Abigail Saguy

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Whats wrong with fat people at the gym?

Subscriber Login Email Address. Chapter 2 Problem Frames. In this eye-opening book, Saguy shows that the war on obesity is really a war on fat people that targets women, minorities, and the poor. Social inequality-not body mass-is killing people. Saguy reveals the hidden interests behind the so-called obesity epidemic.

It is a bellwether in the growth of the interdisciplinary field of fat studies yet firmly grounded in sociological theory and methodology.

What's Wrong with Fat?: The War on Obesity and its Collateral Damage

Saguy's work will continue to push scholarship on health, weight, and size as well as on gender, race, class, and inequality. Obesity is often framed by public health officials as an epidemic, leading to a virtually unequivocal understanding of fat as 'bad. Saguy and Tamara B. This may sound like good advice, but he knows better. Scores of clinical studies show that heavier patients with heart disease are, on average, less likely to die than thinner ones. Furthermore, weight loss efforts are typically counterproductive.

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Academic Skip to main content. Choose your country or region Close. Ebook This title is available as an ebook. To purchase, visit your preferred ebook provider. Oxford Scholarship Online This book is available as part of Oxford Scholarship Online - view abstracts and keywords at book and chapter level. By the time you finish reading the book, she literally wants you to ask the same question she asked: Saguy is a sociologist at UCLA and discusses a lot of sociological theory throughout the book.

In particular, she relies heavily on frame analysis to discuss how fatness is portrayed in American society. Saguy argues that fat is often discussed within the medical obesity [fatness] is a medical problem needing medical treatment , public health crisis obesity is a public health problem warranting a collective solution , and personal responsibility the obese need to take personal responsibility for their weight frames.

All these frames posit fat as a problem that needs to be solved. Saguy argues that these frames are often taken for granted but should be questioned.

Additionally, she discusses how other frames fat is beautiful, health at every size and fat rights frames that see fat in a neutral or positive light receive little attention and have much less influence than other frames that portray fat as being pathological. The best parts of What's Wrong with Fat? In fact, Saguy makes a convincing case that our current framing of fat as a pathology is more socially acceptable way to condemn the poor and minorities. The book is short but can be a bit dry at times. However, the topic itself is fascinating to me at least!

I definitely recommend it. Jun 21, Lisa Lilly rated it it was amazing. I read this book for a class, and it was a fascinating read. I would have finished it regardless of the course requirements. The author did a good job of explaining in clear language any academic terms she used. That made it easy to read even for someone with a background in sociology.

The author disputes the cultural assumptions about the negative effects of being overweight and the idea of an obesity epidemic. While doing so, she draws attention to the way findings from specific studies can be I read this book for a class, and it was a fascinating read. While doing so, she draws attention to the way findings from specific studies can be extrapolated without basis and can be sensationalized in the media.

I found this particular point a good reminder these days when it seems every news organization is fighting to create the most alarmist headlines. On a personal level, I found the book valuable in bringing out how often weight is used as a proxy for health or for ill health and how damaging that can be. For writers, this book is a good example of how to convey information in a way that's accessible to readers without watering down the content or message.

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Nov 25, Taracuda rated it really liked it. A thorough look at how the frames we use impact our understanding of fatness. I was familiar with frames and Healthy at Any Size concepts when I started, but there were still some absolutely new insights that I took away. Mar 30, Korri rated it really liked it Shelves: If I were the type of reader to highlight whole paragraphs, this would be the book in which I'd do so.

The book studies the production, content, and reception of how the news media frames fat and looks into the cultural construction and contestation of social meaning attached to fat p. Not all meanings have the same cultural, symbolic, social and cultural capital. This condemnation is made possible by framing fat as an individual personal responsibility, a matter of will power and self-control.

Maybe some shame and stigma will help get fat folks on the right path! Focusing on obesity occludes other disparate issues bound up with the health frame: Oct 25, Sharon Haywood rated it it was amazing. Apr 03, Tara Brabazon rated it really liked it. A fascinating book that explores 'the frames' around 'fat' bodies. The attention to race and class is excellent, alongside a recognition of the pressure placed on children to conform to an undefined 'norm. It is beautifully written, evocative and convincing.

Mar 06, Kjerstin Gruys rated it it was amazing Shelves: Sharp writing and a must-read for anyone interested in the politics of body size.

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Saguy makes a compelling argument that our culture's growing anti-fat stigma is more harmful to both individuals and society than fatness itself, or the so-called "obesity epidemic. Apr 11, K rated it it was amazing Shelves: Reveals how exactly, by whom, for whose gain, and whose harm, the "obesity epidemic" was constructed. May 27, Veta rated it really liked it Shelves: Also the first academic book on this topic I've read.

It was incredibly well researched and completely impartial. I definitely recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about how our society's understands fat and how different frames shape the discourse on obesity.

The truth about fats: the good, the bad, and the in-between

I also think this book is essential for any budding [4. I also think this book is essential for any budding body positivity scholar or fat rights activist. I do not think that the academic approach of this book is too alienating. It is well written and quite easy to read. May 31, Austin Larson rated it really liked it. I've been looking for a book on this topic for a while since I went to a lecture last fall on "the obesity paradox". The paradox is that obese people are more likely to be diagnosed with a wide variety of conditions but once they are diagnosed, they are likely to have a better outcome than a normal weight person with the same condition.

There are an increasing number of papers about situations in which higher body weight is protective. The author is a sociologist and does not try to address the I've been looking for a book on this topic for a while since I went to a lecture last fall on "the obesity paradox". The author is a sociologist and does not try to address the physiology of overweight.

What's Wrong with Fat? - Hardcover - Abigail C. Saguy - Oxford University Press

She advances the theory that doctors have driven the narrative of the health crisis of obesity because it is in our financial self interest and because it is the only remaining acceptable form of class discrimination. She paints an interesting picture of the nascent civil rights movement for fat acceptance. She contrasts the portrayal of anorexia and obesity in the media and in the medical literature. One as an organic psychiatric disease and the other as a failure of self-control. This book gave me a lot to think about and I think that it will have an effect on my practice.

Feb 06, Gayle Noble rated it really liked it Shelves: Interesting book that takes a look behind the "Obesity Epidemic" headlines. The author explains how some work has been based on extrapolated and estimated figures but are being reported as gospel by the media. She also looks at possible motivations for the way obesity is 'framed' in today's society as health crisis, as economic problem, etc.

Should we be concentrating on fitness rather than body size? After all, being thin does not necessarily mean you are healthy.