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Abby discusses her own experiences as a fat kid.
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Bethanne Patrick: Tell me how the book came to be; your own experiences as a fat kid; and what it was like to be at fat camp.
Abby Ellin: I was a fat kid. I was a gymnast when I was little and then I started gaining weight when I was about 12 and stopped doing gymnastics and puberty hit and I ended up gaining weight. I was never obese, but I was about 20, 25 pounds overweight and I'm only 5-foot-2-inches, so I was short. And it became kind of a bad thing in my family. I had always been told girls have to be thin and beautiful and I got fat. So I was not thin and beautiful, and my grandmother, who I was very close to said things like, "You know, you can't come visit me in Florida anymore unless you lose weight." It was a little upsetting. So when I was 16, I sent myself to weight loss camp.
Bethanne Patrick: You actually raised the money and sent yourself? That's a lot for a 16 year old to do.
Abby Ellin: Well, I got the money. My grandmother and my grandfather had died and had left me money. I used the money and sent myself, which was different because most of the other kids you know were sent by parents. A lot of them really didn't want to be there. But I sent myself, because I wanted to be there. And I stayed for nine weeks, and I lost 12 pounds. And I was the thinnest one there.
Bethanne Patrick: Before and after.
Abby Ellin: And I basically kept it off. Then I worked at another camp and gained weight and I went back to the fat camp when I was 18. And then I worked for them for about six years.
Bethanne Patrick: So the experience was not a bad one for you. It was a positive one.
Abby Ellin: You know, it was and it wasn't. Because what fat camps do is put an enormous importance to food and weight, and that's kind of what you focus on all the time.
Bethanne Patrick: Would you agree that the issue of fat and weight gain and sizism is different for girls than it is for boys?
Abby Ellin: Yes.
Bethanne Patrick: And for you, it was obviously a message that was sent to you from your grandmother, from your parents. One of the reasons you wrote your book is because there are things parents shouldn't do with kids who are having a weight problem. Is that one of them?
Abby Ellin: Absolutely. I would say that's number one. My big thing is that parents should model the behavior they want their kids to exhibit from day one. That means parents need to get sort of a handle on their own feelings about food and weight. It's a very tough thing, but that's what they need to do. They need to really understand how they feel about their own body issues and food issues and all of that.
Bethanne Patrick: Do you think the problem with parents getting a grip on those issues is part of the reason we have a worse problem than ever with teen obesity?
Abby Ellin: Yes, in part I do. Because the people who are parents now, people who are my age in their mid to late 30s and older, grew up with all this junk food and the rise in anorexia and bulimia. They didn't really get a handle on how they felt about food and body image and they transmit that to their kids.
Bethanne Patrick: Now teen obesity also affects more than just whether you can wear a great pair of jeans or a cute halter top. What did you find while researching 'Teenage Waistland'?
Abby Ellin: What I found is what any person who's overweight knows: anybody who is heavy in this culture is reviled. It's the worst thing you can be. And fat people -- fat kids especially -- are crucified by their peers and by older people, parents there was a sort of famous study done of asking kids if they would rather have one arm or be fat. And they all said one arm.
Bethanne Patrick: Really?
Abby Ellin: Yes. And then there was another study about cancer where the subjects said that they would rather have cancer than be fat. These are fat kids are discriminated against, they are made fun of, they are, they are made to feel there is something wrong with them. It's the last acceptable form of prejudice. It's the last acceptable form of discrimination. It absolutely is. And I really think it's awful hard for a fat kid. And you know for kids more so than adults. It's hard for adults, but you know these kids are so cruel. You know.
Abby Ellin: I was a fat kid. I was a gymnast when I was little and then I started gaining weight when I was about 12 and stopped doing gymnastics and puberty hit and I ended up gaining weight. I was never obese, but I was about 20, 25 pounds overweight and I'm only 5-foot-2-inches, so I was short. And it became kind of a bad thing in my family. I had always been told girls have to be thin and beautiful and I got fat. So I was not thin and beautiful, and my grandmother, who I was very close to said things like, "You know, you can't come visit me in Florida anymore unless you lose weight." It was a little upsetting. So when I was 16, I sent myself to weight loss camp.
Bethanne Patrick: You actually raised the money and sent yourself? That's a lot for a 16 year old to do.
Abby Ellin: Well, I got the money. My grandmother and my grandfather had died and had left me money. I used the money and sent myself, which was different because most of the other kids you know were sent by parents. A lot of them really didn't want to be there. But I sent myself, because I wanted to be there. And I stayed for nine weeks, and I lost 12 pounds. And I was the thinnest one there.
Bethanne Patrick: Before and after.
Abby Ellin: And I basically kept it off. Then I worked at another camp and gained weight and I went back to the fat camp when I was 18. And then I worked for them for about six years.
Bethanne Patrick: So the experience was not a bad one for you. It was a positive one.
Abby Ellin: You know, it was and it wasn't. Because what fat camps do is put an enormous importance to food and weight, and that's kind of what you focus on all the time.
Bethanne Patrick: Would you agree that the issue of fat and weight gain and sizism is different for girls than it is for boys?
Abby Ellin: Yes.
Bethanne Patrick: And for you, it was obviously a message that was sent to you from your grandmother, from your parents. One of the reasons you wrote your book is because there are things parents shouldn't do with kids who are having a weight problem. Is that one of them?
Abby Ellin: Absolutely. I would say that's number one. My big thing is that parents should model the behavior they want their kids to exhibit from day one. That means parents need to get sort of a handle on their own feelings about food and weight. It's a very tough thing, but that's what they need to do. They need to really understand how they feel about their own body issues and food issues and all of that.
Bethanne Patrick: Do you think the problem with parents getting a grip on those issues is part of the reason we have a worse problem than ever with teen obesity?
Abby Ellin: Yes, in part I do. Because the people who are parents now, people who are my age in their mid to late 30s and older, grew up with all this junk food and the rise in anorexia and bulimia. They didn't really get a handle on how they felt about food and body image and they transmit that to their kids.
Bethanne Patrick: Now teen obesity also affects more than just whether you can wear a great pair of jeans or a cute halter top. What did you find while researching 'Teenage Waistland'?
Abby Ellin: What I found is what any person who's overweight knows: anybody who is heavy in this culture is reviled. It's the worst thing you can be. And fat people -- fat kids especially -- are crucified by their peers and by older people, parents there was a sort of famous study done of asking kids if they would rather have one arm or be fat. And they all said one arm.
Bethanne Patrick: Really?
Abby Ellin: Yes. And then there was another study about cancer where the subjects said that they would rather have cancer than be fat. These are fat kids are discriminated against, they are made fun of, they are, they are made to feel there is something wrong with them. It's the last acceptable form of prejudice. It's the last acceptable form of discrimination. It absolutely is. And I really think it's awful hard for a fat kid. And you know for kids more so than adults. It's hard for adults, but you know these kids are so cruel. You know.
