Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

Re “Where Thin People Roam, and Sometimes Even Eat” (news article, July 23):

Your article about Manhattan’s status as the thinnest New York county struck me as offensive and even alarming. While it is wonderful to celebrate the healthy aspects of city living, like ample walking and access to parks, the people and habits cited in this article skew toward compulsive and dangerous.

Those who equate happiness with thinness, live in fear of food and view exercise as a permission slip to eat are far from healthy, regardless of their body mass index.

The casual tone of this article makes disordered eating habits seem normal. Restrictive eating and obsessive exercise are destructive and just as deadly as obesity.

Marissa Rossi
Somerville, Mass., July 23, 2009

Note from KBJ: Do I detect just a note of envy in this letter?

Note 2 from KBJ: The New York Times story to which the letter writer refers links to this site. I typed in my data (5 feet, 11 inches tall and 155 pounds). Here's what it says: "Your BMI is 21.6, indicating your weight is in the Normal category for adults of your height." Thank you.

Note 3 from KBJ: What percentage of skinny people would like to be fat? What percentage of fat people would like to be skinny? What, if anything, does this show?