4 Comments
Feb 2, 2022Liked by Ragen Chastain

"One year later the AMA ignored that council’s fully researched recommendation to declare that it is a disease, and it’s been hand-over-fist profits ever since. " -- Just a note, I think this sentence is unclear about whether or not the council recommended obesity be declared a disease or not. It's clear on close reading, but reading at article-speed made me do a double-take.

Also: lololololol at this media campaign. People of nearly all sizes have been dreaming of a simple pill to keep them at an "ideal" weight for decades. If you invented one, you wouldn't need to market it at all: word-of-mouth would spread it like wildfire. The fact that they have to glitz it up like this means either that (a) it doesn't work, (b) its side effects are unacceptable, or--what seems to be the case!--(c) it both doesn't work *and* its side effects are unacceptable.

Also lolololololol at "obesity is treatable, but few seek help". By the CDC's metrics, like 90% of adults labeled obese are actively dieting. They are already seeking the treatment that everybody and their mother claims is the solution! Why would we even need a pill if dieting is so easy, like everyone claims?

Veneering lies with faux concern is so disgusting.

Expand full comment
Feb 2, 2022Liked by Ragen Chastain

This is a great issue Ragen, thank you! I am really glad I read this before I saw any of the garbage coming from The Creative Coalition. I haven’t watched Grey’s recently and not sure I want to start again, though I’ve enjoyed seeing them tackle issues with more nuance in later seasons and thought I saw glimmers of them being able to start talking about weight stigma...but I think that’s unlikely to be the case.

Expand full comment

"4 out of 10 Americans live with ob*sity, but few seek help." Yeah, it's all the fat people's fault, once again! If they just would stop being so fat, we wouldn't have to do this! We're reducing blame by BLAMING YOU, don't you see?!

Statistically speaking, when you have to explain it's nearly half the population, I'm pretty sure it's not anyone "living" with anything, it's just...normal. The same effect could be achieved by wording a press release to say, "50.5% of humans don't have a vagina, but few seek help."

This whole stupid campaign is rather like watching someone ask Stephen King what his favourite book is and him very solemnly declaring, "I've never even heard of books."

Expand full comment