Call to Action:  Battle for Healthcare Reform Not Over!

The recent merging of the Senate and House bills on healthcare reform kept the Senate's wellness program provision, and the much more favorable provision from the House bill was dropped.  This provides some very dangerous loopholes that could allow insurers to charge as much as 50% more for medical coverage for people of size.  This provision is especially discriminatory to women, African Americans and Native Americans.

 

The article at the following link goes into detail about this issue:  http://www.alternet.org/politics/145038 

 

Send an email to your congressional leaders asking that the Senate's wellness program provision be dropped in favor of the one contained in the House bill, which does not penalize subscribers for failure to meet so-called wellness targets. 

This will go a long way in reducing weight stigma and eliminating discrimination against people of size.

 

Information on contacting your Senator can be found at http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/general/ one_item_and_teasers/contacting.htm 

 

To send an email to your Congressional Representative, go to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml 

Healthy At Every Size: Weight and Blame

[Editor's Note: Linda Bacon shares with us this excerpt, a version of which will appear in the Appendix to the second edition of her book, Health at Every Size, The Surprising Truth About Your Weight (www.HAESbook.com).]

 

Maybe you think that if you'd done a better job of controlling your food intake and weight, you wouldn't have diabetes or heart disease or hypertension--or whatever your diagnosis is.  But chances are you've tried to diet and manage your weight.  Perhaps you shed some pounds that later returned. You wonder why you can't just take better care of yourself.

 

Stop blaming yourself! 

 

The scientific reality is that genes play a greater role than weight in the development of all diseases associated with weight, including diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension and cancer.  We're all born with challenges written into our genetic code; this just happens to be your challenge.  Your body is genetically vulnerable to a particular disease(s), and environmental components can trigger that genetic propensity.  While other people may have been able to get away with the same lifestyle behaviors as you, the bottom line is that you can't. You're just not as lucky.

 

Your diagnosis woke you up to the fact that your body is having trouble.  Now you can rise to the challenge.  You can learn how to better manage your health and nourish yourself--without focusing on your weight.

 

The first step to healing is to let go of those assumptions that stop you from moving on, starting with the idea that you need to lose weight. The value of achieving and maintaining weight loss has long been an unchallenged assumption for so many diseases and you may be surprised to learn that there is very little evidence as to their veracity. In fact, an abundance of evidence suggests the pursuit of weight loss is actually harmful, setting us up for physical and emotional difficulties and distracting us from what really matters.

 

While it is true that some diseases are associated with weight, that just means these diseases are more likely to be found in heavier people--not that that the weight itself causes the disease.  The research that determines these associations rarely considers such factors as fitness, activity, history of dieting, stress, nutrient intake, weight cycling, or socioeconomic status. Yet all play a role.

 

When studies do control for these factors, the increased risk of disease disappears or is significantly reduced. What's likely going on is that some or all of these other factors increase disease risk as well as the risk of weight gain.  In other words, there's much more involved in the relationship between weight and disease than weight itself.  The role of weight has been misrepresented and exaggerated.

 

And, in fact, most health indicators, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or blood sugar control, can be improved through lifestyle changes, even without weight loss.

 

The new paradigm in health care is called Health at Every Size (HAES).  HAES encourages people to focus on wellness rather than body size, making changes that more directly affect their health and well-being. Health at Every Size helps you focus on what truly matters so you can let your body determine the weight that's best for you.

 

Can HAES really help me improve my health? 

 

The answer is a resounding YES!  HAES has been evaluated in several studies, and the results were published in well-respected scientific journals.  The studies find that HAES is much more effective in improving health than the pursuit of weight loss is.  They also show that people enjoy HAES and are much more likely to make it a part of their lives on an ongoing basis than dieting.

 

Is it really okay to stop trying to lose weight?

 

It's not only okay-it's the basis of positive change.  Health at Every Size isn't about giving up, it's about moving on.

 

© 2010 by Linda Bacon.

Call to Action:  Massachusetts Bill H.1850

by Ellen Frankel

www.beyondmeasureamemoir.com 

 

In Massachusetts, Rep. Byron Rushing's bill H.1850 -- An Act Making It Unlawful to Discriminate on the Basis of Height and Weight -- gets a new hearing on Wednesday, January 27, at 10:30 am, Hearing Room A-2, in the Boston State House.  I plan to be there to testify again.

 

If you're able to attend and testify, please do!  If you are unable to be there, but are able to provide written testimony, that would also be very effective!

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

 

Please submit written testimony by email to legislative aide Tracy Choi: Tracy.Choi@state.ma.us

 

Please forward this message to your friends and networks!

 

Let Massachusetts legislators know how many people are watching and hoping they do the right thing...the more emails the better!!

 

* * *

 

Stuff to include in your email:

 

1. A statement of support.  For example:

I support H.1850. I strongly encourage Massachusetts lawmakers to vote for this bill and enact much-needed protection against height/weight discrimination.

