When the *expert* actually gets it right...
Every Thursday The Guardian had an advice feature called Private Lives. I'm new to reading this, however, I was actually quite impressed with what the house *expert*, Linda Blair, has to say. This week a woman wrote in with the question: "How can I help my overweight daughter?" The woman talked about her 17-year-old daughter's "rapid weight gain", how she eats "unhealthy foods" and despite trying for "a decade or so" to help her lose weight, she has been unsuccessful. The mother claims that she is worried about her health, but also raises some serious red flags by saying she's concerned because "she has no apparent interest from boys", and seems to be giving her daughter the impression that being thin, and having a boyfriend are apparently all that matter.
Reading her concerns about her daughter made me incredibly sad, as we really don't know what is actually going on in this family, or if the daughter is even actually "overweight". Therefore, I was overjoyed to read Linda Blair's response:
"Accept that you and your daughter may have different perspectives on what constitutes a healthy weight and diet...Although you're worried about her health, you've not said that she's actually unwell...How can her weight alone have such an impact on her wellbeing if she is pretty and popular, as you also describe her...Could it be that you are confusing good health and happiness with being slim?"
