Scales on the horizon

To the left is a picture of a dog scale. My boss has decided we needed one for when we board dogs to monitor their weight when they stay with us. This was vastly prompted by a client's dog who was staying at a vet's office for boarding and lost 20 pounds (not sure how long the dog was there). Apparently, there was some miscommunication on how much to feed the dog, and the vet's office was only giving half of his normal intake. Why, they didn't increase his food or even notice his sudden weight loss is beyond me.

When my boss told me about possibly getting a scale, I cringed. Though I certainly understand the intentions of this scale--for the health and well being of the dog (as well as any liability issue in case someone may accuse us of starving their dog), but there is still a slight bit of uneasiness for me. I have the ( ), because I'm not positive this is the case, it just seems like the liability issue is another one from the way my boss talks. That, and I think she likes thinking that this is yet another thing in how we are different from other dog facilities. Apparently, this scale would only be used for boarding clients which was a sigh of relief for me as I did originally think she wanted this for daycare clients as well! The thing is this doesn't necessarily guarantee anything. There could easily be a client who would be upset that their dog lost 2 pounds while staying with us, while on the flip side, someone else may be happy that their dog lost weight with us if the dog was a bit overweight.

I'm sure I'm projecting more of my issue about this than anything else, and to most people it is not a big deal. I don't know if my hang up is the fact that there would be a giant scale in front of me everyday (I do not have scales in my house) or that I feel like this blurs a funny line between health practitioner and dog trainer, something my boss is very adamant about not crossing.

There isn't much I can do at this point. The scale has already been ordered and is on its way. I guess like in most things in life, I just have o learn to deal with it. So am I overreacting? C'mon, you can tell me a "Tiptoe, this is just a dog scale," my feelings won't be hurt. ;-) Is my viewpoint just filtered through ED-esque thoughts, or is there any inkling of sense?

Humiliation to the extreme

It's been a week since the new year has started, and there are still umpteen articles about resolutions, ads about weight loss, commercials about joining gyms, etc. And then of course, it was also the season premiere of the Biggest Loser Couples show. In the early years of the show, I admit, I watched many episodes until I gave a closer inspection and really saw how unrealistic, unhealthy, and humiliating the show was. I want to focus on the latter in this post as I was horrified how they upped the ante so to speak.

In general, I watch bits and pieces of the show, usually the first and last episodes for curiosity sake, but I do not consider myself any avid type of watcher of the show like some people I know. The season opener was similar to their other shows in introducing the couples. This time we saw Bob and Jillian call the contestants, the contestants exhilarated on making it in the show, jumping up and down, screaming, etc. Then, Bob and Jillian tell them that their first weigh-in is public in front of their hometowns! Each and every contestant had a gaping horrified look on their faces, much like the one I had on mine. Despite the fact these people decide to go on national television to lose weight and announce to the world how much they weigh, how much more humiliating can you get than to be in front of friends and families?

Each contestant apparently agreed, and you saw them go in front of their hometowns (most seemed to be in a park or gym) and step on the scale. Then, they had to read aloud the number and say how and why they were going to change. Can we say AA but with triple the amount of humiliation? Was this necessary? No! My guess is this was completely a way to rev up the ratings and add to the humiliation factor, especially since this is considered the heaviest set of contestants. It was interesting to look at the audience footage as some had mouths wide open at the numbers, while others cried.

This entire concept of humiliation makes me ponder the question of why, and why do so many Americans tune in to watch? Many say they feel connected to the people--that they understand them. Others say they find inspiration.. Then, there are probably others who just tune in to watch Jillian Michaels yell at them.

Just as I'm thinking about all this, a new press release came out saying how negative experiences from a coach or instructor can turn people off of physical activity for a lifetime. The press release doesn't give many details of the study, other than it is published in the Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise. However, it does raise a good point in how our environment contributes to our attitudes on sports, exercises, etc.

One might think that many contestants would not want Jillian Michaels as their trainer as it seems like she is just constantly yelling and berating at them (I think a lot if edited to only show this side of her, because I seriously doubt she is always like this, just my feeling, could be wrong though), but in fact, when given the choice, there are a bunch of them that have in past seasons. So what is the deciding factor? I think it is they feel like she is the one that produces results.

This whole thinking reminds me of Bela Karolyi, the famous gymnastics coach. In Joan Ryan's book, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, many of the gymnasts said he called them awful names, talked about their bodies distastefully, etc., but yet, many continued to train under him. Why? Because he produced results, he produced champions, he seemed to be the best at the time.

