Not to be crude, but are you f**king kidding me?

DAMN and yes I said DAMN, now they are even discriminating against overweight people for political positions. WTH, Who cares if she isn’t a size 5? She is smart, serves her community and has potential to make a difference. DAMN it just doesn’t stop. That’s why it’s important to know who you are and don’t look to folk to validate you. I commend President Obama for considering her.

ok what does her weight have to do with anything??? im more concerned with her credentials more so than anything…and if seeing an overweight person on tv speaking to you about health…makes some say…” oh ok, well she’s fat, so then its cool to be fat”…its something wrong with that individual….this is crazy as hell!

i can see their point. the surgeon general should practice what they preach. Obesity is a huge issue in the US. How about if the surgeon general was extremely qualified but a heavy smoker and drinker? Some jobs require certain physical qualifications.

Anywho, let’s see if they post her BMI, as we go by body mass index to determine if someone is overweight,not if they just look overweight.

How asinine…!!!!

WOW.. I tell you what is wrong w/ ppls mentality these days. What ever happened to substance over superficial???

I would like to add one more thing.

The people who share these views are idots.

UNFORTUNATELY LOOKS ALWAYS CAUSE THESE KINDS OF DEBATES. I DONT BELIEVE IT IS RIGHT BUT HEY PEOPLE DONT THINK A PERSON ABOVE A CERTAIN SIZE OR BELOW A CERTAIN HEIGHT IS ATTRACTIVE. REGARDLESS OF WHAT PEOPLE SAY PEOPLE DO JUDGE UNFAIRLY BASE ON SIZE HEIGHT AND OTHER ASPECTS. NOT JUST ROMANTICALLY BUT PROFESSIONALLY AS WELL. READ UP ON IT.

ummm…you should probably google other SG’s to see if this post even makes sense, cause I’m sure you’ll find that its not uncommon for the SG to have a high BMI.

Would this even be an article if she were a man?

Since when did being a larger than average woman make you unhealthy? Plenty of thinner people have diabetes! Health is not just a matter of size. As a size 14 I am considered obese by so called weight standards but I have healthy cholesterol levels and lower than average blood pressure. If she is qualified who gives a crap about her weight? First Sotomayor is a racist and now Benjamin too fat. I smell fear among whites that think there are too many minorities coming into power under Obama.

What up BP..anybody OBAMA..chooses ..racist “DEVILS”..try to cause drama..but when BUSH and his gang of theives were in office you could not even ask a question..now its time to “CHANGE”..all this drama…like GOD said..I cast not the “RIGHTEOUS” but the WICKED down off the thrown..IMPEACH BUSH..CHANEY..and all them be held accountable for killing our youth …with this fake WAR..DEVILS be GONE you snake…”UNITED SNAKES of AMERICA”…talk about the rich and famous..and forget about the “POOR and nameless..put BUSH and Chaney on “GITMO”..and dont forget about that fag RUMSFEILD…DUMSFIELD..crooks..killers..

Um she looks healthy to me. Skinny people can be unhealthy as well.

some people need to stfu then. always trying to hate && bring a sista down.

SMFH. What does her weight has to do with this position? Not a d/amn thing. I wouldn’t be suprised at some old White politicians who brought up this topic. Hating is a disease in this world and it will never be cured.

Chances are they are going to put a lean hispanic doctor in, so that they can say they are of minority background and have the ‘appropriate size’. Funny, a century ago being fat was a sign of being wealthy in europe, yet its being deficated and deamed unfit in our society these days.

How are you going to be the premier DR and not have premium weight? How can a fat person talk health issues when they are not an taking their own seriously? SO WHAT SHE HAS ALL THESE CREDENTIALS! Would be like the pot calling the kettle black..and a walking, talking, contradiction! Lose the weight and FEEL GREAT!

The ONLY one’s not getting this dire situations are those who are fat and overweight…or have overweight loved one’s who they have come to accept that is just like her. There is nothing sexy or cute about looking like a slopping hog. Sorry.

Wouldn’t the best credentials for this position be that you cared about the health of the people in this country? Hasn’t she already shown that she cares? WTF does her size have to do with anything? If she can do the job in a competent manner, then, by all means, let her. Everybody wasn’t made to be a rail-thin size 2!

there are alot of doctors big are u serious get the f**k out of here

I have to agree.. and it not just with her but I have ALWAYS wondered why Nurses and Doctors are overweight and/or smoke. I think if you preach good health you should be in good health, as long as its within you control.

while i do agree that whatever you do you should lead by (like don’t say smoking bad for you with a cigar in your hand)There would be know one better suited than someone one who knows what it’s like and how hard it is to deal with personal health issues (i.e. weight,smoking,drug addiction)
It’s easy for someone to run their mouth and say dont do this/that or eat right when they have been a toothpick (like myself lol) all of their life). So really you should look at both sides of the coin on this issue..

