Sub-edited

I was contacted by The Guardian yesterday to respond to a survey that suggested that fat celebrities are poor role models for obese teens. They said they wanted a 'spirited response' to the researcher in question. While I was writing it they got Susie Orbach to write a piece as well. Understandable as they weren't sure I would be up for it. Anyway I sent the piece as below. It was radically re-ordered and had a couple of my main points taken out of it as you might imagine. Ultimately I think it's wasn't what they wanted, and so made what they did want out of a few of my points. Just interesting from the point of view of how papers work. At no point was I contacted about the edit, or did anybody say, we're going to change it around, is that okay? I'm not pissed off at all, more fascinated by the process...

The unedited article follows...

‘Survey Says…’

A ‘survey’ conducted by Nuffield Health has stated that, obese celebrities such as James Corden and Beth Ditto provide ‘dangerous role models’. Consultant Professor Michael McMahon went on to say that “…viewers admire them and do not take their own weight as seriously as they should." That is certainly a point of view. However one should take this ‘survey’ with the customary pinch of salt, but you should probably go for a reduced sodium variety.

Such ‘surveys’ tend to posit something incendiary or ludicrous at the top of their press releases just to crowbar their way into the news cycle. The very fact that I am here responding to it in another newspaper would indicate that this ploy was a success. The central tenet is however, utter bollocks. People do not think its okay to be obese just because Beth Ditto is witty and talented.

We are constantly reminded how wrong it is for us to be obese. There is more information available on ‘the obesity crisis’ in the media than I can recall at any other time in my life. Paradoxically, the general pervasiveness of the perfect body in films and music and TV and advertising and marketing imagery is genuinely psychologically damaging and therefore an actual contributory factor to obesity. James Corden wobbling his gut in Matthew Horne’s face once a week, is not.

I have been overweight for most of my life and I have been aware that it’s a problem. But it is my problem thank you very much. I deal with it in my own way. I have never thought that my weight was permissible simply because I listened to Bad Manners or loved Jo Brand. My feeling is that if the popularity of Corden and Ditto can help to stop fat kids being picked on by their peers then they are performing a valuable service. A ‘survey’ like this is the kind of toss that sends people straight back to the fridge. The obesity crisis will only be solved by a radical overhaul of education, health and social policy, and certainly not by pinheaded inflammatory half arsed ‘surveys’ like this. Michael McMahon should be fucking ashamed of himself. Sorry, that was the fat talking…