On Thursday, Women’s Health UK released an interview with author and fitness guru Jillian Michaels.
During the interview, Michaels stated that the celebration of obesity is dangerous, and only encouraged by political correctness:
I think we’re politically correct to the point of endangering people. Yes, we want to be inclusive of everyone [and respect that] everyone comes in all different shapes and sizes…
That nobody should ever be body shamed or fat shamed or excluded and that everyone is equally deserving and should feel equally valuable. But obesity in itself is not something that should be glamourised. But we’ve become so politically correct that no one wants to say it.
She later added that the reason shows like “The Biggest Loser” aren’t promoted to the degree they once were is due to political correctness: “I think the world has shifted to a place where that format and messaging is considered fat shaming. But it isn’t, and it’s not meant to be. Now we’ve gone so far in the opposite direction.”
A new season of “The Biggest Loser” premiers on the USA network in late-January.
Following the release of the interview, Michaels was dragged on social media:
Actress and abortion activist Jameela Jamil tweeted:
2/2 Just existing, or even DARING to post a nice picture of yourself feeling beautiful and sexy isn’t glamorizing ANYTHING. It’s just existing and loving yourself. Not a crime. Not a threat to anyone. Shame and erasure doesn’t work. If it did, we’d be a *very* thin world by now.
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) December 8, 2019
Elitist ignorance from a renowned long time bully of fat people. Don’t just shame and blame. Cheap food, which most can afford is full of hormones and sugars. Many work too many jobs to have time/money to work out. There’s PCOS, Insulin resistance, Medication side effects, etc…Just existing, or even DARING to post a nice picture of yourself feeling beautiful and sexy isn’t glamorizing ANYTHING. It’s just existing and loving yourself. Not a crime. Not a threat to anyone. Shame and erasure doesn’t work. If it did, we’d be a *very* thin world by now.
Twitter user @Cyclopticcake wrote a similarly scathing rebuke:
@JillianMichaels your women’s health article was trash. it was hurtful and dehumanizing. it negates the humanity of fat folks. if you want better for fat people than stop shaming them. signed, a glamorous fat who will not put up with you.
— jessie oliver (@cyclopticcake) December 11, 2019
You know what’s unhealthy @JillianMichaels – feeding people caffeine pills so they’ll lose weight, negating people’s humanity with words like “obese,” telling people that them feeling good about themselves is “glamorizing obesity.” Do you know the damage that does to fat folks mental health, @JillianMichaels? Are you essentially saying that our only purpose is to be confined into a dehumanizing box that you literally profit off of? Would you speak this way about or to any other marginalized group? … Your Women’s Health article was trash. It was hurtful and dehumanizing. It negates the humanity of fat folks. If you want better for fat people, then stop shaming them. Signed, a glamorous fat who will not put up with you.
User @Joybur10 wrote: “Body positivity isn’t about ‘glamorizing’ obesity, Jillian Michaels. It’s about fighting the pressure to ‘glamorize’ EATING DISORDERS.”
Body positivity isn’t about “glamorizing” obesity, Jillian Michaels. It’s about fighting the pressure to “glamorize” EATING DISORDERS. https://t.co/h4DuQAJGWb
— Joy Burton (@joybur10) December 7, 2019
“Health at every size” activist Ragen Chastain criticized Michaels in her “Dances with Fat” blog:
Jillian Michaels is nothing but a bully who wants a world where she can continue to use fatphobia to profit off her weight loss lie. That’s bad enough, but trying to co-opt the language of fat activists to do it is a new level of despicable, even for her.
Michaels did find support:
One Twitter user wrote: “I fully support your views on obesity and of course you might not read this, but you were honestly a big inspiration for me! At this point, I’ve lost 70lbs from the original 240lbs I was, and I couldn’t be happier :)”
@Makneekuh wrote: “@JillianMichaels is on point. I love to see my students/clients embracing their journey. You can’t take this journey without living yourself. But be realistic about where you’re at and where you need to get to to be the BEST, HEALTHIEST version of YOU!”
@JillianMichaels is on point. I love to see my students/ clients embracing their journey. You can’t take this journey without living yourself. But be realistic about where you’re at and where you need to get to to be the BEST, HEALTHIEST version of YOU! https://t.co/ZPoXpPfXE5
— M. H. (@makneekuh) December 12, 2019
Journalist Emily Miller wrote: “Even though I’m eating my way through holiday season on carbs/sugar/crap, I totally agree with @JillianMichaels saying that ‘obesity in itself is not something that should be glamorized…. We’ve become so politically correct that no one wants to say it.’”
Even though I’m eating my way through holiday season on carbs/sugar/crap, I totally agree with @JillianMichaels saying that “obesity in itself is not something that should be glamorized…. We’ve become so politically correct that no one wants to say it.” https://t.co/tTZBuae0wg
— Emily Miller (@emilymiller) December 12, 2019
Michaels hasn’t responded to Jamil’s tweet, nor has she tweeted anything regarding the backlash her comments have generated.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) reports that being overweight or obese can contribute to developing Type II diabetes, heart disease, various cancers, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver diseases, kidney disease, and osteoarthritis, among other things.
According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, “in 2015, high BMI contributed to 4.0 million deaths … which represented 7.1% … of the deaths from any cause; it also contributed to 120 million disability-adjusted life-years … which represented 4.9% … of disability-adjusted life-years from any cause among adults globally. A total of 39% of the deaths and 37% of the disability-adjusted life-years that were related to high BMI occurred in persons with a BMI of less than 30.”
[Ellipses in the above paragraph indicate where “uncertainty intervals” were removed for clarity. However, as an example, the NEJM article states that “high BMI contributed to 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval, 2.7 to 5.3).” This means that the authors are 95% confident that the true effect connected to “high BMI” deaths is between 2.7 million and 5.3 million.]