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Just say no to the "war on obesity".

Article Excerpt
As Americans have gained weight, community-based coalitions have emerged to wage "war on obesity," with a special emphasis on the weight gain of children. With this article, I hope to urge those engaged in such efforts to take a different course. Rather than focusing on reducing childhood obesity, which holds potential for harm, I believe it is more effective to promote environmental changes that will improve nutrition and physical activity for all children. I urge people to stop using the terms "obesity," "epidemic," "childhood" and "warm in the same breath, especially in the name of health; to stop promoting a "thin is best" medical and cultural ideal; and to turn their attention instead toward condemning--rather than condoning--weight prejudice.

Sticks and Stones and Words That Can Hurt You ...

I cringe every time I hear the word "obesity." In 20 years of talking with large women, I have never met someone who does not associate the word with some measure of shame and distress. Just this morning I talked to a 40-year-old African-American woman whose doctor told her she was "obese" at 12. "I just never got over it,"...

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