Charlotte Cooper, a queer fat researcher (her term for herself) from London, has a wonderful blog, Obesity Timebomb, in which she discusses all sorts of stuff about fat, LGBT issues and their overlap. I thought this recent posting was especially helpful.

Next time you come across one of those screaming headlines like “IS OBESITY MOLESTING MIDDLE-CLASS HOMEOWNERS?!?” (OK, that one was courtesy of the Daily-Mail-O-Matic, but some of the real ones have been barely less melodramatic), find the original study, then apply her rules to check whether what you’re being told has anything at all to do with what’s really going on.

I think the one about checking the researchers’ other interests is especially important. While you’re at it, go see the websites of any of the ‘official’ anti-obesity organizations she mentions, and take a look at who their partners and sponsors are. They begin to look much less like anyone being concerned about health and much more about lining someone’s pockets. But anyway, here’s the link:

http://obesitytimebomb.blogspot.com/2009/09/beginners-guide-to-reading-obesity.html