Damn, this is what our country has come to huh? I realize obesity is a health issue and all, but get serious people. This woman rebuilt her office twice! Worked for FREE!!! How many politicians or famous people have worked for free? Fat, skinny, muscular or whatever, that s**t doesn’t happen often when someone’s qualified to make a good salary. And she worked with poor people (meaning she didn’t earn nowhere near what she could’ve earned if she would’ve went to an affluent community). This woman is an example that we need to see. Who gives a rat’s ass if she’s fat? No one’s gonna look at her and say “oh, well the surgeon’s general is fat, so I should be fat.” People were obese before they knew who she was and they will be after she moves on. Besides think how inspiring it would be if she loses 30 pounds while serving as surgeon’s general and inspires hope among the millions of obese people living in this country. You guys are acting like it’s about health and setting an example when really it’s about superficiality. Be realistic, obesity shouldn’t be a death sentence/glass ceiling for people in this country. sheesh (And I’m in great health, and not obese, but not an idiot either)

Thank you B_rolin. It’s easy for straight people to talk s**t about gay folks. It’s easy for people that were born affluent to talk s**t about poor folks. It’s easy for people with education to talk s**t about those without. It’s easy for tall people to talk s**t about short people and their complexes, and most of all it’s EASY AS HELL to talk s**t about an obese person when you’re muscular, slim, or skinny! Everybody’s body is different and breaks down nutrients and carbs differently. Metabolisms have such a large range that we’re definitely not dealing with the same sets of issues. Wake up and stop being narrow-minded people. Nothing’s as simple as you think it is. NOTHING!

I think it’s great to have someone who is “just like me” to give me advice on my health.

For those who are saying it’s time for someone who is more like the real world (not necessarily the ideal one), I agree 200%! When I go to a gym or into an office for tips on how to be a better me, for example, I don’t want some tiny looking woman who has never experienced any of my difficulties; I want a real woman who can tell me how she overcame some of the most challenging parts of bettering herself. Now, that said….

It is impossible to please everyone, and even more impossible to find someone who has gone through every challenge the rest of the world has experienced. If we go on the majority of the world, a non-thin (for the sake of the discussion) is more representative of the general public at this time.

Another comment I wanted to make is how do we know she is NOT “in control” of her health? How do we know she is not challenged by heritage and trait rather than by choice? I just think to assume someone is or isn’t making appropriate choices around good health is ignorant.

This woman’s credentials puts her WAY above most of us even posting in this forum! I could go so far as to say this is another way black people find fault in a successful member of our community. SHAMEFUL! Let this woman get the props she deserves and forget about idea living standards. Until we know DETAILS of what she is and why (and even then, if I dare to say it)…we should be happy that there are more blacks (and people of color in general) getting recongition for their accomplishments!

She is fat, big, whateva, SO WHAT? Ppl are starting to think from thier asses. She’s got good qualities and background, that’s what matters not being fat or skinny or wateva. A dwarf could be a surgeon general for all I care as long has he or she has the right qualification to match the job. Ppl should stop all these nonsense talks.

She is fat, big, whateva, SO WHAT? Ppl are starting to think from their asses. She’s got good qualities and background, that’s what matters not being fat or skinny or wateva. A dwarf could be a surgeon general for all I care as long as he or she has the right qualification to match the job. Ppl should stop all these nonsense talks.

Whatever keepin it real doc is just thick and plus people can be thicker than most but still be healthy as hell so stop hatin like one person said as long as she has the qualifications to do the job then who cares about weight I mean i’m sure we’ve had Surgeon Generals that smoked and drank and we may not have know about that right so I mean doesn’t matter what a person looks like or what they do as long as they can DO THE JOB!!!!!

wow…It seems like everyone has a problem with everything Obama does, even when it’s for the good of THE COUNTRY. A doctor is someone who helps others when they are sick, near death, and just there when you need a consultant. Since WHEN did people really care about what the doctor looked like, rather than their qualifications? Would the general public rather have a skinnier person with not as much credentials as Dr. Benjamin? It appears that way. SHE’S EXCEPTIONAL AT WHAT SHE DOES, SOOOOOOOO LET HER BE A PROUD, THICK, HEALTHY, BLACK WOMAN AND LET HER DO HER JOB!

–>That’s My Word

Its disgusting to have an obese surgeon general ….

A person shoule lead by example
its FUNNY that most of the women that disagree are FAT ,
thats why they have pictures of their face only amd are ASHAMED to show their body on their profile.

