The Digest: Food, Fat and Feminism in the News
I was up till 4 a.m. writing a paper that was due by 8 a.m. today that should have been an otherwise easy write, but again, my too-high of personal standards and resulting procrastination meant that I got about three hours sleep last night. Hoorah for ADD medication and caffeine. My brain kind of hurts and my work inbox is beyond crazy, so all I can offer are some links to pertinent, interesting and way-to-much-brainpower-needed-to-comment reads.
Health and Wellness
Osteoporosis isn’t just for women, says a new study in this month’s International Journal of Eating Disorders. A disproportionate number of males with anorexia restricting or binge/purge subtype had osteoporosis, as well as those of older age, lower weights, and longer illness duration.
Prevention magazine writer Sarah Mahoney asks if you can be heavy and healthy. Note: heavy here is code for overweight. For those of you with a BMI above 30, the jury’s still out, according to Mahoney. Also note, the fattie in the photo has a head!
Can’t win… According to the New York Times, women who diet are more likely to gain excessive weight during pregnancy due to unhealthy and disordered dieting habits and women who eat little in pregnancy, surprisingly, more often have children who grow into fat adults. Yet another recent study found that 3-year-olds born to mothers who gained too much weight during pregnancy had increased odds of becoming overweight. Conclusion: Babies born to mothers are at risk for fatness
The nation’s first federal exercise guidelines are no sweat, with just 2 hours a week recommended for most adults. At just 17 minutes a day, you might not look like the Amish, but you’ll be healthier for it.
Fat women are constantly assumed to be underestimating their caloric intake, but a new study reveals that they’re usually dead-on in reporting fitness activities. The official scientific reasoning for this is, in short, because exercise is hard and fat women naturally want credit where credit is due.
Eight ways to save on health care even if McCain wins the election.
Arts & Culture
Queen Latifah garnered some criticism when she decided to become the new and slimmer face of Jenny Craig. Luckily, Jenny’s kept largely under wraps in this Times magazine profile of the Queen.
Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! Maureen McCormick, otherwise known as the iconic Marcia Brady, writes about her struggles with bulimia, drug addiction and depression in a new memoir, “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.”
Food culture geeks, come hither. It’s the food issue of the Times magazine, with discussion of all things food from how our next farmer-in-chief will affect how food is grown and eaten to Kosher wars to Vietnamese catfish. Be sure to also check out the interactive Inside the Fridge of a Foodie.
The beautiful Mariska Hargitay calls herself “full-figured” in an interview with Self magazine. As Jezebel’s Jessica insists, it’s an insult or derogatory only if you buy into the full-figured as euphemism for fat mentality.
Feminism & Politics
Newsweek’s getting some hate for showing Palin on its cover, au natural. Yes, the same conservatives that cry sexism whenever Palin is asked those pesky gotcha’ journalism stabs such as her professional (or lack thereof) background or what her position is on the issues are now saying Newsweek’s sexist because they didn’t airbrush Jane Sixpack beyond recognition. Memo to Fox News: Palin’s running for the vice-presidency, not Mrs. America.
Abortion rights are on the ballot again in South Dakota, despite voters rejecting an almost identical bill there in 2006. The new bill includes language that make it seem less harsh, but it still makes it nearly impossible for a woman to choose an abortion, even during the first trimester of pregnancy. In California, abortion opponents have put the issue of parental notification on the ballot for the third time in four years. The new bill would make it difficult for teens to obtain an abortion without parental notification, even in cases where the father or stepfather is responsible for the pregnancy.
Why Sarah Palin’s body language should worry you.
Racialicious’ Carmen pens an open letter to white voters.
What’s making the headlines in your social spheres? Post news links or comment on any of the above in the comments below.
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