'Fitness Expert' Bans Scales from Her Home to Promote 'Body Positivity'

British fitness expert and television presenter Davina McCall says that she has banned scales from her home to promote body positivity.

British television presenter Davina McCall has announced that she has removed all of the scales from her home in order to promote body positivity amongst her daughters. McCall is also famous for a series of fitness DVDs.

“We don’t have scales in our house and we never talk about weight,” McCall said. “I don’t know how much the girls weigh, and neither do they.”

“‘I like social media because it’s so positive in lots of areas but I actually ended up ignoring what was being said and kept posting,’ she added. “‘I’m fit and healthy, there’s nothing wrong with me. I hope people look and think “Oh my God she’s in her fifties and still going strong.”’

There is a false belief emerging that ignoring one’s health is a form of emotional strength. It is obvious that obsessing over one’s figure and weight is unhealthy, but choosing to voluntarily stop monitoring your health is absurd as well. Both overanalyzing one’s health and completely ignoring it are perhaps equally irresponsible.

The “fat acceptance” movement has consistently grown over the past several years, finding a comfortable home on college campuses. Durin the spring semester, “fat sex therapist” Sonalee Rashatwar gave a lecture about “fat acceptance” at the University of Vermont. She told students to “throw [their] scales in the trash.”

A guest speaker at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University argued that humans can be healthy at any body weight.

In March, Danish comedian Sofie Hagen accused a cancer research organization of “fat-shaming” after they published an advertisement that highlighted the link between obesity and cancer.

It is important that obese Americans understand that their lives aren’t worth any less because of their size. However, there is a fine line between promoting happiness in overweight individuals and encouraging them to become complacent about the elevated health risks that obesity causes. The former is essential. But the latter could be fatal.