Yesterday, Hoda and Jenna of the famed morning show, The Today Show, weighed themselves on live TV in a segment intended to highlight the benefits of intermittent fasting. The idea being that if the intermittent fasting works, they will drop weight…” along with other health benefits…” “We aren’t doing it for the weight loss, Jenna quipped as she walked to the scale to then compare weighing herself to jumping off a cliff.
It was a bold move no doubt, and if I were a television producer, I would be celebrating the buzz it’s receiving. The subtitle of many of the reporting reads, “You two are such an inspiration!”
However, I am not a television producer. I am a therapist.
In fact, I am a therapist that specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, body image and identity development. For the last 24 hours all I could think about was what a missed opportunity this moment was for the show, the hosts, and the millions of Americans (including Moms with daughters, and young women still trying to understand their own sense of self) who watched.
Before I go any further though, I need to let you know that I am the BIGGEST fan of The Today Show. I have been for a very long time. I write my opinion with deep compassion in the hope to educate and move the conversation in the right direction, not slander a beloved institution in our (my) daily routine.
The Set Up
The segment seemed hurried and rushed from the beginning. Caveats like, “we’ve been stressing out all morning”, “my shoes weigh at least three pounds”, “after we weigh in, we are going to gorge ourselves with all the food on the table”, etc. all preceded the actual stepping on the scales. The problem with this is that it perpetuates the idea that weighing ourselves is scary or dangerous or something we need to anticipate with fear. The scale in an inanimate object! It doesn’t have the power to do anything to you…or so it should be. Hoda and Jenna only fell right into a narrative that our culture believes as truth: that things like scales are scary, our weight can hurt us, and we should be afraid of the results.
There is no doubt that intermittent fasting is having a moment. It’s extremely popular right now and influencers all over the web are touting its benefits. The problem is that it is just another poorly disguised method in diet culture. A billion-dollar industry that thrives on our incessant desire to lose weight. An industry that tells our society how to look better, be better and change who they are…by losing weight. While Jenna tried to mention that the weight loss benefits would be secondary to the improved cognitive health, it was a throw away comment in a segment that was clearly focused on weight (remember America was watching a LIVE! Weigh In) and not much more.
What it could have been instead
Why not start a conversation about the buzz around Intermittent Fasting? Allow the personable and relatable hosts to talk about how they are intrigued, are willing to try something new, but want to understand the science behind fasting, before jumping into a brand-new program.
Remove the scales. Or at least have them be the final moment, not the huge hook that got people to tune in.
Remember, I am not a television producer, but my guess is that those scales were going to show up at some point. If that’s the case, then let’s do so in a way that is simply information gathering and not emotionally activating. Jenna and Hoda’s reactions were so raw it made the segment that much more compelling, but the Today Show would have done well by having a therapist on with Dr. Natalie Azar in a sit-down educational segment about body weight obsession and fear before the weigh in.
Not to mention the unfiltered responses that came after their weights were revealed.
Hoda was so surprised by her weight that she wanted to try it again, Jenna compared herself to her twin by naming that two of Barbara could fit into one of her. She then reflected that she didn’t even want to eat because of her new knowledge of her weight, subsequently only adding to the misunderstanding that the way to thinness is starvation and there was something wrong with her weight. It was self-deprecating and humorous (laughter could be heard from the crew in the background) but also painful to watch and sad as these grown women were having such a hard time accepting their weight.
I should make very clear that with a master’s degree in professional counseling I am not a medical doctor, nor do I have any idea IF Hoda and Jenna need to lose weight for their overall health. However, as a mental health professional, I am beyond qualified to proclaim that a number on a scale says absolutely nothing about who Hoda and Jenna, Dr. Natalie Azar or anyone else for that matter is as an individual, Mother, Women, or human being and for that reason they should not be afraid to step on that scale.
This was another missed opportunity for the medical doctor and mental health professional to speak about BEFORE they stepped on those scales. Having a medical doctor in the segment was a good call, BUT she wasn’t highlighted properly. She unfortunately walked right into the negative atmosphere of knowing your weight by adding shame and embarrassment to the conversation in her admission that “I never would have been able to do that on national TV.” The medical piece continued to be missed over and over again with the obvious emphasis on weight and weight loss despite failed efforts to spin the segment any other way.
The hosts were so visibly shocked after the weigh in that their own stigma and shame took over what the intended intention of the segment was meant to be. Jenna even admitted that she “was still stuck in a moment that happened over there” (referring to the scale) as Dr. Azar tried to talk about health benefits all while Hoda seemingly refused to accept her results. All efforts to provide informative education on the benefits of intermittent fasting were lost over and over again as the message became one about shame regarding numbers on a scale…nothing more nothing less.
Know better so do better
Now what? What do we do now? What can The Today Show do? They can continue the conversation. Talk about weight stigma, the pressures of weight loss, and a desire to be the healthiest version of ourselves, BUT, how to get there in the healthiest way possible. Talk about all of the diet trends…and yes, I realize that Intermittent Fasting may claim to be a way to eat and not a diet but that proverbial ship sailed when the entire segment was focused on weight.
It’s also an opportunity to open up the conversation about postpartum health and weight loss. The Today Show (and Jenna if she so chooses) have an incredible opportunity to invite women into the conversation about what it means to have a new baby at home and the desire to “get your body back.” Spoiler alert: You never really do! But that’s exactly why the conversation could be so beneficial.
All that say, let’s not let the overwhelming response to this moment on morning television push the narrative further into despair. Instead let’s provide an opportunity to have a conversation about something so significant to our culture right now- health and wellness and body image. We want what’s best, but we don’t always go about it the right way the first time around. Today Show, prove that you can admit when something went awry, and a new narrative took over.
Let’s take it back…for good.