So… Gok Wan’s show on obesity last night - did you see it?
There are several reviews of it around the Tinternet, including at the Times, the Independent and over at Orange so I won’t re-hash the same old quotes but I will share my thoughts.
After all the shows where Gok Wan dedicates himself solely to other people it was interesting to see the focus turned in on himself and to see the change in his style of speaking and behaving when he was the one under the microscope rather than the host with the most. He was clearly quite uncomfortable with the whole situation… especially revisiting all the places that held so many painful memories of bullying and bad times for him. It must have taken a lot to go back there… both physically and mentally.
When he was speaking to the overweight young people you could really feel his empathy for them. And his conclusion about teenage obesity? It’s all to do with self-esteem, something he now makes a career out of instilling in other people.
Young people turn to food because they feel unhappy or lonely… weight gain then leads to more unhappiness which then leads to more comfort eating… and so it goes in a vicious circle.
However, as some of the obesity experts affirmed, this can be turned into a virtuous circle. First encourage the kids to feel better about themselves (through youth groups, exercise, healthy eating - and basically showing them some TLC). The increase in self-esteem then gives them the confidence to eat less and lose weight… which then leads to them feeling even better about themselves and so on.
Ideally you’d want to not let these kids feel so unhappy and lonely in the first place, which isn’t always so easy to do, adolescent angst being what it is, and kids being as harsh as they are. What would definitely help though is for people to put a little less importance on size and looks in the first place so that the kids’ self-esteem never gets that initial beating that starts them on the downward spiral.
And though I do think we are still a long way from that as a society, I do think we are slowly moving in the right direction.
Especially with the help of people like Gok Wan. So thanks for going there Gok!
What are your thoughts on the show?