Fat? No Problem

To be fat or not to be fat. That is the question. Or so it seems it’s come down to that. We’ve become a society so focused on weight, weight-loss products, the obese and the supposed benefits to being thin that we’ve lost sight of what healthy can be. And I think our prejudices toward the overweight have grown, along with our waistlines.

I live in Colorado, a state that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, has had the lowest rate of obesity in the nation since 1990. Being about 60 pounds overweight myself, it can be hard not to look at all the thin people in Denver or Boulder or Fort Collins, or anywhere in the state really, and not feel out of place. Sometimes I get looks, not nasty looks because of my race but because I’m not a “normal” size. They can be hurtful, but I find most people treat me with egalitarian respect. The disdain sometimes comes from the perception that if you’re overweight you’re putting an unnecessary burden on the flailing health care system.

Ah, but I can tell my fellow Coloradoans that I have had a near clean bill of health the last few visits I’ve had to the doctor. A few visits back I had a slightly high cholesterol count, but by my next visit I got that down to a normal level and all my other blood tests came back normal, including LDL and HDL cholesterol. The last time I had to stay in the hospital was to get a tonsillitis as my tonsils had grown too large and was causing me sleep apnea. I have never had to go to the hospital or ER as a result of me being overweight. Besides my depression, a hereditary condition, which is being treated, and the continued need for a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, I’m pretty healthy.

I bring this up because The New York Times ran a story this morning about how some anti-fat-discrimination groups have been rallying Congress not to punish the overweight in its sweeping health care reform bills, one of which, the House bill, passed last night 220-215 to much hand wringing by the Republicans and conservative Democrats.

Marilyn Wann, a weight diversity speaker in Northern California and member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, petitioned legislators on Capitol Hill to not exclude the overweight in a public option, and for coverage that did not include being overweight as a pre-existing condition.

A federally-financed study by Linda Bacon, a nutrition professor at City College of San Francisco and author of “Health at Every Size,” “found that there were many people who could be healthy in fat bodies.”

Ms. Wann used some of Ms. Bacon’s findings as her talking points when she visited legislators with other lobbyists for “fat acceptance” in May.

She said she felt encouraged that the health care bill the House Democratic leaders unveiled on Thursday does not allow changes in insurance pricing based on obesity. But there is still a long way to go before any bill becomes law.

I’m not a traditional tax-and-spend liberal, but I do support a tax on fatty and junk foods to pay for the real health costs of our most obese patients and to maybe discourage people of all sizes to quit eating so much of that unhealthy food that’s really not all that satisfying for long. That may seem contradictory to what I’ve written above, but I support initiatives that encourage health and help treat those that struggle most with obesity and obesity-related health problems, so people can get to a size they’re comfortable with, and be healthy.

The point is that fat does not always mean unhealthy, or lazy, or slothful, or messy or unkempt. And, guess what? Some of us, including myself, are actively working on losing weight! So drop your prejudices and come talk to us fluffy fellows and gals. You might meet someone you like, despite their size.