Judgement Package

I have been a volunteer with the Women's Health Clinic for 2 years now. I go to schools and various womens groups and speak to them about self-esteem, and body image and weight preoccupation. I do enough research and reading every week to stay up to date with what is happening in the world of health at every size, and I know better than to buy into almost everything a newspaper or news show has to say on the topic. Seldom is the whole story told. Bits and pieces of studies are piece-mealed together to form the scare-tactic story of the evening. One need only think about some things for a few minutes to realize that they may have been buying into a massive over-hyping. For example, most studies regarding obesity say that obese people have an increased RISK for heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. NOT one study says "obese people will have heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. My point, risk does not equal causality. If this were so, all blond, blue eyed, fair skinned folks would have skin cancer at some point in there lives. Of course, that would be absurd to believe.

The reason I bring all of this up is because I spend my life fighting these kinds of misconceptions, and trying to get young women to think things through before they begin to dislike or do battle with their bodies. One of the points I try to make is that you cannot tell someones health by looking at them. Many would like to think that they can tell if someone is 'healthy' by judging their outward appearance, but the truth is that without reliable testing (e.g. blood tests, blood pressure, etc) we cannot tell. Weight is not a determinant of health, it is only a determinant of risk. This does not mean all thin people will be healthy and all fat people will be unhealthy. In fact the same risks that exist for the obese also exist for those that fall in the underweight category.

In the past month, I have finally broken down and gone to see a doctor. She sent me for the whole workup, every blood test imaginable.As I waited for the results I felt my anxiety level rise, and I realized that I am not immune to the 'war on obesity'. Before I had my results I was sure that I was diabetic and probably hypertensive. I phoned a friend, who of course, laughed at me and pointed out my silliness. But I still felt anxious. I went in to get my results the other day, and it turns out, I am completely healthy, in fact nothing has changed since I was much younger. I can't even blame my thyroid for being underactive!

I felt like wearing my results like a badge. But I question that. What is motivating me to want to wear these results? Anyone who knows me knows I am healthy, and will I really change the minds of those buying into the judgment package of health? Probably not. Will it help to stop judgment for those who may not have my healthy genes? Most likely not. AS long as we have a 'war on obesity' and the headless fat person on every headline, this judgment will prevail with the overwhelming superiority of ignorance.