America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments

A new documentary by Darryl Roberts that explores why we have an unhealthy obsession with dieting in America and who benefits from selling us the thin is healthy ideal.

• Category

  Film & Animation

[robertsyah]

You can now go to the website and get dates for upcoming screenings. Thanks for your support.  Darryl

[Naturebound]

I think a lot of commenters are missing the point of this video. It isnt about fat acceptance or the perfect body. It's about learning to love the body you have. Once you start doing this, treating your body with dignity and giving it what it needs, your health will fall into place. The diet industry wants us to believe they have the solution to our ills ($), while at the same time our food industry is run by monocorporations that could care less about your health. Thin isnt everything...

[Naturebound]

I wish I had never fallen into this obsession with weight loss and dieting. Once you are pulled in its impossibly hard to let go of. You are reminded of it daily around every corner and everyone is talking about losing weight. And in your mind, even when you are 89 lbs and 5'6" you will always be too fat. Even when you exercise 2 hours a day it won't be enough.

[n13rvert]

Proof, please. a) that being "overweight" is unhealthy. Everything i've read over the past 25 years on the subject says people currently called "overweight" are the healthiest, and "normal" and "obese" people are neck & neck. (The thinnest people are at the greatest risk of premature death.) And exercise, i.e. getting off one's butt, results in less than five pounds worth of weight change (that's from the Univ. of Minnesota, the Cooper Aerobics Inst. & Leeds University. Where're your @@ from?)

[n13rvert]

Ketosis happens only when ALL CARBOHYDRATES are restricted. Go back and reread your sources. (And, not by the way, the failure rate for low-carb diets is exactly the same as for any other weight "loss" attempt -- less than half a percent of people maintain any weight "loss" after four years. Everybody winds up less healthy and at greater risk for heart disease and diabetes due to the yoyo weight cycling.

[n13rvert]

Proof? No anecdotes. All links must lead to stuff written by or citing all those PhD MD types. (For proof you're absolutely wrong, read the entirety of the JunkFood Science blog -- MDs and PhDs all over the place..."

[n13rvert]

I agree with everything but your claim that accepting your body can happen without fat acceptance. Maybe it won't necessarily be your fat you're accepting, but if you can't accept fat people as a normal part of the world, then everything falls away. You're demanding that other people make themselves ill, and shorten their lives, and ruin their lives, just to conform to a weird, unhealthy "health." Some of us, when we treat our bodies with dignity, and give ourselves what we need, STAY FAT.

[poisenivy08]

Perhaps just being sedentary is bad for you? The documentary shows a handful of overweight people who also exercise, and though they were overweight, they had no other health issues. It is the sedentary fat people who are suffering from everything. Maybe, I'm no doctor but this is what I observed in the documentary.

[redcarsroc]

And what if I'm fat and perfectly healthy? No health problems, perfectly fine. You have no right to tell anyone what they're health is based upon their appearance.

The purpose of this film is drowning in these shortsighted comments.

[frankvonfrauner]

Diets DO work. Just not the starvation shit.

[a999op]

TinaTiny I don't think you read my comment. You want people to look at the scale 20 times a day. Skinny people can be just as unhealthy than fat people and you know it. I do mean may not. Just a warning to you, nobody likes a judgemental brat like you. Support eating disorders. I did read your comment and I'm trying to say losing weight shouldn't be the main focus on health but eating healthy and exercising should be the focus not what is on the scale. I'm not the stupid one you are.

[a999op]

Thank you. But no actually I just wanted to see if you got saw the comment. I hope you did.

[JonBall44]

Ever heard of ketosis?

I don't know about any "industries" but ketosis isn't a set plan. It's a plan of basically when to eat and how much. Doesn't restrict you from anything that isn't junk food though.