Liza, as a man I feel it is my duty to not discuss a lady’s weight, especially with lady under discussion. However, I guess I started this conversation.
That said, as a middle-aged fellow, I know that most women between 35 and 60 are not stick thin and it is pointless for them to seek such a goal. Dr. Benjamin unfortunately has the genes and bone structure of many other black women, but that does not mean she is unhealthy. OK, she’d look great if she lost 20 pounds and fantastic if she lost 45 pounds, but by no means should the nation obsess with her current weight.
In fact, given how many black women are truly obese, and the fact that Michelle Obama is relatively slender, Dr. Benjamin’s weight loss program might well the inspiration needed by several million black American women who until now have given up on ever losing weight.
But it rankles me that she, as surgeon general, is going to be handing down healthy eating and weight guidelines for America, which she herself obviously doesn't do. It's that 'do as I say not as I do' thing that rubs me the wrong way.