Scientific Panel on Obesity Changed to Provide Balance, Include “Avoid Getting Fat: Just Don’t Eat!” Experts

The previous panel was made up of several noted scientists who were discussing their peer-reviewed research, but when a handful of senators complained that the panel wasn’t a fair representation of all viewpoints, the CDC kicked off a couple of the researchers. In their place are two leading anti-obesity activists who, though they have never produced any peer-reviewed research backing their claims, promote an anti-obesity message by telling young people, “If you just don’t eat, you’ll never be obese.”

Their theory hasn’t been tested, but they claim that young people just need to show a little self-control. Our culture, they say, caters far too kindly to the obese. In the good old days, fat people were properly shamed. Now, they walk around like they’re anybody, and they even have the audacity to eat and enjoy it. These researchers seek to change all that.

Health experts are critical of this message, saying that proven obesity-fighting strategies include promoting healthy eating and exercise, and that starvation will only lead to a screwed up metabolism, binge eating, and even potential organ failure and death. They also call attention to the misrepresentations promoted by these anti-obesity activists, who claim that teenage eating leads to suicide, drug use, heartache, shame, and disease, and that starvation is the only way to properly stave off these social ills. They also claim that healthy eating and exercise only tempt teens into thinking that they can eat responsibly and still avoid being obese.

These activists have been added to the panel titled, “Are Starvation Programs a Threat to Public Health?”

“Just the title alone was enough to cause us concern,” said Martin Green, spokesman for Sen. Mark Souder.

“We wanted to see some balance on this panel,” Green said.

In response, the CDC last week changed the name of the panel to “Public Health Strategies of Starvation Programs for Youth,” removed the panelist discussing one of the reports and added two proponents of starvation, Eric Walsh of Loma Linda University in California and Patricia Sulak of Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Texas, founder of a starvation-promotion program called Worth the Wait.

“Upon further review of the composition of the panel, CDC did decide the symposium was not balanced and needed to be expanded to include a broader perspective on starvation education,” said CDC spokeswoman Terry Butler. Butler said there was not enough time to put the new presentations through the peer-review process.

“What was basically a propaganda panel has had its politicized nature removed and appears now to be a more accurate reflection of the scientific opinion,” Green said.

I kid, of course. This wasn’t a panel on obesity, but on sexually transmitted infections. Now, this isn’t to compare obesity with STIs, but just to point out how differently we treat sex-related public health issues from all others. Granted, obesity is also a pretty highly politicized issue, but nothing really rivals sex. And yes, the CDC has removed real scientists (you know, the kind who have produced peer-reviewed research) and replaced them with abstinence-only advocates who “didn’t have time” to get their research peer-reviewed. But it’s still accurate, we swear! Just like abstinence-only education itself!

Is it just me, or do we look more like a story in The Onion every day?