Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thank you Kate Harding!!

I just said no to a pitch from the "Health and Wellness Center" to join in their "Biggest Loser" competition.

N. O.

"I'd say 'yes' to a biggest loser of cholesterol numbers competition, or to a biggest gainer of resting heart-rate numbers competition, but focusing on weight is misleading when talking about health and is counter-productive in terms of an ultimate goal of staying healthy and reducing negative health outcomes. Focusing on weight alone leads to disordered eating, which contributes to negative health outcomes. Besides which, less than 5 percent of people actually maintain their new lower weight. When you focus on actual health indicators, such as cholesterol numbers, people do much better at maintaining healthy exercise levels and reducing junk-food intake."

At this point, they ran away from me.

8 comments:

ccw said...

I agree, maintaining a healthy weight is important and can play in to having lower cholesterol, blood pressure, etc but by no means is a thin person always healthy just as an overweight/obese person is always unhealthy.

I don't watch these types of shows for that very reason. Over and over we hear that rapid weight loss is not only unhealthy but usually unsustainable yet shows/programs like these thrive because so many are consumed by the quick results.

kathy a. said...

i'd be a lot happier if these health outreach things [and every ad in the history of mankind] did not focus on skinniness as the ideal.

my daughter's best friend was recently diagnosed as anorexic. that's kind of scary. my SILfH is even scarier; she is skeletal and evidently thinks that is attractive. her cover story is that she is "vegan," except she isn't.

kathy a. said...

obviously, there is more to SIL than the vegan cover story. but all those glossy ads have not helped her, not at all.

Sue said...

This is why I heart you so much Liz. You get it. You should have your own talk show. Srsly.

word verification is "ineface" (no kidding, it really is - how perfect!)

Anonymous said...

I scared off a PR flack from P&G with a rant recently, too. Works great!

I love your arguments. Brava!

Magpie said...

LOL - I bet they ran away. But you're so right.

Antropóloga said...

The 5% thing--it must depend on how you lost the weight.

Great response!

purple_kangaroo said...

ITA! You tell 'em!