I think this is kind of the same mentality of the Biggest Loser contestants. They feel like this is the only thing that is going to help them, that this show is what they need to lose the weight for good, that humiliation will produce results. I don't know, maybe it does for some, but I think there are other, better, more productive, healthier ways.

The other deciding factor for them in losing weight is simply the grand prize of money. Last year, I posted here about a study from the Journal of American Medical Association displayed similar results. Therefore, in this case, for most, when money is on the line, people go to extremes to lose weight. Somehow, going through pain and humiliation seem worth it to them, and I think there is a feeling that that's what they deserve too for letting themselves go, for not being able to "diet" right, for losing willpower, etc.

I wish the public could see how this type of show is not fueling much health but just humiliation. Unfortunately, I seem to be in the minority in thinking this way as the show is one of the most popular ratings wise and is doubtful to come off the air anytime soon. As I always tell my dog clients when they are watching dog behavior shows, "you can't believe everything you see on tv."

Note--*A friend of mine on facebook posted that she was watching the show and that Jillian kicks her butt on ifit, and how she loved that she screamed at them. However, if Jillian was ever her trainer, she would cry. (This is very true) I replied to her that I was surprised since she had a severe eating disorder in the past. She replied back saying she thought it was a great show and helped people get their lives back on track. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion, I was just very surprised, that's all.

If your body could talk...

In Margarita Tartavosky's excellent Weightless Blog, her most recent post, Empathizing with your body, she asks the question "What would your body parts say if they could talk?" It's an intriguing question, because really how would our bodies respond to that question? What would our most dissatisfied body part say?

For me, my stomach, would say something along the lines of:

"I hold your stomach muscles and align your spine. I am the core of your body, but yet you do not see me that way. You cannot look past that small pooch that has been there since Adam and Eve--that pooch that is necessary for your health, that pooch that is there if you ever decide to bear children. Instead, you just see me as a layer of fat to be rid of so you can obtain that ever so sought after six-pack that you have always wanted with relentless stomach exercises that just make me hurt. And it is likely that that six pack will never happen due to pure genetics, so I don't know why you keep trying to attain this goal through me!"

Okay, so I have a bit of an angry stomach.

Seriously though, how do our bodies think of us? It is doubtful they think we are best friends, but rather more like mortal enemies. Doesn't that seem kind of sad? Our bodies become the thing we despise, the thing we take all our energy out on, the thing we deprive, the thing we scold and yell profanities at, the thing we mutilate, the thing we destroy.

And yet, each and every body part has a role in keeping us functional, in keeping us with the ability to move, in keeping us living. Don't you think for all that it deserves something better from us?

I know it can be hard, because sometimes we are not necessarily trying to destroy our bodies intentionally, it just becomes the thing that gets in the way, the thing most easy to manipulate, the thing that is the aftermath of our emotional pain.

I know it is a far fetch to say an affirmation like "I love my body" but what about just starting with "I appreciate my body for the amazing things it does for me." That's at least a starting point. We may never get to a point of loving our bodies ever so completely, but I think if we can reach aspects of appreciation and respect, our bodies would be so thankful for that.

So, if your body/body part could talk, what would it say?

Note--*In my quote part about what my stomach would say, I had a funny slip and wrote "purge" instead of "pure" genetics.

*I find it kind of ironic, because when I went to the blog site, there is a header with an advertisement with Jillian Michaels, asking "how big is your weight-loss goal?" I've seen this ad before and it is has been on various site, but I still find it ironic.

Observation: scales in non-traditional locations

Lately, it seems I have been seeing scales in many non-traditional places. Last week, it was in a corporate office restroom. Several weeks before that, it was in another office restroom. I even saw one in a gas station! It wasn't exactly a real scale, but one of those ones where you put a quarter in, and it gives you your weight.

Every time I see one, I am somehow shocked. I really shouldn't be since we live in such a thin-obsessed society. I have to admit it seems terribly odd to me to have these metal devices in public restrooms. I mean, isn't a scale an intimate object (too intimate for many of us)? I know even if I was on some Biggest Loser, Jenny Craig, or Weight Watchers diet, I can never imagine weighing myself on a scale in full view. Granted of course, if there is only one stall, then there would hopefully be no occurrence of this but you never know really.

