Daily Archives: December 1, 2015

Fat-Shaming on the London Underground

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They come every year around this time, as reliably as the chilling of the air and the preponderance of red coffee cups: the public-relations pitches, bedecked in exclamation points and cheer, offering expert tips on how to fight the holiday weight, or win the battle of the bulge, or stay svelte through New Year’s. If I had a nickel for every email in my inbox right now exhorting me to put down the pie, I’d have enough money to buy myself several more pies. Not the grocery-store brand, either. The fancy bakery kind.

‘Tis the season, in other words, to make some strangers feel bad about their bodies. Over the weekend, some people in London, purportedly from a group called Overweight Haters Ltd., took that to heart:

Kara Florish, an employee of the U.K.’s National Health Service, tweeted on Saturday that someone had handed her the card while she was riding the London Underground.Here’s the back:According to the BBC, London Transport is encouraging any riders who see the cards being distributed to notify the police.

Fat Thanks to Ketul P. for the tip!

Source: Fat-Shaming on the London Underground – CityLab

Type 2 diabetes can be cured through weight loss, Newcastle University finds

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Millions of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes could be cured of the disease if they just lost weight, a new study suggests.

Scientists at Newcastle University have shown the disease is caused by fat accumulating in the pancreas and losing less than one gram from the organ can reverse the life-limiting illness and restore insulin production.

Type 2 diabetes affects 3.3 million people in England and Wales and, until now, was thought to be chronic. It can lead to blindness, stroke, kidney failure and limb amputation.

“For people with Type 2 diabetes, losing weight allows them to drain excess fat out of the pancreas and allows function to return to normal”
Professor Roy Taylor, Newcastle University

But now researchers at Newcastle have shown that the disease can be reversed, even in obese people who have had the condition for a long time.

18 obese people with Type 2 diabetes who were given gastric band surgery and put on a restricted diet for eight weeks were cured of their condition. During the trial the patients, aged between 25 and 65, lost an average of 2.2 stone, which was around 13 per cent of their body weight. Crucially they also lost 0.6 grams of fat from their pancreas, allowing the organ to secrete normal levels of insulin.

Source: Type 2 diabetes can be cured through weight loss, Newcastle University finds