NAAFA demands that the Georgia Children's Health Alliance immediately remove its billboards targeting fat children.  Billboards depicting fat kids are extraordinarily harmful to the very kids they are supposedly trying to help.

A 2010 study of caloric intake in a large, nationwide population of children and adolescents has revealed the surprising finding that those who are clinically overweight and obese consume fewer calories than their average weight counterparts, beginning at around 7 years of age.

A study from the University of Minnesota in 2006 states that the more weight per se is talked about, the more likely teens are to adopt dangerous dieting behaviors. Labeling a person of any age as obese - especially a child or adolescent - is strongly pejorative and counterproductive. 

A study from UCLA that same year suggests our media and cultural obsession with achieving a certain weight does little or no good, and may actually undermine motivation to adopt exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits.

NAAFA supports the Health at Every Size (HAES) tenets, which state that healthy habits are good for EVERYONE, no matter what their size. Eat healthy, nutritious foods and enjoy occasional treats. Pay attention to your natural hunger and satiety cues. Move your body in ways that feel good, and love yourself just the way you are! 

NAAFA challenges the Georgia Children's Health Alliance to create an advertising campaign that encourages people of all sizes to eat healthy food, add movement to our lives and celebrate our differences.

Contact us at http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/global/index.html for information on our soon to be published NAAFA Child Advocacy Toolkit.  This groundbreaking toolkit will help parents, educators and caregivers understand that all kids deserve love and respect regardless of their body size or shape.  Every body is a good body.  No one has the right to criticize your body.

NAAFA encourages all concerned parties to contact Mr. Ron Frieson, Chairman of the Georgia Children's Health Alliance, at info@thegcha.org to express your concern about the damage being done by these offensive demeaning billboards (http://www.stopchildhoodobesity.com). 

Jessica May in the 2010 NAAFA Fashion Show

Once again NAAFA will be awarding a $1000 scholarship to a currently-enrolled fashion design student.  The purpose of this scholarship is to encourage student fashion designers to specialize in the design of fashions for the plus-size body.

Amount of Award:   $1,000
Deadline for
Submission:           May 1, 2011
Date of Award:      June 1, 2011

How to Enter:  Complete an application and release form (available through our website at www.naafa.org); submit copies of three (3) drawings of plus-size designs, proof of current enrollment in a Fashion Design School with a GPA of 2.0 or higher, and an essay (1000 words or less) outlining why your fashion entries are unique/innovative and explaining your interest and motivation for a career in the plus-size fashion industry.  E-mail electronic versions of required material to:  pr@naafaonline.com .  All materials must be received no later than May 1, 2011 to qualify for consideration.

If you are selected to be the scholarship winner, you will be asked to participate in the 2011 National NAAFA Convention Fashion Show on Saturday, August 6, 2011 at the Westin Washington Dulles Airport Hotel near Washington, DC where you will be introduced as our Fashion Design Scholarship winner and will be showing up to three (3) garments from your designs/collection.  Information on the 2011 NAAFA Fashion Show will be formally outlined to the winner after the award. 

by Peggy Howell

In the summer of 2008, NAAFA member Darliene Howell and NAAFA Board Member Peggy Howell, along with fellow Las Vegas resident Lisa Wyman, met with Nevada Assemblymen and set the wheels of change in motion.  We met with our legislators and made a case for adding height and weight to the anti-discrimination laws of Nevada.  Sadly, AB166, which would have added protection for people of size to the laws that govern employment, healthcare and public accommodation, never saw the light of day. 

On March 2nd of this year we received a call from the office of Assemblyman Tick Segerblom inviting us to speak on behalf of AB90, a new bill that when passed will add physical appearance to the anti-discrimination laws of Nevada, and will put in place a law to prevent workplace bullying.  Our Assemblyman did not give up on finding a way to help protect people who have no recourse when facing abuse from an employer.