My fear is that scales will begin to pop up everywhere--schools, restaurants, oh who knows, the laundromat or some other bizarre location. This is especially evident as many people are participating in workplace weight loss challenges. I think it is a horrible sign overall, and I really wish these scales would all disappear.

Have any of you observed scales in non-traditional places lately?

Quick update on family member

First off, thanks to the comments I received in my last post about a family member's lap band surgery. The surgery was complicated-free. M. called me yesterday in the afternoon and said he was okay. One thing he had to do was a lot of walking right afterwards due to the excessive amount of air they pumped into him.

He went home this afternoon and apparently had a tough day. The next few weeks are going to be difficult, so I hope the best for him. One good piece of information I learned was that his treatment team expected him to be able to walk two miles in two months time. I was glad they were not neglecting this aspect of after-care.

Now, only time will tell.

Again, thanks for the feedback everyone.

Dealing with a family member's weight situation

Tomorrow, my mother's husband, M. is having lap band surgery. I've known about it since June, but I was not sure whether he was 100% positive. It turns out he is, because he thinks this is the only way he can lose the weight.

The story of M. is not much different from others who have tried to lose weight. M. has been on several diets. The last one was Atkins a number of years ago. Though he did lose a substantial amount of weight, he was unable to sustain its difficult regimen and deprivation. Like most dieters, when he went off Atkins, his weight returned. That was the last major diet that I can remember him trying. Since then, he hasn't been on any diet to my knowledge. His doctors and family are now concerned since he has developed diabetes, has high blood pressure, and has had a mini stroke.

I tend to sit on the fence with this. Part of me knows from literature research how there is a lack of pre-screen mental evaluation, especially among those with gastric bypass surgery. It's also been suggested how crucial follow-up care is (and not enough get) I also know of several people who have had this same procedure done. They have rapidly lost the weight but eventually regained it later in life.

I know M. is well aware of the side effects, how his eating habits will change, etc., but as my mom says, "he is ready for this." I know his decision is already made, but I can at least voice my concerns here. I worry about whether it will really change his mindset/lifestyle or whether it is only a temporary solution to the problem. I fear this will only cause an elimination of foods rather than learning to take a moderated approach. Like many people, he's always looked at his failures as a lack of willpower, thus, feeling like if he just wasn't tempted, it would all be better. Therefore, if you take away the ability to eat, he will be thin, happy, and all will be well.

I also fear how this will affect my mother and her eating habits. My mother is not a cook, and I can seriously imagine her just eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner or just sleeping through dinner (she is the type who could fall asleep right after work).

The other fear I have was from a poster I read on a board discussing whether the side effects were worth it. The poster said, "I can't eat and enjoy foods like I did preband. That is the only side effect I have . Since that was the whole point of having surgery, I can't complain about it, even though a pain free hamburger sounds good every now and then."

M. has always been a person who has seriously enjoyed food. In all honesty, that's always been one thing I admired about him--that he could enjoy food with all its taste and scrumptiousness. Just like as in anorexia and starvation, I worry that that will be gone for the sake of becoming thin.

At this point, I know I don't have much say, but can only hope for the best. I hope he receives adequate follow-up care and can join a support group. In some ways, I'm not sure M. knows what he is in store for despite saying he does. I hope this won't be about restriction but instead incorporating a more healthy lifestyle, e.g. adding in some moderate exercise. Though I sit on the fence with this approach, I hope it works for him, especially from a medical standpoint. Because in reality, I can only imagine what he might feel for himself if it doesn't. A FAIL. And that just continues the cycle all over.

Note--*I hope I do not offend anyone reading this post who may have had lap band or gastric bypass surgery. I know everyone must make their own decision which they feel is best for themselves. I also realize that my perception may be clouded by years of eating disorder abuse. I'm also hoping that I do not come off as judgmental, because I'm truly not trying to be.

Another example of the skewed view of my body

Just when I was about to write a post about how I was struggling with body image and that perhaps I was at my set point, something bizarre happened yesterday. Here's a little back story. Within the past month or so, I've been having terrible neck pain. It's like my neck would rather be disconnected to my head right now as the weight of it feels so heavy. This is causing some headaches which I know is stemming from my neck pain. Along with this, I've also had several incidents of my left hand having numbness, especially after weed eating or dremeling my dogs' nails. Several times, I've woken up to a numb hand. I have no clue what has precipitated either of these things, and it has me a tad worried.

