Category: Definitions of Health

  • Canadian doctor shocks the world by announcing that all fat people may not be deathly ill.

    I’m running off to school, but here. Stunning insights abound, such as: Many people who meet the body mass index criteria for obesity “are really not that sick at all,” says Sharma, chairman for cardiovascular obesity research and management at the University of Alberta and scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network. ‘Obesity was far…

  • Stairway to Health, or, Let’s Judge People for Not Taking the Stairs.

    So here’s the thing. I’ve worked at several different places, and am now going to school at a place promoting the ubiquitous Stairway to Health campaign. And here’s the second thing: people are really goddamn preachy when it comes to taking the stairs. I was at work recently when an older man, likely in his…

  • Health at Every Size is not a new diet.

    I would like to state that I am firmly in favour of Health at Every Size. I am a healthcare practitioner and student of nutrition, so that I find HAES an interesting and attractive concept should come as no surprise. That is my bias, as a healthcare nerd. But I would also like to make…

  • A definition of health.

    I was asked, indirectly, to respond to the question “Why do you think you’re healthy?” Definitions of health are important to me, as I’ve spent a lot of time in school and at my job considering what it means to be “healthy,” and watching how those definitions play out in real life. This is what…

  • The obligation to be healthy at every size.

    It is sad that this even needs to be said, but given the fact that we essentially live in a health meritocracy, let me be the first to announce: You are under no obligation to be healthy. And, as an addendum: even if you were, eating “well” and exercising wouldn’t guarantee your success. There. I’ve…