June 2011 NAAFA Newsletter

by Bill and Terri Weitze

[Editor's Note: Find the latest news at http://naafa.org]

April 4, 2011: A new study appears to show that the concept of food "addiction" is proven by brain chemical similarities to substance addiction. However, a follow-up by Dr. Angelo Del Parigi's letter discusses problems with the conclusions, pointing out that the data do not show a connection between the hypothesized food addiction and fatness.

http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archgenpsychiatry.2011.32

http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/eletters/archgenpsychiatry.2011.32v1

April 20, 2011: Lynn Grefe, president and CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, thinks you should tell your fat friends to drop a few, and it's totally OK because it's for their health. Ignoring the protective and health-neutral aspects of fat, she says "If you think their health is at risk, it's not a judgment, it's a concern." Actually, it's rude and unnecessary.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-20/health/sc-health-0420-talking-about-obesity-20110420_1_weight-worries-weighty-subject-weight-loss

May 10, 2011: There is no longer an excuse for the media to use photos of headless fatties. Yale University's Rudd Center now has a gallery of photos of fat people for use by anyone (who agrees to their posted terms and conditions), free of charge.

http://yaleruddcenter.org/press/image_gallery.aspx

May 10, 2011: Sadly, plus-sized model and actress Mia Amber Davis dies at age 36 due to a blood clot following routine knee surgery to treat an old college basketball injury.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/road-trips-mia-amber-davis-dies-at-36-2011115

May 10, 2011: A study by The Rudd Center indicates that negative images of fat people often used by the media not only causes fat-hatred and stigma, but the stress from the stigma may lead to unhealthful behavior by fat people.

http://articles.courant.com/2011-05-10/health/hc-weir-yale-obese-images-0511-20110510_1_obese-people-rebecca-puhl-photos

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a931417878

May 11, 2011: Once again being fat is shown to extend the life of patients with a serious condition. This time, a study shows that patients suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease) have a lower risk of dying over a year or two. Dr. Anne-Marie Wills next plans to study possible benefits of being fat for Parkinson's disease patients.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blog/dailydose/2011/05/can_ obesity_pro.html

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mus.22114/abstract

May 11, 2011: Non-diabetic fat pregnant women in Coventry (UK) are being given metformin as part of a study to see if the diabetes drug will prevent babies from being too big at birth by limiting the food supply to the fetus. Because drugging pregnant women has worked so well in the past . . .

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventrytimes/2011/05/11/overweight-pregnant-women-given-pill-to-stop-babies-being-born-obese-92746-28676251

May 12, 2011: An article by Shelley Bridgeman in The New Zealand Herald provides readers with an introduction to size rights activism, showing how NAAFA and other groups are battling fat bias and fat-phobic behavior.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10724866

May 12, 2011: In an open letter to Glenn Beck following his anti-fat tirade about her PSA warning of the dangers of skin cancer, Meghan McCain thanks Glenn for the free publicity and suggests that, since he has 2 teenage daughters, perhaps he would be well advised to drop the anti-women, negative body image rants. (Note that her issue is with harmful fat jokes, not with being called fat.)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-12/meghan-mccain-to-glenn-beck-dont-call-me-fat

May 13, 2011: Enjoy some great photos, along with accompanying quotes by NAAFA member Jeanette DePatie (author of The Fat Chick Works Out) at cbsnews.com's article "12 Fitness Tips for Fat Folks".

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10007692.html

May 13, 2011: Despite the snarky hosts of The Morning Show on Australian TV, the wonderful Lydia Jade Turner does a great job trying to educate people on HAES and that fitness matters a lot more than fatness.

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/-/watch/25213643/hold-on-to-yo

May 15, 2011: Scientists have identified a part of the human genome linked to the genetics of diabetes, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and associated with metabolic traits. (A link to a typically-inaccurate report is provided.) The finding supports the idea that fatness does not cause diabetes or high cholesterol, but that some other cause (in this case, genetics) causes all of the above.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/05/16/Consortium-discovers-obesity-gene/UPI-77391305574675

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v43/n6/full/ng.833.html

May 17, 2011: Fifteen of the 105 ob-gyn practices surveyed in southern Florida admitted to refusing to treat patients who weighed more than a certain amount (some as low as 200 pounds). These offices claim they do not have the equipment to deal with fat patients and/or believe fat people are more prone to complications or to need specialist care.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-hk-no-obesity-doc-20110516,0,333407.story

May 18, 2011: Chain restaurants are acting to head off local governments from banning promotions tied to children's meals by joining forces with state and federal lawmakers. The restaurants feel parents should be making choices for their children not local government.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-happy-meal-backlash-20110518,0,7236630.story

May 19, 2011: Israel is proposing a bill that would ban very thin models from appearing in advertisements, hoping to end the anorectic beauty image as an ideal. Also, under the bill, if images are altered to make the model appear slimmer this must be disclosed. While very thin people do naturally exist and should not be shunned, the ban highlights the widespread problem of anorexia nervosa within (and caused by) the modeling industry.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4069986,00.html

May 20, 2011: In a letter to the editor, a high school student in Carroll, Iowa talks about how the Healthy Kids Act is not working and suggests that government funds might be better spent elsewhere.

http://www.carrollspaper.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=12139

