Back in 2002, photographs of a somewhat plump Jamie Lee Curtis appeared in many popular magazines. At the time, Curtis was just two years into pursuing sobriety and had gained upwards of 20 pounds. It appeared Curtis was flaunting her new look, perhaps even giving the public permission to be happy in their own skin. Not a bad thing, right? It was a bad idea, says Curtis who now regrets communicating to the masses that letting yourself go is OK. Because it's not. Now fit and trim -- not skinny, just trim -- Curtis says in the July 2007 issue of Ladies Home Journal, "So I think what some people took from those photos was: Love yourself, no matter what. And the problem with this is: What if what you're doing is unhealthy?"
"And the problem is that how many of us are killing ourselves every day? Who here has high blood pressure and is still eating salt and French fries? Who has been told that her liver is enlarged and unless she stops drinking she's gonna end up with liver disease and/or need a liver transplant? We create senseless acts of violence against ourselves every day. And we live in this amnesia that we're not."
How do we change what we're doing? "Just by making healthy choices," says Curtis. Eat less and move more, she says. Walk enough. Stop being sedentary. About whatever we're doing that's harmful, Curtis says: Change. Change it right now.











1. Thanks for your post on Jamie Leigh Curtis, Jackie. I have to agree with Ms. Curtis's sentiment that "We create senseless acts of violence against ourselves every day" -- but I also highly doubt she's going to change anyone's exercising or eating habits with that kind of tone and approach, however well-meaning.
As an example of a more positive, fun, and effective approach to changing people's lifestyle choices, I'm a fan of this new site launched by the Breast Cancer Fund, http://www.notmybreasts.org. I had a lot of fun creating my avatar e-card (picking out my head and breasts, choosing what I call my breasts, etc.), but I also learned a lot. I didn't realize what a high percentage of breast cancer cases are now believed to be attributable to entirely preventable, environmental causes. And I also picked up some great tips on simple, everyday things I could do differently -- specifically to prevent breast cancer, but also applicable to improving health in general.
Posted at 8:28PM on Aug 24th 2007 by Ellen Freytag