My doctor thinks it is just a pulled muscle in my neck and that my muscle in my arm is basically suffocating my medial nerve. She's hoping with physical therapy that will help release the muscle over the nerve in my hand which will help my neck as well. Though I know PT is expensive (and it is on an individual plan), I really don't have a choice since this really could get worse if I don't have treatment. (Hmm, I'm just thinking of the irony as I write this--how something physical with my body can prompt me to get help so quickly but when it is my head or ED, it takes me forever to seek treatment)

Anyway, that's the back story of why I was there. This Dr. doesn't know about the ED (yes, I know that probably isn't the best thing but I just never felt warranted to say anything since I only see her for orthopedic, muscle problems in relation to running). Being weighed is the first thing they do. At times, I've politely asked not to be, but other times, I hop on there out of curiosity.

Well, the last few weeks have been absolutely horrible body image. I was sure I'd gained more weight than I'm comfortable with since my exercising habits have been virtually non-existent (I realize this can be a good thing at times) and my eating has felt on the verge of bingeing.

The scale read much differently than I'd expected, and I was shocked. My only comment that would have even referenced this was my therapist's when she said how "I looked smaller," which I only brushed off to having my hair in a ponytail. So this number doesn't make sense to me. I've been eating A LOT, not exercising, my clothes don't feel any differently, and I have felt absolutely huge.

I don't know how to feel about it. Do I feel better that I'm not at the weight I thought I was? Do I feel worse that I still have such skewed body image and that my brain and body are still so disconnected?

Vet appointment--judgments, weight, and realizing I have an obsession problem

I took Tovah to the vet this morning to get spayed. She was excited to be there which I'd much rather have than anxious and fearful, like poor Mr. Baxter who has just never overcome his "vet anxiety." He's better than some dogs I've seen, but he pants and sheds quite a bit which is kind of hard for a Boxer to do.

The first thing done is always weighing your dog. I was actually quite curious about this since she hadn't been weighed since late February. The scale read 44.9 pounds which surprised me, because I could have sworn from lifting her many times, she was at least 50 pounds! I'm really skeptical about their scale anyway, but I'll get to that in a minute.

One of the newer vets took her back while the receptionist was going over the paperwork. It sort of drives me nuts, because they know I work with dogs, but yet, still treat me like I know nothing. :sigh: Tovah bolted back with the vet. He came out later and said this to me:

From the looks of her, you would have thought oh dear, we are in for a handful. Once back there, we asked her for a sit, she did it, and then was calm. Then, we gave her the sedation medicine.

My first thought was "well, duh.," but I refrained from saying that. Instead I said, "she has had extensive training, so it was not surprising to me she did what you asked." I don't know, I just thought that was a stupid judgment call on this vet's part. Number one, she doesn't look scary, number two, she is a boisterous puppy and was excited to be there.

I know it is pretty useless to take the comment personally, but still I dislike judgments. If you're going to make one, at least take things into consideration. I'd almost say make sure to have your facts correctly, but I often relate facts with observations versus judgments with ignorance.

So then, the scale issue. I have qualms about their scale, because for one of my dogs, it read eight pounds lighter than two years ago. And I just can't fathom that she lost eight pounds in that time. She's nowhere near underweight or anything, but it is important for me to have her (and all my dogs) correct weights to know how much to feed them. (Their diet is raw food based, so I give a certain percentage of meat, while the rest is vegetables, fruits, and organ meats)

When I told my dad about this weight issue with Daphne awhile back, he said, "well, why don't you just weigh yourself on their scale?" Umm, not likely. I have a hard enough time being in a Dr.'s office getting weighed so being at a vet's office would likely heighten my anxiety with the observation of more people.

So can anyone guess what kind of thoughts ran through my head? Yes, I was thinking of buying a scale. :sigh: Bad me Bad me. I know that probably isn't the best solution. I don't know why I'm even a bit obsessed on this honestly. The dogs are healthy and in good shape. I think it's the pure thought of wanting to be right, accurate, and proving to myself that my body distortion is not that off--that I can estimate a weight of a person/dog on looks alone. Yes, I know that last statement is probably a bit hypocritical.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for the call that everything went smoothly, and I can go pick her up.

Future dietitians and weight bias

I came across this disturbing article the other day about weight bias among future dietitians. A new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed only two percent of future dietitians have positive or neutral attitudes towards obese individuals with the rest moderately biased.

