Why the Word “Fat” is Nothing to Be Body Positive About
Fat SHOULD be something to fear — when there’s too much of it in your body. This isn’t phobia. It’s medicine. It’s facts. Do not be “Factphobic.”
Plus size women who campaign for body positivity want us to believe that having lots of surplus fat is not a bad or scary thing.
The word “fat,” in and of itself, is not a scary word. It could mean many things.
But put the word “excess” before it, and we have a whole new animal: one to be araid of.
“Heart disease and cancer are scary words because they imply significant health issues,” says Susan L. Besser, MD, with Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore; Diplomate, American Board of Obesity Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
“Fat (and we are talking obese, not just overweight) should also be scary for the same reason — it implies potential for significant health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease; not to mention the increased risk of developing arthritis from wear and tear on the joints, as well as liver disease (fatty liver disease which can lead to a type of hepatitis),” explains Dr. Besser.
Ask Your Doctor How Excess Fat Is Related to the Following
- Mobility problems, joint pain
- Gout
- Some cancers including uterine
- Complications during pregnancy and delivery; difficulty conceiving
- Obstructive sleep apnea
A personal trainer can prove, instantly, that having too much fat in the body is a bad thing and has no place in what true “body positivity” should be about (e.g., embracing an unmodifiable physical trait and wearing it proudly, such as being very tall or very dark skinned).
ParentingPatch, CreativeCommons
A personal trainer can ask their very plus-size client to simply run down the street as fast as possible. Instant proof of disability.
The inability to run hard down a street is not anything to feel positive about. A hard brief run is a fundamental ability of a healthy fit body.
Though many non-overweight people can’t run too well down a street, you can certainly imagine how much more crippled they’d be if they were to awaken the next morning with 100 more pounds on their frame.
One body image influencer asks on her Facebook page, “Why is fat such a scary word?”
More Reasons “Fat” Is a Scary Word
• Too much of it is deadly for tens of thousands of Americans every year. Some estimates go to 300,000.
• Too much fat in a child can lead to psychological damage, even if her mother promotes body confidence and self-love.
Shutterstock/Noiel
An influencer for body acceptance may ask why “Fat” carries as much disdain as the so-called F word.
Excess body fat kills more women than breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian cancers combined.
The body positive woman validates fat by pointing out that “we all have fat” and that it’s part of being human.
Pointing out that we all have fat stored everywhere has nothing to do with the dangers of obesity.
That’s like a smoker saying, “I’m not a smoker. I HAVE smoke.”
A play on words DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACTS.
The human body was not meant to be big, even though a very small percentage of people can stay thin despite eating large portions.
“I try to tell my patients that ‘fat’ (and I use the word obesity rather than fat) is a chronic health condition, just like diabetes, high blood pressure and so on,” says Dr. Besser.
“I explain it is linked to multiple health issues and needs to be controlled.
“Unfortunately for many, being overweight is very obvious (unlike hypertension which doesn’t have any observable signs), so the person is immediately judged for his or her appearance.
“So my ‘fat’ patients tend to be somewhat depressed because of the way they are treated. Of course, this too affects their health and their ability to lose weight and learn a healthier lifestyle.”
If you have enough excess fat to be considered obese by your primary care physician, you should not embrace this any more than you’d embrace a sick liver from excess drinking.
Dr. Besser provides comprehensive family care, treating common and acute primary conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Her ongoing approach allows her the opportunity to provide accurate and critical diagnoses of more complex conditions and disorders.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
.
Top image: Shutterstock/Grossinger
Do Plus Size Women Work Out Only to Lose Weight?
Why do some people assume that when an overweight woman works out, it’s ONLY because she wants to lose weight?
I’m a former personal trainer and group fitness instructor who was inspired to write this article after reading a post by a very overweight “body positive” promoter.
She posted that every time she posts videos of herself exercising, she gets questions to the tune of: “Are you trying to lose weight? I’m confused.”
This individual generously posts that she is NOT trying to lose weight and is thrilled with the clinically obese body she has, after gaining a lot of weight over the past few years.
She generously preaches the virtues of loving your body no matter how overweight and to stop worrying about what the scale says, how big your waist is, cellulite, etc.
This is vexing to her followers who watch her exercise videos.
