Eat to enjoy, not to lose weight

This article in the New York Times may seem a bit redundant to some, but I'm encouraged to see it in the venerable Gray Lady herself. It saddens me a bit that the notion of eating for pleasure rather than weight loss is such a novelty, but there it is. At least it's out there.

Roundup of interesting medical news

I don't have much time for writing original posts right now, but here are a couple of recent studies that seem interesting for one reason or another to me. Discuss.


Farm-raised tilapia fish contains potentially dangerous fatty acid combination: Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

A suspect found for SIDS
: New evidence is suggesting that a chemical imbalance in the brain may be the cause of some cot deaths.

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells: Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect (and not necessarily a good one) on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.

Brain food - what we eat affects our intelligence: New research findings published online in The FASEB Journal provide more evidence that if we get smart about what we eat, our intelligence can improve. According to MIT scientists, dietary nutrients found in a wide range of foods from infant formula to eggs increase brain synapses and improve cognitive abilities.

Feminism and the pressure to be thin

Celtic Chimp posted this comment on another thread, and it inspired me to write a new post:


I have never understood how women can have such a wrong impression of themselves. Healthy, beautiful women obsessing about their weight. If women could just see themselves from a blokes perspective for five minutes they would be very confident! I and most men I know find very thin women to be extremey unattractive. Now I'm not saying it is all about what men want or that that is why you lot do the whole weight thing but it is most perplexing to us men-folk. Whilst I agree that aiming that sort of complete bollox at young girls is completely irresponsible, I do think that adult women have got to take some responsibility and teach girls a little common sense. Maybe when their mothers stop fretting about their weight and image so much they will follow suit.

Well, Celtic Chimp, here's the thing: The pressure to be thin is not about what men want. It's not about sexual attractiveness. It's about power.

As you point out, many men--maybe most men, I don't know, as I'm not a man--do not find extreme skinniness sexually attractive. So the thin-is-sexier argument doesn't wash. Most men I know want women to look like women, not prepubescent boys.

No, this is about power. It's about wanting women to be small in the world, to take us less space, literally and metaphorically. This of course is not a new idea; it's one of the underpinnings of first wave feminism, and sadly it still holds true.

I think there's something else going on here, too. I think so long as women are obsessed with our weight and eating and body image, we aren't focusing on other, much more important things. Anyone who's ever had an eating disorder can tell you that while you're in the grip of one, you have no energy or concentration or ability to frocus on anything else. An eating disorder is a kind of closed loop. A dead end. Something to keep the circuits busy so they don't go exploring.

I think the cultural norms today around women and food and eating amount to an eating disorder, or at least highly disordered eating. Women's "place" used to be in the home; that was the 19th-century way to keep women down. Now, maybe, dieting and exercising and obsessing over weight is taking on that role.

Either way, the result is the same. So long as we're busy weighing ourselves, we will never measure up and never get any bloody real work done in the world. In that sense I think you're right: We, women, have to stand up to the culture, reject the pressure to be thin, protect our children from it.

It's not easy to swim against the current. But it's necessary.

So thanks for making the point. I'd love to hear what my readers think.

Shopping for ice cream in a fatphobic world

Whether you're in recovery from an eating disorder, or just have your head on straight when it comes to food and eating, I hope you'll enjoy this piece in today's New York Times.

Finally, we're talking about eating (rather than weight)

Amid the usual hysterical news stories about the so-called obesity epidemic I was pleased to come across an item about new research out of Penn State looking at eating competence as a risk factor in heart disease.

Using an eating competence scale developed by Ellyn Satter, researchers found that--surprise, surprise--people at risk for heart disease fared better when they were "confident, comfortable, and flexible with their eating habits."

Being comfortable with your eating seems to mitigate other risk factors, including elevated LDL cholesterol. It's process over product, holistic health over health-by-the-numbers. It's the act of eating rather than the rigidly controlled carbs and calories approach.

Now we know the truth: fear of food is bad for your health. Mangia va bene!