Dietetic students were asked questions about both a normal weight male and female as well as an obese male and female with the same health characteristics other than weight. The results indicated that the majority of the 182 students who participated viewed obese patients' self control, attractiveness, eating habits, compliance to treatment, self-esteem, and insecurity negatively.

Although this may show that dietitians are not immune to weight bias, this can impact treatment negatively. What patient wants insensitivity by a professional? How can a patient learn to trust her/his dietitian and get though the treatment plan?

This makes me wonder what dietitians think of eating disorder patients as first impressions. Do they think we are all stubborn, non-compliant? Do they feel some of us are too thin or too fat to be there? Whatever stereotype a dietitian or any other professional may hold affects both the patient relationship and treatment in the long run. No one needs stigma held over them. Perhaps, stigma reduction classes, similar to medical students compassion training classes, should be implemented into in the class curriculum, as well as positive role models and mentors who do not reflect weight bias.

Note--this is only a small study with a mostly Caucasian group, so there might be differences in ethnicity attitudes. This also can obviously not be a clear generalization, as with any profession, there are always the good apples and the bad.

"Human dumbbells"

Thelondonpaper

I ran across this blog post over at RW Daily about a gym where the "iron pumps you." The Londonpaper reports a gym called Gymbox which now offers human dumbbells as an alternative to traditional dumbbells. The proposed idea behind this was to give demotivated cityworkers an idea of what they were lifting. That and to motivate them to pump more iron!

These "human dumbbells" come in various sizes and weights (pictured above) with an optional "motivation feature" in which they yell out words of encouragement to ensure the best maximization of their workout as the gym-goer's request. Examples of words are not given in the article, so who knows whether it's positive or negative words shouted. I wonder how the "human dumbbells" would feel if the gym-goer requested mean, demeaning things to say?

The Gymbox owners says, "We’re going to closely monitor the performance of our members and are optimistic that they will see better results from their work outs with our new human weight machine than they have seen with normal equipment."

I'm all for visualization of some things, and know it can be very useful. However, this seems a bit invasive? But then again, maybe that's just due to my private nature of working out. Maybe a better word is bizarreness. Thoughts?

Preventing youth smoking: tell them they could become fat

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This article caught my eye today. Now, we all know the effects of smoking on one's health. There are a number of illnesses that can cause damage later in life, including a variety of cancers and heart disease. Experts are always trying to find ways to prevent youth from starting the smoking habit. The latest now is that by smoking in adolescence, there is an increased risk of being fat later in life. They feel this may be more effective than mentioning the risks about heart disease, diabetes, and lung cancer.

This thinking is all based on an upcoming article in the American Journal of Public Health of a long-term Finnish study of 4300 twins. The study looked at their smoking habits as adolescents and their body shape in young adulthood. Of the 12 percent who smoked during adolescence, 24 percent of men and 11 percent of women were overweight in their early 20s. These results were independent of health habits, participants' body weights, and genetics. Females who also smoked at least 10 cigarettes daily during adolescence had double the risk of becoming overweight as their non-smoking counterparts, according to this study.

While it is true that teenagers certainly feel as though they are invincible, I don't know that telling them they could be fat later in life is a better alternative for the prevention of smoking. This is yet another reminder how fat phobic we are as a society and this only provides a mere scare tactic.

"Let them eat cake"

Since I am unable to watch House during the week, I like to watch the reruns on the weekends. Some of the cases are quite fascinating. The one I watched last night was from a few weeks ago, titled "Let them eat cake."

In this episode, a personal trainer comes in after she has collapsed from a fitness infomercial shoot. As usual, House and his assistants go through a battery of tests to figure out the right diagnosis. They wound up scanning her for a tumor and realized that she had gastric bypass surgery since her stomach was stapled. Some of the assistants ask her about the ethics of her career choice as a fitness trainer yet having medical intervention. She replies with that she is helping her clients to get healthy as she did once she had the surgery.

Anyway, this post isn't geared towards the contradiction of her career choice and previous lifestyle. This post is about what happens at the end of the show. After many tests, House finally makes a diagnosis of hereditary coproporphyia, a condition in which the liver lacks an enzyme that interrupts heme production. There is no cure for the condition, however, the treatment protocol is to reverse the gastric bypass surgery and implement a diet high in carbohydrate and sugar.

