Real-life report: Why are we normalising obesity?
With the NHS spending £16 billion a year on conditions related to the growing weight of the nation, best investigates…
The ‘size zero’ debate has rumbled on for years, and we’ve watched in horror as severely underweight models hit the catwalk, looking exhausted, with their bones jutting out. The fashion industry eventually responded to what was so clearly an unhealthy image, leading many fashion giants to ban size-zero models from their shows.
But has society started to lean too far the other way? ‘Curvy’ models like size-26 Tess Holliday are seen as role models, but is that a healthier body shape to endorse, when the cost of obesity and its related conditions are causing the strained NHS to buckle?
Tess, 32, is an internationally successful model from Mississippi, who encourages her 1.5 million Instagram followers to feel body confident no matter what their size. Yet she was slammed by viewers when she appeared on Loose Women
last month, who felt she was promoting obesity. ‘I know that I am healthy. It’s not my job to tell everyone that I am healthy, it’s my job to tell everyone to love themselves,’ Tess responded.
She hit headlines again when she joined other models of varying shapes for a ‘size inclusive’ fashion show. ‘No one is celebrating obesity, I am celebrating being the first model my size in the world to be in an industry where everyone said I couldn’t,’ Tess said. ‘I am celebrating loving myself, when everybody said I wasn’t worth anything.’
While we applaud being body confident, it is impossible to deny the risks associated with being overweight.
According to best’s Dr Ellie Cannon, there’s simply no way that anyone as big as Tess can be considered healthy.
‘The most common health consequences associated with increased weight are heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and increased risk of strokes and hypertension,’ she says. ‘It’s thought that certain cancers, such as breast and colon, could be associated with weight gain, as is depression. We also know that obesity causes problems for people who have arthritis.’
Carrying around extra pounds causes wear and tear in the knees, hips and ankles. Many overweight people report symptoms of backache, inflammatory conditions, breathing problems and sleep apnoea. ‘The government talks about cutting sugar from kids’ snacks and offering cooking lessons to people with type 2 diabetes, but I don’t see any evidence of these incentives actually working,’ Dr Cannon adds.
US model Ashley Graham, 29, is a size-18 body activist with a reach of 5.2 million followers on social media. Her latest campaign for an underwear brand encourages women to ditch the filters and love their true selves. While her popularity is indicative of a new ‘normal’, society needs to be wary of why revenue in the plus-sized fashion industry hit £5 billion last year – it’s clearly no longer a niche market.
In the UK, 58 per cent of women and 65 per cent of men have been recorded as overweight or obese, and 20 million Brits are physically inactive. With 4,500 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every week and the cost to the NHS hitting an eye-watering £8.8 billion, this is undeniably crisis point.
The burden isn’t just in treating the associated health problems. There’s the cost of building bigger beds, stronger wheelchairs and wider mortuary slabs. Figures released in 2015 indicate that 800 ambulances were built to cope with supersized patients at a cost of £100,000 each.
So should the government be doing more to help us help ourselves? There has been the introduction of schemes like Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, offering tips on healthy eating, losing weight and exercise.
New guidelines encourage people to aim for consuming 10 portions of fruit and veg a day, and the NHS campaign Change4Life helps families monitor kids’ sugar intake, salt and saturated fat consumption.
Angelique Panagos, nutritional therapist and author of The Balance Plan, explains what’s causing the obesity crisis. ‘ We’re eating an abundance of sugar and refined carbs, coupled with a lack of education about what those ingredients do to our bodies when eaten day in, day out. Top this off with a sedentary lifestyle and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.’
Angelique sees many people protest that they can’t afford to make healthier choices. ‘There’s a misconception that healthy food is more expensive. Sure, a 99p burger might seem cheap, but how long will it fill you up for?’ she says. ‘If you end up suffering the consequences to your health, was it worth the saving? Plan ahead and you can eat good food on any budget.’
But it’s not only adults who are expanding – kids are, too.
For Dr Cannon, the diet industry – which is estimated to be worth £2 billion – overcomplicates a simple equation. ‘Move more, eat less,’ she says. ‘In order to maintain a healthy weight, calories burned has to equal calories consumed. It’s up to each individual to make good choices in the face of temptation.’
Society can learn as much from Tess as from size-zero models. Women have spent decades being scrutinised for their curves, but true selfacceptance must come in recognising that, while we’re all different sizes and shapes, to be extremely overweight is as dangerous as it is to be extremely underweight.
Maintaining a healthy weight isn’t just about the size of your dress – it’s about having a stronger heart, reduced cholesterol, efficient circulation, increased stamina and improved well-being.
According to Angelique, we mustn’t be too lax about obesity. ‘I’m all for body positivity and don’t like shaming. Yes, love your body. But love it so much you look after it,’ she says.
We couldn’t agree more.
‘It’s impossible to deny the risks associated with being extremely overweight’