Darliene and I attended the hearing on Monday, March 7th and made our case in support of AB90.  We were the only two present who spoke in defense of the height/weight aspect of the bill.  There were two individuals who spoke in favor of the bill with regard to the workplace bullying aspect. 

There were MANY representatives present who spoke out against the bill and three claiming to be neutral, who nevertheless made sure to point out what they thought was wrong with the bill.  Interestingly, a representative of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation admitted that people walk into their office to file complaints that are not covered by any of the currently protected classes.  These people are not eligible for assistance and have no recourse.  This unwitting support of our cause did not go unnoticed by the Committee!

Everyone present was surprised to learn that there are laws in Michigan and six cities around the country that protect people of size against discrimination.  After the hearing, I sent a follow-up email providing a link to the language of the Michigan law, a link to NAAFA's Size Discrimination Fact Sheet and a list of studies regarding discrimination and the need for a change to existing policy.

If you are a Nevada resident, please stand with us in support of AB 90.  Contact me at pr@naafaonline.com for more information regarding how you can help us change the laws of Nevada. 

NAAFA is proud that several of our members, including our founder Bill Fabrey, and a member of our Advisory Board, Dr. Deborah Burgard, PhD, have been invited to participate in the Endangered Species: Preserving the Female Body summit on March 18-19, 2011 in New York City. This groundbreaking international summit challenges the negative consequences of a society's distorted focus on the ideal female form that teaches women and young girls to hate their bodies.

"I can't imagine a more appropriate person then Deb Burgard to moderate and speak at this summit.  I've known her for over 20 years and she is a pioneer, a dedicated fat activist, a brilliant psychologist, and a long standing member of our advisory board.  She has presented and moderated sessions for NAAFA over the years, including our first ever Health At Every Size International Summit last year.  We are proud that she serves on our advisory board.  Congratulations to NAAFA Member Deb Lemire, President of the Association of Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) and Big Ideas, Loved Bodies Contest Winners along with ASDAH's Vice-President Joslyn Smith!" states Lisa Tealer, NAAFA Board Member and Director of Programs.  Other pioneers involved in the summit, with whom NAAFA has collaborated, include Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott, Co-Founders of The Body Positive.

NAAFA encourages the attendees from the Endangered Species conference and others to join us in August as we go "Back to the Hill" for our 42nd annual international convention at the Westin Washington Dulles Airport Hotel, August 4-8, 2011.  This gathering will consist of interactive sessions ranging from relevant medical issues, a NAAFA Chapter Leader Summit, Child Advocacy, Diversity & Inclusion strategies, grass roots advocacy, writing workshops, as well as an International Fat Film Festival, Fashion Show, Vendor Fair, Gala and Scholarship Awards Dinner.  For more details visit NAAFA's website at www.naafa.org  

"This is the civil rights work that NAAFA has engaged in for 40+ years!  It's great that others are helping to spread the word on a global scale," states Jason Docherty, Co-Chair of NAAFA's Board.  "NAAFA will soon publish our revised Child Advocacy Toolkit, a resource to include materials and insights from leading experts, which will level the playing field against those who would shame children for the size of their bodies.  This toolkit can be a resource to teachers, parents and others who work with and care about our young people, and wish to create a body-positive environment in which children of all sizes may flourish." 

by Bill and Terri Weitze

[Editor's Note:  Go to http://naafa.org for the latest news.]

 

January 19, 2011:  In the wake of a recommendation by a FDA advisory panel to lower the BMI for eligibility for lap band surgery, this article deals with the driving forces behind the recommendation and provides great insight from Eric Oliver, author of the book Fat Politics, who points out that the surgery "diseases" the stomach; that is, it inhibits the proper functioning of a healthy organ.

http://www.womensenews.org/story/medicine/110118/lap-band-critics-decry-excess-rhetoric-weight

 

