jenk

Steven Shapin reviewed a few books on fatness in the 1/16/2006 New Yorker. While discussing of Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity Epidemic (Oxford; $26) by J. Eric Oliver:

[O]ne group of C.D.C. researchers put it, “Evidence that weight loss improves survival is limited.” We are getting fat, but, Oliver says, we’re not getting sick because of it. Excess body fat, and its effects on your joints, can contribute to osteoarthritis, Oliver concedes, and he grants that there is a decent causal story about cancer of the uterus and the higher estrogen levels found in overweight women, but that’s about it. [...] If you have a high B.M.I. and you’re fit, Oliver thinks that there’s no evidence that you’re more likely to suffer ill health than anyone else. Fat people are not usually fit, and they often eat foods rich in saturated fats, sugar, and refined carbohydrates, but it’s the lack of exercise and a poor diet that make for bad health, not “excessive” weight. Oliver discusses a number of studies purporting to show that weight loss is responsible for remediating a range of illnesses. However, epidemiologists are too quick to ascribe to weight loss what might be better attributed to the life-style changes that produce weight loss. This, Oliver claims, “is like saying ‘whiter teeth produced by the elimination of smoking reduces the incidence of lung cancer.’ ”

This isn't a new idea; Big Fat Lies covers some of the same ground; but it's interesting to see this getting more press. A couple other little mots from the article that I liked:

Fat was once considered a sign of substance and now it isn’t. It was once thought sexy and now it’s the opposite. [...] It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that fat became ugly when the poor became fat.

I guess the beggar-maid is only romantic to the masses... ;)