I Take Up Space

Examining fatism and its consequences
by Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.

Risks of Obesity: Financial Cost/Benefit Analysis

Cost/benefit analyses are estimates, not scientific studies. “Studies have shown" are magic words conferring truth on any words that end the sentence. Objections to cost risks of obesity can be raised both on data quality grounds and on ethical grounds. At the heart of most moral panics lies profit-motives and prejudice, but not much science. Read More

Health at Every Size Is Anti-Dieting

Poretsky explains: “If you love your body, you don't need diets or lap bands or botox or weight loss drugs. If you love your body, you're less likely to accept ill treatment, discrimination, bad medical care, etc. We have huge industries like the diet, pharmaceutical, beauty, marketing industries that literally bank on our self-hatred to sell products.” Read More

“Weight” Is a Social Identity According to New Research

Dr. Asbury states: “…the irony of this whole situation is that by making these ads, Georgia may actually encourage some people to gain weight—the exact opposite of what they desire. … If Georgia wants people to enact healthy behaviors, the answer does not lie in shaming people, for it will only make people rebel against the idea.” Read More

The Protestant Health Ethic – Clinical Calvinism?

Fat people have become the canary in the mine of American public health. No matter what size body you have, you should be paying attention to the economic, political and cultural realities of fatness in America. It will tell you a lot about what is wrong with our medical systems, including our lack of compassion for the sick. Read More

Why Loving Our Bodies Is Dangerous!

Even in light of the Autumn Occupation, Love Your Body Day is important. It is directly opposed to consumerism. If I love who I am, I will not believe you when you tell me I must be new & improved, I must not age, I cannot be sexy, I cannot be disabled. Loving one’s body demands joy instead of satiation, achievement instead of improvement, intimacy instead of thrills. Read More

Human Empathy: An Essential Component for Human Society

Ever contemplated how many people hate other people in our world, and the ways they express that hate? Ever contemplated the source of your own hatred and the ways in which you fear or hate other people? Feeling that hatred is a treacherous and painful journey, but at the end of it, a deep-felt empathy can emerge, empathy that can repair the world. Read More

No Child Left Behind: Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011

Why would Congress omit protection of height/weight in SSIA? To support both an anti-obesity effort and an anti-bullying of fat kids effort at the same time would be difficult to pull off. Maybe Congress is aware of this conflict and the omission is intentional. Perhaps, they believe that it isn’t bullying if the fat kid needs to hear it in order to change their behavior. Read More

A Lesson in Cause and Effect

Much of what is reported in the War on Obesity uses the language of "cause and effect." Understanding exactly how causation is established in scientific research can help sift through the sensationalism. If we want to improve health, lively debate must be a part of the process. Read More

A Culture of Schadenfreude: Delighting in the Deaths of Fat People

Schadenfreude is a symptom of a social illness in American society. It comes from our war mongering, especially our use of war rhetoric to address social problems. It is not surprising that it is on the rise surrounding fat people. This war isn't working. It is wasteful. It is impractical. It is harmful. It must stop. End the War! Peace! Read More

International No Diet Day--May 6, 2011

In 1991 Mary Evans Young asked a group of women, "What do you think would happen if you spent as much time and energy on your careers as you do on diets?" May 6 is International No Diet Day -- Take the pledge and learn how free you can be without worrying about your weight. Read More

Stigma is BIG Business

Recent events that relied upon understanding that diets don't work demonstrate the difference between profiting from those words and helping people with those words. By following the money, we can see profit motives have led to bad science, not to mention ineffective, harmful and costly health care. Stigmatizing fat is profitable; the FDA just upped the ante. Read More

Jump for Joy or Solicit for Stigma?

All kids need exercise, so why emphasize size instead of behavior? Does emphasizing size create permanent weight loss? Does ignoring size prevent health benefits of exercise? Stigmatization has known health consequences. Health at Every Size principles focus on improving health, without emphasizing size and, therefore, without stigmatizing its adherents. Read More

New Year's Resolutions: Who is Failing Whom?

The current rhetoric in the "War on Obesity" in which the fattening of America is blamed for everything from rising health costs, over consumption of fuel, to undermining the war on terrorism, has all the earmarks of a moral panic. Resolutions based upon moral panics are doomed in both personal practice and public policy. Read More

Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.

Pattie Thomas, Ph.D., is a medical sociologist and author of Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life, a sociological memoir about living as a fat and disabled woman in unfriendly territory.

more...

Subscribe to I Take Up Space

About I Take Up Space

Weight loss is a doomed proposition that often leads to poorer health rather than improved health. Good health is possible without weight loss. A Health at Every Size(sm) approach is preferable for the well-being of all persons no matter what their size. Judging character, work ethic, health or worth on the basis of how someone looks is ALWAYS prejudice. No one should be treated as "less than human" because of their body size.FATISM is a matter of cultural stigma. This blog is about cultural and social issues, not a health debate. 

Current Issue

The High Art of Handling Problem People

How to handle difficult people.

Books by Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.

Image of Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life
Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life
Image of The Fat Studies Reader
The Fat Studies Reader