Tag Archives: obesity

March 4, 2025 · 19:00

A coincidence by any other name

That happens. We walk in small social circles, so there is a point that where we see repetition, likeminded people have likeminded thoughts. That was my first instinct. You see, I saw something in the Khaleej Times yesterday and I merely saw it as read. That was until several hours ago when I saw almost exactly the same in the SBS News. Now, that doesn’t mean that there is an issue. But wait, let me set the stage by adding the articles here.

UAE obesity rates to hit 95% by 2050, highest globally: Report Download

This what I saw yesterday (at a glance)

And today we get:

Warning half of Australia’s kids will be overweight by 2050, but is it the full picture? | SBS News Download

Now there is a chance of coincidence as there is an upcoming setting that involves more than we currently see. But at first I was take by surprise.

Lets get back to the Khaleej Times. Where the reader is hit with ‘UAE obesity rates to hit 95% by 2050, highest globally: Report’, where we are met with “The number of people in the UAE suffering from obesity—both males and females—will see a significant increase over the next two-and-a-half decades, says a new study.”, as well as “Co-lead author Dr Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia said preventing obesity must be at the forefront of all government policies.” She is also in the other article. And this leads me to the following questions:

What new Study?
Where is that study?
What were the parameters and how were they captured?
How is this insight of “95% in 25 years” ascertained?
What are the qualifications of Dr Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute?

As I see it simple questions that need to be addressed. The first question is partially addressed in “As per the Lancet study, overweight and obesity prevalence among adult males in the UAE aged 25-plus will increase from 84 per cent in 2021 to 94 per cent in 2050, the highest globally along with Kuwait and a few other countries.” So were the 2021 numbers matched? Was there correlation? Simple questions really and they are important as the writer Waheed Abbas paints across the article in acceptable ways, but this is related to science and we need more, especially as Dr Jessica Kerr and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute are mentioned only once. Like it was a ‘matter-of-fact’ that everyone knows. I am pretty sure that is not the case as the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is in Australia and I never heard of them (I also have no kids).

So off we go to the SBS article where we see:

“A new forecast estimates half of Australian children will be obese or overweight by 2050. But experts say it’s much more complicated.” As well as “The study, coinciding with World Obesity Day, used an established forecast model and Body Mass Index (BMI) data from 204 countries and territories.” OK, this is definitely more, but how was it all collected? You see, in Australia the amount of women how are size 14 and 45 KG is almost staggering, so was there any scientific principle at play here (just asking). The SBS article gives us more, like “What this means is that even if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s really difficult to do when you’re surrounded by an environment that’s telling you to do the opposite and is promoting obesity.” OK, I can get behind that, but the markers of how 50% of Australian Children are likely to become obese is still in the air. And here we also see some of my questions in action. We are given “But advanced accredited practicing dietitian and lecturer at Queensland University of Technology, Dr Fiona Willer, questioned the study’s methodology and its emphasis on children’s body size. “We now know, without a shadow of a doubt, that body size does not equate to healthiness and nor does it reflect people’s dietary patterns,” she said.” OK, not my area of expertise, but what Dr. Fiona Willer gives us makes a lot of sense and I do have questions, but what about the data and what makes the UAE child more likely to be obese than Australian children, it is a mere 85% versus 50%, but the difference counts.

And then the SBS article gives us additional questions raised by Georgia Bates when we are given “Georgia Bates, dietitian and committee member of Size Inclusive Health Australia adds that the complexities of obesity go beyond health implications,” including:

– Weight stigma and chronic stress, which can impact cardiovascular health and metabolic function.

– Weight bias in healthcare, which can delay or complicate diagnoses and treatment.

– Healthcare discrimination, where “people of a higher weight are often dismissed or have their health concerns attributed solely to their weight,” leading to delays in care.

– Workplace bias, where weight discrimination can impact hiring decisions, pay rates, and promotions.

– Interpersonal stigma, leading to bullying, unsolicited advice, or judgment about eating and exercise.

– Mental health impacts, with chronic exposure to stigma and bias contributing to anxiety, depression, and disordered eating patterns.

Kerr says that part of the recommended changes is to reduce individual stigma.

Proper questions, I still have my side of the issue, but I am a data guy, that is how I roll.