January 24, 2011:  Based on a one-week study of sleeping patterns of 308 school children, researchers are proposing a link between variance of sleep duration and fatness.  In the paper's conclusions, the authors advocate educating the parents on the importance of sleep.  That may be a worthwhile thing to do, but (1) population studies such as this one cannot demonstrate causation due to the unmeasured effect of confounding variables, (2) the conclusion depends on the assumption that fatness is inherently bad, (3) the study didn't measure onset of disease or any actual negative health outcome (although blood tests were done on some of the children).  The conclusions seem to serve the social climate rather than science.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/lack-weekend-catch-sleep-risk-childhood-obesity/story?id=12743677

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/2/e345

 

February 2011:  Margarita Tartakovsky, MS, posts a three-part interview with Linda Bacon addressing how HAES is perceived, why health matters more than size, and some of the myths that have arisen about the purpose of HAES and the goals of people who practice HAES.

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2011/02/speaking-to-america-about-health-at-every-size-qa-with-linda-bacon

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2011/02/is-obesity-really-killing-us-part-2-with-linda-bacon

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2011/02/myths-about-health-at-every-size-part-3-with-linda-bacon

 

February 8, 2011:  Like many fashion models, Crystal Renn has a history of eating disorders.  She became well known as a plus-size model but has recently lost weight and gone down to a size 6/8.  Renn claims that the weight loss occurred due to her fight against pressure from others to maintain a certain body size; and to regain a healthy relationship with her body and its needs.  It is claimed that she is being pressured by the size-acceptance community.  Hopefully this is not the case, as we agree with Ms. Renn when she says, "You cannot tell if someone's healthy, where they are mentally, from what's going on on the outside."

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/crystal-renn-addresses-her-weight-loss-and-maintaining-plus-size-model-status-2451632

 

February 9, 2011:  A population study shows that ischemic strokes are down for older patients but have increased in younger patients.  In a ScienceDaily article, lead author Xin Tong states, "We cannot link anything in particular to the trend in younger patients, but I believe the role of obesity and hypertension will prompt a big discussion.  Unfortunately, right now we can't speculate on the causes."  Dr. Tong says she can't speculate, then transparently does so to the media. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110209121655.htm

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/STR.0b013e3182074d9b  (downloads poster session abstracts; see p. 21 of PDF)

 

February 10, 2011:  The magazine Allure comes down on the side of beauty pageant winners who gain weight, especially in light of past winners who were allowed to keep their crowns despite under-age drinking, cocaine use, topless photos and pole dancing.

http://www.allure.com/beauty/blogs/reporter/2011/02/should-a-pageant-winner-be-expected-to-stay-thin.html

 

February 11, 2011:  Linda Wells, founder and editor of Allure, prefers the curvy human body, which explains why articles in the magazine can be critical of photo retouching and plastic surgery.  Interestingly, one of her favorite pieces of art is a sketch by Gaston Lachaise, a sculptor popular for his bronzes modeled after his fat wife, which she keeps at her bedside in her country home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/fashion/13POSSESSED.html

 

February 14, 2011:  The headlines scream that being fat increases the risk of fatal heart attacks.  Read on, and find that the study was of middle-aged men only.  Look at the abstract and see that the study was of middle-aged men with high cholesterol; and it appears all the men were from Scotland.  Not exactly the universally-applicable results the article suggests.  Also, a study done by University of Michigan showed the opposite results, finding that lack of activity was a much better predictor.

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/649876.html

http://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2011/01/24/hrt.2010.211201.abstract

http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/abs/6418

 

February 15, 2011:  This New York Times article gives an interesting perspective on thin actresses who participate in "DIPE" (documented instances of public eating), meaning that they chow down with obvious relish on high-calorie food during interviews.  The article asks, do these actresses really eat like everyone else or is the meal simply supposed to convince people that they do?  The answer is, of course, who cares?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/dining/16interview.html

 

February 17, 2011:  Diane Medved's blog about the US Department of Agriculture's new dietary guidelines provides statistics regarding fatness in the US and why those numbers aren't as scary as the media would lead you to believe.  She also has a theory on why Americans are fatter, and that theory links strongly to HAES; that with all the lecturing on what we should and shouldn't be eating, we have lost contact with what our bodies tell us.

