Why It May Be Counterproductive to Say 'Overweight'
A proposed linguistic change could temper a cultural obsession with body weight.
Have you ever stepped on a bathroom scale and thought, This must be off. I’ve been blasting my core, and sleeping, and eating perfectly. Why am I not losing weight? I’m getting rid of this scale.
So you throw the scale in the trash? But then you get it out, because it was a gift? (Who gives a person a scale?)
That sort of sequence—so familiar—could be the result of the common misconception that body weight is the fundamental, ineffable metric of health. There are industries built around the idea, billboards and books and potions sold to advance the cause: Losing weight means we’re getting healthier, and gaining
