When politicians or the media act surprised at the collateral damage the pandemic shutdowns and superimposed mandates caused, I have an answer ready: “What were you expecting?”
One of the main consequences of the restricted movement was too much eating and too little activity.
Weight has soared — and not just weight but blood pressure and diabetes, heart disease and depression.
It is all tied together in one big bow of bad health.
It’s not surprising either that the same leaders who shut us down for prolonged periods are also blind to the path back to good health — even when they’ve been there themselves.
Mayor Eric Adams is an example of a leader who should understand deeply the lessons of lifestyle change and weight loss: He dieted (a plant-based diet) and exercised his way back to good health years before the pandemic, shedding not just pounds but his diabetes diagnosis and associated symptoms of blurry vision and tingling in his fingers and toes.
This is partly because obesity can directly cause diabetes due to a growing insulin resistance as well as not enough insulin receptors per surface area to compensate for an increase in weight.
We live in a time of such overriding political correctness that a public official such as Mayor Adams can forfeit the role-modeling power of his own experience without even realizing it.
And though I can certainly understand his intention behind signing a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a person’s height or weight — “It shouldn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh when you’re looking for a job” — he goes too far when he says that “science has showed that body type is not a connection to if you are healthy or unhealthy.”
He surely shouldn’t have let the bill’s sponsor, Shaun Abreu, say that “millions are taught to hate their bodies” or speak about the history of “body-positivity activists” without adding that it is possible to like yourself yet still want to change your body for the sake of your health.
Liking yourself shouldn’t mean accepting the risk of bad health outcomes when this can be changed.
(Adams even welcomed the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance chair at the press conference.)
“Obesity” as far as I’m concerned is a medical term that is directly linked to bad health outcomes.
As a practicing physician, I’ve spent many years promoting a better diet with fewer carbohydrates, more cardiovascular exercise, more sleep and, when necessary, dietary aids including Ozempic and Wegovy without ever “fat shaming” my patients.
Believe me, I know that obese people suffer ignominy at the hand of bullies and sadists and that this experience may make an obese person of any age more resistant to treatment.
I even know one patient who literally walked on hot coals to sweat out the shame of this abuse at school.
At the same time it is a mistake to think that discussions over weight and weight loss should be off-limits or severely restricted. Of course they must be conducted with compassion.
The recent run on Ozempic and Wegovy is not in and of itself a good thing, but it is certainly a recognition of the fact that many people are worried about their weight.
That worry or that weight should not be stigmatized but nor should it be ignored.
Restricting or otherwise penalizing people for being obese is not a good tack to take, I absolutely agree with the mayor on that.
On the other hand, positive incentives for weight loss make more sense.
Certainly feeling better about yourself and being in better health should be reward enough. But many foods are addictive, and metabolisms vary, as does the process of losing weight from one person to the next.
I am not against the idea of gym memberships or weight-loss challenges or paid vacations as additional workplace rewards, provided they are conducted in good faith.
Actions and intentions convey sensitivity and compassion far more than just words.
Doublespeak and excessive attention to what I shouldn’t say can keep me as a physician from fully addressing a dangerous medical problem such as obesity.
Imagine if I have to write a prescription for weight loss without first acknowledging that the patient I am treating is in fact obese.
Marc Siegel, M.D., is a clinical professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health and a Fox News medical analyst.
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