Is Your Hairstyle Making You Fat?

Wednesday, 31 August 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Surgeon General’s Warning: Hair relaxers may be hazardous to your health. But not because they have carcinogens, says the Chicago Tribune. A new report says women who spend extensive time getting their hair done are less likely to exercise because they are loath to wreck their hairdos. In an editorial, the Tribune commends Surgeon General Regina Benjamin “having the moxie” to address an underlying issue fueling the nation’s obesity epidemic, even though it may seem trivial: “[The advice] rings true with every woman who’s given up aerobics or lap swimming or biking — helmet head, anyone? — for want of an extra hour to repair her hair.”

Benjamin spoke to the New York Times last week, after some (mostly male) commentators questioned her decision to address “such a niche issue.” But Benjamin rejected the idea that talking about hair was frivolous: “When you’re starting to exercise, you look for reasons not to, and sometimes the hair is one of those reasons.”