OT For Women Only: Smash the Wellness Industry

[ChicagoGranny]

I don't like modern feminism and I don't like when people eat so that they become obese. However, this article really clicks with me. Below is a short excerpt.

The wellness industry is the diet industry, and the diet industry is a function of the patriarchal beauty standard under which women either punish themselves to become smaller or are punished for failing to comply, and the stress of this hurts our health too. I am a thin white woman, and the shame and derision I have experienced for failing to be even thinner is nothing compared with what women in less compliant bodies bear. Wellness is a largely white, privileged enterprise catering to largely white, privileged, already thin and able-bodied women, promoting exercise only they have the time to do and Tuscan kale only they have the resources to buy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/opin ... lness.html

I hope you will read the article and compare opinions with mine.

BTW, my BMI is 19.5.

[chunkyfrog]

I have learned over time that "wellness" does not necessarily equate health.
--sometimes it is the exact opposite.
Any time a specific menu, behavior, etc. is promoted too enthusiatically,
it could be because somebody expects to make MONEY from it.
They are pushing a product, program or agenda, that may well not be in our own best interest.
Allowing ourselves to swallow the bs opens us up to exploitation.
Dr Oz comes to mind--what a panderer!

[kteague]

Do we have to have a subscription to the NYT to read it or am I doing something wrong?

[chunkyfrog]

I was able to read it. Maybe it's your browser.

[Lucyhere]

.

[Madalot]

I was able to read the entire article too.

[ChicagoGranny]

Do we have to have a subscription to the NYT to read it or am I doing something wrong?

NYT allows 6 or 8 free articles per month. Clearing your NYT cookies or using a different browser may help you view the article.

[babydinosnoreless]

I can't read it and I haven't read any other NYT articles this month.

[Julie]

Terrific article!

[Arlene1963]

ChicagoGranny, your BMI is quite low and I am wondering if you have been assessed for osteoporosis? I too have a fairly low body weight (along with also being very short at 4ft 11") and have recently discovered via my first bone density scan (a baseline scan) that I have low bone mass in the range of osteoporosis at the age of 55.

What a surprise, although unfortunately for short people DEXA scans are not all that reliable and so it is unclear whether in such cases (being under 5ft tall) the T-scores are valid when compared with taller women. The jury it out. I will not be taking medications though.

Apparently being thin is a risk factor for low bone density.

Another risk factor is greater than 10% weight loss after age 25.

We are constantly told by so many "experts" and of course always by the media etc. that weight loss is so beneficial and being overweight so detrimental.

Every article I read about menopause told me that weight loss would alleviate "symptoms" but never mentioned that weight loss accelerates bone loss in the first 10 years or so after menopause.

So, could weight in fact be protective at midlife, and maybe to be just a little overweight is actually rather good for us? Especially for women.

[prodigyplace]

I know you said Women only but I looked

Some people are having issues reading the article so I quickly put a copy here for you.

http://bosborne.freeshell.org/cpaptalk/ ... ustry.html

[ChicagoGranny]

ChicagoGranny, your BMI is quite low and I am wondering if you have been assessed for osteoporosis?

Thanks for the concern. My T-score is +0.9, and I am quite older than most people here assume. My doctor says he has never had a patient my age with a score this high. I've always been very active. I believe my high score is due to a combination of genetics and lifelong involvement in weight-bearing activities.

(Now, watch me break a bone tomorrow. )

[ChicagoGranny]

Terrific article!

Thanks for the feedback. I don't like to post articles here that no one has an interest in. No tomes either.

I know you said Women only but I looked

Of course, men will do this.

Some people are having issues reading the article so I quickly put a copy here for you.

http://bosborne.freeshell.org/cpaptalk/ ... ustry.html

Thank you.

[prodigyplace]

Terrific article!

Thanks for the feedback. I don't like to post articles here that no one has an interest in. No tomes either.

I know you said Women only but I looked

Of course, men will do this.

Some people are having issues reading the article so I quickly put a copy here for you.

http://bosborne.freeshell.org/cpaptalk/ ... ustry.html

Thank you.

Hey, you are not curious how others think? I thought it was good article.

I figured the NYT link will eventually go away anyway so I grabbed a copy.

[Barbee]

Article is pretty accurate. I remember years ago when Phil Donahue was on TV, he did a big show on interviewing young children. The majority of the children asked said they would rather be blind or deaf or lose a limb than to be fat. It was pretty eye opening as the kids were about 5-8 years old.