Why is Cosmopolitan Lying? Falsehoods About Healthy Living During the Body Positivity Epidemic
What is the difference between a magazine cover depicting an obese person with the caption “This is healthy” and a magazine who’s cover depicts a driver not wearing a seatbelt with the headline “This is safe”?
There is none.
Cosmopolitan, the women’s fashion and entertainment magazine, debuted their upcoming issue which portrayed eleven different women who “prove wellness isn’t one size fits all“. The magazine pictured a number of women with a wide range of body types all with the caption reading “This is healthy”. There’s just one big problem. Not only is it untrue, but it is dangerous.
What we can all assume was an attempt at pandering to the woke body positivity crowd, Cosmo’s poor decision making will ultimately cost more American lives, especially during the time of this pandemic. Often in politics, we like to talk about dogwhistles, coded or suggestive language to garner support from a particular group. “A dogwhistle to the far right”, “a dogwhistle to the anarchist left”. How is this for a dogwhistle. Cosmopolitan is signaling all the overweight people out there (42% of America is obese) and saying- are you stressed and worried about being overweight? Well if you buy our magazine we will explain to you why you don’t have to be. It is so insanely fraudulent, wildly dishonest, and I am willing to go so far to say that it should be illegal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is often responsible as the root cause for conditions leading to premature death such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, several of which account for the most significant underlying conditions for people susceptible to COVID-19. In addition to the 42% of Americans who are overweight, more than 70 percent of adults 20 years old and older are overweight.
In an interview with The Federalist, Dr. Tim Logemann of the Wausau Aspirus Hospital Cardiologist and Obesity Treatment Program in Wisconsin explained that “while COVID-19 is a disease of inflammation, cells in obese people are already inflamed, lowering the body’s immune response even in the absence of pre-existing conditions that routinely lead to severe or even lethal complications from the coronavirus. When mechanical problems that arise from obesity, such as difficulty breathing, are combined with a virus that impairs a person’s respiratory function, the level of risk rises even higher.”
Here’s another mind boggling statistic for you- According to the World Health Organization, 2.8 MILLION deaths every year can be attributed to the deceased being overweight or obese. Compare that with the 1.9 million deaths from COVID. Nuts.
Why do these stats matter? Because, we cannot continue to lie to people in order to make them feel more comfortable at the expense of their own life. There is a huge difference between body positivity and false medical advice.
No one deserves to be picked on for their weight. I’ve struggled with my weight for as long as I’ve been old enough to know what a scale is. However, the solution to combatting bully like behavior from a group of jerks is not to excuse poor habits and lazy behavior on the other side. Losing weight and getting in shape will always be a challenge. If it was so easy you wouldn’t see 70% of our country struggling with it. If there is anything to take away from a moment like this, perhaps it’s that we should all come together and support each other’s pursuit of a healthy life, while condemning those who wish to exploit our insecurities for profit. Being in shape is a good thing. And if you’re not, recognizing that is an important first step. Don’t give up on trying to get there, just don’t rely on Cosmopolitan for any advice.
