What's Wrong with Fat?

Yesterday I went to the What's Wrong with Fat book discussion panel. Although I haven't read the book, I found it really interesting and I would be curious to read it in the future and find out more about the topic. Body image and obesity seem to be constantly discussed in both the medical and social worlds. Medically, it is often brought up in relation to health issues. Although after attending this event I have learned that there is excess emphasis put on anti-obseisity when we should really be focusing on good health in general. Socially, we are constantly exposed to "good" and "bad" body images in the media, fashion magazines, and advertising, creating a skewed version of health.

The author, Saguy, as well as one of the other speakers, Bianca Wilson, made the point that attacking obesity could actually be a way of our culture indirectly attacking certain minorities who are more likely to be obese. And while some people don't fall into the demographic of a body type that we perceive as "healthy"this does not necessarily mean that they are in worse health than someone who does fit the stereotype. Tamara Horwich, a cardiac doctor pointed out that heaver people are actually less likely to suffer from respiratory problems, which is a benefit of excess weight that often goes unmentioned.

One of the main points I got from the presentation is that our culture puts a huge amount of emphasis on fighting obesity and being "healthy" but in doing that we are ignoring what being healthy really means. Weight isn't the only determinant of health and there is a difference being fat and obese but these groups are often merged together. Fatness is looked down upon in our culture and while it can be caused by unhealthy diet and exercise patterns, being fat does not always have a direct correlation to being unhealthy. At the same time, being skinny does not necessarily mean healthy. Especially in the media, where the body images we are shown as the image of beauty are usually edited versions of celebrities who may not even lead healthy lifestyles to begin with.