{"id":3911,"date":"2015-02-22T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-02-22T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=3911"},"modified":"2015-02-21T17:36:13","modified_gmt":"2015-02-21T22:36:13","slug":"are-we-obsessed-with-our-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=3911","title":{"rendered":"Are we obsessed with our weight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of a scale shouldn’t define anyone, but health should be a factor<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kelly Hockenberry<\/strong><\/span>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"UTKellyColumn<\/a>Joni Edelman is a blogger and mother of five who recently created a firestorm of controversy\u00a0when she wrote about her experience of gaining weight and finding happiness as a result. Click\u00a0here to read her post: http:\/\/on.today.com\/1DvghCL<\/a><\/p>\n

I read it and it bothers me. Why does our country obsess over the idea that your weight defines\u00a0who you are? On BOTH ends of the spectrum (heavy or thin), it is simply untrue. Although,\u00a0I do think that an easier argument can be made that losing weight, if done in a healthy way,\u00a0improves quality of life. If you feel better, can move around more easily, have better stamina\u00a0and energy, it is a safe bet that you will be happier, overall. This is a matter of physiology, not\u00a0vanity.<\/p>\n

Edelman\u2019s position is that at 123 pounds she was \u201cobsessive\u201d about her weight. Logging miles\u00a0on the treadmill, counting every calorie, self-loathing about her reflection in the mirror, she was\u00a0consumed by her thinness. Understandable. I think it is apparent that this lifestyle choice would\u00a0make a person rather miserable.<\/p>\n

The article goes on to say that after being treated for bipolar depression (a SIGNIFICANT point,\u00a0in my opinion), Joni gained weight. She postulates that the additional pounds to her frame\u00a0released her from the stigma society has created regarding body image. She was finally \u201cfat and\u00a0happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hold on a minute.<\/p>\n

While I would NEVER suggest that the regime Joni relied upon to stay at 123 pounds was a\u00a0healthy one, I believe it to be equally unhealthy to espouse the belief that letting weight creep\u00a0on is a good thing. The backlash against people who work hard to stay fit and fight the aging\u00a0process is relentless. It is considered shallow to be concerned with your appearance or to\u00a0actively take steps to retain a youthful approach to life. Yet, ironically, our nation is more than\u00a0half full of people with significant weight to lose. It has a devastating impact on our healthcare\u00a0system and our economy. So, while it may be a shame that advertisers embrace an airbrushed\u00a0philosophy to sell their products, it obviously is not causing many to put down their Big Macs.<\/p>\n

How about instead of suggesting that we just \u201clet go\u201d and eat what we want, drink what we want\u00a0and exercise when the mood strikes, we encourage people to educate themselves about the\u00a0power of a healthy lifestyle? If we can do that, perhaps we WILL end up happy. Happy to have\u00a0control over our bodies and the quality of food we put into it.<\/p>\n

What do YOU think? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!<\/p>\n

Happy Weekend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A number of a scale shouldn’t define anyone, but health should be a factor By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Joni Edelman is a blogger and mother of five who recently created a firestorm of controversy\u00a0when she wrote about her experience of gaining weight and finding happiness as a result. Click\u00a0here to read her post: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[1102,2687,104,2686],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-featured","tag-body-image","tag-diet","tag-health-2","tag-weight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3912,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911\/revisions\/3912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}