Last week, I finally managed to clear things with my health insurance, and went to get a primary physician and check-up*. As in all check ups, the very first thing they do is check my weight and height.
I’m 5’5″, and weight 211 pounds. Antigone is a giant fatty. When the nurse was recording this, she had a little look on her face like “Yeah, that’s about right”.
Then the nurse went to check my blood pressure. Her look became a little surprised then- my blood pressure is an excellent 102/62. My pulse is strong. Because I’m fat, and I haven’t had it done before, they asked for a cholesterol test and the nurse said I had the lowest cholesterol for anyone in my age group**. My lungs are in good working order (non-smoker) and my reflexes are good. My eyesight is terrific (20-10), and my hearing is MUCH better than my age group.
Why am I sharing all of this extremely personal information online that is none of anyone’s business? Because of stuff like this. For whatever reason, it seems to be just assumed that fat people aren’t healthy (and conversely, that skinny people mostly are). Also in this thought process, it seems to go that fat people could be skinny if they just “worked at it”. But it isn’t true, and it shouldn’t be thought of as so. I don’t eat any more than my skinny friends do, nor do I exercise any less. I could exercise more (and intend to now that I’ve got a job again and can afford to), but odds are, I’m always going to be a giant fatty. So far, diet plans have a terrible success rate in people keeping the weight off for more than five years.
But, a lot of fat people are healthy. That’s the thing- you can’t look at someone and go “healthy” or “in better shape” unless those people are, at that second, running a marathon. And I’m sick of people conflating their own disgust with fat as concern for health. They aren’t the same thing at all.
*And burn a wart off that’s been bugging me.
** I don’t remember the exact number, mea culpa. I think it was like 160, but I’m not sure. I know it was under 200.
That’s awesome that you are so healthy. However, as the Times Online article you linked to states, you are the exception not the norm.
Should I bother recycling the link from my last antifatophobia post that demonstrates that you’re not really a BIG FAT EXCEPTION, Antigone, or should I not feed the troll?
Might as well recycle it. And while we’re at it, check out Alas, A blog sometime.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/for-health-body-size-can-be-misleading/?emc=eta1
But but but but fat is a moral issue!
(Yes, my husband’s doctor actually told him this.)
Also, that doctor and two others have also told him if he would just eat less and exercise more he would lose the 100 pounds he is overweight.
D’oh! How come he never THOUGHT of that?