Paula's Falling

I watched the Today Show the other day, when Al Roker interviewed Paula Deen about the rumor that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Paula (I feel as if I can call her "Paula" because for umpteen years I have been watching her cook the things the women in the Methodist church in Thayer cooked) confirmed that she did indeed have Type 2 diabetes, and that she had been diagnosed about three years ago. She had not divulged the diagnosis, and I couldn't really understand her answers to Al's questions about the secrecy surrounding her disease.

I assumed, and she said nothing to disabuse me of my assumption, that she hadn't told anyone because diet and obesity are two factors that trigger Type 2 diabetes - the one that people develop in adulthood because they eat and sit themselves right into it. And anyone who watches Paula cook and has done so for more than a few years knows that her recipes are filled with butter and sugar and sour cream and other fattening goodies, and that she has put on more than just a few pounds. The viewing public has also seen her husband grow from overweight to gargantuan.

My assumption is that Paula didn't tell anyone because to do so would have told the world, "If you cook like I do, and then eat the food, you will gain a lot of weight and you will get diabetes." Then people might have gotten the idea that cooking and eating that kind of food are not good things. Then those people might not have watched her show, or bought her cookware, or bought her cookbooks. Those actions could have detrimentally affected Paula's bottom line.

Further complicating the issue is that she divulged her health condition ONLY after she signed up with a Big Pharma company that manufactures a diabetes drug. This means that she was ready to tell only when it was going to make her some money. So we can again assume that what she did or did not do or tell or did not tell is based on that thing that makes the world go 'round, and I'm not talking about love.

Additionally, I admit to thinking that Paula seemed disingenuous in her interview with Al Roker. Al, who had to resort to bariatric surgery a few years ago to lose weight, pointedly asked questions regarding her diet and her recipes and whether she was going to change either. She sidestepped those legitimate questions by saying that she eats the way she cooks only in moderation, and that she urges her viewing public to do the same. As a long-time regular viewer, I can tell you that I have heard Paula Deen two or three times say that she doesn't eat like this every day, but I recall with much greater clarity her giving me the idea that adding another tablespoon of butter to a recipe is going to make it taste better, giggling while she looked mischievously at the camera.

All in all, that mischief is part of her charm. She makes just about everything sound like fun, whether it is cooking with her sons, or watching a comedienne imitate her right down to her wigs, her "y'all," and her laugh. She invites us all right into her kitchen, and if we really went, we know we would probably laugh right along with her for as long as we were there. She has made cooking and eating old time Southern favorites, replete with butter and deep fat frying, just a whole lot of fun. Her growing girth has given truth to the old adage, "Fat people are jolly;" those of us who would rather have fun than eat sensibly are drawn to both her and the food she lovingly cooks and tastes on the set.

Her camera personality has developed myriad fans, I among them, and those people have made her a very wealthy woman. Along with that celebrity and wealth, I believe, comes a modicum of responsibility to the people who have given her those things.

I think that when she found out about her medical condition, she should have told her producers and her fans, and she could have been a hero by doing the same fun cooking in a manner that was healthy for people with diabetes. Her show might have changed, but if she and her fun personality are the draws, her legion fans, me included, would have followed right along with her - and probably lost weight and been healthier in the long run.

I realize that we are all responsible for our own health and what we eat, but we humans are easily led. That is why so many girls were caught up in the fashion trend of baring their midriffs even when their bulging midriffs shouldn't have been bared, why so many men wear baseball caps inside and all the time, even when it is downright rude or unattractive, why women will ruin their feet and comfort by wearing high heeled shoes that don't really fit, why small children will recognize the Golden Arches at extremely early ages, and why otherwise sensible people believe that Fox News is "fair and balanced." Paula Deen is not responsible for our getting fat, but she sure has made it easy and fun. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing for her to show us that getting un-fat can be just as fun - even though not quite as easy.

I think would she do that in her own cute way, she would have just as many television fans and maybe more; however, her diabetes drug might not sell as many pills. I wonder which is more important?