Too many Black women and kids have let themselves GO, FAT hanging out all over the place, out of their pants, and its “acceptable” because theres SO MANY of them, that its SEEN as “NORMAL”.

Most of the women on BlackPlanet need to LOG THE F#@$ OFF, and go do some exercise, stop buying McDonalds everyday while spending your lunch time ONLINE.

Then these FAT women give this LAME EXCUSE about why they’re fat “family trait” “genes” “sickness” “blood type, NO, its called LAZINESS.

Most of you look disgusting, its NOT THICK, its OBESITY.

The person with the negative comments, (You know who I am talking about), sounds like a fool. And that is worse than being big.

Yep, she needs to drop some – but, she is eminently qualified and could use her own issues as an opportunity for her self and our country.

Get over it idiots – way to go Obama (again).

The woman seems imminently qualified, but I did notice that she seems to be overweight (and that is not healthy). Nevertheless, that should not stop her from getting the job. However, didn’t someone say, “Physician, heal thyself!” She should work on that and be an example (especially to us African American females) to exercise and push away from the table more (and when you go to Mickey Ds, get the salad instead of the Big Mac and the yogurt cup,McMuffin, or fruit and walnut salad instead of the biscuits and pancakes).

What some people have to understand is that there is such a thing a big bone women. That’s all she is. The important thing is the President hasn’t choose anyone he didn’t think was right for any of his jobs. Look at him!

Sooo…by reading these comments I can tell that y’all agree on this subject huh? Well my thing, since she has already been appointed to this office we really can’t complain now can we?…For that person who commented bout the big women who have only face pics on their profile b/c they are “ashamed”…I have only one question…where do they come into play with this article? Just wondering of course, and yes I only have a face pic, that doesn’t mean I’m “ashamed” of my body, It just means that I like how pretty my face is lol

And some docs smoke…some pop pills…some are alcoholics…some are con artist…what does her size really matter? She isn’t MORBIDLY obese…and all this time she has been able to do her job effeciently…lay off

She don’t look that fat.I’d like to see the rest.I love thick black women.

I don’t see what the lady’s size has to do with her mentality to be able to do the job of Surgeon General. There are some genius that may be nice size. To all the idiots that’s out there that thrives on size, I wouldn’t want a Dr. working on me that was thin with a brain the size of an ant. You all might want to rethink your status.

that goes to show how shallow people can be so what if she’s thick or above average these white people don’t understand that every ethnicity is built differently I don’t see the little fat she has as a problem black women were meant to be thick not walking sticks like white women I care about what she can do as far as her work I’m just about tired of the idiots we already have maybe we can start seeing that there is still some intelligent life on earth some people always look for the negative in other people if they haven’t realized that some people can eat healthy, exercise & just practice healthy habits & still be thick it’s something called personal genetic makeup so she can be thick & still healthier than the fool that had a problem with her weight

to all the stupid idiot that think that skinny is a good thing. it is not, until the end of the 20th century big girls were considered sexy,when those heroin addicts started running hollywood that is when “thin was in”. so stop hating on Dr.Benjamin for being a highly educated,caring and qualified individual. so to Dr.Benjamin do your thing girl, i pray you get the job as S.G. and GOD Bless you for all that you have done.

I haven’t read all the posted comments but am distraught by the the focus on weight her instead of her job description…mmm! I can’t believe someone thought this article was important…

Yes she does need to lose weight. You cant get on your soapbox and talk about how americans need to lose weight, when you have an eating disorder yourself. This reminds me of an old episode of the Ricki Lake show” Your Fat!Not all that!” one of the guests was complaing about her fat sister-in-law but she was a big girl too. The audience got on her because if you want other people to lose weight, you need to practice what you preach!

I was just looking back at the article to see what has been said.

I will say that there is a HUGE difference between complacent women and women who are bigger because they struggle with something.

I’ve read some pretty ridiculous responses. If you think putting people down or being a verbal bully is going to change opinions, you are truly ignorant! Posts that are so negative and pointless from an obviously out of control loud mouth should be the REAL topic of discussion, not the weight of an obviously more committed, public serving woman.

oh yeah and george bush looked healthy and rich, but he left the country unhealthy and broke! hmmm! want appearance of good health or sincere good intentions and skill?

Okay, and who died and made every skinny person God???? Why is it so hard for a bigger person to become something great in America? Everybody was not put on this earth to be a size 0-9. Is that really healthy anyway? I mean come on ppl give this woman a break. I guess if everyone changes for America we’d all pretty much look alike huh? Oh, that’s right. I forgot that some ppl are changing their skin color to be somewhat darker than they really are( doesn’t that stuff cause cancer), as well as plumping their lips, and butts/breasts up too!!! Come on stop the madness already.