Anthea Turner - fat shaming and disablist (covid)

[FTMF30]

So Anthea Turner has felt the wrath of pretty much everyone for her recent Tweet. Very silly of her, being someone in the public eye.

I felt she was trying to make a valid point but failed terribly with that offensive cartoon. And what did she mean with the caption "Go for it"?
www.google.com/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/anthea-turner-twitter-fat-shaming-covid-face-mask-b919526.html%3famp

I sort of get it. I think she was trying to make a point and it came out badly.

Up until Covid, I never saw my weight as a problem. Now, it absolutely limits my life choices.

I've lost two stone (now just overweight, not obese) and I'm desperately trying to lose another two. I never wanted to be thin before. I've changed my mind.

If you're fat and you don't see Covid as a massive wake up call, you need to give yourself a shake. And I say that as a fellow fattie.

@notprofessionallyoffended

I sort of get it. I think she was trying to make a point and it came out badly.

Up until Covid, I never saw my weight as a problem. Now, it absolutely limits my life choices.

I've lost two stone (now just overweight, not obese) and I'm desperately trying to lose another two. I never wanted to be thin before. I've changed my mind.

If you're fat and you don't see Covid as a massive wake up call, you need to give yourself a shake. And I say that as a fellow fattie.

I agree about the wake-up call. But I don't think a horrible tweet from Anthea Turner is going to make people wake up and she was really foolish to do that.

If "she" is me then ta !

The fact is old Anthea has fat and potentially disability shamed... as other posters have pointed out she's had a very negative attitude to overweight people in the past.

If you all want to blame obese people for the strain on our NHS crack on but it's most certainly not as simple as that.

And I always say this on these threads - a lot of people are obese now because they gave up smoking. We've swapped one health issue for another.

It wasn't headline news before because people expected to live to 70/75 not 85/90.

Ha ! "She" is anthea!

Dear me

I don't think she was trying to make any point beyond scoring a cheap shot by mocking people she thinks are beneath her.

@Tinacollada

What's your point Worra?

Obviously people had and have choice

Blaming certain groups of the population is so easy. Hope none of you and yo a get it.
Ps I'm thin

Do keep up.

My 'point' was adding to the answer to the question So where were all the morbidly obese people in the 70s and 80s? to which a PP replied...

They were there but there were fewer of them as fast food and take aways barely existed.

And yes, most people have a choice whether they want to consume too many calories.

Another example is mass information about nutrition. It would be easy for a comms. team to knock up an infograph to be cicrulated widely about how we can get nutritious-rich foods on a budget.

Do you think ignorance about nutrition is a significant driver of obesity? (I mean this as a genuine, not rhetorical question).

Also in the 80s work became much less physical as we moved away from heavy industry. Plus in the home we started to have washing machines, dishwashers, fridges etc so less housework.

Plus some of those people in the 70s are the parents of future fatter generations so by your logic they are also responsible despite not necessarily being obese themselves?

The saddest sight is seeing fat kids with their obese parents. They kind of had no chance other than to be fat.

@LApprentiSorcier

Another example is mass information about nutrition. It would be easy for a comms. team to knock up an infograph to be cicrulated widely about how we can get nutritious-rich foods on a budget.

Do you think ignorance about nutrition is a significant driver of obesity? (I mean this as a genuine, not rhetorical question).

I'm not just talking about obesity. I'm talking about health in general. Which relates back to why the cartoon shared by Anthea is problematic. It's focus is solely on poor health in the obese with a general tone to it about why people are obese. When actually, there are many ways people have poor health and do not/ can not/ aren't properly aware of how they can significantly take care of themselves. I agreed with the comment she made about the government, not the personal finger pointing of the cartoon.

In terms of obesity, I don't think ignorance is a significant driver, but could be a cause for some.

Each and everyone of us is responsible for our own body. I am diabetic and yes, probably 2 stones overweight. Not good. I have a good balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit + veg. Have the odd treat now + then. No harm. Dont do much on the exercise due to orsteo-arthritis in permanently left swollen painful ankle. Knee + hip joints. Wish I could do more. But still alive at least. She should keep her opinions to just doing her cleaning recommendations + writing in the My Weekly magazine. No-one can have the perfect body. She could have expressed her thoughts in a different manner.

[quote wowier]@FTMF30 so how would you tackle the core issues of education from an early age & the reliance on antidepressants when schools aren't open & one can't see a GP?

I fully agree the gov can & should do more, I'm just not sure they can tackle the real grassroots of obesity during a pandemic & the associated lockdowns. [/quote]
@wowier Well, as I mentioned with government funding, there wouldn't need to be a reliance on antidepressants if CCGs had more funds to commission support services. A region I am working in is sending out a lot of communication to the public about other health services available, not just GPs (removing the need for GP referralsin the first place). But in some regions, the wider support services aren't there - a problem with government funding. The government have shown through their exposed cronyism (e.g track and trace fiasco) that there are funds to be released but they aren't doing it responsibly. They have been exposed in overspending on incompetent friends and associates.

It's not just about obesity. It's about health. Good health is an ESSENTIAL factor in being able to fight disease outside reliance on medical intervention. This is an urgent time to fund the promotion of good health. So the excuse of it not being a good time is a terrible one imo. How many people are going to become depressed, anxious, overweight, even suicidal due to the measures we currently have in place? Good health is robust and sustainable mitigation against the pandemic (alongside other measures) but it just seems to be scoffed at. We're really failing as a society when we can't see how essential good health is for so many reasons - one being to protect the NHS, which the government keep banging on about.

I wonder about the volume of advertising for things like Deliveroo and Just Eat as it seems to normalise fast food as an everyday choice. Should it be more restricted or include a health warning similar to the 'drink responsibly' warnings on ads for alcohol?

