The massive publishing deal that Oprah Winfrey recently signed to write a fitness book is offensive on so many levels. Oprah Winfrey is the last person in the world who should be dispensing fitness advice. Just because she is thin this week doesn’t mean it is going to last. It hasn’t any of the other times. If Winfrey kept the weight off and stayed healthy for five or more years, she might begin to gain credibility, but at this point her book will be about as credible as the James Frey book she so spitefully turned on.
The difference between Oprah Winfrey and James Frey is that Frey’s book really didn’t hurt anyone. It may not have been fact, but the fiction wasn’t damaging. Oprah’s “advice” on the subject of dieting has the potential to hurt people. There are a significant number of people in this country who, for reasons I cannot fathom, follow her advice as if it was the gospel. If this book sends these people on a poorly-planned diet or exercise routine, it will cause genuine damage. Oprah Winfrey and her publisher Simon & Schuster are acting irresponsibly. If anything, a book abut fitness by Oprah Winfrey should be a cautionary tale about the overwhelming pressure to be thin in today’s society and about the crooks and liars who are willing to take advantage of that. Rather than tell that true and important story, one that she has experience with, Winfrey seems content to join the Liar’s Club.
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