Fat Debate On Nightline Tonight
People are still letting MeMe Roth say things on TV, whereupon fat people say things back. Ah, memories. Thanks to Rosemary in the comments and KMc in e-mail for reminding us that the Nightline piece is on tonight!
From plus-size to big boned, pleasantly plump to succulently shapely, and Rubenesque to curvy, no matter how you dress it up, for decades, the world “fat” has been associated with laziness, filth and inactivity. It’s become a pop culture punch line…But has it all gone too far?
I Twittered a link to Fat in NYC’s taping report:
Every time Meme or the other women spoke about working on getting folks to lose weight, I thought to myself, why doesn’t someone mention that diets don’t work 95% of the time. Well when question time came I asked the question, I asked Meme if her concern was about health care costs, why would she want to support an intervention with a 95% failure rate. Meme clearly articulated that she has a real problem with people choosing to be victims, that our country accepts a defeatist attitude about this. That everyone should try even though 95% will fail.
Marianne Kirby is also on the show tonight. I teach an evening class, so I will unfortunately miss it. But my DVR will be ready to go. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Go, team!
Posted by mo pie
I had a chance to grill MeMe in a highly contentious 45 minute interview. She’s so full of crap she’s got brown eyes.
Peace,
Shannon
I saw her on one of the late-night news shows last week responding to the Kevin Smith story. They showed her stretching in her matchy little running outfit, running, then and spewing her “fat people eat improperly” BS. Why do news shows continue to act like she’s an expert on anything?? Can’t they at least find someone qualified to discuss health risks, like, I don’t know, a freakin’ MEDICAL DOCTOR? I mean, her whole life is dedicated to hating fatties. How does this make her an expert in anything but being an asshole?
“That everyone should try even though 95% will fail.”
And that, in the process, the 95% who do fail will become sicker, thereby costing her precious medical system more money in the long-term.
It’s such a massive logic disconnect that I don’t think there’s anything to be done for her!
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I saw her on the Kevin Smith thing, too. I loved her spew about the “INFANTILE SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT” that fat people have.
Imagine! Wanting to pay the same price for airfare! Wanting to access transportation! Wanting to leave the house! The very idea.
Maybe I’ll send her some pearls so she can actually start clutching them.
Oh noes, I had no idea it was going to be Me-me-meeee, I saw a promo for it as I ran out the door and wanted to pass on the heads up so I could be treated to some great discussion later!
Fat Nutritionist, I now want to see a Mad Men vintage fashion photo shoot of a bunch of fatties clutching their pearls looking horrified.
“INFANTILE SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT”
Since she wants the whole world to stop being fat at her because she was upset with her mother and grandmother, she should know all about that.
Woman on left was morbidly obese and surely unhealthy. The big model was within normal limits and should have represented the average not the fat.The people on the nightline debate didn’t seem to appreciate the large space between anorexia and unhealthy obesity. Americans (on the average) are getting fatter and life-style changes (playing ball vs playing ball on a device) and junk food play the largest part in this.
Wow Jeff, diagnosis by TV! What super powers you possess! No need for those pesky office visits for your patients (IF you have real patients), they can just do it via Skype.
Jeff, I just googled you and you might be a real doc but it seems highly doubtful when you make blanket statements like “Woman on left was morbidly obese and surely unhealthy.” If you are an actual doc, you are the reason fat people don’t go to the doctor. Your comment showcases your total ignorance and prejudice and I feel sorry for any patient you could have that doesn’t conform to your standards of what is average.
But my guess is that you aren’t a doc, that you wrote what you did to stir up trouble and that you have no intention of coming back to read what others have written. Wow, great use of your time. Shouldn’t you be out “playing ball” vs. sitting at a computer, typing bigoted comments?
I watched the debate and while yes, I wanted to stuff a twinkie in MeMe’s mouth every time she opened it, overall I thought it was very interesting. Marianne was awesome. I think my favorite part was when MeMe insinuated that thin people are discriminated against in America and Marianne just started laughing.
