More of Me to Love | Community Forum

Univ. of SC Prof defending idea of Fat & Fit on New Zealand TV

2010-08-12T07:31:53-05:00

Love it when professors are out there defending people’s ability to have different body sizes and still be healthy, and, dare I say, worthy?

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/obesity-mafia-has-wrong-says-fat-expert-3694998

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Plus-Size Models on Ellen - this is pretty cool

2010-07-23T09:47:28-05:00

I thought this was a great youtube video from Ellen’s daytime talk show. I actually recognize one of the models featured from the debate with Meme Roth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2I8dSHURSk

What do you think about the ideas here?

House and weight

2010-07-12T04:05:17-05:00

Recently I have been watching some House (Greg House, that is) to take my mind off the real world. I find Dr. House so entertaining - what a complex character!

There are two episodes that deal with the relationship of health and weight extensively:

Season 1 Episode 16: Heavy

Season 3 Episode 6: Que Sera Sera

In the “Heavy” episode the story of a young girl unfolds who is on the chubbier side and is unhappy at school as a result. Her mother is a positive character, who continues to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with her daughter - she is perfect the way she is (how many of us would love that!). Sadly, this mature attitude of the mother does not influence the young girl’s experience amongst her peers. If you have not seen the episode,I highly recommend checking it out - just google “season 1 episode 16” and you can watch the show right away. I don’t want to give away anything, but if someone watched the episode, please let me know and we can discuss. Kind of like our own book club :-)

Another interesting episode is “Que Sera Sera” which is about a really big guy who eventually denies his doctors the right to do tests on him until they disregard his weight in their attempt to diagnose his medical condition. A moving episode and I don’t exactly like the way it was directed, but some interesting insight…....

On a sidenote - does House appeal to any of you as a man? I think he is so attractive - maybe due to the complexity of his character. And Wilson, too! Though he is unfaithful… no props for that.

I can’t wait to discuss the show!

Fat Yoga in Austin - Feature on CBS Dallas-Fort Worth Local News

2010-02-25T10:05:52-05:00

http://cbs11tv.com/gethealthytexas/yoga.heavyweight.yoga.2.1517629.html

This was pretty cool. A Dallas news station covered a class specifically for fat people that was started by a photographer in Austin, TX.

The Great Weight Debate on ABC News

2010-02-23T13:06:27-05:00

If you haven’t seen this yet, I recommend you take a watch. It can be pretty frustrating at points, but it’s great to see the issues come out.

http://abcnews.go.com/nightline/faceoff

What did you think?

(p.s. I saw Golda Poretsky and Ivan in the audience - way to represent!)

Did anyone see the recent Doctors episode about the dangers of dieting?

2009-10-24T09:26:11-05:00

I didn’t catch it myself but someone sent me something about a commercial he saw saying that on an episode of the Doctors (which may not have even aired yet, not sure). The episode is about the potential health benefits of being overweight. It talks about a woman who dropped a bunch of weight and then died. Based on what I know about the show and its general acceptance of the common position on fat (i.e. be thin), I doubt that this will go debunking everything. That said, it’s nice that the idea that fat is not as dangerous as people think got (or will be getting?) some airtime.

I’d really like to know if anyone saw it and can share about it, or if anyone knows that it’s happening in the future.

Thanks!

Show with fighting thin and chubby lady

2009-04-11T16:20:15-05:00

I saw a clip of a morning show a few weeks ago discussing whether or not it is ok to be fat from a health perspective. I don’t remember the channel, but Kelly Bliss was one of the panelists. She looked so healthy and plump:-). There was also a thin blonde woman who said that obesity kills period and a corpulent other lady who made a video of how much she loved her body. Kelly Bliss said that you should just exercise and eat well and no matter your size you should be fine.

The show was very interesting to me - I was a bit torn about what to believe because all the ladies were talking about how they are absolutely right yet they were saying opposite things. The thin blonde woman was saying that it is very wrong for people to come to the media and start spreading the word that people should always eat what they feel like eating. She said that children in the US are fatter today than ever before and it is because they eat Doritos and ice cream all the time. She was concerned about obesity and how it kills - she cited statistics.