But in the interim I designed a new solution, which is based on Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A walk way and bicycle way that is partially ‘roofed’, A setting where we have 2/3 roof where a side and the top is covered with solar panels, allowing people to walk and cycle under the shade (avoiding pesky sun issues) and doubles as power generation for the area. Consider the Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Nakheel Mall, Yass mall and so on (I don’t know them all). Having this walkway saves the people from the sun and let them walk off some of the calories they just ate. In addition the roof captures the sun’s energy and the sun sets the side of the panel, left/top, top or top/right. The panels align to the sun These walkways do not need to be long, no more than 2 miles around the malls, but that could increase activity among people and allow some people to cycle. To that I will offer additional options over time (still considering a few parts). But whilst others talk that something needs to be done, I created an option for the UAE to consider and when you consider the walk around Dubai mall or Yas Mall many will agree that getting out in the open might be a nice idea (when you are protected from the blistering sun).

Have a great day.

Num, Num, Num

There is a large following that is very appreciative of Jamie Oliver. I was for a long time unsure about the man. I do not mean that in any negative way, I just didn’t know the guy. Literally, my only knowledge of him in the beginning was this ad (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPiNeIV_WY8). I thought it was funny, I was doing consultancy in the UK for a while and that is what I saw, I would remain unaware of his actions for a few more years until I saw one of his cooking shows. It looked nice, and tended to make me hungry watching it. So I reverted to my famous Bambiburger (whilst watching Bambi, because that’s how I roll) and switched to another movie afterwards. I had noticed a few of his cooking books and they looked OK, but beyond that I moved on, no negativity implied here.

