Excellent Shannon, thank you.

I had exactly the same response to Dr. Rami’s wonderful article — joy actually — and then also crashed down into pain and self hatred after making the mistake of reading the first few comments.

Like you, I wrote and deleted a number of responses, then realised that the best thing to do, for my own mental health, was to walk away — because I was fairly sure that trying to elicit any amount of empathy would only have resulted in further insulting and ignorant pronouncements, because obviously these people know better than we do ourselves and better than well-qualified research fellows based at top universities like Dr. Rami. Why waste our time and tears on them?

It’s hurtful and disconcerting to see such disrespectful comments on a piece from an actual doctor who specializes in the causes and treatment of obesity in it’s many forms — but I chose to re-read the article (aloud to the other four people gathered in the room, football game be damned!) instead of trying to fight that particular losing battle.