Article Link NPR, "In 'Unshrinking,' a writer discusses [...]" [Kate Manne; exercise mention]

[hch]

In 'Unshrinking,' a writer discusses coming out as fat and pushing back against bias

I was searching NPR for something related to my last article-related thread (more about this article appears below!) and happened to find this recent interview, in which author Kate Manne ['KM' below] "spoke with NPR contributor and primary care physician Mara Gordon ['MG' below] about [her new book] Unshrinking."

This part is especially relevant to VF:

MG: There's good evidence that engaging in regular exercise can improve a person's health, even if it doesn't result in weight loss.

KM: Totally. And for people like me, who have been put off exercise by a sense that we're failing to be thinner as a result of it, I think that reframing can be very powerful. To say: look, weight loss doesn't generally follow from exercise, but exercise is really good for you.

MG: I find that discussion very challenging in my clinical practice. I say the word "exercise," and my patients hear "weight loss." Exercise is so entangled in diet culture.

KM: Fitness, rather than fatness, is the most important factor that is within people's control to try to work on as a patient. Once we reframe what fitness is meant to do, and think of it not as meant to shrink our bodies, but as meant to safeguard our health, regardless of our weight – that reframe can be really useful.

This message isn't especially new, but I find it interesting that such messages are appearing in more places.

VFers may have noticed an echo of the longstanding VF guidelines: "Discussions of diet, though they may not start out this way, tend focus on diet and exercise for weight loss, rather than diet and exercise for health and self esteem. Video Fitness wishes to promote the latter" and "[...] we ask that posters stay away from criticism of a particular instructor's (or cast member's) physique or other qualities that have no bearing on the quality of the workout. Everyone has their own definition of physical beauty, and fit women and men come in all shapes and sizes. Such criticism undermines the inclusiveness of this Forum."

The NPR article ("Want to get stronger? Try weightlifting") in that thread linked above mentions a similar sort of reframing:

LAUGHLIN: And that brings us to our first takeaway, which I admit is a tough one - start by reestablishing your exercise goals. Working out isn't for weight loss only, but establishing this healthy mindset is much easier said than done.

BELL: My goal with this is literally getting people to unlearn what they think that they know about fitness and to then rebuild it in a way that suits them best.

LAUGHLIN: And I want to be clear here. This is something you could spend your whole life working on. The world we live in is saturated with messaging that certain kinds of bodies are more attractive, healthier or worth more.

It'd be potentially interesting to have all these people in a giant conversation!