The Diet Industry's Path of Destruction & Death
Okay, I decided that my previous title of this post was extreme (understandably so, because all I could think of was the broken heart of the mother who will never hold her child again - and even as a witness to that sort of grief, it is bigger than I can even begin to handle) - in any case, I've renamed it. After all, one person cannot bear complete responsibility for a tragedy that is caused by a multitude of forces. When people convincingly give other people misinformation or suggestions that cause their deaths, are they responsible? When someone bullies someone and that victim commits suicide, is the bully responsible? Where is the line between personal responsibility and social responsibility? I really don't know.
Many years ago, I knew a very nice couple with a cute little blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter. When I knew Angie (name changed) most, she was a gangly pre-teen and then teenager, who was very sweet and out-going, always a ready smile and reaching out to people to engage them in conversations. A good kid.
Last night, I was absolutely shocked to see Angie's obituary. She was just 26 years old! Full of life and hope and dreams! I asked someone what had happened. She told me that Angie had died of "natural causes."
When I got home, I tried to google her obituary so that I could send it to some friends whom I was sure hadn't heard. I never did find her obituary - but I did find her Twitter account - and I only had to read it for a few minutes to know that Angie did NOT die of natural causes. She died doing Jillian Michaels' #30dayshred. In the week before her death, she had lost 5 pounds in 6 days. She was 5'8" tall and weighed 130 pounds. She really wanted to look just like Jillian Michaels. She was a big fan of "The Biggest Loser."
The two nights before she died, she suffered from insomnia. I wonder if she was taking "fat burners" or some other stimulant - or if her body was just so whacked out from the crazy dieting she was doing.
Angie was passionate about preventing bullying - and was recently devastated by the suicide of a 14 year old gay boy. She was a lesbian who clearly felt threatened by how this society treats LGBT people - and wanted to make the world safer for all. I'm sure that she didn't realize that ultimately, it would be the bullying against fatness/fat people that would lead her to accidentally kill herself - but that is what happened. I have no doubt. Her own internalized fat-phobia drove her to make decisions that led to her very premature death.
I wonder how many Angies there are? How many healthy young people (and middle-aged people) simply drop dead of "natural causes" - and the link is never made to why they really died? (yeah, I know that some people actually do just drop dead for "no reason" - but how many deaths ARE caused by things that go unrecognized? - and there have been LOTS of people who have dropped dead shortly after losing weight - coincidence? I don't buy it!). The anti-fat prejudice that permeates this country - and this insane and wrong-minded "war on obesity" - has more casualties and fatalities, I am sure, than we will ever know.
There is nothing benign about shows like "The Biggest Loser." They are dangerous - promoting the idea that it is okay to take extreme measures to lose weight. That is NOT okay for anybody! There is nothing benevolent about the "inspiration" that people such as Jillian Michaels provide. Body-shaming, fat-hatred, thin-obsession - it hurts us as individuals, it hurts us as a society - it hurts us in countless ways - up to and including death.
The question I have now is: how long are we going to allow this to go on? How long are we going to turn a blind eye to the suffering and even death that our national obsession with body size/shape is causing? Angie died doing Jillian Michaels' program. But countless others have died in countless other ways related to weight loss attempts - from extreme dieting to weight loss surgery (do you have any idea of the number of people who die from WLS - or who suffer for the rest of their lives? - it is staggering!). How many more? How much more tragedy are we going to allow before we examine, as a nation and as individuals, our values around diversity and common decency and compassion and basic civil rights for people of all sizes and shapes? When are we going to get it that size prejudice is just as wrong and harmful as any other prejudice? When are we going to tell Jillian Michaels to stop yelling at fat people? It isn't okay! When are we going to create a world where people don't suffer and die trying to get thinner? It's too late for Angie ... and that is just heartbreaking. Truly.
Many years ago, I knew a very nice couple with a cute little blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter. When I knew Angie (name changed) most, she was a gangly pre-teen and then teenager, who was very sweet and out-going, always a ready smile and reaching out to people to engage them in conversations. A good kid.
Last night, I was absolutely shocked to see Angie's obituary. She was just 26 years old! Full of life and hope and dreams! I asked someone what had happened. She told me that Angie had died of "natural causes."
When I got home, I tried to google her obituary so that I could send it to some friends whom I was sure hadn't heard. I never did find her obituary - but I did find her Twitter account - and I only had to read it for a few minutes to know that Angie did NOT die of natural causes. She died doing Jillian Michaels' #30dayshred. In the week before her death, she had lost 5 pounds in 6 days. She was 5'8" tall and weighed 130 pounds. She really wanted to look just like Jillian Michaels. She was a big fan of "The Biggest Loser."
The two nights before she died, she suffered from insomnia. I wonder if she was taking "fat burners" or some other stimulant - or if her body was just so whacked out from the crazy dieting she was doing.
Angie was passionate about preventing bullying - and was recently devastated by the suicide of a 14 year old gay boy. She was a lesbian who clearly felt threatened by how this society treats LGBT people - and wanted to make the world safer for all. I'm sure that she didn't realize that ultimately, it would be the bullying against fatness/fat people that would lead her to accidentally kill herself - but that is what happened. I have no doubt. Her own internalized fat-phobia drove her to make decisions that led to her very premature death.
I wonder how many Angies there are? How many healthy young people (and middle-aged people) simply drop dead of "natural causes" - and the link is never made to why they really died? (yeah, I know that some people actually do just drop dead for "no reason" - but how many deaths ARE caused by things that go unrecognized? - and there have been LOTS of people who have dropped dead shortly after losing weight - coincidence? I don't buy it!). The anti-fat prejudice that permeates this country - and this insane and wrong-minded "war on obesity" - has more casualties and fatalities, I am sure, than we will ever know.
There is nothing benign about shows like "The Biggest Loser." They are dangerous - promoting the idea that it is okay to take extreme measures to lose weight. That is NOT okay for anybody! There is nothing benevolent about the "inspiration" that people such as Jillian Michaels provide. Body-shaming, fat-hatred, thin-obsession - it hurts us as individuals, it hurts us as a society - it hurts us in countless ways - up to and including death.
The question I have now is: how long are we going to allow this to go on? How long are we going to turn a blind eye to the suffering and even death that our national obsession with body size/shape is causing? Angie died doing Jillian Michaels' program. But countless others have died in countless other ways related to weight loss attempts - from extreme dieting to weight loss surgery (do you have any idea of the number of people who die from WLS - or who suffer for the rest of their lives? - it is staggering!). How many more? How much more tragedy are we going to allow before we examine, as a nation and as individuals, our values around diversity and common decency and compassion and basic civil rights for people of all sizes and shapes? When are we going to get it that size prejudice is just as wrong and harmful as any other prejudice? When are we going to tell Jillian Michaels to stop yelling at fat people? It isn't okay! When are we going to create a world where people don't suffer and die trying to get thinner? It's too late for Angie ... and that is just heartbreaking. Truly.