Kelly Bliss said that she exercises like 5 times a week, eats healthy things and yet she is not thin. She said that there is nothing wrong with being round if you eat right and move enough - it may just be that your body’s natural weight deviates from the currently idolized size.

My question is distantly related to the above. There are two things being said in the HAES literature: that you should eat whatever you want on one hand and that you should eat healthy on the other. What if those two things are not the same? Also: what about children? Should they get to eat whatever they want or should parents guide them? I am just not sure that without their fully-formed judgement capabilities they ould be able to know when and what they want. After all, I just wanted to chocolate all the time when I was a kid and I highly doubt that is all I needed :-)

PETA’s new ad campaign targets plus-size people in the wrong way.

2009-08-18T18:31:58-05:00

Hello all,

I just wanted to make you are all aware of a new campaign PETA are running in Jacksonville Florida.

I will copy and paste the recent article written on it

PETA’s new billboard campaign in Florida is raising eyebrows and ire among women and health groups. A drawing on billboards in Jacksonville depicts an obese woman with the phrase, “Save The Whales, Lose The Blubber: Go Vegetarian.”

In a press release, PETA stated:

A new PETA billboard campaign that was just launched in Jacksonville reminds people who are struggling to lose weight — and who want to have enough energy to chase a beach ball — that going vegetarian can be an effective way to shed those extra pounds that keep them from looking good in a bikini.

Anyone wishing to achieve a hot “beach bod” is reminded that studies show that vegetarians are, on average, about 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters.

“Trying to hide your thunder thighs and balloon belly is no day at the beach,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA has a free ‘Vegetarian Starter Kit’ for people who want to lose pounds while eating as much as they like.

Jessica at Feministing blasts the billboard as “fat-shaming” and that “PETA owes the residents of Jacksonville a serious apology.”

Holly at Deceiver states, “This is exactly what you would expect [from PETA] — no empathy for humans whatsoever, just a lot of B.S. about how vegetarianism will make fat people just a little bit less of a blight on humanity.”

PETA is known for its attention-grabbing tactics involving scantily clad-women, like this veggie dog eat-in on Capitol Hill that involved playboy playmates wearing only lettuce bikinis.

When asked to comment on the charges that the ad is sexist and mocking of overweight people, Ashley Byrne, a senior campaigner for PETA stated, “Our goal is help overweight Jacksonville residents – the best way to do that is to go vegetarian. We’re not trying to insult anyone. Vegetarians look and feel better than meat eaters. This is a life-saving message.”

When asked specifically if the billboard shames overweight people, Byrne stated, “If the billboard is shocking, hopefully it will gets people’s attention, and help them improve quality of life for themselves and their families…. it’s designed to help people.”

I’ve also attached the actual billboard.

As a size-acceptance reporter and activist I am alarmed to read this story. Not only is it misleading in terms of telling people if they become Vegetarian they will have a beach body - its also fuelling misconceptions on weight.

I know several Vegetarians who are plus-size and I wonder how they’d feel about this ad campaign.

I understand the need to promote a healthy eating - but by the same token, I do not agree with mothering, badgering, belittling and confusing people in order to do it.

I have a thought process that leads me to promoting living your life the way you want it. Yes; make choices available - but don’t thrust misleading information and hate down people’s throats in order to convey a point.

I have written to PETA via their website http://www.peta.org/mc/contactMedia.asp I am hoping others will do the same. I also hope NAAFA will pick up on this and take it to task.

We need balanced information and then we need to make the choices we wish to. Billboards like this insight more hatred and there is quite enough of that in this world.

Pretty heavy for my first post, but it had to be said.

Hope you’re all well.

Best,

Vanessa

vanessareece.com

Heavier Americans Push Back on Health Debate

2009-11-09T11:08:40-05:00

Hats off to Marilyn Wann, author of FAT!SO? for being a great part of this New York Times article discussing the importance of a national health care option not discriminating against fat people.

Read this New York Times article. What do you think?

More to Love, the TV Show

2009-07-28T08:20:41-05:00

Are you watching More to Love, Fox’s latest reality dating show? What did you think about it? What did you think about its portrayal of fat people?