Paul Campos (author of The Obesity Myth) has weighed in (ha! a funny!) on the Kevin Smith / Southwest Airlines fiasco over at The Daily Beast.
Money quote IMO:
… consider how convenient it is for the airline industry to deflect a customer’s anger over ridiculously small seats—I’m thinner than approximately 80 percent of middle-aged men and I don’t fit into one very comfortably—on to “overweight” passengers, a category that includes, according to our public health authorities, nearly seven out of 10 adult Americans.
BTW, over on HuffPo, Lee Stranahan makes my other main point re Smith: Kevin Smith did not violate Southwest Airlines policy.
Back to Campos. His article is also worth the read for his criticisms of MeMe Roth of the National Action Against Obesity. But I like Tom Naughton’s approach even better!
Tom adds:
I actually find MeMe Roth more annoying than the sue-happy lawyer. This is a woman who is obviously naturally thin. She was born on the finish line and thinks she won a race. So now she feels justified in telling other people how to eat, and in criticizing pretty much every overweight person in the public eye. …
My advice: never take advice on losing weight from anyone who’s never had to work at it. They have no flippin’ clue what they’re talking about.
Word!
In the energy science world the energy patterns of Vata Pitta and Kapha(using the Ayurvedic model from the Yoga tradition) states that imbalances of these energy patterns lead to dis-ease
If we dont eat according to our energy patterns we will go out of balance So obesity in this model is a symptom of Kapha imbalance
We are different energetically and create our imbalances differently But it is clear that a Pitta Vata (MeMe Roth) will not have a weight problem in her lifetime but a Kapha Pitta(Kevin Smith) will
To see our imbalances for what they are and stop criticizing ourselves is moving toward health and compassion
If we promote balance of the qualities that are dominant in our mindbody physiologies then that is considered health regardless of how much we weigh
The issue is not weight The issue is balance We will give ourselves an grand gift if we begin to understand ourselves as energy patterns and avoid the Pitta raging that goes on regarding obesity
The raging that is going on is a reaction that prevents us from seeing our imbalances And there is nothing wrong with imbalances They are here to help teach us And everyone has imbalances (MeMeRoth included – her raging about obesity is an imbalance) so accept that and let’s work on our imbalances together and stop the criticism which solves nothing To health as a skill Love DrBill
If I wasn’t following your blog already, this comment would probably have wound up in the spam filter; it really is on the line as far as pushing something commercially.
Also, while I think you’re spot on wrt imbalances as far as overall general philosophy, I must say I’ve not found Ayurveda as an approach to be particularly compelling.
But that’s just me.