On Fatphobia

Stock photo provided by Wix.

It's "new year, new you" time again. I played that game too for many years, too. I bought, and I mean literally bought, the lies about perfect bodies. I accepted the shame for not fitting into certain size pants; for being above a certain number on the scale; for eating something with <gasp> sugar, fat, preservatives, or whatever the latest food trend. I lived by the "if only" dream. If only I were <blank> size I would be happy. If only my <insert body part here> didn't have this <insert perceived flaw here>, then I would be confident and be able to do <insert activity I'm denying myself here>. Then I found the Food Psych podcast by Christy Harrison, and I learned some amazing facts about fatphobia and the diet industry. And, yes, it is an industry. 1) According to Business Wire, as of early 2019, the U.S. weight-loss industry was worth $72 billion. SEVENTY-TWO BILLION DOLLARS. Making sure people want to change their bodies is in the diet industry's best interests.

2) Fatphobia has racist roots. Check out Sabrina Spring's book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia for more details. It's also sexist, homophobic, and ableist. 3) Studies show that 95% of dieters gain back the weight within one to five years, and two-thirds of those people gain back MORE than they lost. Additionally, weight-cycling, also known as yo-yo dieting, and the stress of weight stigma are worse for your health than any number on the scale to start with. For more details and links to some studies, see this blog post.

4) And if that isn't enough evidence that there is something wrong with our culture's approach to people's bodies, consider this. Being at a lower weight doesn't actually make people any healthier. What you eat and how you move your body can affect your health, but that is a very different thing than a number on the scale. Health at Every Size resources.

All this doesn't even touch on the harm that that fatphobia causes, such as a harder time getting jobs, eating disorders, and worse medical treatment. I could go on for days, and I'm sure I'll post more about this in the future. In the meantime, please go check out https://christyharrison.com/ or Christy Harrison's book Anti-Diet. And, no, I'm not a paid advertiser. Christy Harrison doesn't even know I exist. I'm just a really, really big fan.