Fat and Healthy

“I don’t have a problem with fat. I have a problem with unhealthy.”

“If you are fat, then you must be unhealthy, and that’s why fat is so bad.”

“This whole thing about body positivity is wrong because if you are fat, you are unhealthy and doing damage to your body.” 

We have all heard these phrases, or something similar to them. Perhaps we have even used them ourselves. Society has developed a fear of fat. And while it may seem centered around the health consequences of being overweight, it isn’t. It is about perceptions and monitoring behavior. We have a fear of not looking a certain way or not subscribing to a particular lifestyle. We preach body positivity, but in the same sentence also promote the use of “slimming teas” or other fad diets. Fat scares us, so we hid behind it and ridicule it by saying that it is inherently unhealthy to make ourselves more comfortable. But fat doesn’t always mean unhealthy, and it is our job to reject false information and check ourselves so that we challenge narratives. 

Jenner says "Got my @SkinnyMintCom such a great natural detox
tea program for this summer," Jenner's caption states.
"I need to get healthy again! Who's joining me?"

We often tend to make assumptions simply on how someone looks. But appearances can be deceiving. For example, it is impossible to look at some and know if they only ate vegetables or if they only ate Kit-Kats that day. Consider eating disorders. People that have bulimia may appear to be at a healthy weight when in actuality they may have incredibly poor health. The consequences of eating disorders on both mental and physical health are great but often easily concealed. Thus, looking at a person cannot tell you the truth of their health and well-being. It is impossible to tell someone’s habits only by appearance. 

It is argued that fat causes high blood pressure and high cholesterol, among other things. But these things are not exclusive to people with are medically classified as overweight or obese. A study done in 2016, which followed participants for an average of 19 years, found that unfit lean people were twice as likely to get diabetes as fit people who were overweight. Studies have also found that one-third to three-quarters of people who are medically classified as obese are actually metabolically healthy. These people didn’t show any signs of elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance, or high cholesterol. In contrast, about one-fourth of non-overweight people are classified as “the lean unhealthy” because of their poor health habits.

Health is about the habits you have and the actions you take. It isn’t about weight. Take Football defensive end, David Carter. Carter weighs 300 pounds. If you saw him on the street during his football career and didn’t know he was an athlete, you would assume that he is overweight and carries too much body fat. However, he is incredibly high performing. And that is because of his habits and actions. Carter follows a plant-based diet, and research has supported that this diet is much better for health than diets that contain animal products. His diet allows him more energy and overall higher body efficiency. But, you wouldn’t look at him and think that he is a picture of health. In fact, if you didn’t know anything about him or his choices and career, you would call him fat. This is the same case for strongman and former bodybuilder, Patrik Baboumian, and the list goes on.

David Carter

Even after hearing these things, it seems that people always go back to “if they are fat, then they have more weight on their joints, and that is inherently unhealthy.” While that could be true, there are worse effects if someone is continuously monitoring themselves and has poor mental health. If a person always feels that they have to fix their weight and monitor their behavior, they may develop low self-esteem, depression, or a negative self-perception. Poor mental health has been found to impact physical health negatively. In some cases, people can develop diabetes and heart disease. This means that regardless of weight, if people are unhappy, they can develop the same problems that are associated with being fat. In all, if a person constantly feels that they have to monitor themselves, they may be impacting their mental health negatively and thus making impacting their physical health negatively, no matter their size. 

Being fat is not a descriptor of health. Health is individual and dependent on so many different factors. It is not weight dependent. We use health as a way to control narratives and people’s behavior. We use it as a crutch to hide behind what makes us uncomfortable. It is our job to reject false information and social narratives that support the fear of fat.

The Strength of Intellectual Disability

Dr. Temple Grandin said, 

“If you want to understand autism: Animals.”

What she meant is that in order to understand intellectual disability, we have to look at thinking styles. Different thinking styles bring different and useful perspectives that are important to the world. This sounds so simple however, society has created significant barriers that limit our ability to see the worth and need for different minds. We often see intellectual disability in a negative light. We view people who think and interpret the world differently as less than. We don’t trust in their ability to contribute to our conversations in a beneficial way. We devalue their existence. 

For example, in 2013, 32 intellectually disabled Iowans were awarded 7.3 million dollars each for enduring years of discrimination and abuse working at a turkey processing plant. For 30 years, the men were forced to live in filth, sometimes padlocked into their bug-infested living areas. They were treated with what seems to be almost the same care that the turkeys were. This disturbing story is not unique. Stories like this and others of various cruelties exist in high numbers.

People with intellectual disabilities are viewed as subhuman. There is a historical perception that intellectually disabled people are insensitive to heat and cold and do not need access to heat in the winter. We know this to be untrue, but the perception reinforces how intellectually disabled people are dehumanized. Dehumanization is the process of depriving a person or group of positive human qualities. As a result, disabled people are not seen as capable or as dignified as non-disabled members. In fact, intellectually disabled people are often animalized and dehumanized to a degree in which they are not seen as human, but as animals. 

Viewing intellectually disabled people like animals because they are seen as less valuable in society is unfair to both humans and animals. However, something interesting happens when you think of intellectually disabled people’s way of thinking in comparison to animals. Both humans with autism and animals think in similar ways. They are visual thinkers. This means that they think in specific images, not language. The details are important. For example, a horse that had alcohol thrown in its eyes during a veterinary procedure developed a fear of black cowboy hats, but not white ones because it was looking at a black hat when the alcohol was thrown. The image that the horse had of the abuser was specific and did not generalize. Learning is specific and does not translate to similar activities. These are all things that all for amazing thinking but also the differences that stigmatize the group.

