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When it comes to weight, we are more than a number

I was living in Malawi, a refreshing culture where people actually want to be overweight.

“Mama Selina, you are looking so fat today!”

This guy obviously hadn’t picked up a white chick before. I was living in Malawi, a refreshing culture where people actually want to be overweight.

Instead of being viewed as having poor willpower or being lazy, overweight people are seen as healthy, rich and beautiful. Even their traditional clothing is styled to accentuate large hips and bums.

In Canada, people are constantly trying to get thin, even if the means by which they get there is entirely unhealthy. People starve themselves for months to lose weight, and are complimented on how great they look. In health care, people are classified by their body mass index, or BMI, which is essentially a measure of your weight.

Over 25? You are “overweight.” Over thirty? “Obese.” These labels can make people feel bad about their body size, which may be very normal and healthy.

And does being overweight really mean you are unhealthy? Despite what the media portrays, the answer is no. In fact, 20 to 30 per cent of obese people are metabolically healthy in relation to chronic disease risk, meaning they have normal blood pressure, blood sugars and cholesterol levels. Similarly, lean people can have significant chronic disease.

This year, the Provincial Health Services Authority released a report, “From Weight to Well-being: Time for a Shift in Paradigm?” exploring the interrelationships between overweight, obesity and health. It concluded that while BMI is useful for looking at weight at a population level, it is not intended to be an individual measure for health. Better indicators are distribution of fat and muscle, waist circumference and metabolic parameters. The report also highlights the dangers of weight discrimination. Rather than motivate individuals to change their behavior, weight discrimination can encourage disordered eating, avoidance of exercise, avoidance of medical care and psychological harm.

Overweight children and youth are more likely to be victims of bullying. This can lead to depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem and social isolation. Again, rather than motivate children, this discrimination may cause them to withdraw from physical activities and begin a cycle of disordered eating or unhealthy weight control practices.

I think it is time we become a little more Malawian in our perspective of weight and health. Rather than focus on the number on the scale or the BMI, we need to encourage healthy eating and enjoyable activity at any size.