Editorial: Heavy on criticism

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 | 7:40 a.m.

It is hard to understand what makes people like Rob Stevens tick.

Stevens, a self-professed "weight-loss coach," spent Tuesday afternoon standing on the Las Vegas Strip outside the Flamingo, handing out cards that read, "PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE FAT PEOPLE."

His targets were the people gathered inside the Flamingo for the annual BBW - Big Beautiful Women - Network Bash, the Las Vegas Sun reported in a story on Thursday.

The convention is dedicated to celebrating plus-size women. And 44-year-old Stevens is dedicated to ridiculing those who are overweight.

Stevens told Sun reporter Abigail Goldman that he started an anti-obesity organization a month ago to wage war against people who weigh more than he thinks they should.

Certainly, weight gain among Americans is a growing health problem, with 66 percent of the population considered overweight and 33 percent considered obese. A recent study by Johns Hopkins University predicted that by 2015, if the current trend continues, 75 percent of U.S. adults will be overweight and 41 percent will be obese.

Stevens, who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds, told the Sun that he knows exactly how it feels to be overweight. He says he weighed almost twice as much until he slimmed down seven years ago.

Bully for him.

But what may be possible for one person just may not be physically possible for another. Genes play a key role in body composition. And research in recent years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations has suggested that people can be slightly overweight and still be fit, with regular exercise and a healthy diet.

It is true, however, that millions of Americans should shed some pounds to avoid heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses often associated with being overweight.

In trying to defend his campaign of scorn, Stevens told the Sun that he is practicing a kind of "tough love," adding that he doesn't "dislike fat people," only fat.

Unfortunately, one cannot separate a person from his or her body mass. And Stevens' brand of "tough love" is hateful.