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=321&sid=426667

 

February 18, 2011:  An article talks about how fat people can be fit and how being fit is a better goal than weight loss.  The article also addresses the fact that the First Lady's Let's Move program would be improved with a focus on fitness irrespective of weight, and includes fat fitness instructors Sandy Schaffer (profiled) and Jennifer Portnick (in a photo).

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/obese-athletes-show-fat-can-be-fit-20110218-1ayof.html

 

February 19, 2011:  The New York Times reports on a primate research center that fattens monkeys for obesity research.  This is done by keeping them in isolation, a circumstance known to be physically and psychologically harmful to primates, so that food intake can be monitored and activity limited.  So researchers are taking a naturally thin animal and creating an artificial situation that leads to weight gain.  The isolation is needlessly cruel, and invalidates the research because the torture makes the monkeys less healthy in many ways, with fatness being just one effect.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/health/20monkey.html

 

February 23, 2011:  The Los Angeles Dept of Public Health asks the FDA to see if lap-band surgery billboards comply with government regulations.  While some billboards contain disclaimers; others do not.  And Dr. Edo Aarts, a bariatric researcher, questions the reported mortality rates of the surgery, suggesting they may be significantly understated.

http://www.womensenews.org/story/health/110222/fda-asked-rein-in-get-slim-surgery-ads

 

February 28, 2011:  According to this study, fat people don't know they are fat until they are told by their doctor, and not enough doctors are doing so!  Or, more accurately, the patients know what they weigh; they just don't see it as a problem.  Hey, where can I find one of those doctors who doesn't focus on weight?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/01/overweight.doctors.health

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/4/316

 

March 4, 2011:  A study published in Social Psychology Quarterly admits to having quite a few variables but the researchers believe that fat discrimination and bias may be linked to a decline in functional ability (a key measure for health status) for fat people as they age.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/218080.php

http://spq.sagepub.com/content/74/1/76.full

 

March 6, 2011:  Pattie Thomas, Ph.D's post in Psychology Today addresses how the current campaigns to reduce fatness in children stigmatizes them, and can lead to bullying and discrimination because the focus is on weight loss and looks instead of on exercise and healthy eating (which is good for everyone, not just fat kids).

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/i-take-space/201103/jump-joy-or-solicit-stigma

 

March 7, 2011:  A 50-year-old (but still popular) "diet" program entails daily injections of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, which is derived from the urine of pregnant women) and consuming just 500 calories a day.  There is no clear scientific evidence that the hCG does anything except put you at risk for blood clots and other cardiovascular problems.  It is also illegal for a doctor to prescribe it for weight loss; but many doctors and weight loss clinics prescribe its use at a cost of between $800 to $1,000 per month.  In a follow-up, Paul Campos comments on this article in his own blog.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/nyregion/08hcg.html

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2011/03/ny-times-dangerous-expensive-diet-fraud-has-fans-and-skeptics

 

March 9, 2011:  New York Times blogger Renee Michael introduces her readers to the concept of Health At Every Size (HAES), in a mostly positive blog post.  She links to Linda Bacon's HAES Community website, where you can take the HAES pledge.  We recommend it!

http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/health-at-every-size

http://haescommunity.org/pledge.php

 

March 10, 2011:  Not news, but it's good that this article is reminding the world that being fat is not necessarily the fault of the fatties.  The article from Amy Norton of Reuters points out that weight gain is a known side effect of beta blockers, used to lower blood pressure. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-blood-pressure-drugs-idUSTRE72A02T20110311

 

March 10, 2011:  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a fairly common condition that is correlated with fatness, and can lead to liver damage in some cases.  New research shows a genetic link to NAFLD as well, serving to remind us that the relationship among fatness, genetics, and disease is complicated and depends upon many factors.

http://www.uofmhealth.org/News/Gene+loci+identified+for+Non+ Alcoholic+Fatty+Liver+Disease

http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen. 1001324

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