Fchet I know few people care, but...

what about those who are thinner than the ideal? Would we get more poison than our systems can handle?

I hate to be the one that breaks it to you but if you are "thin" you are unhealthy and will probably die of anorexia in the next few months anyways. You of course are a bad influence to young girls. You should not be allowed to have certain jobs because you are such a bad influence. And you are mocking fat people and are selfish by just posing the question because how dare a skinny person care about their health and well caring about anything but the feelings of the fat who are actually really healthy and it is the mean doctors that kill them. Or so I understand from reading Broadsheet and Kate specifically.

But to answer your question based mostly on layperson knowledge and a very small medical education mostly from interacting with doctors there is nothing you should be worried about as they base it muscle mass. Consult your doctor for a better and more correct answer.

Bud To me, this reads more like a reflexive defend-the-fat-women-at-any-cost screed than a serious piece of reporting. Who "took" this "lesson"? Who made this judgment, supposedly? Who "blamed" the patients? Apparently, nobody. So why is the author inventing this out of whole cloth?

It's not just you that reads it that way but everyone not in the fat women at any cost camp. Kate has a history with this.

Here are the answers to your question though.

Big mean skinny doctors that want to punish fat people.

I think the author will do a much better job of defending women in general if she either stays away from scientific topics for a while, or at least bothers to do actual research and reporting on them the next time she takes them on.

Don't hold your breath. I have repeatably begged Broadsheet in general and Kate specifically to do some damn reporting when it comes to science. They can not be bothered to pick up a phone and call the subject of the story or an expert in the field to get their take let alone read the actual study. All they do is read an article about the subject, cherry pick quotes that suits their politics while ignoring anything that goes against their politics.

Gavin T Did you read the paper (the source you link to hasn't even managed to copy the medical journal name correctly from the press release)? You may not be a doctor but these questions could all be answered with a couple of phone calls - you know, some basic journalism.

No she did not read the study. She never does and despite getting called out on it she appears she never will.

Maybe you think doctors should just keep quiet about it to spare the poor dears' feelings and let them die ignorant and happy.

She does believe that and has stated the same in previous Salon articles along with her website.

A Big Old Geek Actually for many fields a fellowship is multi-year. Someone close to me is a pediatric oncologist. She did four years med school after undergrad, three years residency as a pediatrician, three years as a fellow in pediatric oncology and hematology and soon one year as a pediatric neuro oncology fellow.

You should tell your friend that they could have saved a lot of time and money when all they needed was a BS in Women's Studies to be an expert in Oncology. 15 years versus 4 years and no Organic Chem required.

juliescribe I'm not going to analyze the original posting or the responses but just note that many of the responses to the poster and those who agree with her are quite vicious. There is no reason for such ad hominem attacks, nor do they help make your case.

The only person attacking Kate or her defenders with ad hominen attacks are welcome rain and it is easy to see why. But lets be real, you are not interested in giving him advise but instead you are concern trolling. Instead of commenting on the many valid criticisms on the science that Kate got wrong or the many valid criticisms of the way Kate is bad at her alleged job you want to act above it all and change the topic to the behavior of one individual and by the way your comment is written smear the valid comments with his.