Nightline Face Off Program – Is It Ok To Be Fat?

Best place to watch it online is at HULU
http://tinyurl.com/ykwo9ov
Crystal Renn, model and author of “Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves” and Marianne Kirby, co-author of “Lessons From the Fat-O-Sphere” faced off against MeMe Roth, president of National Action Against Obesity and Kim Bensen, author of “Finally Thin.”
Renn and Kirby argue against constant dieting and contend that you don’t have to be thin to be healthy, while Roth and Bensen argue against an obese America and believe in the importance of maintaining a responsible diet.
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My (David Greenwalt) Perspective
Kirby is morbidly obese and has failed, at least for now, one TOO many times at dieting to want to try again. Therefore, for her, accepting her behaviors and lifestyle is survival of the mind and spirit even if her weight, in time, costs her, you, me and everyone else big $$ due to the pending health disaster that IS extremely likely to occur.
Renn, a “plus-size” model is 5?10? and is a size 12. At one time she was the typical, overly skinny model. She says she was anorexic and almost died so most of her discussion, whether it’s directly stated or not, is from the position of EITHER someone is anorexic OR they are a little bigger and healthy (like her).
Bensen was once morbidly obese and is now, from looks, and according to a BMI of 25 or higher being overweight, probably just overweight, not obese, not morbidly obese. She was the least outspoken of the group but her position is “Hey, I will speak from personal experience and tell you this. I was super fat. I was unhealthy. I was miserable. Choose the behaviors that will get that excess fat off and you’ll feel better and be healthier like me.” That quote is really just a paraphrase to try and put what I heard in her words.
Most of Roth’s closest family are obese to morbidly obese. She has big-time genetics to be huge if she didn’t exercise everyday and eat right. Roth is the most science-smart and science-minded of the group. She might get a tiny piece here or there wrong but it’s mostly inconsequential. She’s got the facts and isn’t afraid to share them–regardless of the audience. She’s 5?6? and goes in the low 120s. She flat out stated she runs 4 miles a day and eats about 1800 cals to MAINTAIN her weight. She said to maintain 120s without exercise she’d have to eat about 1300 cals a day. Know what? I believe her.
The rhetoric of the program unfortunately was slanted to equating health with thinness or “a little overweight” with unhealthy.
Want to win an argument if you are “a little overweight” and you exercise and eat mostly right? Then slant EVERYTHING you say to the FACT that being thin doesn’t equal healthy. Know what? You’ll be right. The facts are that being “a little overweight” but exercising regularly and eating mostly right doesn’t mean you are unhealthy or ever will be more than someone who is thin – in fact you can be much healthier and outlast the thin person depending on genetics and the thin-person’s behaviors, environment etc.
Want to win an argument if you are obese? Only use images of runway models as the ONLY acceptable standard we Americans find healthy and attractive. Your position won’t be true, at all, but it will make your position seem a bit more reasonable. Why? Because if runway models were the only acceptable standard there isn’t much chance any of us will ever reach that weight or look so — WHY BOTHER? So if you only talk about looks, body size and runway models you can kinda win the argument — depending on how ignorant your audience is.
The Nightline program, I’m guessing for viewer attention and ratings and to create debate, too often used “body size” and the extremes of the weight continuum as the points of argument. They, instead, should have focused on behaviors regardless of body size and the science supporting a reasonably-healthy weight with the behaviors that support healthy eating and exercise.
Being a little overweight but exercising regularly and eating according to what I teach in Leanness Lifestyle is not a person any of us will focus on, stigmatize, or worry about relating to costing us all healthcare dollars or a scrunched up airline ride due to “spillover.” One of the reasons the topic has become SO prominent and worth dissecting is because we Americans aren’t “a little overweight but living an otherwise healthy lifestyle.” No, we are a third obese and beyond that classification we are living very UNhealthy lifestyles regardless of classification.
Let’s focus on the behaviors, intently on the behaviors, use science to support behaviors that create health, and then wherever a person lands after that? Let them be. Let’s get away from the ridiculous arguments of one is EITHER anorexic runway model OR they are morbidly obese — that’s a losing battle and not the only two options we have available to us.
In health,
David Greenwalt – Founder
Certified Wellness Coach – ACSM
Leanness Lifestyle University