My first real exposure to the man was when I was introduced to his McDonald crusade, or perhaps better stated the fast food crusade. A sample is shown in the Rubin Report (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSoJzuUgO6c, as well as CBS at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC0jMeGTJmA), so when I was aware of just how bad it was I stopped going there, I haven’t set foot into Macca’s for a long time, I might get a lemonade on a hot Sunday morning, yet that is as much as I got. I stopped going to Macca’s. He showed a part I never stopped to ponder. He became a silent hero, like my University friend and fellow student Jerome Doraisamy, how started the Wellness Doctrines and showed to be a true visionary. With his second book The Wellness Doctrines for High School Students, he is showing the younger students the path that every young person should read. With “self-help guide for secondary students struggling with academic rigours, vocational concerns and teenage issues“, we see a path that allows those who had given up, that there is a path, there are options and they can make it, there can be success. As Jerome attends to the mind of the younger person, Jamie Oliver has the physical side in mind. In the Guardian we see the goods (at https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/29/jamie-oliver-criticism-affect-me-childhood-obesity), with “His transformation from cheeky-chappy Essex boy chef to single-issue crusader, facts and figures to hand, about to appear in front of a select committee, is complete. You would think he would have enough going on – he closed several of his restaurants recently and restructured his business“, in all this Jamie Oliver is focused on the issue of childhood obesity. Two silent hero’s making the world a better place, because if they can tend to the upcoming generation, we would as a humanity move forward too. Now even as we, at times might question “It is not only the food industry that Oliver has targeted. He also champions better nutritional training for GPs and other health professionals“, there is a spoken truth that we ignore, we seem to go to the GP for every useless flu shot, and really useful vaccines, but the setting is that the GP has a narrow focus, he needs to be, he might tell us to see a dietician, yet will we? I know that I eat reasonable healthy, less and less Bambiburgers (the price of venison is near murder nowadays), yet I have my decent mixes of greens, pasta’s (with fresh greens) and the optional spinach stew with beef, all easily made and full of the good stuff. This came with the revelation that even as I am still the size of Dwayne Johnson (yet not in the chest section), I eat a lot better for a long time now and I walk nearly everything I do every day. I also noticed that I eat a lot less, so there is that benefit too, but overall, I could still eat better and that is where Jamie Oliver is making the difference “Oliver seems to be coming at obesity principally as a diet problem, rather than a social one, although it may be too much to ask even someone as energetic and ambitious as him to fix society. Obesity disproportionately affects children in deprived areas“. You see, even when we accept that the lifestyle choices in places like London for some is massively limited, where most are still relying on their daily fish and chips, of if fish is too expensive friend spam, we need to acknowledge that the two people are working pre-emptively. If the children are heating healthier, it could reduce NHS needs by at least 10%, which is a massive saving, when we consider the counselling and other issues that some children face in the light of pressure the writings (the second book) of Jerome Doraisamy could also impact the NHS in a positive way, as well as avoid a whole range of other issues, so making sure that every secondary school in the UK (Australia and Canada too), has at least a few copies of this book (as well as some of the Jamie Oliver solutions), we could set the next generation much better equipped on a future path, one that is healthier and ever so likely pointing towards personal success. In that we have seen so little for such a long time that the visibility of these two crusaders (not caped ones, because I still claim the title of Batman), is becoming more and more essential. Yet Jamie does not proclaim to have all the answers and all the solutions, one would be very unfair to demand that. When we see “he does not entirely understand what it is like to live in relentless, grinding poverty: to be unable to afford fresh vegetables (healthy food is three times more expensive, per calorie, than unhealthy food – Oliver has suggested that the government should subsidise healthy food); to be too tired to cook from scratch every night; to take the financial risk on a lentil recipe that your kids may refuse to eat“, now we can go that children who are really hungry will eat nearly anything, is only partially true, the addictiveness to some foods (read: food groups), especially sugar loaded ones is too tempting as the short term sugar rush is there, so it is like getting them to fight a sugar addiction seems to be more and more prevalent. Yet as it is not a narcotic, the large brands can push sugar onto everyone until it quite literally kills them (usually via some form of diabetes). This gets us to the timeliness of it all. You see, when I was young (I know a really long time ago), diabetes was something almost unheard of. Now in the US, the CDC reported that 9.4% has some form of diabetes. That is up from 8.3% 5 years earlier, so the statistics are screaming danger. Yet we remains unable to act and the fact that Jamie Oliver is pushing for larger changes so that the UK (actually the whole world) improves the stats so that we can avoid a nasty and expensive trap is more than just good thinking, it is the stuff of well-deserved knighthoods. It is in that same range that we should see the efforts of Jerome Doraisamy. The body and the mind are two parts of us, needing equal attention and the fact that we get the next generation on top of it all is massively needed, because the mind can too often work out that the rope to hang yourself with versus the rope that will snap under the weight of the 17 year old as he/she weighs 17 stones takes a mere 25 neurons (speculative), me making fun of this is how it needs to be seen, but in a very deadly serious way. Some issues we can avoid, but if healthy food elevates your mood, makes you feel more energised, and thus empowers that person, making changes to your lifestyle on both the physical and mental front become increasingly important. Not because you are saving the NHS thousands of pounds, but because the next generation could suddenly end up having worked and lived for decades in a healthy and happy way only to receive a letter, to which that person asks “What on earth is the NHS?” They didn’t know, because they were never sick. That is what we hope we could strife for and these two crusaders are making it an optional future. So even when we see in the Guardian “he will be accused on Twitter of being the “fun police”; a column in the Sun will call it a nanny-state initiative that penalises poor people“, even as we see the taken step “It calls on the government to ban junk food advertising before 9pm and unhealthy buy-one-get-one-free offers, among other things. Oliver is proud of it. He looks relaxed, sitting on one of the sofas in his industrial, vintage-styled head office – although he knows the attacks will come“, we see that there is a lot to be done, but he has started the path, and even when we recognise that “addressed to the prime minister and signed by Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and other party leaders” those undersigning is are not in government, yet when we look back to 2005, we see “In a response to the plea from TV chef Jamie Oliver for a ‘school dinner revolution’, the Prime Minister will say that school kitchens will be rebuilt and equipped so dishes can be cooked from scratch, while dinner ladies are given ‘culinary skills’ to help them create appetising menus“, it was a success as the Telegraph reported “A £280 million initiative to improve the nation’s school dinners was unveiled by Tony Blair yesterday following a campaign by Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef. Mr Blair and Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, produced the money just as Oliver arrived at Downing Street with a 271,000-signature petition demanding better meals“, so what happened to that initiative, the fact that there is a second round, how much success did the £280 million get the UK schools, what was achieved and what was not is also equally a question. You see throwing money at a problem does not make it go away, it merely gets the front page for a week at the most, So when we look at briefing paper 3336, Obesity Statistics called SN03336, attached, we see that the increase from 53% to 61%, and from 15% to 26% is shown on page 3, yet it also shows that the curve on overweight or obese is also leveling from 2005 onward, so there is a shown success, what is less shown is the improvement rate among the young population, we see the statistics and total statistics, but as we cannot see if the those obese have become less obese cannot be determined in such an aggregated state.

