Anti-Anti-Obesity

The anti-obesity campaign really irks me. If it was a healthy living campaign, focusing on healthy habits vs the numbers on a scale, then I'd be much more enthusiastic about it. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening. More and more the path is weight shaming and stigmatizing in the vein attempt to regulate our country's weight issues. The topic of weight stigma is far to vast for me to sum up in one post - especially since I'm exhausted and should really be asleep right now. Seriously, writing sentences that are comprehensible is really interesting with brain fog and neurological pain. So for right now I will focus on one area of this topic that is very important. Our youth.

Dina Zeckhausen is a psychologist and founder of the Eating Disorder Information Network. In an interview with CNN in 2013, Dina reported seeing kids in third and fourth grade who are already worried about being fat.

"There is so much emphasis on obesity," Zeckhausen said, "that there's a danger that we are going to produce a lot of anxieties in kids around weight."

See full article here

It seems like every other week (if not day) I'm hearing about some new way our communities are "fighting obesity" and each time it seems to be more infuriating than the last. Everyone has already heard about the "fat letters" sent out by some schools. Some say they're dangerous while others say that parents are being over sensitive. Honestly, if the schools were really trying to educate and advise families about health they would focus on teaching and focusing in healthy habits, not a number. Numbers do not indicate health.

There are many, many larger sized individuals who eat healthy, are very active, and have no health issues - except for what the scale says. Let me be clear, if someone (of any size) has a health issue, then treat that health issue. But that’s different than treating their weight as the issue. 

Carmen Cool, MA, LPC said it beautifully: “With all due respect, I need to disagree with you that we need this war on obesity. What we need, is to work together to end it. Not by making fat people thinner, but by recognizing and celebrating the truth of body diversity.  Weight is not the problem. The way we make assumptions about it is the problem. I want to live in a peaceful world. And a peaceful world starts with a peaceful self. Rather than fighting fatness, why don’t we help people of all sizes feel peaceful in the bodies they have.” 

see full article here: http://bedaonline.com/wsaw2013/weight-stigma-viewed-eating-disorders-lens-carmen-cool/#.UkJy_429LCT

I brought this up with my mom today and she immediately jumped in agreeing that it is ridiculous and dangerous. Aside from the obvious (obvious to my mom and I) health risks it poses, there is another very valid point she made regarding schools sending out "fat letters" that I had previously over looked - When there are students failing and struggling in reading and math, why would they focus on what the student looks like? Isn't that a bit of course? When there art, music, and science opportunities shut down by lack of funds why would the schools set their sites on the appearance of health (note the word appearance) with little to no regard for the individual student and their real health. Better yet, how is it even the school's place to decide who is healthy vs unhealthy based on a number? Oh, that's right, it's not.

If I am ever at a school (as a parent or otherwise) and I find out that the school has been sending anyone weight stigmatizing letters or promoting weight stigma in any way, I will be very upset. I will be beyond upset. I will be their worst nightmare.

Spoonie Links and Resources

Chronic Illness Links:

Living with Bob (Blog about living with Dysautonomia) 

The Spoon Theory 

DINET (Dysautonomia Information Network) 

But You Don't Look Sick 

Just Mildly Medicated (Blog) 

The Chronically Awesome Foundation National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association (Facebook)

Epilepsy.com 

Celiac Disease Foundation  

Well Spouse Association (support for spousal caregivers) 

Growing Through Pain (facebook and blog) 

Paws for Ability (providing service dogs to children) 

All Purpose Canines

The R Word

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  It was late afternoon and my mom was cooking dinner. My sister was... well, I actually don't remember what she was doing, and I was in the living room watching TV. Suddenly I heard shouting outside and something hit the front of our house. Startled, I looked out the window. Standing outside my house was the girl who lived down the street from me, shouting and throwing rocks at the front of my house. we went to school together, and for some reason we just never really got along. We tolerated each other. I thought she was a show-off and she thought I was too. I had probably done something or said something at school that day that peeved her off, I don't know. I threw the door open and was shocked at what I heard her yelling. " Melinda's sister is a retard!", "Retard!", "Retard!" "Melinda's sister is retarded!" Each verbal assault was accompanied by rocks hitting my house. The shock quickly faded and anger took over. I ran across the yard and yelled for her to "Take that back!" She kept shouting it and shoved me. I broke her nose. Right there, in my front yard, for all the neighbors to see. I probably should have felt bad or at least a little scared because people saw it. I was, after all, a total goody-goody. But I didn't and I still don't. My dad was watching from the front door, half upset by my outburst and half proud of how I defended my sister. I don't remember anything else that happened that day. I didn't get in trouble aside from a lecture about how resorting violence isn't the right thing to do. 

