Eat everything! Be happy! Live to the fullest — at your own risk

I recently made the mistake of commenting on Hillary Clinton’s weight. Oops. I had inadvertently committed that most grievous sin, known on Facebook as “fat shaming.”

Fat is not a four-letter word, but according to what I see on Facebook, women find it obscene. No one is going to tell them what to eat. Not the surgeon general. Not the American Cancer Society. And certainly not a lettuce-loving First Lady who dares to wear a sleeveless, form-fitting dress in January to show off her buff biceps.

At my monthly Scrabble game, I recently made the mistake of commenting on Hillary Clinton’s weight. I suggested that her extra long jackets weren’t camouflaging all the cheeseburgers (with fries) that had gone to her hips. Inserting my foot deeper into my esophagus, I remarked that she isn’t projecting a healthy image, especially after all that Michelle Obama has done to fight childhood obesity.

The women in my group pounced on me as if I had misspelled “onomatopoeia.”

“I don’t want to hear that!” said one, reaching for another slice of butter pecan coffee cake.

“Hillary looks good to me!” said another, passing around a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Oops. I had inadvertently committed that most grievous sin, known on Facebook as “fat shaming.” While medical research — and Oprah — try to encourage women to embrace a healthier, low-fat, lifestyle, there’s a highly vocal movement that wants women to be “okay” with those 30 or more extra pounds. Even if it kills them. Forget the other issues — equal pay, reproductive rights and access to healthcare — what American women really want is for everyone to just shut-up about their weight. Accept it. Love it.

Frankly, this confuses the hell out of me. I grew up with the feminist perspective on eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia), as well as believing that models in magazines portrayed the wrong image. Being too thin was dangerous. I was fine with that. But I don’t see how that translates into applauding women who have the opposite disorder. They eat more calories than their bodies can burn and, as a result, put themselves at high risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and kidney failure. At best, they can look forward to knee replacement surgery. They might as well be smoking two packs a day, sleeping in tanning beds, and shooting heroin.

Dog owners already know this. Fat dogs die early. Research has already shown that the best way to add years to a dog’s life is to feed it a low calorie diet. But that’s not what female bloggers want to hear. They’d rather post a recipe for bacon cupcakes.

How far has it gone? A Facebook community devoted to Keanu Reeves [Editor’s note: The Facebook page has since been removed.] recently posted a message attributed to the actor describing how a woman he knew was diagnosed with several types of cancer even though she had eaten a vegetarian diet, exercised regularly, avoided alcohol, never smoked, and didn’t spend time in the sun. He openly encouraged everyone to “enjoy life” and eat whatever they want. Why would he do that?

Well, for starters, he didn’t. Celebrities don’t actually post anything on Facebook. They have people who do that for them. Next, Reeves, who is 50, is desperate to reconnect with his fan base who first discovered him in “My Private Idaho,” 25 years ago. That means they are middle aged and, statistically, struggling with their body image. And now Reeves, apparently, has given them a reason to screw their doctor’s warnings and have another slice of cheesecake. As long as it makes them “happy.” Healthy eating and exercise will kill you just as quickly. Why bother?

Just for the record, I am not Facebook “friends” with Keanu Reeves. The banal posting was forwarded to me by an intelligent female friend who should know better.

Ironically, you won’t find glorification of unhealthy eating on the Facebook pages of anyone under 30. They are still busy going to the fitness center, doing Pilates and eating vegan. So I have to wonder: What is it about women over 50 that makes them reject everything they know to be true about diet and exercise? Yes, I am aware that metabolism changes as we age. And we can’t eat like teenagers when we’re older. It’s much harder to walk off dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I get that. But that still doesn’t explain why we have turned our national health crisis of obesity into a rallying cry for acceptance of “all body types.”

It isn’t that being fat is bad. Or shameful. It’s that it’s as dangerous as driving on I-95 with your eyes closed. Guess who’s paying for it? Not your insurance company. We all are. The CDC estimates that the medical care costs of obesity in America are between $147 billion and $210 billion per year. President Obama just pledged to cure cancer. But he’s not going to get very far if the women who are most at risk are in denial about the No. 1 risk factor. It’s what they put in their mouths.

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Clarification: The Facebook page devoted to Keanu Reeves has since been deleted. A previous version of this essay more strongly attributed the cancer story to the actor.