Another path shown is that when we compare to the mindset in Japan, where only 4% has obesity, we see that studying the Japanese culture on healthy foods is becoming a lot more interesting. I did see an excellent video by Joanne Lumley on Japan, where we actually get to see two culinary sides, the first is that Japanese prison food is better looking and healthier than anything we can get in any fast food place, second was a visit to a primary school having lunch. They were eye openers, so there is still much to be learned for all the dietary players in the world. The one fact that we do clearly see is on page 12 with “obesity rates in the most deprived areas have risen by almost five percentage points but were unchanged in the least deprived areas“, we could go by the need of income, but more importantly we need to find other ways to solve the food system on a parental level, because giving in the screaming kids demanding sugar and chips will not work. Some might want to give in, but the price down the line will be extremely high. Some have no means to afford decent food and when we see that £36 a day is needed when you are on the basic standard, yet this includes rent, utilities, food and clothing. So when we consider that number, we get a lot less to live on, so when we consider rent increase, energy price hikes and other elements not much is left and that amount is actually decreasing. That is part of the ballgame and even as Jamie does not have all the answers, he is giving us a path to consider. If the school kitchens become better equipped and gives better food, the health risks will decrease as they decrease and the children’s physique improves through sports and actual activities (we don’t all like sports), we get to consider a lot more options and now we merely have the mental option remaining, but that is part of Jerome Doraisamy’s The Wellness Doctrines for High School Students, which is not part of this discussion today.

We can argue on how good or how bad Jamie Oliver is doing it, but the one part that no one can deny is that he is actually doing something and that he is at least on the right path and trying to work on the solutions that could work is why he is one of several silent heroes of choice. A crusader who is not playing Don Quixote, he is trying to do good, not chasing windmills. when I see the Guardian article, I see there is plenty of mentions of failure, his failures, yet in all that there was not one mention of greed, or of some basic exploitation setting, merely, as I personally saw it, he tried too much in too many directions and seemingly all at nearly the same time, I am partially amazed that he was able to avoid a heart attack and a stroke in the process. So when it comes to trusting the health of your children, would you listen to Jamie Oliver or to the Marketing CEO of a fast food chain? Now consider that one of the two will get your child killed 20 years earlier, now who do you trust? Are you scared yet, you actually should be!

That is becoming the ballgame, because when there is no NHS, which with the current crises is not merely a speculative possibility, how will you get treatment for your child when diabetes becomes a fact of life? Oh, and in addition, when you are still on that £36 a day (if you are that lucky), how will you afford the medication and other needs?

These few steps alone show that not only is Jamie Oliver on the right path, we need to think the long term impact that are limiting the options we remain to keep, because the list of those options are falling faster than you think. When we accept that in the most deprived areas where child obesity went from 27% at the age of 5 to 41% at the age of 10, when you consider that danger for a mere 2 generations, how will you see the economy where part of the labour is no longer being done because those jobs can no longer be done in 3 generations because the health of that workforce will not allow that to be done, so who will do those jobs? Perhaps the kids who are currently growing up in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire or Ascot, Berkshire? You have got to be joking!

We must accept that the previous labour did make steps and we need to see what was not done, why it was not done and what needs to be done, not just done as a mere ‘because we have to‘, but because we desperately need to move away from the downward spiral that too many nations are currently on in the first place.

Relying on the margins

This is an issue that has been on my mind for some time, you see, I am not the smallest person (not just in length). I never looked like I have been hungry for a decade. I try to eat healthy, I have my regular salads and I walk a lot. I walk every day on principle, to the extent that I never bothered with a car (apart from the parking fees all over the city). So, as I go into the city to buy clothes, I am always confronted that 2XL does not cut it. Now, this is all good and proper, so I am slightly larger than the norm. But is that the case? Several sources including The Medical Journal of Australia has stated that obesity in Australia is set at 67%. Third place after New Zealand set at 68.4% (a world’s first where Australians are delighted that Kiwis have beaten them at something) and The Americans at 74.1%. We are trailed by the Barmy Army (aka the Britons) by 63.8%.

