Being fat isn’t bad for your health.
That is just one of shocking beliefs being promoted by one of Britain’s most controversial doctors.
Dr Asher Larmie, also called ‘The Fat Doctor’, is a trans, non-binary, GP based around Hertfordshire who has built a following of fat fanatics online.
He has made many controversial statements and suggestions as part of his fat-acceptance crusade, such as dieting will increase your risk of suicide because loved ones will abandon you when you fail.
Another is that American paediatricians are ‘invested’ in ‘killing fat children’, which Dr Larmie describes as a form of eugenics.
Dr Asher Larmie, also called ‘The Fat Doctor’, is a trans, non-binary, GP based around Hertfordshire who has built a following of fat fanatics online
The family doctor also charges people £200 for 60-to-90-minute virtual consultations as a ‘weight inclusive’ health coach.
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 writes on Twitter.
The Fat Doctor UK, Dr Asher Larmie claims that being too fat doesn’t cause any medical conditions in contrary to NHS guidance that says being obese increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, some cancers, and strokes
Dr Larmie claims that prescribing weight-loss to fat patients is ‘harmful’ due to the stress it causes them
He claims this stress is behind many of fat people’s health problems, like an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
In one of the most outrageous suggestions Dr Larmie has made, the GP claims loved ones will ‘turn’ on dieters when, not if, they pile the pounds back on, and this can even lead to suicide
‘The ensuing allostatic load increases your risk of multiple serious medical conditions.’
Allostatic is a term for the physiological changes the body undergoes when subjected to repeated stress, such as releasing fight-or-flight hormones like adrenaline.
This stress, Dr Larmie, writes can explain why fat people are more likely to suffer from issues like inflammation in the body.
‘Fat people experience more stress as a result of stigma, exclusion and oppression. The fatter you are, the more stress you experience,’ he states.
In condescending Tweets aimed at other medics, Dr Larmie also seeks to dismiss the idea that being fat increases your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
‘Some doctors are confused by my previous tweet so I’m gonna explain it again slowly… When we say ‘the incidence of cardiovascular disease is higher in fat people’ we are stating a fact,’ he writes.
‘But that does not mean that being fat increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.’
Instead, Dr Larmie once again points to the real culprit being the stress brought on by fat-shaming.
‘We do know that being fat increases your allostatic load by way of exclusion and oppression within society and allostatic load has a very large impact on CVD,’ he writes.
More generally Dr Larmie claims that being fat ‘doesn’t cause any medical conditions’.
And he claims anyone who tells you otherwise is part of the weight-loss industry.
‘The people who are telling you that being fat is a relapsing remitting chronic disease are the same people who are trying to sell you weight loss,’ he writes.
In a social media exchanges Dr Larmie has said he is ‘coming for’ medics who try to encourage patients to lose weight
He has even accused American doctors of ‘eugenics’ by treating obese children
UK medical bodies are also in the firing line, with Dr Larmie accusing the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence if being in the ‘pocket’ of the pharmaceutical industry over their decision to approve the weight loss jab Wegovy for the NHS
Perhaps one of Dr Larmie’s most shocking claims is that dieting might increase the risk of suicide.
This, he suggests, is because a dieters’ loved ones will ‘turn on you’ when, not if, the weight comes back.
‘All those people who praised you and loved you when you lost the weight will turn on you the minute you start putting it back on. Which means you’ll end up feeling more sh***y about yourself (hence the depression and suicide),’ he writes.
Dr Larmie has also hit out at other medical professionals trying to warn the public about the dangers of piling on the pounds.
Professor Karol Sikora, a respected senior oncologist, was verbally attacked by Dr Larmie in January after the former warned about how too much weight was ‘horrific’ for your health.
‘Overweight people need to hear the truth and not be mollycoddled by the medical establishment,’ Professor Sikora said.
‘It is horrific for your health – far more likely to develop cancer, diabetes, heart disease and more.’
Dr Larmie responded by calling him ‘old and irrelevant’, with a vow to end the career of medics who share his views.
‘Everything in this statement is a blatant lie and misrepresentation of evidence and I’m gonna spend the rest of my life fighting to end these lies and the careers of the doctors who spread them,’ he wrote.
‘You’re too old and irrelevant for me to bother but I’m coming for the rest.’
Dr Larmie later apologised for the ‘too old’ comment, admitting that it may be ageist and fall foul of General Medical Council (GMC) rules all doctors in the UK must follow, including treating colleagues with ‘respect’ and not ‘unfairly discriminate against them’.
He has even written a letter to the GMC expressing his concern that ‘weight stigma’ by doctors was bringing the medical profession into ‘disrepute’.
However, UK medics aren’t the only ones in Dr Larmie’s sights.
In January, he accused the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) of ‘eugenics’ after the influential medical body said doctors should offer obese children weight-loss surgery from 13.
Dr Larmie said: ‘Fat people are dying as a result of weight stigma. And now this. There’s only one word for it eugenics.’
He further claimed that the AAP was ‘invested’ in killing fat children, especially black ones, based on data that black people in the US are more likely to be obese.
Dr Larmie has more generally claimed that anti-obesity campaigns are ‘racist’ for much the same reason.
He has also accused National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which recently greenlight the weight-loss jab Wegovy, for the NHS as being in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry.
‘NICE has published its guidance on #Wegovy, proving once and for all that they are bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry,’ he writes.
Dr Larmie also said NICE’s guidelines, which states people from ethnic backgrounds are at greater risk of obesity at lower Body-Mass-Index (BMI) were racist.
He wrote: ‘Who needs evidence when you’ve got medical racism to support your recommendations?!’
Dr Larmie also founded the #noweigh movement, a campaign aiming to empower obese and overweight 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 £200 for 60-to-90 minute virtual consultations as being with a ‘doctor who understands’.
However, a legal waiver clients 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.
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.’
MailOnline contacted Dr Larmie asking for further clarification on his comments, but he did not respond.
