shoes. Last week, New Zealand immigration officials told South African chef Albert Buitenhuis that due to his weight of 286 pounds he has an “unacceptable standard of health” and faces expulsion from the country. Despite the fact that Buitenhuis has actually lost weight since he was originally admitted to the country in 2007, he has lost his work visa because he failed to lose weight.

He needed to stop working immediately. And because Albert was the primary applicant on the original work visa, his wife needed to stop working as well.

An immigration spokesperson has stated that Mr Buitenhuis’s application had been rejected because his obesity put him at “significant risk” of complications including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. The spokesman reportedly said:

“Unless it is in the extreme, obesity will not in itself cause an applicant to fail health screening requirements, but INZ’s medical assessors have to consider to what extent there might be indications of future high-cost and high-need demand for health services,”

It should be noted that Albert may also need a knee replacement which could cost the health system over $20,000. However, it has also been reported that the fact that Mr. Buitenhuis’ BMI was over 35, originally triggered the rejection of his work visa renewal.

This story has hit international news outlets including the Daily Mail and the BBC. So I am hopeful this won’t just slip into obscurity in the next day or two, and I am eager to hear how Albert’s appeal process proceeds. Because I have to admit, I find this story terrifying and frustrating in the extreme.

Here are just a few points:

1. Immigration officials arbitrarily choose to apply or not apply BMI statistics in regards to work visa renewal. If the irrational or irregular application of body size regulations are enough to leave people traveling on a jet plane in the lurch, think of the effect it can have on people moving their entire lives from one country to another. And as we’ve seen in regards to flying on airplanes, if fat people are unable to ascertain exactly how these regulations will apply to them they are more likely to avoid the situation altogether.

2. It appears that the rules changed after Albert moved to New Zealand. Albert and his wife set down roots, made friends, built a career and a life, and then the rug got pulled out from under them. This should be a chilling tale for everyone interested in ever immigrating anywhere.

3. It appears the New Zealand Immigration ministry are using BMI and health interchangeably. There is ample evidence that as a health metric BMI is extremely problematic and unreliable. There is significant evidence that people who have a BMI in the “ideal range” actually live shorter lives than those in the “overweight” range. Furthermore, I have heard no indication that New Zealand’s Immigration ministry are using other, far more reliable health metrics in determining visa renewal status. Are they taking into account issues like: stress level, sedentary lifestyle, tobacco use, levels of discrimination, lack of sleep, working third shift or driving a motorcycle, being older, or being male? There’s also evidence that bald men are more likely to have heart disease and taller women are more likely to get cancer. Why are they taking this one extremely unreliable metric (BMI) out of context and using it to determine immigration status?

4. Is BMI used because it is a “cheap shot” both figuratively and literally? Despite the many, many questions about the effectiveness of BMI as a health metric, there is no question that it is extremely easy to measure and verify. And I wonder whether discrimination based on body size is cheap politically as well? Immigration necessarily needs to limit the number of people who can enter and stay in a country. And they need to make sure the limitations that are used are politically tenable. Are fat people singled out and discriminated against simply because politically, they are easy targets?

I admit that I can’t claim to know everything that is going on in this case. I will be watching with interest to see how it plays out. But, in any case, I think this is further proof that we need to be ever vigilant of new ways that discrimination is heaped upon people of size.

Love,

The Fat Chick

UPDATE: Don’t miss this amazing post by Angela Meadows in Huff Po! And don’t forget to like the story and comment if you have the sanity points to spare!

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