Personal Opinion and Scientific Fact are often on opposite ends of the street. It's very difficult to change the mind of someone who's mind is already made up. IF these women believe that they are healthy, then they will defend that with all they have. A doctor could even disagree, but in their minds, they seem to be happy with who they are. We are all like this to a point, on a continuum I'm sure, and have our own attitudes and beliefs about how things are. The reality may be completely different. It's easy for an outsider to identify these misconceptions in reality in others, but that identification is not going to change someone else's behaviors. As I get older, I know that the important thing is to just be as supportive as you can comfortably be and just let people live their lives. Happiness is relative, and so is knowledge. It might break our hearts to see what some people do to themselves, but we can't take on the responsibility of trying to change them, or to put energy into changing their minds. We've got our own problems, right?
It is frustrating, though, to see programs like that and know that that kind of lifestyle is being perpetuated. We are extra sensitive to it, because of the journeys we are on and we know where these women are headed. It's sad, and unfortunately beyond our control.
-Mike