When House tells the patient, there is a look of mortification with her pleading for another way. The only other thing was medications for pain control. In the end, she chose the medication, and refused the surgery. House's final statement is, "Most people don't have the guts to admit they'd rather be pretty than healthy."

Now, I think that statement is slightly shallow, but I do get the point he is making. For this patient, having the bypass surgery helped transform her life so that she wound up living a healthier lifestyle. Therefore, I'm sure she felt like if she reversed the surgery, it would all be for nothing, or there was a fear she would regain all the weight lost, or simply unsure she could trust herself.

If I was in that position, I'm not sure what I would have done. I'd like to think that the "healthy" rationale would win out, but would it really? If you were placed in a medical situation of being thin or healthy (excluding weight restoration), which would you choose? What if your diet had to drastically change to all your fear foods, how would you react?

Transcript for episode

"New eating disorder?"

Irene Rubaum-Keller, a blogger at the Huffington Post recently posted about a "new eating disorder," she has been seeing in her practice. In her post, she talks about women in their 30s and 40s who come to her not knowing how to maintain a healthy weight. These are women who I'm presuming (at least she does not say this in the post) do not necessarily fit a clinical eating disorder diagnosis but would still take drastic measures in their eating and exercise regimens to lose weight. Once they reached the desired weight, they went back to how they ate/exercised before and regained the weight.

Now older, they realize they can no longer take the drastic measures they did previously and feel at a loss of what to do. Rubaum-Keller feels that these individuals have learned how to lose weight temporarily and gain weight but not maintain a healthy weight.

I'm not sure I'd classify this as a new eating disorder. To me, it seems like the profile of the yo-yo dieter. I guess I get where she is going with the idea, but to call it a new eating disorder seems a bit of a stretch. That seems to be happening a lot however. At least she didn't give it an "-rexia" name.

What do you think? Is this a new, different eating disorder? If so, what's the criteria exactly?

Weight perceptions among children and parents take 2

A new study out of the University of Melbourne came out about parents' and children's views of their weight. This type of study isn't new ( read another here) except for the fact that this study looks at both notions of underweight and overweight children as well as measuring waist circumference versus body mass index as a sole indicator. It turns out, with BMI, children were classified overweight more often than waist circumference.

Although this study does emphasize weight and numbers, the results show how skewed the perceptions are of parents and their children's weight. You can read more information on the results here.

The ones I find most interesting are:

Parents were more likely to report that their sons were underweight and that their girls were overweight.
Twice as many parents expressed concern about their child being overweight compared to underweight.
Only 4/10 underweight girls and half of underweight boys correctly assessed their weight.

The overall results of the study show the bias towards thinness as well as the lack of research and definition for children's weights. Dr. Schmidt, the author of this study concluded with, "In particular we need to make sure that the focus on reducing the number of overweight children does not have the adverse impact of increasing the number of underweight children." I think this is something to strongly think about with our society's emphasis on weight and being "healthier."

All about weight awareness campaign

Even though this title, "all about weight" is very off putting, I think this Pennsylvannia campaign itself is actually promising. In conjunction with KidsPeace, a 126 year old private children's charity which helps kids overcoming various crises, and their web affiliate TeenCentral, their goal is to help children with the emotional roots of overeating or undereating, an often overlooked problem.

This campaign will reach 1000+ schools throughout PA and provide free access to TeenCentral.Net's websources, study and workshop guides, and TeenCentral's safe, anonymous online resource. Their online "all about weight" awareness campaign includes information on eating disorders, exercise, nutrition, genetics, body image & self-esteem, what's eating you?, and obesity & overweight.

I really like the fact that these experts are looking at not only the physical aspects of weight but also the emotional lives of teenagers. These days, it's hard being a teenager--trying to navigate issues of normal teenagedom as well as deal as with family, social, and environmental issues. I think this is a population that is often not given enough importance, so I'm really glad that there is a resource like this out there for them.

**********

I took a look through their website to see what it was all about. For the most part, I thought it was well done and age appropriate. There are several interactive gadgets to keep kids interested as well as good information on a number of topics. The new health "all about weight" module provides quizzes, graphics, and information arranged on a virtual scale. Their emphasis is, "sometimes it's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you!" My only qualm is that they do not address overexercising in the exercise portion.

