Only ignorant, unfeeling snobs would call Fern a cheat for getting a gastric band to sort out her body. Last week we all loved her for her new, healthy look and her radiant face. So what’s changed since her dramatic revelation? She still looks wonderful, is now much healthier and less likely to suffer from diabetes, heart disease, stroke or even cancer and her life has probably been extended by some 10 years. If I were a member of her family I would give her a big hug for the brave step she took – to finally do something about the life-threatening condition she was suffering. Just think of her kids. I know what they’d say – same as mine: “We love you, mum, and anything that makes you healthier and happier is ok by us!” And obesity is a killer, let’s have no doubt about that. It’s not a sign of being indolent, lazy or stupid – it’s a sign of the times. Any woman in TV knows that more than most. The camera over-emphasises every extra pound of flesh, whilst the pressure to look skinny is almost unbearable. We live in a world where the worst sort of food is peddled to us like drugs, yet we are lambasted if we dare put on a pound or two. We live busy stressful lives and some of us are predisposed to put on weight more than others. That’s a fact. What’s more, we have allowed the media to dictate how obesity should be tackled – and up has sprung a questionable diet industry and a clutch of so-called weight loss experts who have become rich by bullying us into submission. They say there’s only one way to lose weight – and that’s through suffering and deprivation. You’ve got to feel the pain – because you have “let yourself go”. That’s the whole attitude of the media – and it’s rubbish. I say well done, Fern, for finding another way. Instead, some people choose to wag their disapproving finger at her and call her a liar. But she hasn’t lied. She might have been economical with the truth – but who could possibly blame her after the vitriol and abuse that was hurled at me when I disclosed that I had had a gastric band operation? It’s a fallacy to say she didn’t achieve her new look through exercise and healthy eating – that is EXACTLY what the gastric band teaches you to do! It’s a tool, nothing else. It is neither a magic pill, nor the “easy option” some of the adverts would have you believe. It’s like having a corset – on your insides! Like the ultimate portion controller, it simply restricts the volume of what you can eat, but it does NOT stop you secretly bingeing on chocolate, meringues, ice cream, houmous, mousses, or mayonnaise. They all slip through the band like syrup – so does fattening alcohol and mixers – so any idea that you don’t have to use willpower and determination is a deliberate misunderstanding of what the gastric band is all about. But it is not for everyone, and with some patients, it will never work. Since I had it, I have discovered new facts about what is a treatment in its infancy. The gastric band only suits “volume eaters”. If you’re the sort who’s addicted to sweets and chocolates, you’ll sabotage yourself from the beginning. I have spoken to obesity surgeons in America (where they’ve had it longer) who report that it can create worse problems for some – turning them into alcoholics, or giving them others sorts of addictions – something they’re calling “addiction transfer”. It doesn’t sort out your head. And if you live in a fat family, with a bulging biscuit tin and a fridge full of junk, you’ll end up fat and frustrated! The idea is – the band helps you make the right decisions, and hopefully develop healthier habits. Nothing Fern has done with her band negates anything she has said, nor even done with her Ryvita adverts and her Pilates video. Leave her alone to enjoy her well-deserved slimness. But be warned if you think it’s for you – do your research first. Despite the headlines, it is not a cheat’s ticket to losing weight. [This article appeared in the Daily Mirror - 2nd June 2008 - by TV’s Anne Diamond, who lost nearly four stones with a gastric band. Anne lives in Oxfordshire with her four sons and is currently writing a book about the obesity epidemic called “SIZE” (published by Wiley in Jan 2009) and runs a free weight loss support website www.buddypower.net, as well as regularly appearing on TV and radio. She is patron of the National Obesity Forum]
