The shame game: How the war on obesity is bad for our health
{Image Credit :: Georgia Children’s Health Alliance via CBSNews.com}
Fear and shame are the most misunderstood, overused, and ultimately ineffective tools in the persuasion game, and yet we continue to utilize them to try to create behavior change. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the cringe-worthily named “War on Obesity.”
As armies of physicians, nutritionists, mental health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, diet-industry executives, media outlets, and the First Lady take up weapons in this “fight,” what we find is that the messages are doing more harm than good. Not only are they unlikely to help the target audience – namely, overweight folk – but they are potentially extremely damaging to rest of the population as well.
At the recent Academy for Eating Disorders conference, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion on the topic, “Can Obesity Treatment and Prevention Be Reconciled with Eating Disorder Treatment and Prevention?” The reason that we need this type of discussion is that the tactics being used to “help” obese individuals can inadvertently promote eating disorders.
Take, for example, a recent anti-obesity ad that reads, “Chubby kids may not outlive their parents.” Or the ads now running in New York that depict a glass full of thick, yellow human fat and read, “Are you pouring on the pounds? Don’t drink yourself fat.” Or, better still, “Beat obesity with a stick,” (with celery sticks showing behind the text, in an apparent attempt at clever word play).
What we’ve seen is that obesity prevention and treatment efforts in the media have tended to focus on the individual and his or her choices. What they scream, and no so subtly, is: Eat less! Move more! Drop the sugar! Get off the couch! You’re lazy! You’re bad! You’re wrong! Shame on you! You’re going to die!
It doesn’t take an active imagination to see how individuals, and particularly those with genetic and other vulnerabilities to eating disorders, can be influenced negatively by these messages. As if the rampant social weight-bias wasn’t enough, children now see billboards plastered with direct messages telling them that being fat is bad.
What about children who are large? (Because we know that not all children or adults, no matter their diets, will be in the “normal” weight range – it’s human variation.) Can you imagine for a moment what it must be like to be a heavy kid, teased at school, harassed by siblings, assumed to be less intelligent and capable by teachers, and to be walking home and see a billboard telling you that are going to die? That you should be beaten? That the soda that you just drank – the same one you saw all of the other, thinner, kids drink – you should be ashamed of?
This. Doesn’t. Help.
What this does is creates an even more hostile environment in which weight bias and fat discrimination becomes even more prevalent and acceptable. In fact, it encourages people to turn that discrimination upon themselves – that’s how shame-based interventions work, after all.
And what we know is that people who feel ashamed, people who feel rejected by society, people whose confidence is torn to shreds by humiliation – these are not the people trying yoga for the first time or visiting the farmer’s market. These are the not the people who feel empowered to make healthy choices for themselves. And can we blame them? They’ve been told that they make all the wrong decisions anyway, and they’re probably going to die.
What we also know, from scientific evidence, is that we cannot effectively treat weight itself. What we can do is treat illness when it arises and encourage people to make healthy choices to prevent illness. So telling people that their weight or being fat is bad does nothing. Telling people how to enjoy physical activity and learn what foods make their bodies feel good can help a lot.
People of every shape and size deserve to live in a world that supports health. We cannot allow our misguided assumptions of how to promote physical health come at the expense of our mental and emotional health. If we want a healthier society, we need to start by examining what actually works in promoting wellness – and scare tactics and discriminatory media messages do not.
Lori Lieberman
726 days ago
Instead of a war on obesity we need to enter into diplomatic relations! And more people need to understand the issues around BMI! See http://dropitandeat.blogspot.com/2011/02/where-bmi-goes-wrong-lessons-from-cupid.html
Lori Lieberman recently posted..The Halo Effect Your Thoughts About Healthy Foods Can Make or Break Your Weight Struggle
Kat
726 days ago
I actually recently delved into the same topic.
There is something incredibly disturbing to me about the fact that no one seems to truly ask the question, “why?” when it comes to obesity rather just making assumptions about the “how” and then accordingly coming up with a way to combat it that neglects to address the problem of lack of education about food choices, the possible emotional reasons, etc — rather turns to something we learned in elementary school was bad (teasing — which it really is) as a solution.
that “why?” could very well help a percentage of those that are obese that DO have eating disorders or those that are not well educated in proper food choices or the benefits of healthy exercise (my time spent living in different locations has eradicated my previous belief that people do know these things, just choose not to act on them).