I always find it funny how formerly fat folks try to preach to others about how much they need to lose weight. I agree people need to be healthier…but lets call a spade a spade..the rantings of the Meme woman and the others was not out of concern for health but because of society’s distaste with fat people….And just because weight is something you can change doesnt mean you should discriminate.. I understand the more space on a flight thing… and possibly being charged for two seats…but charge for those who take up more leg room,etc…
Be healthy people..healthy manifests itself in many different ways.
Oh yea… Meme was pretty foolish saying thin people are discriminated against..
I’m going to risk my life here and say that *some* thin people are discriminated against. I am thin and I have been discriminated against by a number of people throughout my life, many of which who have admitted to being discriminatory against me and thin people. Now I’m not saying there’s some general statement to be said that “thin people are discriminated against” that’s big enough to actually be a societal issue, but anyone and everyone can be and have been discriminated against at some point, whether it be about weight, race, gender, height, religions, and so on.
First, I want to say that while this debate was entertaining, I’m not sure how it is billed as journalism in any sort of way. It would have been nice to have a moderator who was a medical professional who would challenge everyone. Also, the so-called plus-size model was clearly what most people and medical literature would consider normal weight. It might have been interesting to have someone else on the debate who was actually overweight.
It’s a bit disingenuous, however, to say that because 95 percent of diets fail, people cannot lose weight. Diets fail but permanent lifestyle changes based on science and medicine work. To act like people can’t lose weight is preposterous. Yes, diets don’t work. But that’s because people view diets as something temporary — lose the weight and go back to your previously unhealthy habits. Making a lifelong commitment to eating healthy and being active can make significant changes for people.
If most people just did two things that aren’t even dieting or changing what they eat, they would most likely weigh less: Be more active and eat organic. Most Americans move far too little. I wear a pedometer everyday and try to walk at least 10,000 steps (around 5 miles, but varies depending on stride length). This way, even if I don’t “work out,” I’m being active. We should strive to be active every day in some way.
There is a growing body of medical literature that says that pesticides on fruits and vegetables and antibiotics and hormones giving to cattle are endocrine disrupters. In layman’s terms, they are known as obesogens. They mess up your hormones, disposing you to weight gain, even if you otherwise eat healthy. There is a new book, The New American Diet, that talks about this subject.
And yes thin people can be and are discriminated against. While I am not personally thin (a big mountain man would be a more accurate description), my fiancee is thin. She constantly hears comments from her [female] coworkers about her weight and how she should eat more or have more cake at company functions. My fiancee eats plenty (mostly healthy food) and doesn’t have body issues, but many of her coworkers do not healthy food and have body image issues. Because of their own bitterness, they find it appropriate to make snide remaks to her. Remarks that would not be considered acceptable for a thin person to make to an obese one.
In fact, the very idea that any group of people could not be discriminated against is repugnant. Anyone can be discriminated against and the very idea that they could not be, is in fact itself discrimination.
I think I’m going to start a coalition myself. I’ll call it the Greater Action Group Against Misinformed Elitist Miserable Egotistical Bony Blond Fuckwits.
Or just GAGMEME for short.
Think the IRS would approve our application for charitable status?
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The very premise of a diet is the cause of its own failure, so it doesn’t surprise me that most fail – I was wondering where the 95% came from and how “fail” is defined.. is it that almost no one loses weight on a diet, that people don’t follow through with diets, or that people gain weight back? I’m really curious to find actual studies about this (I’m sure they’ve been done) that prove the ineffective quality of dieting.
Patrick,
This is super late, but worth pointing out. ALL people are capable of being discriminated against on an interpersonal level. I can decide I don’t like you because you are ginger/tall/etc. BUT some forms of discrimination are FAR more prevalent than others. The likelihood that your wife will lose a job opportunity, lose a marriage prospect, be humiliated in public, be DEVALUED because of her thinness is far far less than it’s likelihood if she were 100lbs heavier-and every possible study done on discrimination and size confirms this. She would likely even make less money. Hell, I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t dare date/marry a woman near your size. To compare the two is highly simplistic and borderline offensive. I don’t doubt that those women give her shit if you say they do, but if you consider why-the unsavory and unspoken dynamic between women who have to compete when one is privileged and the other isn’t, it’s no surprise. NOT SAYING IT’S RIGHT. But it’s no surprise.