They automatically assume that the only reason she exercises is to lose weight.
NO Body Type Is Exempt from the Benefits of Exercise
I had many clients who were not overweight but just wanted a kickass workout program.
They thrived on the challenge of getting their body to do things that it had never done before.
I also remember one large female client whose goal was to get fit enough to pass a fitness test for a job she wanted to apply for: repairing phone poles. This required climbing.
Nobody does NOT need to exercise.
Read that again.
The very hefty body image campaigner graciously supplied clues to those followers who were getting confused seeing her exercise.
Here’s my message to people who think that the only reason a fat woman works out is because she wants to drop pounds:
• Exercise lowers resting blood pressure.
• Exercise improves vascular health.
• Workouts improve heart health.
• Working out lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
• Exercising improves mobility and energy.
• Working out strengthens the joints and muscles, making day-to-day tasks easier.
• Exercise improves brain health.
People who question why an obese woman works out if she’s not trying to lose weight apparently have never done a good workout.
Because after a good workout you just feel so wonderful!
So don’t get “confused” if you see your idol exercising.
Consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she’s trying to lower her risk of colon and breast cancer! Or maybe she just thinks yoga is cool!
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.
Top image: Freepik.com
Why Is the Drainage from a Mastectomy Warm?
Have you noticed that the drainage from your mastectomy is warm enough to make the outside of the JP bulb feel warm?
I noticed that right away after my preventive double mastectomy. (more…)
Does a Painful Mole Mean Melanoma and Should a Doctor See It?
Melanoma can cause a mole to hurt in a way that can be described as pain. However, other factors can also cause pain to come from a mole.
So how can you tell if the pain or hurting is being caused by melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer – or something harmless? (more…)
Can Skin Cancer Come and Go?
The answer to the question if skin cancer can come and go is rather tricky.
Skin cancer coming and going would refer to malignant cells being there one day and then withering away shortly after without any treatment. (more…)
How Fast Can Melanoma Change Visibly to Naked Eye?
Doctors tell us to check our moles every month, but is it possible to see melanoma changes over a faster time period?
It seems that we should check our skin perhaps every two weeks, if it’s indeed possible for the naked eye to detect cancerous changes in a mole in a shorter time frame.
I posed this question to Dr. Janet Prystowsky, board certified dermatologist in New York, NY, with 30+ years’ experience.
I first asked if melanoma in a mole can grow fast enough for a person to notice the changes from one day to the next.
“It is unlikely to notice changes in your melanoma day to day,” says Dr. Prystowsky. “However, you may be able to notice changes week to week.”
There are different kinds of melanoma. One such type, the most common, is called superficial spreading melanoma.
It can produce changes visible to the naked eye that, even over 12 months, are barely detectable.
A particularly astute person or one who has the so-called eye for detail, will be able to notice changes over a few months with such a cancer.
“Nodular melanoma is more aggressive than superficial melanoma,” says Dr. Prystowsky. “Since superficial melanoma spreads on the surface of skin first, you may be able to identify changes in it before it penetrates deeper.
Source: 0x6adb015/CC
“Nodular melanoma is more likely to form a bump. When you notice a nodular melanoma, it is more likely to already be invasive than if it were a superficial melanoma.”
Nodular Melanoma Grows Fast and You’ll Easily See Changes
Most melanomas are not of the nodular type, but you should still know more about this kind of cancer.
According to a study of 404 patients led by Wendy Liu, PhD, of the Alfred Hospital Melbourne, the median monthly growth rate of nodular melanoma was 0.49 mm.
Source: pcds.org.uk
Can you tell if something has grown by half a millimeter?
It depends on if the growth is a strikingly different color than the mole that it’s occurring in.
It also depends on:
• Location of growth within the mole.
• If the growth is standalone.
• Your visual acuity.
• A magnifier will help.
Median growth rate per month for superficial spreading melanoma was 0.12, and for lentigo maligna it was 0.13.
Superficial spreading melanoma. CDC, Carl Washington, MD, Emory Univ. School of Medicine, Mona Saraiya, MD, MPH
Characteristics of Rapidly Growing Melanoma
According to the study, they were more likely to be:
• Symmetrical
• Elevated
• Flesh colored
• Non-jagged border
• Cause symptoms
• Associated with men over 70
• Associated with patients with fewer moles, though this could just be a coincidence in the study.
