There's a fat acceptance group here in Tampere called Iloiset syöjättäret (happy eaters - syöjätär has some archaic "temptress" meaning too). I recently heard of it, and I was thinking of joining, but on second thought, nevermind. I much prefer the blogosphere. Apparently there is no strong resistance movement in Finland, because their ideas don't seem to be particularly revolutionary.
In an article in Helsingin Sanomat, February 2007, which can be found here but only in Finnish (but do look at the pictures of fatties with FACES!), psychologist Lea Polso from Iloiset syöjättäret is interviewed about obesity. So it starts by her saying that dieting doesn't work and people gain the weight back. So far, so good. But then...
Polso agrees that obesity is a growing problem. She thinks that too easy solutions and explanations are offered for it.
"A growing problem"? Did she really say that? I mean, at this point, I could believe that the writer added "problem" while Polso just agreed there are more overweight people than before, or something. I also like the part about too easy explanations. But then it goes downhill, when Polso starts trying to explain away obesity. I mean, I'm glad her own solutions and explanations are so complex and in-depth. Her theory:
Partially it is societal issues that make people prone to gaining weight, Polso explains. The food envinronment has become dangerous for health: there is a constant supply of everything, in big packages at that. Less and less daily basic exercise is available. The slim-emphasizing beauty ideal creates pressure. A busy lifestyle also makes one prone to gaining weight.
Ugh. OK, points for saying the beauty ideals contribute to the "problem", but the rest of that is just your typical "Finnish newspaper article about obesity" bull to my ears. Having everything in a constant supply is dangerous for our health? I thought we need a constant supply of a wide variety of nutrients. Finland the way it was in the 1950's, for example, was a great place to become undernourished. Long winter, short season for cultivating things, poor finances after the last war, et cetera. Now we live in a culture where we can finally eat everything, and as a result, we're taller than before, have less scurvy and such, and yes, we weigh somewhat more. I'll never get used to people complaining about a good food supply. Obviously it's caused more good things than bad.
The big package sizes are a pet peeve of mine, because I live alone and eat alone, and my food comsuption is relatively small. Even with single-serving meals, I tend to have some leftovers, but with a package of five chicken legs, I might only eat two. It doesn't stop me from buying the whole package if it's the only one in store and I really want chicken legs. However, I can't stuff that many of them in me, so I just end up throwing the rest out. I'm not sure if the big package sizes really lead to people eating more or if they just lead to more bio-degradable waste. And as we all know, fat people have no exercise, right?
"People are going at full speed, and there's no time to listen to yourself. Many people lose touch with their inner selves, and it's difficult to deal with one's emotions. Some people eat because they're hungry for life," Polso explains.
I'm not sure about this. I mean, it sounds like a reasonable enough idea, but it also sounds deceptively like armchair psychology. I know she's an actual psychologist, but does she have to throw around phrases like "one's inner self" and "a hunger for life"? It's all very vague, and it's hard to tell what this is based on. Even if this theory were true, it doesn't follow that:
a) all fat people have this problem;
b) everyone who eats "junk food" or eats "too much" is out of touch with their inner self;
c) people who have their eating "under control" are, by default, doing much better mentally (from what I've seen, one of the best ways to stay out of touch with one's emotions seems to be frantic dieting).
So we're dealing with fairly annoying generalizations here, and still trying to explain why people are fat, instead of asking why we think fat is a bad thing. I think this is the biggest problem with this entire article. I mean, it continues with a photographer saying that obesity is like climate change - "you don't do anything about it until you have to". I know he's talking about men, but dude. Come back when you've talked to some fat women. And chubby women. And slim women. The whole article seems to be skating around definitions that are never really discussed. How is obesity being defined? Is it true that we are all getting fatter all of a sudden? Does lifestyle really play a role in everyone's weight? What do the latest studies say? Well, this journalist (whose name I can't find anywhere on the page) obviously didn't think to ask.
Back to our "fat acceptant" psychologist, who apparently has found a way to make people lose weight without making them diet.
Many people lose weight, once they learn to understand the needs and feelings related to dieting. Polso is the leader of the Tampere-based Happy eater-groups where people practice this. It's common that people find a certain phase in their life that their weight gain is related to.
If people need to discuss their relationship with food, and they find a place to do that, then good for them. But there already are groups like this that don't advertise themselves as fat acceptance groups. I'd like to ask what the difference is between a group like this and a group where people diet together. Because what I see in this article is a group where, while discrimination against fat people is discussed, a certain idea of eating is still upheld as "normal". I'd also like to point out that discrimination is also discussed at Weight Watchers meetings.
To be honest, I'm not convinced that all people need a "conscious" relationship with food. My whole life, I've strived to have a relationship with food where I can eat it, enjoy it, and skip thinking too much about it. I think I'm healthier, happier and more productive when I don't think too much about food, and I think most people already have a problem with focusing on food too much. We don't need more of that.
Why is it that every single Finnish person I know, even the ones who are pretty fat acceptant and/or don't believe in dieting, still think fatness is a problem? There really is zero fat acceptance talk in the Finnish media. It's all "Yes, it's a problem but", or "it's a misunderstood problem". This whole article says, "Not enough is being done to help fat people", "Fat people are misunderstood by others", but sadly also "Fat people have a problem with food". Over and over again.
Am I the first Finnish person to say BEING FAT IS NOT A PROBLEM? Well, it isn't.
And I refuse to treat it as such.
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