I wholly agree that this is being combated in the entirely wrong way. I cannot fathom being one of the children in those ads and the kind of emotional damage that probably was created through them. I think those ads show just how extremely polarized we’ve gotten without taking time to realize that the two extremes may be quite similar. If we treated those with anorexia in the same manner can you imagine the outcry?
We’re creating a socially acceptable version of intolerance and it’s so incredibly sad.
Kat recently posted..A Challenge of the me first variety
Anna Guest-Jelley
726 days ago
“So telling people that their weight or being fat is bad does nothing. Telling people how to enjoy physical activity and learn what foods make their bodies feel good can help a lot.” LOVE this post! This is such an important conversation. Thank you!
Anna Guest-Jelley recently posted..Curvy Down Dog
Rosie
726 days ago
Great post- powerfully said. I am going to use this post this fall with my students when we discuss body size and body image. Thank you!
Yoni Freedhoff
726 days ago
Great post Ashley.
Thrilled to hear about the workshop at the Academy for Eating Disorders conference, and while there’s no doubt bound to be huge barriers, gaps and hurdles to overcome, given weight for many can have dramatic impact on both their health and/or their qualities of life, finding a safe, supportive and healthy common ground between weight management and ED treatment is certainly a worthy pursuit.
Mary
726 days ago
Great post.
It’s sad to me, in a way, that we value fat people so little that even our challenges to the “war on obesity” have to be framed as “this campaign will hurt the (thin) rest of us!” I think, though, that with any oppressed group, we have to convince the people with privilege — (thin folk, in this case) — that the oppression harms them before any progress is made. The more people who find posts like yours and rethink the assumption that fat = bad, thin = good, this “war” = compassionate, the better.
Mary recently posted..One Week- No Tweets- On My Temporary Separation from Social Media
Amanda
725 days ago
“Can Obesity Treatment and Prevention Be Reconciled with Eating Disorder Treatment and Prevention?”
I think the main issue is that people think that this is only a behavioral problem, that weight is not an indicator of anything other than overeating / living ‘unhealthy’. People don’t want to acknowledge that the ‘obesity epidemic’ is something that is deeply ingrained within class / race while also being tangled with the availability / affordability / accessibility of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as finding space for exercising. It is a multifaceted issue that cannot be dealt with using shame or fear tactics and if people were really worried about health, then the message of eating well and exercising would be targeted at everyone not just fat people.
Also, treatment and prevention of ‘obesity’ is only possibly if we assume that all people are fat because of those behavioral issues. If we changed it to diet prevention and treatment, that would be more accurate in dealing with the mental and physical issues that come into play when people are fat and have a lifelong struggle to lose weight. They end up heavier and unhealthy because of the behaviors learned from dieting not fat.
FatNSassy
724 days ago
Excellent article. That GA organization is on Facebook, you can search Stopchildhoodobesity, hit like (just to be able to comment) and tell them what you think of their campaign!
charlotte
724 days ago
Oh how funny – I just blogged about this too! Well about the child aspect of the “war on obesity.” Needless to say I agree with everything you wrote. We all need to remember that “fat people” are people first. Just like the elderly and children and the disabled and everyone else who doesn’t fit the “perfect” mold. Every person deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. This is one war that needs to end. (Okay, what am I saying? All wars need to end. It’s late.)
Frank Tsu
724 days ago
I think you have really touched on the efficacy of the overarching issues at play. Shame and humiliation seem to be emerging modes that are acceptable and in vouge and do not establish good pace setters for a world health support system. It has been quoted many times and again
http://www.dailyrx.com/news-article/overweight-and-under-knife-12610.html
“People tend to think that all obese individuals have the same health problems”.
-Laurent G. Glance, M.D.. The causes and behaviors associated with obesity are not umbrella terms. Real People going through real situations.
Joella
723 days ago
Wonderful post. As a female person who has been on both sides of this issue, I can tell you that I found much more acceptace when I was too thin. I am fortunate in having friends that love me whatever size I am. However, with strangers I’ve seen and felt the real prejudice out there and it HURTS. I am currently losing weight, no crash diets or pills, just a bit more enjoyable exercise, and a few people have gushed over me like I have climbed Mt. Everest. I am still me, with issues like everyone else – just a few pounds lighter. We should treat EVERYONE as we want to be treated ourselves. And stop with the shaming ads – we are not hideous globs of fat. Whew, do I feel better!
