LIFE & TRENDS
Body Positivity: BY CARRIE SHEFFIELD C
omedian bill maher came under fire for a recent monologue criticizing the “body positivity” or “fat
acceptance” movement that seeks to normalize the rapid rise in obesity as something to celebrate. “We’ve gone from fat acceptance to
fat celebration,” Maher said in August on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. “To view letting yourself go as a
point of pride? We used to at least try and be fit and healthy, and society praised those who succeeded,” he lamented. “Now the term body positivity is
used to mean, ‘I’m perfect the way I am because I’m me.’ It’s Orwellian how often positivity is used to describe what’s not healthy!” The premise behind “body
positivity” was popularized by The Body Positive organization launched in Berkeley, California, in 1996 by Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott, two self-described “feminists” intending to help people, especially women, overcome negative feelings
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increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. The National Institutes of Health
Healthy or Harmful?
Experts warn fat acceptance movement ignores the perils of obesity. ::
about their bodies and strive for healthy self-acceptance. The “body positivity” movement
today has grown to include corporations celebrating plus-size models in ad campaigns, including on social media through hashtags like #LoseHateNotWeight. Body positivity supporters say it
rejects fetishizing twig-thin models and projecting unattainable and unhealthily thin “perfection.” Yet only a small percentage
of people struggle with being underweight. According to American Addiction
Centers, just 1.5% of the female population and 0.5% of the male population experience bulimia in their lifetimes, and just 0.9% of women and 0.3% of men battle anorexia. Far more people struggle with
being overweight and obese and all its lethal complications, including greater susceptibility to COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reported the obesity rate was 42% in 2020. From 2000 through 2020, severe obesity
reported: “Excess weight is often accompanied by high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and other health problems.” A 2018 study by the Milken
Institute reported “chronic diseases driven by the risk factor of obesity and overweight accounted for $480.7 billion in direct healthcare costs in the U.S., with an additional $1.24 trillion in indirect costs due to lost economic productivity. “The total cost of chronic diseases
due to obesity and overweight was $1.72 trillion.” This gives rise to questions
about whether the “body positive” movement goes too far and deceives people into thinking their actions don’t impact their future health. Some physicians are hesitant
to bring up weight or advocate for weight loss and want to avoid upsetting patients. Some give waiting room patients
small cards that say “Don’t weigh me” or “Don’t weigh me unless medically necessary” to help patients avoid what they call patient “triggers” at the doctor’s office. But other physicians are very concerned about “body positivity,” saying advocates are only half-right. Dr. Ken Perry, an emergency room
physician who is president of the South Carolina American College of
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