Doubts cast on science behind the war on fat

A NEW study carried out at the University of Limerick says the science on which claims that we are facing an obesity epidemic are based is highly questionable.

According to the author of the study, Dr Lee Monaghan, one widely-used obesity indicator would deem Brad Pitt, George Clooney and most of the Munster rugby team to be obese.

Dr Monaghan, who is a senior lecturer at UL, claims the science behind the war on fat is highly uncertain and founded upon questionable assumptions about what actually determines health.

His study was yesterday described as original, timely, and controversial.

Using observations from a mixed-sex slimming club and interviews with men whom medicine might label overweight or obese, Dr Monaghan’s study challenges conventional thinking about the fight against fat.

He said: “According to official statistics, the majority of men in nations such as the US, England and Ireland are overweight or obese. Public health officials, researchers, governments and various agencies are alarmed and have issued dire warnings about an ‘obesity’ epidemic.

“This perceived threat to public health seemingly legitimises declarations of war against what one US Surgeon General called ‘the terror within’.”

Dr Monaghan said it has been argued that medical and popular solutions to “excess” weight are often ineffective, and moral panic around body fat may contribute towards body dissatisfaction, stigma, eating disorders and other health problems.

He said: “Even so, the message is continually conveyed, with certainty, that most people are too heavy, that it is unhealthy and unacceptable to be fat and the so-called “obesity epidemic” should be tackled.

“In fact, the gold standard measure of the epidemic, the Body Mass Index (BMI), does not actually measure fatness, and weight cannot be taken as a reliable indicator or determinant of health.

“Interestingly, what medicine deems ‘too heavy’ is not necessarily shared by the public either, and who is to say they are wrong? For example, using the BMI, health officials authoritatively claim that most Irish men are too heavy. Yet according to this index, Brad Pitt is overweight and George Clooney is obese, as are most of the Munster rugby team.”

Dr Monaghan’s work was launched yesterday by Dr Emma Rich, Loughborough University and Lucy Aphramor, Coventry University, who said it will be of interest to students and researchers of gender and the body within sociology, gender studies and cultural studies as well as public health researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

Dr Eoin Devereux, head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick, said: “The Department of Sociology at UL continues to explore and highlight pressing Irish and international social issues including research on obesity, poverty, the mass media, immigration and gender inequality.”