So we can state that on one side we have an issue, on the other side, it would make perfect sense that the fashion industry would cater to a need. So, explain to me why those places calling themselves fashion stores would avoid anything beyond 2XL? In some cases I get the ‘excuse’ “Oh, we ran out of stock“, or: “Let me check in the back” (whilst we all know they knew they never had any). Some just state ‘2XL is the biggest we have’. The Levi’s store has one model in 3XL (actually, more like 2XL+), yet as I went through Pitt Street, Myers, David Jones, the QVB building and the World Square Shopping Centre. When looking for decent brand clothing, only Sportscraft and Rodd and Gunn were able to satisfy my need (3XL was in some cases the biggest they had). So, why would anyone in their right mind ignore a customer base of over 50%? (I am ignoring the 3-4 shops that specifically cater to larger sizes).

Can anyone explain it to me, because it makes no business sense at all! Ibisworld states that 122,266, comprise 12,785 clothing businesses. This is of course over Australia, not just Sydney. So how many are catering to the larger sized population? The question has international impact for two reasons. First there is the economic impact. When we see ‘Popular Fashion Retailer Files for Bankruptcy. We didn’t see this coming!‘ we have to ask how stupid the quoting party is. The company has around 9000 staff in 19 countries and is known for its hyper-sexual advertising, which is all fine (to some extent), yet when we look at http://store.americanapparel.net/ and we seek and realise that you will not find anything over 2xl (in some cases no larger than XL), than this implies that American Apparel, as well as the bulk of the fashion store is ‘intentionally’ barring 74% of its possible clientele. Why should such stupidity be ‘rewarded’ with a Chapter 11? It is not like the people in charge considered the first 10 chapters, did they?

This now relates back to an article in the Guardian titled ‘Model who criticised agency: I spoke out about body shape to protect girls‘ (at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/16/model-criticise-agency-spoke-out-body-shape-protect-girls), here we see the quote: “The model who used an open letter to criticise her former agency for allegedly sacking her because she was “too big” has said she spoke out so that youngsters were aware of the pressures in the industry to maintain unrealistic body shapes“, the subsequent quote “Caroline Nokes, who heads the all-party parliamentary group on body image, will lead the inquiry into whether the fashion industry is promoting unhealthy standards of beauty. It begins in November” is also cause for concern, but not for the reason you might think. I think that Caroline Nokes, Conservative for Romsey and Southampton North in Hampshire needs to take a seriously different look. You see, the ‘unhealthy standards of beauty‘ norm is a joke (in my humble opinion), what does it solve? By the time this all takes a gander towards anything serious we will be at least two administrations later. If there is truly a want and a need to make a change, than turn the transformation into a hammer people will not ignore.

Add to the restrictions of Bankruptcy, make the end date of an entry into the insolvency register 60 months, not 12. In addition, we add ‘unethical behaviour’ as a directive, so that debts caused through ‘unethical behaviour’ cannot be written off. Of course making a case for deciding to cater to 26% is unethical, which is a different issue and is still part of it all. Yet, consider that the need to cater changes, how can the fashion industry continue in its present firm when the catering part changes?

There is also an opposition from me towards this, you see, over-legislation is an equal evil. We believe in freedom of choice and as long as those persons accept the consequences and remain liable for the costs of what they did, they can do whatever they can. If someone wants to open a coffee shop just to cater to women, than they can. Oh no! They cannot, it is called discrimination. So how does this all fit? Well actually it does not! Shops can basically cater to the non-obese. They just ran out of stock, or they made ‘choices’ in their catalogue. Yet, in all this Caroline Nokes has a separate problem, until the view of what is ‘required’ utterly changes, she would end up talking up a storm to a collection of mugs without ears. Each holding a cup full of opinions and none replying to the actual situation. In all this a change is essential, but how to best go about it? As I see it, we can all have a business, we all make choices on what is the best course of business. Yet, when we go wrong, when our way was flawed, why should anyone else but us pay for our own mistake? Non-accountability has been at the axis of the law and legislation, especially corporate ones for too long. So we change that bit. If a business wants to exclude 74%, than that could be valid, it could be equally valid that some areas can never be supported, I understand that completely. Yet in all this, when we can state that it is more likely than not that a business could remain active if it had catered better to its possible customer base, than it should be regarded as an unethical business practice, as such the caterer should pay the price of unethicality. In all this a problem remains, how is catering to a specific group unethical?

