Women should support each other over weight, says minister
David Cohen, M.D.·Published 8 January 2013·7 min read
Key points
Women should not be so willing to criticise each other for being supposedly overweight, Jo Swinson, the equalities minister, has said.
Over 60 percent of U.S. adult women are overweight, according to 2007 estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
But excess body weight isn't the only health risk.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer tips for healthy eating in Dietary Guidelines for All Americans.
Women should not be so willing to criticise each other for being supposedly overweight, Jo Swinson, the equalities minister, has said.
She said unrepresentative images of thin women were too pervasive in advertising and the media, and has written an open letter to magazine editors saying that if they promote post- Christmas "miracle diets" they could be endangering the health of their readers.
Swinson, who is also a business minister, started campaigning on the issue of body image anxiety long before she entered government. Although in interviews on Thursday she largely focused on criticising the media, she also said women could do more to help each other ignore media pressure to be thin.
"The imagery that we're presented with has just one type of so- called ideal which is very, very slim, generally very, very young as well, late teens or early 20s, and it is something which is unattainable and, indeed, not reflective of the true diversity of beauty that's out there," she said.
"There's a resolution here that we all could make, women up and down the country. [Magazines] have got these features because they think people want to read them and part of that is because there is an obsession about being thin, so maybe one of the things we all need to do is support each other not to be so self- critical.
"So when your sister or your friend is standing there and moaning about whether she looks really fat, and actually she looks gorgeous, tell her so and support each other. Very often this kind of criticism, and self- criticism, is something which goes unchallenged and I think there's a resolution there for everyone to challenge that default setting."
Swinson said she was writing to magazine editors now because some of the diets they were promoting, such as one promising "lose seven pounds in seven days", were dangerous.
How many women in the United States are overweight or obese?
Over 60 percent of U.S. adult women are overweight, according to 2007 estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Just over one-third of overweight adult women are obese.
"Every January we see these fad diets promoted. These aren't promoting healthiness, these aren't promoting a way of embracing exercise and eating fruit and veg and doing things which will actually help people. They're actually suggesting that you can suddenly lose lots of weight very quickly and there are no negative health consequences.
What are the health effects of being overweight or obese?
Being overweight or obese can increase your risk of:
Heart disease
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
But excess body weight isn't the only health risk. The places where you store your body fat also affect your health. Women with a "pear" shape tend to store fat in their hips and buttocks. Women with an "apple" shape store fat around their waists. If your waist is more than 35 inches, you may have a higher risk of weight-related health problems.
"We actually know most diets don't work and if you go on a crash diet there can be really negative health consequences … So this is a myth that's being perpetrated trying to tempt people to buy these magazines and I think it's time they change their record, frankly."
British women are the most overwight in Europe, it has been revealed.
Figures released by the European Commission showed that nearly a quarter (23.9%) of women in the UK were obese in 2008/09, when the data was recorded.
The statistics showed British men are not far behind, with 22.1% being classed as overweight, coming second only to Malta.
They found the share of overweight and obese people increases with age in all of the 19 member states that data was available for.
The figures also show the proportion of women who are obese or overweight falls as the educational level rises.
The high levels of obesity in the UK are in stark contrast to those in countries such as Romania, where just 8% of women were classed as obese along with 7.6% of men.
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In her letter she said: "I am sure that you want to promote a healthy lifestyle for your readers but at this time of year in particular far too much magazine coverage tends to focus on irresponsible, short- term solutions and encourages readers to jump on fad diet bandwagons.
"As editors you owe more to your readers than the reckless promotion of unhealthy solutions to losing weight. If your aim is to give practical, sensible advice about losing weight - and not how to drop a stone in five days - you should encourage reasonable expectations, instead of dangerous ones, along with exercise and healthy eating."
How can I make healthier food choices?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer tips for healthy eating in Dietary Guidelines for All Americans.
Focus on fruits. Eat a variety of fruits - fresh, frozen, canned, or dried - rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you will need 2 cups of fruit each day. An example of 2 cups is 1 small banana, 1 large orange, and 1/4 cup of dried apricots or peaches.
Vary your veggies. Eat more: dark green veggies, such as broccoli, kale, and other dark leafy greens orange veggies, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and winter squash beans and peas, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, split peas, and lentils
Get your calcium-rich foods. Each day, drink 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk. Or, you can get an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt and/or low-fat cheese each day. 1.5 ounces of cheese equals 1 cup of milk. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods and drinks.
Make half your grains whole. Eat at least 3 ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta each day. One ounce is about 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of breakfast cereal, or 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta. Look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats, or corn are referred to as "whole" in the list of ingredients.
Go lean with protein. Choose lean meats and poultry. Bake it, broil it, or grill it. Vary your protein choices with more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.
Limit saturated fats. Get less than 10 percent of your calories from saturated fatty acids. Most fats should come from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. When choosing and preparing meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products, make choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free.
Limit salt. Get less than 2,300 mg of sodium (about 1 teaspoon of salt) each day.
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What surgical options are used to treat obesity?
Weight loss surgeries — also called bariatric (bair-ee-AT-rik) surgeries — can help treat obesity. You should only consider surgical treatment for weight loss if you:
Have a BMI of 40 or higher Have a BMI of 35 or higher and weight-related health problems Have not had success with other weight-loss methods
Common types of weight loss surgeries are:
Roux-en-Y (ROO-en-WEYE) gastric bypass. The surgeon uses surgical staples to create a small stomach pouch. This limits the amount of food you can eat. The pouch is attached to the middle part of the small intestine. Food bypasses the upper part of the small intestine and stomach, reducing the amount of calories and nutrients your body absorbs.
Laparoscopic (LAP-uh-ruh-SKAWP-ik) gastric banding. A band is placed around the upper stomach to create a small pouch and narrow passage into the rest of the stomach. This limits the amount of food you can eat. The size of the band can be adjusted. A surgeon can remove the band if needed.
Biliopancreatic (bil-ee-oh-pan-kree-at-ik) diversion (BPD) or BPD with duodenal (doo-AW-duh-nul) switch (BPD/DS). In BPD, a large part of the stomach is removed, leaving a small pouch. The pouch is connected to the last part of the small intestine, bypassing other parts of the small intestine. In BPD/DS, less of the stomach and small intestine are removed. This surgery reduces the amount of food you can eat and the amount of calories and nutrients your body absorbs from food. This surgery is used less often than other types of surgery because of the high risk of malnutrition.
If you are thinking about weight-loss surgery, talk with your doctor about changes you will need to make after the surgery. You will need to:
Follow your doctor's directions as you heal Make lasting changes in the way you eat Follow a healthy eating plan and be physically active Take vitamins and minerals if needed
You should also talk to your doctor about risks and side effects of weight loss surgery. Side effects may include:
Infection Leaking from staples Hernia Blood clots in the leg veins that travel to your lungs (pulmonary embolism) Dumping syndrome, in which food moves from your stomach to your intestines too quickly Not getting enough vitamins and minerals from food
Andrew Sparrow, political correspondent The Guardian
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