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Contents Page 1 |
A Valuable ClueIf you want a career in medicine, or if you even want to be recognized as a "serious" journalist, you are supposed to have enough sense to remain silent about this sort of thing. Thus, obese people end up being "civilian casualties" in the war against drugs -- an acceptable level of "collateral damage." Furthermore, this absurd war against drugs has produced a situation where most serious bodybuilders know more about fat burning than your doctor -- who is only educated about FDA-approved drugs. Therefore, even if the cavalry broke free and came charging over the hill, we would still be dead meat because they were never taught how to shoot straight. A pathetic "side effect" of tyranny. |
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"The notion that some people are fatter than
others merely because they are made that way -- because they come equipped with bodies
that call for a certain supply of fat -- should have an intrinsic appeal . . . Myriad
physical attributes are taken as facts of life; nature distributes her endowments
unequally. But when it comes to fat, the straightforward explanation has met with much
resistance. Instead, psychological theories have been invoked to account for physical
differences between people. This tendency seems to reflect a prejudice" Written |
So, what's the solution to this mess? George Bray gave us an extremely valuable clue when he wrote that "Maybe the only value of the AIDS epidemic is that it has brought some of this regulatory rigidity into the bright glare of public scrutiny" (5-NA). The AIDS activists were instrumental in getting the FDA to create the Personal Importation Policy, which allows people to import unapproved drugs. In fact, they even started AIDS buyers clubs. This stands in stark contrast to the devastating armed raids against many well-intentioned doctors and individuals whose only "crime" was trying to get drugs for other equally life-threatening illnesses. Why has the FDA acted in a more rational manner when dealing with AIDS patients? Is it a case of temporary sanity? I doubt it. The reason is simple: AIDS activists are well-organized and they fight for health freedom with an in-your-face style that is reminiscent of the 1960s anti-war protesters. Once again, silence is suicide. Obese people can learn a lot from the tactics of the AIDS activists. Here is one simple thing that anyone can do to help obese people right now: Go to http://www.excite.com and set up their free "NewsTracker Clipping Service" to look for articles on obesity. This is an easy keyword-based way to monitor the press coverage of obesity or anything else that interests you. Many of these articles have a link so the readers can respond. When you see articles that portray us as lazy gluttons, speak your mind. If we are going to improve attitudes about obesity we need to counter the negative "lifestyle causes obesity" publicity with "obesity is a REAL disease" publicity. Obesity is primarily caused by genetics and defective thermogenesis (fat burning). Also, in the vast majority of cases, a large appetite reflects an abnormal biochemical condition, not gluttony or psychological problems. And don't let them put the cart before the horse: it is FAR more common for discrimination and years of torturous dieting to CAUSE psychological problems than for psychological problems to CAUSE obesity. As long as we let them get away with portraying us as lazy, neurotic gluttons, we will continue to be treated like derelicts that don't really "need" medication.
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1-NP.) Stolberg, Sheryl Gay "Drug to counter obesity approved. Pill prevents absorption of dietary fat, but some questions remain." Austin American-Statesman/Austin 360 1999 Apr 27. 2-NP.) Fox, M "U.S. FDA approves new diet drug." Reuters 1999 Apr 26. 3.) Hansen, DL, Toubro, S, Stock, MJ, Macdonald, IA, and Astrup, A "Thermogenic effects of sibutramine in humans." Am J Clin Nutr 1998 Dec, Vol 68 (6), Pg 1180-6, PMID: 0009846844. 4-NP.) "Wonder pill? Newly approved diet drug not for everyone." Associated Press 1999 Apr 27. 5-NA.) Bray, GA "Barriers to the treatment of obesity [editorial] [see comments]" Ann Intern Med 1991 Jul 15, Vol 115 (2), Pg 152-3, PMID: 0001760006. |
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