If it is not, than can this person be labelled as unethical when the plan goes wrong? This remains an issue, as such there is little option for Caroline Nokes in this direction. In the end, segmentation is likely to safe businesses more often than not. So as such, what can we do to change this? There are as I stated two avenues. The first one is to stop enabling bad business sense. Of course you can engage in it, but if it falls on your face, the cost of that bad track will also fall in your lap and your lap only.

In the second (I still shiver for considering this) is to make a change to authorities like the financial services compensation scheme. That is a bit dodgier to address. As I see it, it is also not really a realistic path. In the end, is this just about me being unable to get a nice 3XL polo shirt?

The Guardian quote “Nokes said the industry is in a vicious circle, where agencies brought in young women to satisfy the designers, and designers made clothes “to fit the frame of a teenage boy” because those were the kinds of models that were available to them. “These are not clothes for women with busts and hips,” she added” only gets is a little bit into that direction, Another Guardian article, from August 27th (at http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/aug/27/where-are-all-the-plus-size-male-models), shows the addition we need. Now, we must agree that any business has rights to do as it pleases (as long as no laws are broken). So when we see “I asked three major agencies in the UK, all of whom have plus-size female models on their books, and they all said they have no plans to sign plus-size male models“. There does not seem to be any wrongdoing here. You see, they cater to the need of their clients, so the brands have no need for people in the plus-size range. Yet, should we not wonder why these brands are not catering to the missed population of over 300 million in the western world alone? Perhaps the better question becomes in this day and age of commerce, profit and revenue, why is nobody going there? (Apart from the 2-3 that are).

The additional quote “One of the biggest plus-size retailers in the UK, Bigdudeclothing.co.uk, started three years ago. It recently received funding from William Currie Group which invested in Asos and has seen 100% growth in each year it’s been in business. Its clothes go up to 10XL but it struggles to find models who best represent the brand“. So it seems that some are looking at the table that seems to be just set for them, completely with a 7 course meal. I stumbled upon a part that could grow their business even more. Yet is all this, is the truth truly exposed? You see, when we go to a store, we see that sizes M up to 2XL are all priced the same, yet should we not recognise that a ‘2XL’ requires 40% more material than a size ‘S’, should we not recognise that the costs would be a factor and prices and budgets are a factor. I am not certain that the argument is completely valid, but the facts are important here, as should the deeper search in this matter be.

So is Caroline Nokes correct that the inquiry on ‘the fashion industry is promoting unhealthy standards of beauty‘? I find for a partial no, because there is a factor that is actually worse and going for the least incriminating fact is just wrong! There might be a case that the industry is pushing for unhealthy work environment and unhealthy living requirements, which is another slice of cake altogether. Here we make the final step. I am referring to a 2010 paper called ‘Employment arrangements, work conditions and health inequalities‘ by Johannes Siegrist, Joan Benach, Abigail McKnight and Peter Goldblatt in collaboration with Carles Muntaner. (at https://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/employment-and-work-task-group-report/employment-and-work-task-group-full-report.pdf), so what happened to that paper, more important, why is it not getting a lot more exposure? The quote “First, specific employment and working conditions are associated with elevated risks of reduced physical and mental health, elevated sickness absence and disability pension risk. These conditions are found in the English workforce. Importantly, these associations are not confined to traditional occupational hazards and related occupational diseases and injuries, but include increased health risks attributable to insecure employment and an adverse psychosocial work environment” (page 41), I say that modelling is gets to move high up that list here.

So we have a need that is partially addressed, we have a group that is under protected and over exploited, in addition we see an ego based business continuing in its track. There is no real injustice from a legal point of view, but there is a growing inequality. We can think whatever we want regarding Charli Howard, yet there is a line under all this that is ignored. We (me inclusive) seem to mix emotion and cold facts. Toby Wiseman, editor of Men’s Health magazine phrases it perhaps best: “When discussing anorexia in fashion, the health argument sensibly prevails; when obesity comes into play, emotive arguments tend to take over”, this is part of the problem Caroline Nokes faces. This is not about my need for a 3XL polo and a nice pair of pants, there is an ego driven society that is starting to be more and more disabling towards the market they are not interested in.

Again, is this about me and my 3XL shirt? Perhaps it is just me and opening a ‘bigdude’ shop in Sydney is the beginning of my fortune. Apart from having a decent business sense, I have absolutely zero fashion sense (my work and university brothers can attest to that). In the end, it is the observation of a shortage and the fact that no one is acting on it. From the previous part we can see that apart from a bad sense of business, these fashion stores are catering to ego, which is not a crime, or wrong and as such, they should not be legislated against, no wrong is done.