The report states, “…the bad-looking melanomas were associated with slower rates of growth compared with those that were not bad looking.”
Liu et al points out that the study’s findings (published in Archives of Dermatology) were limited by the subjective reports of patients recalling rates of melanoma growth – presumably done with their naked eyes; no mention of magnifying glasses was made.
A nodular melanoma can change fast enough to be noticed from week to week.
The study showed 0.49 mm per month of growth on average, but it’s possible for the growth rate to be bigger in a month’s time – clearly visible to the naked eye.
In combination with her focus on early skin cancer detection and removal, Dr. Prystowsky provides a wide range of revitalizing and rejuvenating treatments.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.
Top image: Shutterstock/wavebreakmedia
Source: medpagetoday.com/dermatology/skincancer/4726
When to Worry About a Bump on the Roof of Your Mouth
There are benign and dangerous causes of a bump on the roof of your mouth.
What makes this situation vexing is that often, you cannot see the bump but can only feel it.
If you’re feeling a strange bump (either with your tongue or finger) on the roof of your mouth, it COULD be cancer.
But – statistically, it’s far more likely to be harmless.
However, it’s natural to want to know about dangerous causes of bumps or lumps on the roof of your mouth – especially if you’re a smoker, chew tobacco or drink alcohol – all significant risk factors for oral cancer.
But non-tobacco users can get oral cancer, too.
When to Worry About Bump on the Roof of Your Mouth
• It has red and white patches and/or is very dark.
• It’s still there after two weeks.
• It hurts a lot, though oral cancer may be painless, too.
• You have other new symptoms such as fever, fatigue, nausea, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, numbness in the mouth, persistent stuck feeling in the throat, difficulty swallowing, or some other oddball symptom that you can’t explain.
“If it’s bleeding, painful, growing or changing in any way,” sums up Adam J. Mamelak, MD, a board certified dermatologist and founder of Sanova Dermatology in Austin, TX.
Additional Concerning Symptoms with a Bump on the Roof of One’s Mouth
• Ear pain
• Sore throat
• Hoarse voice
• Cough
WARNING: Oral cancer isn’t the only malignancy that has the potential to cause a bump on the roof of one’s mouth!
So if you’ve never smoked or drank, you will need to know what other cancers can cause this symptom.
• Squamous cell carcinoma. Awareness for this disease focuses on development in the skin, but it can also arise in the oral cavity where squamous cells are present.
• Verrucous carcinoma. This rarely spreads beyond the oral cavity but nevertheless, it’s still malignant.
• Palate cancer. If the bump seems to correlate with new symptoms of really bad breath, loose teeth, changes in speech and difficulty opening the jaw, it’s time to worry and make a doctor appointment stat.
• Salivary gland tumor.
Benign Causes
Causes of a bump on the roof of your mouth, that are not related to cancer, may still need prompt medical treatment – but they’re nothing to lose sleep over.
• Torus palatinus (may hurt or disrupt swallowing)
• Mucocele (may hurt)
• Anything that hurts or is bothersome
Here are additional possible causes of a bump on the rooftop of your mouth, but some of these conditions rarely end up in that location.
Don’t let the suffix “oma” scare you, either. “Oma” does not mean cancer. It means mass – and a mass can be benign. A benign tumor may still need surgical removal.
• Canker sore
• Enlarged incisive papilla
• Condyloma acuminatum (type of wart)
• Epstein pearl
• Fibroma
• Keratoacanthoma
• Leiomyoma
• Neurofribroma
• Nicotine stomatitis (caused by smoking; will not lead to cancer)
• Osteochondroma
• Papilloma
• Pyogenic granuloma
If you’ve never smoked or drank, this is reassurance that the new, stubborn bump or lump on the roof of your mouth PROBABLY is not cancer. Probably not. Probably not. Not likely. But not impossible!
But whether you’ve never smoked/drank or not, get it checked if it’s still there after two weeks. Again, nonsmokers and nondrinkers can get oral cancer.
Oral cancer, however, is uncommon, which means more times than not, a bump on the roof of a smoker’s or drinker’s mouth is not cancer. But remember that two-week rule!