 

2. Your story of height or weight discrimination -- especially discrimination in employment, education, housing, medical care, or public accommodations, the areas the law would cover

 

3. Your expertise regarding the extent and the impact of height or weight discrimination

 

Thank you so much! 

 

Celebrate Healthy Weight Week, Jan. 17-23

by Francie M. Berg, MS

 

Respecting size diversity makes sound scientific sense.  Research at CDC shows the "healthiest" weight is in a broad range from a body mass index (BMI) of 22 up to 40.  It's the weight at which people live the longest.

 

The CDC study, led by Katherine Flegal, PhD, senior research scientist at the Center for Health Statistics, looked at actual deaths in the United States over a 30-year period.  They were analyzed in a variety of ways, both with and without smokers and people who had chronic diseases.  Flegal said the results always came out the same: There was no mortality risk from being overweight and little from being obese, except at the extreme end.  Most Americans are within this healthy weight range.

 

Healthy Weight Week promotes a lasting, healthy, diet-free lifestyle for people of all sizes.  Handouts are available on the educational website www.healthyweight.net  (click Handouts or Healthy Weight Week). 

Loss of a Size Acceptance Hero

by Pat Lyons

 

My long time friend, colleague and mentor Laura Keranen died 12/28/2009 suddenly and unexpectedly.  As you may recall, Laura is THE reason Kaiser made any effort to address weight bias starting in 1989 with hiring me to develop the Great Shape program.  For the 7 years we worked together at Kaiser, we helped develop the HAES approach for integration into health care, presented at many Kaiser and national public health meetings, and developed the Living in a Healthy Body patient education booklet based on HAES.

 

Laura was a tireless advocate for medical care delivered with dignity and respect--and was a champion for the simple idea that fat people deserve the same respect as everybody else.  In her position as Director of Health Education at the Kaiser regional office, she ensured the necessary leadership and resources of time, energy and expertise for us to help develop the AHELP organization in the early 1990s.  Laura backed us up completely when we began challenging Koop and the "war on obesity."  She was also a co-investigator for WomanCare Plus research on access to care--and was always a brilliant, funny, and persuasive presence in any meeting or project. 

 

She will be greatly missed, not only by me but by all of the other health professionals and students she mentored for decades.  I will attend her memorial to express these wishes as well.  May she live well in our memories.

 

From the Nevada City Union:

http://www.theunion.com/article/2010100109815 

 

Media and Research Roundup

[Editor's Note:  As we continue to play catch-up in this column, you can find the latest size acceptance news, good and bad, at the NAAFA News RSS Feed at http://naafa.org]

 

 

March 29, 2009:  HBO premieres the mini-series No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the best-selling novels by Alexander McCall Smith about a fat, smart, and confident woman who starts Botswana's first female-owned detective agency.  The show stars R&B singer/songwriter Jill Scott.

http://www.hbo.com/no1ladiesdetectiveagency/about

 

April 2009:  The professional journal Monitor on Psychology offers a great article on the use of the HAES approach in psychology and counseling, including good comments and information from Deb Burgard, PhD.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/weight.aspx

 

April 3, 2009:  New Mexico artist Lisa Marie Barren's exhibit "FAT" opens at the John Sommers Gallery at the University of New Mexico.  The highly visual exhibition aims to redefine what we think of body fat and reshapes the concept of beauty.

http://www.local-iq.com/index.php?option=com_extcalendar&Itemid=&extmode=view&extid=4811

 

April 7, 2009:  The journal Equal Opportunities International publishes a study by Michigan State University researcher Mark Roehling and others showing that while being 30 pounds or more "overweight" hurts the careers of both men and women, being marginally "overweight" only hurts the careers of women and may actually benefit men.

http://news.msu.edu/story/6152

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02610150910937916

 

April 8, 2009:  A study published in Clinical Cardiology claims to link "obesity" with poor fitness and cardiovascular disease.  The study is based on (only) 10 very fat men and women who purportedly spent, on average, all but 8 minutes a day sleeping, lying down or sitting.  Unexplained is how in their 8 minutes of activity, they also averaged 3,700 steps throughout the day, similar to the average for all Americans.  ("I'm dancing as fast as I can!")  And none of the subjects had heart disease, serious arthritis, or any other disorder limiting their mobility.  This would be hilarious if it weren't being offered as serious science.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSB24496720090408

 

April 9, 2009:  A new study in the Journal of Gerontology shows a benefit of being fat for elderly men.  In the study, increased BMI and higher cardiorespiratory fitness each independently reduced the risk of mortality.  

http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/ abstract/64A/6/695

 

April 14, 2009:  The Jakarta Globe reports on a new group in Indonesia, Komunitas Xtra-L Indonesia (through Yahoo Groups and Facebook), where fat people in Indonesia can discuss the widespread discrimination they are facing and offer support to each other. 

http://thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/big-bold-and-marginalized/272826

 