Dr. Temple Grandin, who has autism, has used these findings to her advantage. She has found several ways to improve cattle handling facilities by considering her own experiences with sensory issues. She utilized her attention to detail and visual thinking to see things from the animal’s perspective while considering areas and solutions for improvement. In doing this, she has not only aided animals and facilities, but she has also shown that intellectual disability does not mean incapable. She is an example of why we need all kinds of minds.

Greta Thunberg is another example of why unique minds are important and not ones to ostracize. Greta is a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize. Her climate activism has sparked worldwide protests for climate change. Her unique way of thinking and interpreting allows her to think outside of the box and consider other ways to speak out climate change and work, encouraging policy change. When people watch Greta speak, along with how well-spoken she is are also words of how she is odd and socially strange. Thunberg has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. In a recent interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Thunberg was asked why she views her Asperger’s as a gift. She responded by speaking about how it allows her to think outside of the box and be a useful resource in times of crisis, like the current climate condition.

                                        

We need unique minds. The average brain is not capable of noticing details like that of an autistic one. Both minds are crucial in solving problems and adding to the world. Much too often, we see that people’s perception of intellectual disability has negative consequences to the person with the disability. Mistreatment due to disability and dehumanization are costs of not seeing the value in unique minds. In a world with so many issues, we could use as many different thinkers and perspectives as we can get. 

Inclusively Exclusive: Transgender Women in Sport

Picture this:

 You have trained for months, years to be honest, and there you are standing on the top step of the podium, wearing a world champion jersey. You have just won the UCI track cycling sprint world championship race, and you have just made history. In just minutes, you have become the first transgender athlete to win a UCI world cycling championship, and in just minutes later, you are greeted by a world of backlash for it. But you did not cheat, so what is the problem? 

This was the reality for track cyclist, Dr. Rachel McKinnon. The problem many saw was that she is transgender women and must have had an unfair advantage over the other women to claim the win. Transgender is an umbrella term used for persons whose gender identity does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. So, if you once were a man so you must be stronger and have more testosterone because of that, right? Well, the short answer is no, that is not quite how it works.

Beyond the significant challenges of lack of legal protection, poverty, harassment and stigma, violence, barriers to healthcare, and identity documents, there is also controversy on the subject of transgender athletes. The claim is that transgender athletes, specifically female transgender athletes, have an unfair advantage over their competitors. For this reason, many people do not believe they should be allowed to compete. However, in our society, the right to participate in sport is universal. This goes along with the International Olympic Committee philosophy as well. The IOC’s belief in inclusivity is as follows, 

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” 

The idea is to foster a fair and inclusive environment for sport to occur in. There is great tension in promoting inclusivity while still creating rules that govern a society that in unfair and inherently unequal.

One of the claims is that trans women have more testosterone than cis women and thus have an unfair advantage. However, studies have shown that there is not a relationship between testosterone in terms of performance in males. There is evidence of performance decreasing when you lower someone's natural testosterone production, whether that be through hormone suppression therapy or the loss of a testicle. But, the decrease in performance is not because of less testosterone. Performance decreases because when you lower someone's testosterone levels, the body isn’t used to it and has to learn to adapt. The opposite occurs when you add more endogenous natural testosterone. It has nothing to do with actual levels and everything to do with the body's ability to adapt. We see 1 in 6 elite male track and field athletes have lower than average female testosterone levels, yet perform at a higher level. So, it can all be about testosterone. 

Other researchers, however, cite evidence to counter this way of thinking, and there is also the case of the “eye-ball” test. The eyeball-test shows us that all the fastest male marathon runners/cyclists/rowers, weightlifters, etc. (the list could continue forever) are faster than the fastest females. The most noticeable difference that many see between men and women is that men produce more testosterone. So, many attribute their higher levels of performance, their higher levels of testosterone. But the performance gaps between men and women are closing. This is likely because women are more widely accepted in sport and are given greater opportunities and resources to excel. Thus, allowing for higher performance. 

Trans women are taller and heavier than cis women. Not only is this intimidating to cis female competitors but is also sparks thoughts of unfairness because of body-type. However, different body types excel in various areas, and Vice Versa. Micheal Phelps's body is designed perfectly for swimming, but you wouldn’t say that he has an unfair advantage. A track cyclist who is stocky is typically better than an incredibly lean track cyclist, but you would not say they have an advantage. They just have the right body type for what they are doing.

This is the case for Dr. McKinnon. She is tall and built for track cycling. She looks like she can put out a massive amount of power. However, upon analysis, her power records are not anything unusual or out of this world. Her physique is misleading and triggers fear and out-lash in others. People automatically go to the fact that she is trans and has more testosterone, and that is why she has more power and that body type. However, she has less testosterone than the average woman, in fact, her levels are so low that it’s almost undetectable. 

            

Creating rules that restrict trans people of their ability to participate and compete in sport is denying their right to participate, which goes against the IOC’s charter. People who identify as trans already face significant challenges such as stigmatization, discrimination, and violence. Stripping them of their ability to participate in sport (for un-just reasons) only denies them of another right and ostracizes them even further.