weight a minute*...

*I cannot fully take credit for this term. Commenter Amaitrejean in the ABC News article had it in the beginning of his or her comment and I was unsure if it was deliberate of not. In any case, I thought it was cute and oh so appropriate. So I had to use it and give credit where it was due. I would hate to be accused of "swagger jacking".

I’ve made other posts about weight that did not make the final cut for all eyes to see. But after I started writing about the Surgeon General nominee Regina Benjamin, I decided to throw in some other weight experiences I’ve had in the past few months.

So earlier, someone sent me this article which discusses opposing views on the appropriateness (geez, this word has been haunting me for the last week or so) of President Obama's Surgeon General nomination of Dr. Regina Benjamin of AL. Apparently, despite a long list of degrees, several awards, and unprecedented compassion in her medical practice, some people that think she is unfit (no pun intended) for the position because she is overweight/obese by the Body Mass Index standard. On the other hand, others feel that her weight is totally irrelevant and that this would probably help in her relating to what the average American goes through and may have more insight into what they need.

I could see how people have a point about receiving health information and guidelines from someone they are assuming does not follow them. However, the problem with this view is that they are a few assumptions: a) she is not trying to maintain a decent weight or b) she lives an unhealthy lifestyle or c) she doesn’t have any other condition (maybe hypothyroidism) that may influence her weight or d) her weight would influence her decisions for public health. Furthermore, according the Office of the Surgeon General, “The Surgeon General serves as America's chief health educator by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.” So, she is an advocate for health that gives prescriptions based on science, not her weight or lifestyle.

I’m not trying to make an excuse for her or others in a similar position, but in the job description weight or any other appearance factors are not included. Yes, inherent in the position is that one be a role model of healthy living, but that does not prohibit her from looking into the science behind these studies and seeing if they work for the people. Moreover, she may be in a perfect position in knowing what works as well as an ideal public figure that can go through a journey of becoming healthier (if she is not currently). I admit that a message of health coming from someone who looked like her would throw me off initially, but if I saw the people who she has helped have good results, I would give her a try. I think America could give her a try. From what I’ve seen, she is the first SG that doesn’t have a military background since 1982. Maybe she can lend a refreshing view to things. So instead of looking at her appearance and making a judgment, let’s see what she can do. But even then, how relevant is her weight.

On the hair tip, I am now more willing to give a consultant without SLs a try if they have other clients with great results.