In a recent interview, Dr. Duane Sands, Minister of Health in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas addressed the overweight women of the country with this gem: "You're not sexy; You're fat!" As a former fat person, I can say with complete certainty, beyond a shadow of a doubt that these kinds of shaming messages have not worked and will NOT work. No one loses weight because someone said something that made them hate their body. In fact, many people in the weight loss community can attest, that their issues with self esteem remained even after losing weight. Health related scare tactics MIGHT work, that's what worked for me; but that's not what our Minister of Health is doing. His comments have nothing to do with health, and everything to do with making women hate their bodies. This is something I've always wanted to tell anyone I encountered in the medical profession so I'll say it here: we KNOW we're fat. Alright? We know! We get reminded everyday, on the playground, at work, every time we walk passed a reflective surface, when we have to sit next to someone on a plane, when we eat anything in public that isn't salad. Like, we get it. The reminder is not necessary.
What IS necessary is educating people on the consequences of being overweight in a way that isn't completely condescending and diminutive, while being mindful of the fact that eating healthy in The Bahamas is expensive. I know that first hand too. I spent way less on food when I was living my best life, eating Wendy's everyday, sometimes twice a day; but now most of pay cheque goes to vegetables and almond milk. That's not to be used as an excuse, because I agree with him in the sense that Bahamian people need to take their health more seriously, but the message has got to be delivered better. The diet of the average Bahamian (past me included) is horrendous, this is a fact. We eat way too many fatty foods, the quantities are ridiculous and the drinks have more than a generous amount of sugar. Another unfortunate reality is that many people don't realize how bad their diet really is, they genuinely believe that they aren't eating "that bad" while others just do not understand how their poor diet can affect the overall quality of their lives, leading to a long list of irreparable health issues. These are ACTUAL problems. A woman whose weight starts with a 3 walking around feeling beautiful is NOT a problem. We've really got to stop being angry at fat women for loving themselves. We've got to understand that these women are simply making up for the fact that society tells them they look revolting daily, numerous times a day. The solution to this problem is educating people, NOT making women feel ugly; it just can't be that simple. You can't shame someone into losing weight. If that was the case, no one would be obese. Overweight people are bullied for years and remain overweight. People lose weight for their own reasons, in their own way, and in their own time. It's frustrating, I'm sure, but making someone feel bad about their appearance is not the way to go. This isn't about appearance, and self esteem, it's about the effect on their health, so focus on and comment on that. That's what matters.
The credit to my weight loss goes to own survival instincts, not to some bully. I lost over 100 pounds, not because I had low self-esteem or hated myself; but because heart disease took three of my mum's siblings, who weren't even overweight, while I was morbidly obese. And guess what, Dr. Sands? I was still sexy. I'm not the heart surgeon here, so I won't claim to know more about health than you. What I am more experienced in is how to properly motivate someone to lose weight, a way that doesn't involve insulting them.
