It's NOT F***ing Body Shaming!
So the image of this post has been circulating the internet in the last few days…
This is somebody clearly objecting to what is effectively a health warning from Cancer Research UK, which has been displayed in London tube stations among other places, stating that the ad itself is ‘body shaming’.
This pisses me off. A lot.
Many people may be unaware that I was a medical professional for 10 years before becoming a full time coach. And I'm acutely aware of the health implications that come with obesity and the associated illnesses that we can't see and have NOTHING to do with image, acceptance or ego.
Let me be very clear on something: I am against body shaming in all it’s forms. Whether it’s cover models advertising or promoting an entirely unrealistic standard - within the fitness industry or otherwise - or whether it’s people mocking individuals for being overweight. In my opinion, it’s wrong and unnecessary. As the father of a 5 year old daughter, the messages she’s likely to be subjected to growing up via the media and other outlets genuinely concerns me and I believe it is an issue.
Maybe a decade ago I held a different opinion, and I held that opinion as somebody who was fortunate enough to be introduced to training from a young age and maintain a good level of fitness into adulthood and through a military career which enabled me to train for a living. I had never struggled with being overweight and in my ignorance, simply failed to imagine a scenario where people didn’t know what I knew about training and exercise, or lacked the motivation that I had. At that point in my life, overweight people were overweight because they were lazy.
Fast forward a few years later and I’m pleased to say my outlook has changed entirely. The obesity epidemic is on the rise and although the path to weight loss for most people CAN be relatively straight forward - I firmly believe it’s a lack of education on the serious matters and complete information overload from marketing companies that prevents it from being an easy ride for the majority. I also have huge respect for anybody willing to attempt to make a positive change to their health and fitness, at any stage of their lives - because it’s never too late to make a change to your lifestyle and health.
However; neither should we accept an idea that drawing attention to the big picture is ‘shaming’.
WHY does this advert need to be about aesthetics?
WHY was the focus of the poster shifted from the the ACTUAL issue - the multitude of negative health implications associated with obesity?
WHY was the point of the message shifted from expressing a simple fact regarding a potentially fatal condition, to a matter of ‘body shaming’?
WHY is it unacceptable to highlight the simple truth that obesity IS a massive epidemic, responsible for a great number of other associated illnesses, without it becoming a matter of making people ‘ashamed’ about how they look?
In my opinion, posts like the one above are PART OF THE PROBLEM.
They subtract focus from the ACTUAL issues and associated health risks and place the focus on aesthetics and how people look.
Let’s take a quick look at the other health related issues directly associated with obesity:
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Joint and mobility problems
Coronary heart disease
Type II diabetes
Stroke
Psychological problems (depression and low self-esteem)
Some types of cancer (specifically breast, oesophageal, kidney and bowel cancer)
Here’s a couple more inconvenient truths:
Obesity is already linked to nearly 500,000 cancer cases every year worldwide
In the U.S. obesity will soon overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer.
‘PREVENTABLE’ being the key word here.
That’s right - obesity is PREVENTABLE. It’s also REVERSIBLE.
We have health warnings attached to smoking. We have health warnings attached to excessive alcohol consumption…
Why the f**k is drawing attention to a MASSIVE growing epidemic, that’s responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people every year ‘body shaming’?
WHY should this not be a matter of public focus? WHY should people not be made aware of the fact that many people take a gamble with their health and their lives every day, the same way smokers and excessive drinkers are?
But instead we have accusations of ‘fat shaming’ from the ‘body positivity’ brigade.
I believe people should be able to accept the way they look. I also believe people should be confident enough to accept who they are - but NOT if they’ve got to a point in their lives where they’ve neglected their health over a series of years, to the point where they’re literally taking their life into their hands every day.
How many people around the world have lost people they love to obesity related illnesses that COULD have been remedied or reversed?
People need to be informed. People need to know what they’re doing to their health and the associated risks the same way somebody who smokes, drinks excessively or takes hard drugs is informed.
Obesity itself isn't a terminal diagnosis. Obesity is reversible.
There are answers - there are solutions - and some are very simple. Here’s two:
Become consciously aware of what you CHOOSE to consume on a daily basis, and in what quantities.
Make a conscious effort to MOVE MORE. You don’t need to become a super athlete or be completely obsessed to gain enormous results that can change your life and your health for the better.
I’m fully accepting that many people never intend to become overweight to whatever degree. It can happen over a prolonged period of time, due to numerous variables. Though ultimately, poor choices generally pertaining to diet and physical activity are at the top of the list. But there is ALWAYS something you can do to make a positive change.
If somebody is overweight, while their body image may effect their lives for a short while, being diagnosed with coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer will definitely effect their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, for a lot longer.
Allowing people to pass-off important and potentially lifesaving information as ‘body shaming’ is unacceptable.
If you need information on making positive changes to your health and nutrition, ZERO44 Performance can help you make a permanent change to your life regardless of your ability, feel free to get in touch!