Emily W.
722 days ago
I look at it this way – it’s far easier for the public to point the finger at the obese person than make the changes necessary for ALL of us to have improved health. Billboards of “chubby kids” vs. wiping out the entire cereal aisle of the grocery store? When all else fails, follow the money. They KNOW this method is ineffective, but they get kudos for “trying”. Meanwhile, we get fatter, sicker, and more disabled. God help this country in 50 years….
Cheryl Veldman
722 days ago
Seeing this article was very timely for our family. My daughter (who would have been 25 tomorrow) died two years ago after battling ED for nine years. Even knowing this, her grandmother has forced my two young nieces, who live with her, to go on diets. Both girls are tall and large framed. They were never genetically intended to be willowy. The other day, my younger daughter was visiting them and texted me that one cousin was refusing to eat, stating she “didn’t deserve to”. My daughter also reported that the girl’s behavior was clearly impacted by her now out of control blood sugar from lack of food. For my daughter, this is doubly painful to watch. How is it that the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”?
Cheryl Veldman recently posted..The Worry
Jeanette DePatie
722 days ago
Dear Ashley,
Thank you so much for your post! This is exactly what the Association for Size Diversity and Health is approaching. The question that health should be available for everybody at all sizes, shapes and weights. If you could forgive a teensy, tiny ad, I’d like to share with you that ASDAH has a conference coming up August 12-14 in San Francisco called: “No Body Left Behind – The HAES(SM) Model: Ensuring an Inclusive Approach to Health and Wellness”. We’ll be talking a great deal about the idea of Health at Every Size, building new bridges with the Eating Disorders treatment and prevention communites, AND Dr. Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor (RD) will be presenting new research about the ethical problems of prescribing weight loss. Folks can learn more on the ASDAH website at
www dot sizediversityandhealth dot org.
Thanks!
The Fat Chick
Dr. Deah Schwartz
722 days ago
What a wonderful post! Why aren’t these articles plastered all over the front pages of newspapers…at least alongside the articles that are spewing blame and hatred towards people that don’t fit the “norm” of what is touted as beautiful and healthy bodies??? That would be a great example of fair and equal reporting!
Dr. Deah Schwartz
722 days ago
P.S. You may be interested in reading an “anti-shame” campaign post that Leftovers To Go posted back in February.
http://www.leftoverstogo.com/2011/02/01/from-shame-full-to-shame-less/
Dr. Deah Schwartz recently posted..BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
AmandaLP
722 days ago
To the other Amanda: We need to divorce the idea of “weight” from behavioral issues. As paraphrased from a book on Eating disorders: “Weight is not a behavior and thus is not appropriate for intervention.” What happens is that people will try changing their behaviors, but if they do not see a (weight loss) reward for doing so, they often stop the habit.
I am fat. Even at my lowest weight (a year after WLS) I was 205. Every time I tried to exercise, I felt chastised and humiliated for even thinking about trying. Weight stigma is so prevalent in society that I cannot get fitted for walking shoes, ask about bikes that will accommodate my weight, or even walk around the block without people laughing, snickering, staring, or being rude.
I really like advertisements that suggest changing behaviors, like choosing fruits or walking more. But, when they are placed within a “weight loss” context, things go wrong. As stated above, we should be moving more and eating good things because they are good for us, not because they will help with our weight.
Nicole
721 days ago
Really well said. Thank you!
lance
633 days ago
“Telling people how to enjoy physical activity and learn what foods make their bodies feel good can help a lot.”
I have to disagree with this statement. Being a one time morbidly obese person, I have told people the great benefits of eating well and being active. They listen intently,but don’t change. Overweight people just don’t want to change. Or they don’t want to work towards change. The only way is for them to decide once and for all they want to be thin.
Bullying and bad mouthing is just fuel to the fire so to speak. The worse they feel the more they eat.
Kelly
299 days ago
I didn’t have a weight problem until people started telling me not to eat this or that or the other….just a thought,
A tight introduction of thomas sabo bracelet
57 days ago
I like this post, enjoyed this one thankyou for putting up.