Dr. Mamelak focuses on the full breadth of dermatologic care, from cosmetic skin solutions to advanced skin cancer removal. He’s founder of the Austin Mohs Surgery Center, which is dedicated to the treatment and management of skin cancer.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.
Top image: Shutterstock/Alexander Raths
Sources:
cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Health-Conditions/Palate-Cancer.aspx
hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/oral_health/oral_cancer_85,P00716/
healdove.com/oral-health/Possible-Causes-of-Bump-on-Roof-of-Mouth
Thin Woman: Small Bones vs. Fast Metabolism vs. Diet, Exercise
Just what exactly makes a woman skinny?
Some say small bones, particularly the thin woman herself, while others would argue it has everything to do with calories in vs. calories out.
Calories in vs. Calories Out
Many personal trainers insist that this equation is just too simplistic. I’m a former personal trainer for a large health club.
I’d tell clients that the common denominator, know matter what a person’s genetics, diet, bone structure or exercise habits are, is this:
This very simplistic equation is determined by all of those other factors that some other fitness experts insist are more important:
• Diet: what a woman eats, when and how much
• Genetics: Does fast metabolism run in the family?
• Amount of muscle mass: More muscle means a faster resting metabolism
• Exercise: Certain exercises burn more fat than others
• Hormonal environment: The hormonal picture in a woman can influence metabolism.
• Medical conditions: Some medical conditions decrease or increase metabolism.
But when all of those bullet points are stripped away, it still all comes down to calories in vs. calories out.
Small Bones and Thin Women
A woman is never thin simply because she has small bones. If you believe otherwise, ask yourself what would happen if something slowed down her metabolism, especially if she coincided that by increasing her caloric intake. And what if she stopped exercising?
Shutterstock/Just dance
A woman with small bones may very well be taking in more calories than she’s burning off. The equation may be this way for several reasons including:
• Depression—leading to quitting exercise and becoming sedentary
• Dating a man who’s always taking her out to restaurants with rich high calorie food
• Menopause (increased appetite and/or hormonal changes)
• Lack of strength training: causes muscle loss which slows metabolism
• Stress: drives her to eat way more than she should.
This woman with small bones will gain fat and become bigger as a result.
Small bones do not make a woman thin.
A small boned woman may have the biggest appetite in the West and not exercise, along with having an average metabolism.
What do you think she’ll look like, with those three factors in place? She will be fat or overweight.
If she diets and exercises and loses the 50 extra pounds of fat and can fit into a size 6, does this mean her bones shrunk?
Now let’s take a large boned woman who practices portion control, has a fast metabolism and works out. She’s going to be lean.
Her larger bone structure has NO influence on her resting metabolism.
What influences her resting metabolism is the same as what influences the resting metabolic rate of a small boned woman:
• Genetics
• Exercise
• Diet (processed food diet triggers hunger; healthy diet suppresses hunger)
• Hormonal environment inside her body
• Presence of medical condition
A large bone structure does not cause a woman to be big or husky. Have you not seen “before” images of husky women who then lost fat and gained lean muscle tissue (via diet and exercise), and in their “after” picture they are enviably lean and toned?
Bone size is not relevant.
Thin women who tell you they’re skinny due to small bones are perhaps trying to divert your attention away from suspecting an eating disorder.
This is akin to overweight women telling you they are “big boned” so that you don’t think they have out-of-control eating habits or are lazy.
When I was a fitness trainer I had overweight female clients whom I could tell had small bones, and thinner female clients who had large bones.
A large boned skinny woman has broad shoulders and relatively large hands.
A small boned fat woman has narrow shoulders and more petite looking hands.
There are additional ways to gauge whether a woman has small or bigger bones, but the amount of body fat is not one of them! Low muscle mass + low body fat = skinny.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
.
Top image: Shutterstock/Vikacita
How to Prevent Weight Gain During Double Mastectomy Recovery
When I had an elective double mastectomy without reconstruction, I prevented weight gain even though I was barred from gym workouts and restricted to light use of my arms. (more…)
How Soon After Mastectomy Can You Work Only Your Legs?
Does the “Do Not Lift Weights” for six weeks apply also to the LEGS when you’ve had a double mastectomy?
After all, why would training the legs impact recovery from breast removal? (more…)