  I learned how to deal with things like that better and by high school I calmly asked people to please not use that word. If they asked why not, I explained it to them. Everyone I spoke to respected my request and I never heard any of them intentionally use that word in my presence again. When the occasional slip-up happened they always sincerely apologized. Generally, people use this term in a completely benign way and have no idea what the power of that word actually holds. Once they find out, as with most other things that are shrouded in ignorance, they understand better and it changes their perception and behavior. It is for that reason that I am a firm believer in spreading awareness.

  March 6th was the annual "Spread The Word To End The Word" 
awareness day

What is Spread the Word to End the Word? Spread the Word to End the Word is an on-going effort to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word "retard(ed)" and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word. The campaign is intended to get schools, communities and organizations to rally and pledge their support to help create communities of inclusion and acceptance for all people. Learn more about this campaign here 

  The R-word fosters LONELINESS 

“It hurts and scares me when I am the only person with intellectual disabilities on the bus and young people start making “retard” jokes or references. Please put yourself on that bus and fill the bus with people who are different from you. Imagine that they start making jokes using a term that describes you. It hurts and it is scary.” – Joseph Franklin Stephens, Special Olympics Virginia athlete and Global Messenger As evident with my childhood confrontation, there are times, situations and personalities sometimes involved that may not be best suited for an immediate intervention when you hear someone use the R-word.  It simply may be best at times to walk away from a situation, but that doesn't mean you can’t still do good after walking away. 

• Language affects attitudes. Attitudes impact actions. Make your pledge to choose respectful people first language at http://www.r-word.org/Default.aspx

It Starts With A Voice is an amazing facebook page chronicling the journey of a wonderful family in their quest to end the r-word. If nothing else, please watch this video. I just did and now I'm in tears, happy tears. Other resources to check out (please do!): The World Of Special Olympics NYT: A Word Gone Wrong Barrington Patch: Spread The Word To End The Word denverpost.com The Hurtful Effects Of The R-Word written by Eddie Barbanell from the hit movie “The Ringer"

Eating Disorder Links and Resources

 

NEDA - (National Eating Disorder Association) 

Operation Beautiful 

Something Fishy 

MGEDT - (Men Get Eating Disorders Too) 

Eating Disorder Hope  

Fit vs Fiction 

Recovery Warriors (paper.li Recovery Warriors) 

Voice in Recovery (twitter: @VoiceinRecovery)

The What and Why of Sapling Stories

So I recently (recently, as in like, 2 days ago) found out about WEGO Health and decided it was a good fit for me. So I'm giving it a whirl! WEGO has a challenge this month with writing promos for each day - the "every day" part was almost enough to send me packing right there. I was planning on cranking a quick recap of the couple of days I had missed the other day, but my body had other plans and I ended up having seizures instead. Fun. So here I am to try again!

Day 1: Why do you write? I started this blog as an outlet and actually intended it to be a family-oriented, positive parenting and pre-school activity type blog (hence the name "The Sapling Stories). As I met other bloggers and become more aware of the blogging community, my content shifted. With out realizing it, my blog became centered around awareness. Awareness for things I feel very strongly about. I just naturally started writing about them. The main one that I feel grabs my attention the most is eating disorder advocacy. I am a survivor (I feel like I should say "surviving" because recovery is a continuous thing that never really ends, or at least it hasn't completely ended for me) Actually, I had a support blog years ago on Xanga (I said it was years ago), but stopped for some reason when everyone was switching over to MySpace (my husband was also deploying for the first time and everything was kind of topsy-turvy). I battled stereotypes, stigmas, myths, and death. Now that I have children it scares me sh*tless that they might battle the same demons. My other two are Autism (special needs in general, really), and chronic illness. Special needs because of my sister and chronic illness because, well hell, that's what I've been dealing with for most of my life (that is also a huge factor into my battle with anorexia/bulimia/orthorexia - seriously, eating disorders are much more complex than society thinks!). I have found a support network in the online community that I was desperately lacking before And it has been amazing.

Day 2: Tell a bit about your conditions, 5 things you want people to know about them, and a few links to other articles you've written. Note: My links will be highlighted throughout, not listed separate ;) I kind of just covered the "what", so here's the 5 things: 

  Eating Disorders

1. Eating Disorders do not discriminate! It is not a teenage white-girl affliction. Every age group, of every ethnicity, of every walk of life is affected.
2. You can't tell anything by a person's size. Just because someone isn't rail-thin doesn't mean that they're not suffering.
3. It's not about food - not completely. ED's are complex, very complex.
4. You can't just "snap out of it" or "get over it". It takes time and will be the hardest thing you've ever done. For me it took a year of grueling, intense hospitalizations (including NG Tubes, IV TPN through a PICC, oxygen therapy, and missing my entire senior year of high school) and several years of outpatient treatment. 
5. It starts way earlier than you think. I can remember being preoccupied by the need to be "perfect" as far back as I can remember. I'm talking age 5-ish. And let me make it clear - No one ever implied that I needed to be "perfect". It's not all a societal thing, genetics and brain chemistry contributes greatly.

