It's January, so bring on the fear-mongering articles about weight.

[firecat]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/health/study-suggests-lower-death-risk-for-the-overweight.html

This article reports on a metastudy that finds people in the category of BMI currently labeled "overweight" have a lower mortality risk than people in the "normal BMI" category.


They should report this as if it were good news, right? But it seems to scare the writer and commenters. The language is unbelievable. Well, it would be unbelievable if I hadn't already seen it so many times in other articles.

"But don’t scrap those New Year’s weight-loss resolutions and start gorging on fried Belgian waffles or triple cheeseburgers"! (Because there are only two modes of approaching food: weight-loss resolutions or GORGING ON TRIPLE FRIED WAFFLE CHEESEBURGERS.)

"overweight people need not panic unless they have other indicators of poor health"! (Because if you do have "other indicators of poor health," then PANIC is clearly called for.)

(And I saw you slip in that implication that overweight is an indicator of poor health, even though the study showed the opposite.)

"if indicators are normal, there’s no reason to 'go on a crash diet'"! (A doctor said that. Because two out of three doctors recommend crash dieting as a superb way to treat your body if you have abnormal "indicators.")

And of course the article speculates that this result is an artifact of how overweight people are "more likely to be in your doctor's office." (Because no one ever denies overweight people health insurance or tells them their hangnail will get better if they go away and lose 50 pounds.)

I have to say, though, that I'm in favor of spreading the meme "Still, death is not everything."

Comments

[jae]

I know this topic isn't at all funny, but man, did your reactions ever make me laugh. You need to do this more regularly--deconstructing bad journalism about weight with your trademark humour.

-J

[firecat]

Thank you, I just might, because it makes me feel better to do it.

[notyourwendy]

I stumbled across this on Google News and was so encouraged by the article title. And then I read the article. Grr.

[firecat]

I had some warning, but the NYT has been getting a little bit better lately about their reporting on weight, so I didn't expect it to be that horrible.

[shanaqui]

I just read your reactions out to my mother. She laughed so much. Thank you.

[firecat]

Thanks for telling me! I'm glad your mother liked them!

[eagle]

I have rarely seen a better example of epistemic closure than many of the doctors quoted in that article who, when faced with fairly incontrovertible scientific proof that the current accepted wisdom about weight and health is simply wrong, desperately scrambled to find ways to defend the current accepted wisdom about weight and health.

It would be funny if it didn't hurt so many people.

[firecat]

"epistemic closure"

Aha! Thank you for giving me the name for that concept.