The subject of Ashley Graham covering Sports Illustrated continues to concern people who want the right (slimmer,) sort of role model for young girls.
Here’s what people are saying amid all this fanfare about Ashley Graham’s medically threatening hotness.
Former member of Parliament Edwina Currie decided she was obese and on the fast track to diabetes.
Former source of unintentional comedy: Nicole Abour did what she did with Dear Fat People 2.
Former Sports Illustrated model, Cheryl Tiegs said: “Actually, I don’t like it that we’re talking about full-figured women because it’s glamorizing them and your waist should be smaller than 35 [inches]. That’s what Dr. Oz said, and I’m sticking to it. No, I don’t think it’s healthy. Her face is beautiful. Beautiful. But I don’t think it’s healthy in the long run.”
Cheryl fine tuned her helpful remarks later in a now deleted Twitter post, but it was stillllll weight policing based on assumptions all in the name of making sure women have a shot at living a long prosperous life. Thanks for invoking the authority on all things health-related–the great and powerful Dr. Oz, who as it happens isn’t in the same camp as all the people who believe midsections are key health deciders.
Anyway, because we truly want the Tiegs-meister, HRH Edwina, and an internet celebrity to have a decent night’s sleep, let’s actually look at some people who had actual contact with Ashley’s body.
Just last November, Dr. Jennifer Ashton (Good Morning America’s own,) and a Crunch trainer put Ashley Graham to the test on the tube along with a model who wears a size 2 and doesn’t live as hard as Ashley exercise-wise. The show gave her an actual diabetes screening, a cholestorol test, squat assessment, and treadmill test, and reportedly, Ashley Graham fared totally well. Total shocker: the model pumps iron and eats clean. Bloodwork checked out normal, and she performed well at the gym. (This was for a well-intentioned TV special about health myths tied up in fat phobia that moms need to see, so you decide how much you trust it, but at least he was a real doctor who did medical things with Ashley.)
See for yourself. Obviously the show did not tell everyone what her blood pressure was — like everything else between a woman and her doctor–but here’s a full general statement below, from Dr. Jennifer Ashton, one of an increasing number of medical experts who say BMI is not the full picture.
When we, as physicians, assess someone’s risk for heart disease and other consequences of overweight or obesity, we should be looking at numerous medical factors. Some of these elements are under a person’s control, and some are not. These include whether or not a person smokes, their family history, their lifestyle, their weight, BMI, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, blood pressure, cholesterol numbers, and whether or not they have insulin resistance, pre diabetes or diabetes. It is critical to remember that external appearances are but one way in which we assess someone’s heath status; a thin person can have high blood pressure and cholesterol and be at risk for heart disease just as a person with a BMI in the overweight range can have ideal ‘numbers.’ and be at average risk for heart disease. Bottom line: weight does matter, but it is far from the only factor that determines health. It is always medically recommended to live a healthy lifestyle which includes not smoking, clean eating, and daily exercise- regardless of your weight or BMI.
And if you don’t buy a doctor, here’s Beth Ditto disproving weight assumptions in bed with Iskra.
Do we still need to say this? Apparently so.