Title (as given to the record by the creator): Fat Watch
Date(s) of creation: May 1997
Creator / author / publisher: Sondra Solo, FaT GiRL
Physical description: One page with multiple areas of text
Reference #: FG7-014-FatWatch
Links:  [ PDF ]

Fat Watch

What Worries You?

“What worries the president … is that he may gain weight.” 

—Whitehouse spokesperson explaining President Clinton’s concerns about recovering from his serious knee surgery. 

“My dream is to walk on the street and not be noticed.”

—Jerry Poole, candidate for Dr. Mal Fobi’s $20,000 to $40,000 obesity surgery. Dr. Fobi’s technique involves “permanently reconfiguring” the digestive organs so the subject can eat no more than what would fit inside a pouch the size of a small egg. 

“Anxiety is worrying about getting your waist back after having twins.” 

—Jane Seymar for Loving Care

“There are just no facilities for a woman my size.” 

—Talk show guest, explaining the anxiety she deals with when leaving her home on Jerry Springer’s show My Wife Weighs 900 Pounds. 

“237 pounds, 237 pounds, is in my head as I walked up. “

—Oprah Winfrey, explaining what was going through her head when she won her Emmy. She had been hoping that Phil Donohue would win instead so she could hide in her seat. Despite the Emmy, she says she would have quit her job to find the “answer” to losing weight. 

A New Suit 

A former Michigan factory manager is suing because of harassment about his weight. His com­pany admitted that they offered him $5,000 if he would lose 70 pounds. Among other things, he claims that his boss humili­ated him by making him do jumping jacks during office meetings. 

A Fat Virus Which Spreads Like HIV?

Be careful: Fat may be contagious! say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-­Madison. Professor Richard Atkinson’s team contends that adenovirus 36, transmitted through the air and person to person contact, causes obesity in animals. They tested 154 obese people and 45 thin people and found that 15% of the fat people had antibodies to Ad­Fat 36 while none of the thin people did. They claim that they took into account characteristics like family history of obesity, and that the only important differentiating factor between the groups was the presence of the antibodies. Calling their results the first demonstrated link between obesity and a human virus, Atkinson likened the spread of obesity to AIDS saying, “This increase is the type of pattern that might occur with a new infectious disease, as has been seen with the AIDS virus.” They have already received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to pay for more research. While proof of a biological basis for fat would ensure that ‘infected’ fat people got protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it could also lead to massive social or physical ostracism for fat people. 

And the Winner is…

From their location in the sound proof booth, neither 1997 Miss USA Pageant finalist could hear George Hamilton read the final question: “Miss Universe has recently been the subject of a lot of press attention about her weight. If this hap­pened to you, how would you handle it?” 

MISS TENNESSEE: “(Sigh) Well, I think it’s very important to try to be your best self. Um, no matter if you’re Miss Universe or, or what arena that you’re working in. And if l were faced with a situation like that I would try to be my best self. If, um, there isn’t a weight restriction- as far as I am aware of, and, uh, I would just try to (pause) probably lose the weight. I would, I would try to be healthy and, um, handle it in a very healthy way.” (Audience cheers.) 

MISS HAWAII: I would take a good hard look at myself and I’d look from the inside out and I’d know that I was the same girl that was crowned that day and it really didn’t matter what I looked like on the outside (audience bursts into raucous cheering) because I won for what I was in here. So if I go up, I go down, I get taller, I get shorter, my nose gets bigger, smaller, (audience still cheering) I am still who I was when that crown was on my head and I am a good representative no matter what.” (Audience re-cheers.) 

MISS IDAHO: “Well, I think it’s difficult for any woman to handle weight fluctuations and we all have to deal with that at certain times in our life. But I feel Miss Universe won for a certain reason. I, I saw the young woman compete who won. And she was amazing. She had a inner beauty that came through. (crowd cheers) You can look at someone to a point, but it’s something that comes from inside and that’s the woman who won the title and so I feel the children that meet with this woman, that’s the person they love. It’s not what she looks like, it’s the inner beauty.” (Audience cheers.) 

In case you are interested, Second Runner Up was Miss Tennessee and First Runner Up was Miss Idaho. Assisting with the crowning transformation from Miss Hawaii to Miss USA 1997 was Miss Universe herself, Alicia Machado. 

Although Miss Universe believes she looks good, Donald Trump has hired a personal trainer to help her lose weight. 

Compiled by Sondra Solo with many thanks to this issue’s FatWatch Clippers- The Magnificent Marilyn Wann and the Fantastic SM South Household. You, too, can be one of the elite FatWatch Clippers- Just send fat-related stories or quotes to FaTGiRL, attn. Sondra, 2215-R Market St., #197 SF, CA 94114 or email solo@sirius.com