Episode

The Obesity Epidemic
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59:19
Published: Tue Aug 17 2021
Description

Over the last 30 years, fatness has been defined as a risk factor for disease, then a disease in itself, then a global epidemic. What caused this rapid shift? Who’s gonna join our group of B-roll vigilantes? And did we just hear Morgan Freeman?Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreBooks!Fat Politics Killer Fat The End of the Obesity Epidemic Folk Devils and Moral Panics Moral Panics Links!American Obesity Association PSAAMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease Regarding Obesity as a Disease: Evolving Policies and Their Implications For Researchers on Obesity: Historical Review of Extra Body Weight Definitions Obesity task force linked to WHO takes “millions” from drug firms Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer Research: How Americans’ Biases Are Changing (or not) Over Time Satcher: Obesity Reaching Crisis Levels Do Photographic Images of Obese Persons Influence Antifat Attitudes?Did the American Medical Association make the correct decision classifying obesity as a disease? What exactly is a disease? The “Childhood Obesity Epidemic”: Health Crisis or Social Construction? Fears of a fat planet overblown, skeptics say An Unjust War: The Case Against the Government’s War on Obesity Expanding Definitions of Obesity May Harm Children Support the show

Chapters
In this episode of Maintenance Phase, Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbs talk about the prevalence of headless torsos on local news segments that discuss obesity, and how it affects the narrative around weight and health.
00:00 - 01:07 (01:07)
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Obesity
Summary

In this episode of Maintenance Phase, Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbs talk about the prevalence of headless torsos on local news segments that discuss obesity, and how it affects the narrative around weight and health.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The guest speaker reflects on their personal experience with the media coverage on the obesity epidemic and how it affected the perception of people’s weight.
01:07 - 07:16 (06:08)
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Obesity Epidemic
Summary

The guest speaker reflects on their personal experience with the media coverage on the obesity epidemic and how it affected the perception of people’s weight. They criticize the narrative of the media, which did not take into consideration the individual’s health status and created a stigma around being overweight or obese.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The use of heat maps to categorize occurrences of food poisoning in various states helps to classify it as a disease that is influenced by the environment rather than personal ethics or failures.
07:16 - 12:06 (04:50)
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Food poisoning
Summary

The use of heat maps to categorize occurrences of food poisoning in various states helps to classify it as a disease that is influenced by the environment rather than personal ethics or failures.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The podcast discusses the flaws and limitations of using BMI as a health metric and the importance of including fat advocacy groups in conversations about body fat and its correlation to health problems.
12:06 - 17:40 (05:34)
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BMI
Summary

The podcast discusses the flaws and limitations of using BMI as a health metric and the importance of including fat advocacy groups in conversations about body fat and its correlation to health problems.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The podcast discusses the conflicting views of anti-body shaming and anti-obesity within the political and medical system, highlighting the importance of understanding body autonomy and listening to individuals’ perspectives on health rather than enforcing a political or perfectionist agenda.
17:40 - 23:16 (05:35)
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Health, Obesity
Summary

The podcast discusses the conflicting views of anti-body shaming and anti-obesity within the political and medical system, highlighting the importance of understanding body autonomy and listening to individuals’ perspectives on health rather than enforcing a political or perfectionist agenda.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The speakers discuss the issue surrounding NGO videos that cost excessive amounts of money despite having low viewership and also question the effectiveness of reducing the stigma about a group that is being erased.
23:16 - 27:34 (04:17)
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NGO, Stigmatization
Summary

The speakers discuss the issue surrounding NGO videos that cost excessive amounts of money despite having low viewership and also question the effectiveness of reducing the stigma about a group that is being erased.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
Lack of funding in schools can result in contracts with fast food providers and vending machines, contributing to obesity among students.
27:34 - 35:31 (07:57)
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Education
Summary

Lack of funding in schools can result in contracts with fast food providers and vending machines, contributing to obesity among students.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
This podcast discusses the dehumanizing effect that negative attitudes towards fat individuals has on society and the negative effect that media representation has on the psyche of actual fat individuals.
35:31 - 42:00 (06:28)
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Fat Shaming
Summary

This podcast discusses the dehumanizing effect that negative attitudes towards fat individuals has on society and the negative effect that media representation has on the psyche of actual fat individuals.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The belief that fat people can simply control their body weight leads to anti-fat bias, which has risen 40% between 2004 and 2010.
42:00 - 46:47 (04:46)
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Anti-Fat Bias
Summary

The belief that fat people can simply control their body weight leads to anti-fat bias, which has risen 40% between 2004 and 2010. Fat people are often fed a narrative that they need to be shamed for their own health, but this harmful mentality needs to be addressed and dismantled.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The emphasis on weight loss as the only metric of health is not yielding good results because there are proven interventions for better diet, exercise, etc.
46:47 - 50:42 (03:55)
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Health
Summary

The emphasis on weight loss as the only metric of health is not yielding good results because there are proven interventions for better diet, exercise, etc. However, we're not seeing improvements there because the focus is somewhere else.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase
The obesity epidemic has been a successful moral panic that distracts us from addressing severe health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes.
50:42 - 59:12 (08:29)
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Public Health
Summary

The obesity epidemic has been a successful moral panic that distracts us from addressing severe health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. The public health sector should focus on finding solutions for these diseases rather than causing a moral panic.

Episode
The Obesity Epidemic
Podcast
Maintenance Phase