May 21, 2011: An interesting video blog by Rabbi Yaakov Salomon discusses the issue of fat people flying. Rabbi Salomon does not offer any answers but he gives a balanced discussion of the issues and urges people to think about whether this is discrimination. Surprisingly, the blog comments are overwhelmingly size positive.

http://www.aish.com/ci/ss/Too_Fat_to_Fly.html

May 22, 2011: Doctors in the UK will now be paid extra for simply telling their patients they should lose weight and keeping a list of their fat patients. The National Health System is also paying for membership to groups such as Weight Watchers in the mistaken belief that such dieting groups work.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8527835/GPs-will-be-paid-extra-to-tell-patients-they-are-fat.html

May 23, 2011: There is a boom in joint replacement surgery for patients under 60 years of age, and for once the blame is not placed on fat people. (Even so, the Huffington Post article includes a "PS we hate you" about fatness.) Baby boomers, pursuing eternal youth through exercise, are wearing out their joints and are not willing to use canes or put up with stiffness or pain like their grandparents did.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/23/joint-replacement-knee-hip-surgery-baby-boomers_n_865368.html

http://www.aaos.org/education/anmeet/programs/programs.asp (download proceedings book from this page; abstract is on p. 531; paper number is 286)

May 24, 2011: After winning approval to lower the weight requirements for lap band surgery, Allergan is now asking the US FDA to approve the surgery for teens. You can contact the people at the FDA responsible for medical devices at dsmica@fda.hhs.gov and let them know how you feel about this (the second link gives phone numbers and mailing address).

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-fi-lap-band-teens-20110524,0,7642312.story

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ResourcesforYou/Consumers

May 24, 2011: The Dr. Oz show airs an episode called "Is it child abuse to have a fat child?" Translation: the stigma of being fat is now spreading to the parents of fat kids. On the bright side, Catherine Schuler of the International Size Acceptance Association spoke out against taking fat children into custody. NAAFA member Barbara Altman Bruno suggests that people contact the show to suggest that they do an episode on HAES (link provided below).

http://www.doctoroz.com/plugger?tid=4880

May 25, 2011: Plus-size actor Kirstie Alley defies the odds by becoming the runner-up in this season's Dancing with the Stars. After being the subject of fat jokes, Kirstie shows that big and beautiful can also be fit and graceful.

http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-boston/kirstie-alley-loses-dwts-to-hines-ward-kirstie-was-better-than-expected-right

May 25, 2011: An ad campaign in Colorado claims to be about destigmatizing weight but the true aim is the exact opposite, as its message is clearly fat equals unhealthy. (Categories shown are "healthy", "overweight", and "obese", even though people in the "overweight" category have been found to live the longest; see third link.) The ad uses fairly size-positive imagery of average people and points out that it's not always possible to tell what size category someone is in just by looking. Also not possible? Determining someone's health by their size.

http://business-video.tmcnet.com/news/2011/05/25/5534502.htm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pNnPE2nheZ8

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/293/15/1861.short

May 26, 2011: In an interview, Monica Coury, spokeswoman for Arizona's Medicaid program, tries to rationalize why it is appropriate to charge an additional $50 a year to fat people and smokers who are on Medicaid, because she believes both represent lifestyle choices that drive up healthcare costs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/us/27questions.html

May 30, 2011: This amusing and insightful blog post discusses why Po, the fat panda in Kung Fu Panda and its current sequel, is a fat hero and size activist.

http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/im-the-big-fat-panda

May 31, 2011: New York City residents and companies are urged to participate in a program to get healthy and win cash prizes - for (did you guess) most weight loss. Yes, weight loss will be the only criterion for winning the prizes, once again promulgating the myth that significant weight loss will always result in improved health.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/new-yorkers-unite-city-wide-wellness-initiative-lose-weight-gain-money-reduce-citys-1520769.htm

June 3, 2011: Oxrexigen Therapeutics is withdrawing its diet drug Contrave from the FDA approval process. The company plans to market the drug outside of the US where they hope that concerns over the drug's effect on the heart and very low efficacy won't be so closely questioned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/business/04bizbriefs-DRUGMAKERWIT_BRF.html

June 3, 2011: The British Psychological Society publishes an 84 page paper, Obesity in the UK: A Psychological Perspective. Taking a look at the offensive picture they used for the cover gives you an idea of the tone of the paper, which follows the standard fat equals unhealthy ideology. On the plus side, there is at least recognition that fatness is a complex issue.

http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/pat_rep95_obesity_web.pdf

June 6, 2011: According to a new study, since average caloric intake has not increased over the past 50 years, our increasing fatness must be because our jobs are more sedentary; the authors conclude that the focus for reducing obesity should be on exercise. This is a step in the right direction, although the authors don't seem to have considered dieting as a cause of long-term weight gain, to which many NAAFA members can attest.

http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/06/06/3123356/changing-war-on-obesity.html

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0019657

June 6, 2011: Researchers fed three groups of 10 mice either high fat, low fat, or an alternating high/low fat diet. The low-fat-only group lived the longest, the alternating group was a close second, and the high-fat-only group lived the shortest. The researchers, presenting the as-yet unpublished study at the Endo 2011 conference, conclude that yoyo dieting is therefore totally OK, even though none of the mice were dieting (there was no restriction on food intake). The study actually seems to show that eating fatty foods is OK as long as you also eat other types of foods.

http://www.ohio.edu/research/communications/yoyodiet.cfm

http://www.endo-society.org/endo2011