Fat people are not overweight simply because they eat too much and exercise too little, a GP claimed today.
Dr Asher Larmie, who styles himself as a weight-inclusive ‘The Fat Doctor’, also said questions whether weight loss has any benefits to health.
He made the comments during an explosive interview on LBC, which left host Nick Ferrari chortling in disbelief at times.
In one of the wildest exchanges, Dr Larmie denied the presenter’s love for red wine and hatred of exercise was to blame for his larger frame.
Mr Ferrari told LBC’s listeners: ‘I’m fat because I drink too much red wine and I don’t exercise enough.’
But Dr Larmie, a trans, non-binary GP based around Hertfordshire, interrupted and replied ‘that’s absolutely not true’, much to Mr Ferrari’s amusement.
‘You are not fat because of what you eat and how much exercise you do. That is the line that everybody is led to believe’, added the GP, who has built a following of fat fanatics online.
Mr Ferrari replied: ‘Doctor if I left you now and ran up and down Leicester Square for three hours then went home and had a piece of lettuce and then came and did the tomorrow and the day after that and the the day after that I would start to look like a supermodel.’
But Dr Larmie dismissed this too, telling the presenter such efforts were useless as he would regain the weight within the first year adding ‘the body will always return you to your natural set point weight’.
The GP instead attributed people’s weight to their genetics, and the ‘trauma and stress’ in their lives.
In another segment of the program, which discussed NHS figures showing around 31 per cent of Year 6 pupils in the most deprived areas of England are fat, Dr Larmie denied these youngsters were at any risk of ill health from their weight.
Mr Ferrari said: ‘I hate to tell a doctor their job but they are more likely to die aren’t they.’
Dr Larmie responded ‘that’s absolutely not true’ to the presenter’s exasperated cry of ‘oh doctor’.
‘There is literally no evidence that weight loss is going to benefit anybody’s health, whether they’re a child or an adult,’ the GP said.
Later in the programme, Dr Larmie also claimed that it was a myth that overweight people put greater pressure on their hearts and in fact it was those who exercised that were in peril.
He said those who exercised had higher blood pressure and ‘increased strain on their heart’.
Dr Larmie is no stranger to controversy.
He previously argued that efforts to help fat kids lose weight was a form of eugenics and that dieting will increase your risk of suicide because loved ones will abandon you when you fail.
Dr Asher Larmie, who styles himself as a weight-inclusive ‘Fat Doctor’ claimed there was ‘no evidence’ that losing weight is beneficial to people’s health
The doctor’s claims left LBC presenter Nick Ferrari chorteling in disbelief on multiple occasions during the segment
The Hertfordshire based GP has built a following of fat fanatics online and charges £200 a session as a health coach
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Hollywood A-listers like Jennifer Aniston (pictured above), Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz and Mark Wahlberg have all jumped on the trend since it shot to prominence in the early 2010s
The GP makes money selling 60-to-90-minute virtual consultations as a ‘weight inclusive’ health coach for £200.
Principal to Dr Larmie’s fat-positive philosophy is that being fat isn’t actually bad for your health.
This goes against a raft of accepted medical knowledge, with decades of evidence linking obesity to an increased risk of health problems like type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, some cancers, and strokes.
But Dr Larmie, who is married with three children, claims this is all hogwash.
‘Intentional weight loss puts the body and brain under a significant amount of chronic stress,’ he has previously written on Twitter.
Dr Larmie also claims fat-shaming contributes to this stress, which he points to as the real reason why obese people could suffer from health problems.
The GP also has a track record of attacking other medics who try to encourage people to be healthier and lose weight online.
Dr Larmie also founded the #noweigh movement, a campaign aimed at empowering fat people to refuse to be weighed by medical professionals.
He first sprung to national attention in a fiery debate on television when he said that people being healthy is largely down to whether they are born ‘white, male, able-bodied, cisgender and heterosexual’.
On his health coaching website Dr Larmie advertises his virtual consultations as being with a ‘doctor who understands’.
However, a legal waiver clients must sign before booking a consultation makes it clear these are not held with Dr Larmie acting as a GP.
‘Only a qualified professional (such as a doctor, nurse or allied healthcare practitioner) can diagnose a health condition. Whilst I am a doctor, I will not be acting in my capacity as a doctor,’ it reads.
Rates of obesity and being overweight among children fell after spiking during the Covid pandemic, but are still higher than pre-lockdown
This waiver covers any illness or injuries that may result, including death.
Another section advertising webinars for health professionals reads: ‘You agree to hold Dr Asher (formerly Natasha) Larmie harmless from any and all liability for all claims for damages due to injuries, including attorney’s fees and costs, incurred by you or caused to third parties by you, arising out of information in this course.’
NHs figures show that 64 per cent of British adults are overweight, with more of us predicted to grow fatter in the future.
Obesity is also problem for British kids with one in 10 youngsters in England are now obese by the time they start Reception, with the rate rising to one in five by Year 6.
Obesity doesn’t just expand British waistlines but health care costs, with the NHS spending an estimated £6.1 billion on treating weight-related disease like diabetes, heart disease and some cancers between 2014 to 2015.