April 15, 2009:  SPECIAL ITEM: The Unfriendly Skies.  United Airlines announces a policy of charging for either a second seat or an upgrade to a seat that fits for any passenger who doesn't fit in a single seat.  In a gesture of magnanimity, the airline says if you are charged for an extra seat you can bring twice as much luggage, which is little help to those who had no idea that they were going to be charged for two seats!

http://www.9news.com/money/article.aspx?storyid=113857&catid=344

 

The response from the size rights community is vigorous:

 

·        NAAFA issues a press release (reposted by several other outlets) condemning the policy, and pointing out that the policy is based on 700 customer complaints received by the airline (a tiny fraction of the 63,000,000 people who fly with United each year). 
http://www.sizenet.com/showdoc.asp?id=1362

·        NAAFA PR director Peggy Howell also represents NAAFA in a discussion of the policy on KUOW-NPR. 
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=17337

·        The Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR) joins NAAFA in blasting United Airlines for its discriminatory policy. 
http://www.flyfriendlyskies.com/pdf-docs/2009_AARP_Press_United_Overweight_04-17-09.pdf

·        NAAFA member (and author of Fat Chicks Rule) Lara Frater beats the 700 complaints with a petition with over 900 signatures asking United to change its policy. 
http://www.petitiononline.com/NoUNITED/petition.html

·        Angela Trakas of fatsochic.com starts a similar petition. 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/BOYCOTTUnited-till-they-make-flying-comfortable-for-ALL-passengers

·        Fat rights crusader Marilyn Wann's eloquent and thought-provoking open letter to the fat community urges us to support and sign petitions opposing the policy of airlines to charge fat passengers for two seats. 
http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=1036

·        United customers can share their views on this policy with United.
https://www.intelliscaninc.net/united

·          Possibly in response to complaints, United assures fat customers that they will accommodate them at no extra charge if empty seats are available.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30314210

·          Ariel Leve's article in TimesOnline (UK) makes some good (and humorous) points about the policy and how it exposes everyone to the arbitrary opinion of an airline employee as to who is fat. 
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/ ariel_leve/article6210681.ece 

·          Arthur Frommer of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the airlines offer a few fat-friendly seats on each plane, although he doubts this will happen.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/03/TRKC178G2P.DTL

·          Delta Airlines' policy is arguably worse, in that they won't let you buy 2 seats under the same name, or guarantee the 2 seats are together, or guarantee they won't give your second seat away! 
http://consumerist.com/2009/05/delta-cant-be-bothered-to-sell-the-obese-two-adjoining-seats.html

 

 

April 20, 2009:  You knew it was coming.  A study in the International Journal of Epidemiology now blames fat people for global warming!  This study is based on estimates, estimates based on hypotheticals.  Sadly this hypothetical, estimated mathematical exercise results in more anti-fat rhetoric.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/20/obesity-climate-change

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/38/4/1137

 

April 26, 2009:  Style commentator Giles Hattersley's article in The Sunday Times (London) reflects on the fatness of Kate Moss (apparently she now has breasts).  Hattersley admits that "fat" is a relative term in the fashion world, and actually includes some mildly fat-friendly talk.  There is some of the usual good food/bad food silliness, but of interest is a reference to studies showing that in lean economic times, men prefer fatter women!  Finally some good news about the economy.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/ article6149143.ece 

 

April 28, 2009:  An article by Edith Honan is supposed to be about fat as a civil rights issue in the United States, but Ms. Honan is so new to the concept of fat rights that she is dazzled by all the resources she's found.  She shares lots of bits and pieces of fat-friendly information, but very little is on the topic of fat rights.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN16366052

 

April 28, 2009:  Fat rights hero Lily O'Hara appears on Australian TV morning show Sunrise presenting a self-acceptance point of view in a discussion on the use of cosmetic surgery to look thinner and younger.  Of course, as we know, fat people tend to look younger anyhow.

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/sunrise/24883/would-you-get-cosmetic-surgery

 

April 30, 2009:  The Chicago Tribune's article on HAES is mostly about Kate Harding, her book and her blog.  As usual, Ms. Harding has some pithy comments on HAES.  The article also touches briefly on other HAES supporters such as Linda Bacon, Paul Campos, and Paul Ernsberger.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/apr/30/health/chi-0430-fatosphere-queenapr30

 

May 2009:  Many fat folks went to the government's health reform website and shared their stories and their concerns that health reform be about health and not weight.  The site is still there and we encourage you to participate.

http://www.healthreform.gov

 

May 1, 2009:  The FDA publishes a warning to consumers to stop using Hydroxycut products after reports of serious health problems.  Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/
2009/ucm149575.htm

 

May 4, 2009:  The Washington Post reports on whether or not fat kids should have access to nice, trendy clothing.  Mind boggling as it may seem, some people really think that if fat kids have nice clothes they will have no reason to lose weight.  The good news is that 93% of the people responding to this poll voted that everyone (even fat people) should have access to nice clothes!  Gives one hope.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/05/do_plus-size_clothes_for_teens.html