Friday, January 22, 2010

Spin, Spin Doctor

Ah, so now that CNN has discovered [uncovered / decided to get around to] weight discrimination in medicine, we should get a bold, slant free, investigation of The Truth [<--Note Caps], right? Actually, no. What we get is yet another spin job from the press.

What 'spin job' you ask? Well, we get details on studies that have shown overweight patients are more likely to be misdiagnosed, under dosed when being prescribed meds, and have a harder time even GETTING healthcare coverage [Hmmm, this wouldn't have any effect on all those 'Fat People Die Sooner/More Frequently' studies would it? Naah]. It tells us how fat people are ignored, dismissed and even refused necessary medical treatment because that treatment might be more difficult or more risky and Dr's don't want to take the chance to treat us or just couldn't be bothered with the extra work [Wonder how many employers would be happy with this attitude in their office/plant/business? Oh, wait! Different context. We're only talking about peoples lives. Fat peoples lives. Nevermind].

What's the underlying message we're getting here? Where is this article going as far as pointing in the direction of a possible solution to this mess? 'Lets work toward ending discriminatory practices'? Ummm, not quite. What we get is More of the Same; Lose the weight Fatty.

"There's an even bigger problem, though: when heavy women are ignored, the obesity epidemic is ignored, too -- and that has to stop, experts say. "Being mistreated or dismissed by your doctor because of your weight is unacceptable. But what's just as important is that doctors are missing an opportunity to help their patients lose weight and improve their health," says Huizinga of Johns Hopkins.
"Doctors and patients need to be able to speak openly about weight-related issues, whether it's the diseases caused by excess weight or the reasons why a patient overeats. That level of conversation requires a certain degree of comfort, and the basis for that is mutual respect, plain and simple," she says. "That's how we can help all women get healthier."
[emphasis mine]

There's that Spin again. The classic Obesity Catch-22 -You can Win but only if you lose weight. If you can't lose weight [Read; Don't want to lose weight. Because it's impossible to NOT lose if you just try] then, guess what? No Cookie for you. 'But why? Why is this SO important?' you might ask. Because Health is Weight. Losing weight is The Answer to being healthy. It's the ONLY answer. If your not trying to lose weight then your not trying to be Healthy and that isn't, morally, ok. This would be The Morality of Being Fat. One more turn on the Obesity [Panic] Epidemic Merry Go-round. 


But what if you ARE trying to lose weight? What if you've been trying your entire life
Well, if your not thin by now then your not doing it right. Or your lying to us & yourself, a LOT! 
Either way, your fat and that's not, morally, ok. What's more, it's also your fault. 


All of it. 


Even how the Dr's treat you.


Because, if you would just stop being fat, people would treat you better. 


Of course, if one is foolish enough to ask how that might be done [stop being fat], the Answers one tends to get range from flat out folk lore [I have a friend, who has a cousin, who has a dog that lost weight by...], to 'science' as interpreted by cargo-cultists [Calories in = Calories out, full stop. Metabolism doesn't exist. Genetic inheritance doesn't count. Physics trumps Microbiology because we know everything there is to know about both. . . . And that's that, Fatty!], with a little political conspiracy thrown in for good measure [Can you say 'High Fructose Corn Syrup'? I knew you could]. It's enough to make one start thinking that NOBODY has any idea what, the fuck, their talking about. Except, of course, that it's all our fault. That they know.


Whoop! Here comes that brass ring again. Do I try for it One More Time or just decide to get off this stupid, pointless, ridiculous ride and go see what the unpopular kids are up to? Hmmmm. . . .    


Muzak Therapy:
Vangelis / Other Side of Antarctica

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