The Dog Blog
By: David Dog
A few weeks ago, I signed up for an Obesity Learning Lab in Chicago and received literature telling me to arrive 15 minutes early for “special seating” before all the un-pre-registered rabble was allowed in. Naturally, considering the level of attention this life-threatening disease has received in the press, we would expect this hot topic to attract myriads of people looking to unlock the secret of solving “the obesity issue.”
Well, I got there late, of course, but it didn’t really matter, because only about a third of the conference seats were occupied.
Which would make perfect sense now that I think about it. Considering that 2/3 of Americans are deemed overweight by the government, it appears those people decided to stay away from the conference(maybe they were too fat to get in the doors). Perhaps because they didn’t want to be teased by all the skinny people who were there obviously because they were "hungry" to solve this problem for everyone else. Or more likely, the 2/3 of overweight no-shows simply don’t see themselves as fat, so they figured, what’s the point of going?
The research presented at the conference would appear to corroborate my theory (not really, but the research is interesting). A Hartman Group quantitative study revealed that while people can quite clearly see all the fat people around them, they either don’t see themselves as “overweight,” or if pushed a little, will say something like, “oh, well, I injured my ankle a few months ago, so I’m only like this temporarily.” Instead, they resort to a special euphemistic language that masks the situation and helps them live with themselves. They use terms like “big-boned” or “curvy,” or “I’m a little overweight but I’m healthy.”
Perhaps the most interesting, and ultimately damaging, finding is that it’s not all those beautiful models on magazine covers and lifeguard-studded TV shows that drive people’s self perceptions, but their immediate social networks. The devastating example given from the research was a group of nurses, who ranged from 10 to 30 pounds above the “normal” weight limit. But because the one who was “only” 10 pounds overweight is made to believe by the other nurses that she’s the skinny Gweneth Paltrow of the group, she had no motivation to lose weight, while the heavier ones set their benchmark at the misleading over-10 pound level.
Lesson: if you want to REALLY get in good shape, hang around skinny people. If you want to feel like a million dollars (but slowly sink further into the fat marsh), hang around really fat people.
Another interesting observation: Obesity conferences don’t serve breakfast or snacks. After all, most people have already eaten enough, right? On second thought, perhaps if the conference had advertised “breakfast served,” more of those fat people would have showed up.
[Note: David Dog stays fit eating Eukanuba and catching flying frisbees in his teeth.]
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