@FTMF30 I don't think you understand my point. How do people access these support services during the pandemic?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/01/covid-antidepressant-use-at-all-time-high-as-access-to-counselling-in-england-plunges

I agree with her.

From the article

"Calls to mental health helplines and prescriptions for antidepressants have reached an all-time high, while access to potentially life-saving talking therapies has plunged during the coronavirus pandemic, a Guardian investigation has found"

So basically mental health problems have gone up but access to alternative provision has reduced & waiting lists have increased but you think this could have been reversed?

Like I said you need to be realistic.

[quote wowier]@FTMF30 I don't think you understand my point. How do people access these support services during the pandemic?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/01/covid-antidepressant-use-at-all-time-high-as-access-to-counselling-in-england-plunges[/quote]
I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make as the link you have provided illustrates points I have made perfectly.

You have said there's not much the government can do during the pandemic but they could provide better funding to mitigate challenges the pandemic has presented. Specifically comms. along with being sensible about the rules and regulations put in place.

Two factors the article mentioned as being possible causes for lack of referrals to mental health services. One was that online talk therapies weren't appealing and the other being that people didn't want to be burdensome to the NHS. Obvious things the government could do is allow for face to face talk therapies to continue. For a lengthy period, 30+ kids were allowed to be crammed into a classroom, sometimes with no windows. Key workers are urged to continue to work. People still get tubes and buses. Nurseries remain open. What's the risk factor of two people being in a room, sat a distance apart with an open window in comparison to those things?

Alternatively, advertise online talk therapies to ensure they are more appealing. Create an FAQ section in a leaflet, on a website, etc. that can allay apprehensions of using the service.

The other regarding perceived burden to the NHS is a massive annoyance for me. All comms. have been about protecting the NHS and fighting covid. It's narrow-minded and short-sighted. Some people simply aren't being signposted to other health services. Communication about this has dipped because it's been pretty much all about covid in the past 12months. There's been no real push to strengthen our mental health service and create a robust infrastructure that can support the covid crisis. Which is what it will do, rather than getting in the way of it.

In short, people aren't able to easily access these services because they are not informed about the multiple ways they are accessible or, in many areas, they are not available. This is the fault of the government. The pandemic is not an excuse. It's a reason to implement better infrastructure and communication.

@wowier

From the article

"Calls to mental health helplines and prescriptions for antidepressants have reached an all-time high, while access to potentially life-saving talking therapies has plunged during the coronavirus pandemic, a Guardian investigation has found"

So basically mental health problems have gone up but access to alternative provision has reduced & waiting lists have increased but you think this could have been reversed?

Like I said you need to be realistic.

Access to alternative provision has reduced due to funding. The government could provide funding, but they won't. Thry fund their friends/associates for made up/inadequate jobs and projects instead. You are making excuses for them saying the pandemic is not a good time to look into health services. I disagree.

You are making excuses for them saying the pandemic is not a good time to look into health services.

No I'm not making excuses for them I'm being realistic.

I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make as the link you have provided illustrates points I have made perfectly.

No it doesn't because as you say

One was that online talk therapies weren't appealing and the other being that people didn't want to be burdensome to the NHS. Obvious things the government could do is allow for face to face talk therapies to continue.

Which illustrates my point perfectly.

I'm not making an argument about whether GP appointments or other therapies should be happening. The point is they are not & haven't been!!
So we agree they are not happening I assume? Right well there's my point right there. 🤦🏻‍♀️

@wowier

You are making excuses for them saying the pandemic is not a good time to look into health services.

No I'm not making excuses for them I'm being realistic.

I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make as the link you have provided illustrates points I have made perfectly.

No it doesn't because as you say

One was that online talk therapies weren't appealing and the other being that people didn't want to be burdensome to the NHS. Obvious things the government could do is allow for face to face talk therapies to continue.

Which illustrates my point perfectly.

I'm not making an argument about whether GP appointments or other therapies should be happening. The point is they are not & haven't been!!
So we agree they are not happening I assume? Right well there's my point right there. 🤦🏻‍♀️

You're arguement wasn't just about services not hsppening. Your aguement further upthread was that we basically shouldn't expect better reaonable healthcare provision and comms. due to the pandemic. It's unrealistic according to you. That's what I disagree about.

You're arguement wasn't just about services not hsppening

Yes it was.

Your aguement further upthread was that we basically shouldn't expect better reaonable healthcare provision and comms. due to the pandemic

No you later brought general healthcare into it. I only have made the point specifically around the obesity crisis which as I said involves grassroots change & multiple different provisions which will likely take a number of years.
As others have repeatedly mentioned the vast majority of people are aware that eating less & moving more is the key. It's the application of that message that people struggle with.

You can disagree but don't try & twist my posts when my stance hasn't changed.

I'm sure the below could be done.

Why not arrange a TV show for home excercises, 5 minute excercises, convenient excercises, etc?

Another example is mass information about nutrition. It would be easy for a comms. team to knock up an infograph to be cicrulated widely about how we can get nutritious-rich foods on a budget.

I mean Joe Wicks was the nations PE teacher however I just don't think that's the way to treat obesity.

She is too sloppy for my liking. Lots of other ways to express her point and encourage debate without dragging a stereotype of an obese disabled women eating McDonald's into it.

And yes, when someone is so overweight they can't walk, they are disabled. A young girl I knew suffered anorexia and needed a wheelchair because she was tube fed. I felt as sorry for her as I do someone who is killing themselves with food.

Also the young woman in the cartoon should be wearing a mask, she is being a dick.

Bloody sloppy, cheap attempt at grabbing headlines Anthea.