Dear BTL,
I was horrified to read Dr. Wang's "Obesity: America's Raging Epidemic" (in the Dec. 15, 2005 issue of BTL). The last thing this world needs is more reasons to hate our bodies and loathe the bodies of those society deems "undesirable."
Dr. Wang's column is riddled with inaccuracy. He states, "most people know that being overweight/obese isn't healthy." Research shows that the health risks once associated with weight may instead be attributable to yo-yo dieting, and statistics state that 95-98 percent of all diets fail over three years.
Due to widespread prejudicial medical treatment and harassment by health care professionals, such as the ignorance displayed by Dr. Wang in his offensive article, many fat people do not receive adequate preventative health care, and frequently delay seeking treatment when there is a medical problem.
It appears to me that the true "Raging Epidemic" here is fat-phobia and ignorance. To learn more about this epidemic and what you can do to fight it, I highly suggest BTL readers check out "Fat!So?" by Marilyn Wann or check out the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance at http://www.naafa.org.
Carrie Tune-Copeland,
Swartz Creek