I think the part I found most compelling was the "share a teen" story. This is where teens write in with a problem and receive advice from TeenCentral.Net's counselors. There were stories of dealing with divorce, relationships, sexuality, cutting, depression, eating disorders, and many more related to the angst of teenagehood. It's one of those nostalgic reminders of how much I hated being a teenager and couldn't wait until adulthood. Not that adulthood hasn't presented itself with it's own set of problems, but there is just more of an awareness now. It's where you wish you could tell any one of those teenagers to get help and to know that they can get through this difficult time period in their lives.

Underweight rock climbers face ban

As the ban/restriction of underweight models has taken place in several countries worldwide, in Austria, female endurance rock climbers will also not be immune. Recently reported in The Independent, the problem has become startling. The Austrian climbing federation will be implementing a ban of those rock climbers with a BMI less than 17 from competing beginning next year.

According to Jens Larssen, who runs 8a, the world ranking organization for rock climbing, "many female athletes choose to lose weight rather than build up muscle strength. It's such a successful formula that some of the best female athletes are as good as the best male climbers."

I think this is an interesting article which brings to light about the dangers of this sport. Although I remember hearing about it a long time ago, it's not something I automatically associate with eating disorders. Personally, I've never been rock climbing, but am actually quite fascinated with it. For me, it's about the climb more than anything else. It's one of the many things on my "to do" list someday.

I'm sure the average, recreational rock climber may not have issues with body weight, but it's when these athletes get into a competitive atmosphere where things can change. Carrie at ED Bites recently posted "a good thing gone wrong" in relation to an ultrarunner who had/has an eating disorder, asking the question whether her ultrarunning is just the ED in disguise or another manifestation of it.

In a recent study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine which looked at the Anthropometric characteristics in ultrarunners of finishers in the 2007 Western States Endurance Run (100 miles), it was reported that lower BMI values were associated with faster times. Of the top five finishers for women, their BMI averaged 19.8 which would be considered on the low end of the "normal" weight spectrum. I should note that the study did say that of the overall finishers the BMIs ranged variably from a classification of overweight to underweight.

I think in many sports there is still some mentality of "lighter= faster, stronger, better, higher." However, that's truly not the case. It may seem like that for awhile, but in the end, everything catches up with the person and lighter will equal slower and weaker.

How do we get it across to athletes and people alike that weight does not equate to success and achievement?

Weights among the Japanese

I think I about wanted to fall on the floor after reading this article about how the 58cm (22 inches) waist is the ideal "norm" for Japanese women. Like in the US advertising is emphasized on weight loss with thin, beautiful models. This completely contraindicates the fact that Japanese women in their 30s weigh 12% less than they did 20 years ago, and that almost a quarter of women in their 20s and 40s are medically underweight. I guess they are now catching up to this ideal. How scary is that?

Then on the men's side, there is apparently an "obesity epidemic" occurring, especially men over 40. Companies are trying to off shoot this with "flab checks" and give penalties for those who do not get their employees' weight under control. According to this article in the Guardian, men who have above 33.5 inch waists will be given diet and exercise plans. This article also says that women are 6% heavier. Hmm.

There is also an obesity epidemic among Japanese children. Authorities feel that this is due to the shift away from more traditional Japanese foods to a more western diet. Apparently, they've instituted a sports program for overweight children.

The ironic thing about all this is that the percentage of Japanese whoa re overweight is very low compared to world standards.

I just think how scary all this is. To have an entire country literally have distorted body views is quite astonishing. Yes, the US and other parts of the world do as well, but we haven't instituted flab checks in the workplace (at least not to my knowledge, sports arenas and such is a different story) or penalties (maybe discrimination of sorts which isn't any better unfortunately).

This just goes to show how far and wide (no pun intended) the whole weight debate/crisis occurs cross culturally.

Can we confuse people anymore?

Recently, new research came out about the causes of mortality at different BMIs and weight. According to Katherine Flegal, the lead researcher of this study, if you're underweight, there is a significant increase in non-cancer and non-cardiovascular related mortality. If you're obese, there is a significant increase in cardiovascular mortality. However, if you're overweight, then you're okay because there could be some extra nutritional reserves. Hmm, okay, whatever.

However, then this article comes out from Reuters rebutting the above study. I think this could just confuse the public at large even more. I get really tired of using the BMI to gauge your perceived health. There are a lot more factors than weight and height that determine your lifespan. Lifestyle activity is such a big one, as well as what you eat. We really are what we eat.