EDITOR’S LETTER
WEIGHT IS MUCH MORE THAN A NUMBER
When the MH team was deliberating over the cover lines for this month’s issue, our esteemed senior editor, Scarlett Wrench, without whom this magazine simply wouldn’t get made, cautioned against using the word ‘obesity’. Her feeling, reasonably enough, was that it’s not a word with which people want to identify. In much the same way that we might accept and admit that we perhaps drink more than we should, yet would recoil at the word ‘alcoholic’. Most of the times you read the word ‘obesity’, she argued, it’s part of a report about a ‘crisis’ or an ‘epidemic’; and it’s often framed in a way that makes you imagine a rail-thin reporter tut-tutting with piety.
I decided to go with it anyway, not because I like to assert my authority with petty acts of defiance, but because I knew that when I punched in my stats on the NHS website earlier this morning, the handy BMI calculator deemed that I myself was overweight. In fact, I was somewhat alarmed to learn that I’m closer to the ‘obese’ threshold than the ‘healthy’ weight range. The truth is, it’s not some Jacob Rees-Mogg lookalike wagging his finger, it’s the primary healthcare system of England telling you straight. And not just me, but the 68.2% of men in this country who fall into the same bracket. We might not like the word obesity, we may argue that BMI is a crude tool with which to measure these things, and we may think that such practices are unhelpful. But they’re there and they’re happening, which is why I think it’s important we address it.
Some other stats that may or may not be helpful: since 1993, the proportion of adults in England considered to be obese has risen from 14.9% to 28%; people aged 45 to 74 are most likely to be overweight or obese; and of these, men are more likely to be overweight or obese than women. Depending on the way you interpret these numbers, you could argue that we’re in the midst of a health crisis or that being overweight is fairly normal.
It’s often reported that hospital admissions for obesity have risen significantly in the past two decades, with more than a million in the year leading into the Covid pandemic. But this is possibly misleading.
Obesity isn’t in and of itself necessarily ‘bad’ – it’s the likes of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease and mobility issues that are of concern, all of which present a higher risk to those who are obese. However, it’s entirely conceivable that one can be overweight while eating healthily, exercising often and feeling good. After all, the body mass index doesn’t differentiate between fat, muscle or bone. Ironically, having classified me as overweight, the NHS website then advised I take up running as a positive next step. I ran two marathons last year and didn’t lose a pound.
Weight is a complicated topic – of that there can be no argument. It’s at once a health issue, a psychological issue, a cultural issue and a political issue. The very fact that we have deigned to name this edition ‘The Weight-Loss Issue’ will itself invite criticism. But for me, the most important words on this cover are the ones that come directly after: ‘A Man’s Guide To Feeling More Comfortable In His Skin.’ Just as most men have a more complex and repressive relationship with their health than most women – not to mention a more bewildering attitude to seeking help – there are less obvious and conducive routes available to men wanting support when trying to shift excess timber. While the likes of Weight Watchers and Slimming World are both incredibly lucrative businesses, the vast majority of whose customers are women, there are very few outfits speaking directly and effectively to men with similar goals.
There is one game-changing outfit, however, that deserves special mention precisely because it targets these very conundrums. In Playing To Lose (p72), Jamie Millar talks to the organisers and participants of Man v Fat Football, a nationwide league for overweight men in which players score for their respective teams based on both goals scored and kilos lost. It’s an ingenious idea that acknowledges the way football culture brings men together, while competitive support networks help them achieve their ambitions. Crucially, for many of the players, these ambitions aren’t necessarily about dropping a jeans size or satisfying an online BMI calculator. As one tells Jamie, ‘You just feel better about yourself if you lose some weight. And if I run around at the end of the day, it’s an outlet. I don’t think about other things. You need some way to switch off. And then there’s the camaraderie, the endorphins, the adrenaline… It’s done me a world of good.’
Am I worried about the fact that the NHS thinks I’m overweight? In terms of my long-term health, no, not really. I know that I exercise regularly, that I eat mostly good food, and I’m well aware of my shortcomings. But would I like to lose some weight? Yes, unequivocally. Why? Simply because I’d like to feel more comfortable in my skin. And who is to deny a man that?