Jillian Michaels says she stands by her criticism of Lizzo's weight, but she also wants people to stop asking her about Lizzo
In a recent interview with Carlos Watson, celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels commented on last year's backlash to her statements on pop star Lizzo.
"Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter?" Michaels said in the clip, that went viral January 2020. "It isn't going to be awesome if she gets diabetes."
Michaels told Watson she's still concerned about the health risks, but regrets conflating obesity as a health issue with one specific person. Going forward, she'd rather keep Lizzo out of the conversation, she told Watson.
"I've never once actually brought her up, she has been brought up to me. I would like to separate her from the issue, if at all possible, and I should have done that the first time I was asked," Michaels said.
However, she repeated her assertions that obesity is dangerous, citing statistics about the number of Americans with obesity and chronic health issues.
"When you are an expert in a category, you have a responsibility to tell the truth, whether it makes you popular or not," she told Watson.
Obesity may affect health, but it's not a measure of worth
While obesity is associated with a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer, weight, in general, is still a poor indicator of health or fitness.
Research shows that factors like blood pressure, insulin resistance, and cholesterol levels are more important. Studies also show that pressure to lose weight can increase the risk of dangerous eating disorders and worsens health.
Michaels also said a person's body size has nothing to do with their worth.
"We need to celebrate individuals. We shouldn't celebrate somebody because they're big, we shouldn't celebrate somebody because they're small. We should celebrate somebody on the quality of their character," she said. "Obesity is just unhealthy. That's it. And it has no merit on the quality of the human. They're not connected."
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