Autism and other special needs:

1. Just because someone has special needs (may it be cerebral palsy, autism, Down's syndrome, or anything else) doesn't mean they can't hear you (to all the smug trolls: if they actually cant hear, they still know) They know when you're being mocking and judgmental, and they feel the pain as much as anyone else.
2. The R-word is not okay. Ever.
3. Even though my sister functions at an 18month old level and is non-verbal, we still have sibling rivalry. We get into fights and argue just like any other siblings.
4. Everything has to be adapted. That bed you just bought? Yeah, that's gonna have to be modified so it's safe.
5. Everyone has to be flexible. Just because you planned a day trip to the beach that you have been looking forward to for weeks doesn't mean it's going to happen. You may get half way there and need to turn around because its not a good day for them - and you'll completely understand and go with it. Even when you are 7 years old.

Chronic Illness:

1. Everyone needs to read The Spoon Theory
2. Just because someone's in a wheelchair doesn't mean they are paralyzed.
3. Believe me, I do not want to be in bed all day! Don't give me that "must be nice" bull. It's not and it isn't funny.
4. Dear doctors: When I come in to see you and I explain what's been going on, do not look at me like I'm insane. Even if my vitals are fine, just take the damn time to check it out.
5. Just because a had a good day (or week or whatever) yesterday doesn't mean that I'm going to have a good one today. No, I don't know what's wrong or why I'm worse today when I was "fine" yesterday. I wish I did.

Day 3: Post a picture that captures your condition/your experiences 

A Dangerous Blind Spot

As NEDAwareness week wraps up, I'd like to leave you with one last post. 

 *Note: I do plan to add other posts pertaining to this subject well after this week is over ;) 

There is a lot of attention on the current childhood obesity epidemic that seems to not only over shadow another epidemic, but fuel it altogether. 

In a CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) article from 2004, Dr. Joan M. Johnston addresses the push towards eliminating childhood obesity upon receiving a package as part of an obesity-awareness campaign for family physicians and pediatricians. 

She writes: "I am disgusted by the cavalier disregard for eating disorders exhibited in the medico-cultural war against obesity." 

This publication had ZERO mention of eating disorders. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that BED (binge eating disorder) is infact an actual eating disorder. Am I wrong? Did this phenomenon occur purely out of poorly educated choices, or is this much more complex issue than the health industry would like us to think? It is beyond ignorant to think that anyone in America who is overweight (or has a child who is) doesn't already have a plethora of information regarding the issue or, even worse, doesn't already know they are over weight. Johnston later sums up this eating disorder blind spot by stating that "For such individuals, launching a frontal assault on the symptom (obesity) instead of dealing with the underlying cause (the eating disorder) may simply catalyze the transformation of their disorder into anorexia or bulimia nervosa." 

The quick fix of caloric intake vs expenditure will have devastating results. With out addressing the person as a whole and just focusing on the numbers we set up for poorer health. It doesn't take very long before you are so far down the rabbit hole that you realize the "control" you thought you had was just a mirage (remember: most EDs are not about the food or the weight,they are much more complex than that). 

Up to 20% of those lost in wonderland will die from their eating disorder. That is a number far HIGHER than the risk of death from diabetes or heart disease related to obesity. Johnston sums up with "By adding the official voice of family physicians and pediatricians to the consumerist messages already bombarding them about diet and exercise, we will be endorsing the exploitative purveyors of these messages. We will be telling our kids that they are not okay, and we will drive many of them into the waiting arms of anorexia and bulimia." Combine that knowledge with the fact that this was in 2004 and both the health-care industry and our government's attention to this issue has increased exponentially while still having this blind spot is terrifying.

In today's Huff Post Parents an article spot lights a school who sent home "fat letters" to all students with an elevated BMI. 

Seriously, I can't even go into detail about this article because it is so maddening. PLEASE follow the link and see for yourself. BMI and I have been long-time enemies. It is purely height in relation to weight and does NOT account for muscle mas or bone structure. In another insightful article, Time Magazine's website (Time Ideas) that was published last Thursday focuses on this issue and adds some great points: "promoting healthy eating, regardless of one’s weight or age, seems like a positive thing on the surface. But here’s the potential downside: We know kids and teens react differently than adults to external pressures like persistent messaging. Sometimes these pressures can translate into incredible waves of anxiety and fear. At the extreme, a healthy-weight youth could be pushed to monitor his weight more frequently or even begin an unsupervised diet — behaviors that might represent an impending eating disorder." As someone who started out trying be healthy and wound up almost dead, I can't stress the truth in this statement enough. There is no doubt that the current level of obesity in this country is alarming and needs to be addressed, I just feel that there MUST be a better way than how we're doing it now.