This gets us to the last part in all this. Again, the outrage given is all emotional, when Katie Hopkins decided in her act of ‘fatshaming’, she did one thing the other ‘fatshamers’ never did. She gained 4 stones (28 Kg), only to prove she could lose it again. Of all places, this comes from the daily mail (I am now ignoring the foul taste in my mouth for mentioning them). The quote “Meanwhile, weight loss expert Steve Miller, who fronts TV show Fat Families, said Katie’s latest project shows a ‘shallow’ approach to weight loss and does not take into account the emotional mindset of those who struggle to lose weight“. I am not sure if I can agree with Steve Miller. At least Katie Hopkins is going that distance. Now, I will also consider that certain elements are ignored, but I will get to that. One quote that touches on this is “To try to define all those who are overweight as somehow lazy or lacking in will power does a huge disservice to the experts who have made tackling obesity their focus” (at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2740537/People-say-Youre-lucky-youre-skinny-Katie-Hopkins-piles-four-stone-overweight-people-fat-fault.html). Yet, there is something in the approach that Katie Hopkins takes. If she pulls it off, it means that sometimes we all need a harsh kick to our sizeable arses. I do believe her view is slightly too simplistic, yet in all this, there is also the issue with Steve Miller, some will see his view as exploitative. A long term ‘sandwich’ so to speak. I cannot vouch for his success of lack there off, but the less than 1% of the successes show a certain type. This does not make for his failure, but in equal measure it would not stop the success of Katie Hopkins. Perhaps they are two different sides of the same coin.

What started on a mere margin of fashion is now something larger, a mere supersized trip on a massive group of people (pun intended) where we see the shifting sands of enabling, the absence of enabling and the dangers if legislation gets too involved. The models might be on the other side of that equation. Yet when we try to visualise this (with http://www.bmivisualizer.com/), when we look at the BMI tool, set it to female and add the details of Charli Howard (173/50), we get a dangerous underweight. Now we get into the field that ‘Employment arrangements, work conditions and health inequalities‘ brings. People in this field are increasingly in danger of: Inhibited growth and development, fragile bones, a weakened immune system, anaemia and fertility issues. So, tell me, which model contract has been mentioning these dangers to the teenage working population? In addition, when we get her to the earliest healthy point, we see that 5Kg was all it takes, the other opposite of the scale tends to be well over 15Kg too much. The scales are more than unbalanced. Yet in all this, the official words of Caroline Nokes are not here. They were: “Legislation should be a last resort, but I’m conscious the fashion industry isn’t responding to calls for change, we would prefer a code of conduct, if we could feel confident it would be adhered to”, it is exactly the issues that I raised. On her site (http://carolinenokes.com/), additional information is found, the French position where models with an BMI under 18 are not allowed to work, the solution seems to work (check it with the BMI tool), even though the measure can be just under the bar, it is at all times minimal. If our lives are measured on health, perhaps starting with the limitation that only healthy models can participate, a change can begin that others will see a shift towards the leaner side of life. Whether the approach of Katie Hopkins holds any water remains to be seen. If we believe her words, than she is now the new Jesus. Well, that works nicely for me, because Father Clayton and Bishop Terry know that I work for ‘the’ other side, so as I serve Morax, I would enjoy nailing her to the nearest cross I can find (any of the wooden support beams of St. Pauls will do). Our heavenly father will forgive me, because that is what he does. How did religion get into this? Simple, you and me we must live through faith, in most cases merely the faith in ourselves (as my exams are showing me harshly) is the number one act that makes for change, in addition, we need to have a sense of humour, if you doubt that, than ask the guards at the Vatican whom I told I was ordered by the Bishop of Rome to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel White. As a true follower of the Cheshire cat, it seemed, in contrast to the queen of hearts that something needed to be painted, I decided a ceiling to be white. Let’s face it, after 510 years the IP of Michelangelo has lapsed, time for something new!

If you wonder now, why this step? Consider that the figure of absolutely not skinny was all the rage in 1500, so as we now find that part to be too offensive, let’s do away with all positive images that the Rubenesque age gave us. I will let you figure out the final puzzle that I left intertwined within the religious references.

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