Jillian Micheals has made some seriously unfriendly waves among the body positive crowd as well as those of us in eating disorder recovery with her response to Lizzo’s body. Although Micheals goes to great lengths to remind the public she supports body love at any size she emphatically does not agree with celebrating Lizzo’s body along with her music. In an initial interview she remarks, “it isn’t going to be awesome when she gets diabetes”. After much controversy she had a second interview and stood by her comments as a “health expert” by stating the serious health complications of obesity that include diabetes and heart disease saying, “there’s nothing pretty about clogged arteries”.
Her response - not easy to swallow or stomach (both puns intended)-brings to light dichotomous and one dimensional ideas about health and weight. This month’s Managing Nutrition Myths blog post is therefore dedicated to the common myth that weight is synonymous with health.
Myth #1 Larger Bodies Are or Will Become Unhealthy
Many studies over the years have confirmed that body weight is not an indicator for health.
In a study done with a large sample size, researchers found a quarter of those with average BMI (classified as normal weight) had indicators for risks usually associated with being overweight (blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar and cholesterol). More than half of the subjects in this study that would be classified as overweight and a third of those catagorized as obese were deemed metabolically healthy.
In addition, BMI a measure of how we catorgorize weight as normal, overweight or obese is a faulty, flawed calculation tool that does not take into account the complex factors of health.
Body weight is an emotionally complicated issue for both men and women. There are many reasons why bodies gain and lose weight over a lifespan. Habits, lifestyle, history and culture must be taken into account before putting blame or pressure on people who live in bigger bodies.
Unfortunately, what Jillian Micheals, a self proclaimed health expert (she is a personal trainer with a flimsy nutrition and wellness certification) did is make an assumption about Lizzo’s health based on her appearance. She did not take into account that for one, Lizzo’s vigorous dance routines on stage provides some data about her health and wellness.
Myth #2 Smaller Bodies Are Always Healthy
As a eating disorder specialist I can attest that just looking at a body cannot assume health.
Millions of normal or ‘thin’ people are going to extreme measures to look that way including starving, purging, taking substances/ supplements to decrease hunger and extreme exercise. Micheals herself created a line of fat burning pills to support extreme weight loss, promotes intense exercise and is sure to have photos of her body airbrushed before going out to the public.
As part of my nutrition practice I review lab work and consult with doctors on the myrad of health issues associated with chronic dieting and disordered eating practices. The majority of individuals with concerning nutritional and/or life threatening health issues land in normal and under weight categories rather than overweight or obese weight categories. This includes decreased bone mass (osteopenia, osteoporosis), abnormal menstruation, low Iron, Vit B and D deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, abnormal EKG, increases in liver enzymes and creatine kinase to name a few.
In 20 years of treating all bodies in recovery from disordered eating, I have only witnessed a small handfull with diabetes who are or would be catorgized as overweight or obese. And while there is truth that some of these individuals have lipid abnormalities, underweight individuals I treat also have lipid profiles that are out of whack.
This kind of assumption-based thinking is wrought in society leading many American’s to go to great lengths to keep their weight low or chronically seeking out ways to lose weight. In fact this type of cultural gaslighting keeps the dieting companies well funded. We are afraid of becoming anything other than thin for the shear reason that we are made to believe we are unhealthy or will become unhealthy if we are not. Then we stress our bodies out trying to stay thin to prove wellbeing when in actuality we are doing unhealthy things to achieve this distorted goal!
Bottom line, weight and appearance DOES NOT indicate health or wellbeing.
Body Love Cannot Be Measured By Weight
In today’s world, body acceptance is a radical concept no matter what size body you happen to be living in for the moment. To see Lizzo’s willingness to do her work to love and accept her body in the public eye is utterly inspiring. We are not just celebrating Lizzo’s music or her body. We are celebrating her warrior spirit which calls upon each of us to find love for the temples we live in. Body acceptance, appreciation and love is not about weight. It is about relationship. Her message is simple- we all have a body and we all have a responsibility to be in a relationship to that body. Her choice is to love and accept hers. What is your choice?
Resources:
https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/15/21060692/lizzo-jillian-michaels-body-positivity-backlash
https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/2008/08/study-weight-not-necessarily-an-indicator-of-health/