Clues in our Cells?

In this recent Time article about why we get fat, the author suggests that our weight issue is linked to our metabolic and physiologic make-up. Yet the article also states that in one decade, the 1990’s, the number of fat adults increased by more that 60%.  Quote here:

And we could use the help: in the decade between 1991 and 2000, the prevalence of overweight adults in the U.S. increased by 61%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972947_1973044_1973046,00.html#WordPress#ixzz0jJI8pjYt

Now. One has to ask this question: If Americans (just Americans) grew so fat in one decade, don’t you think that’s related to poor diet and lack of exercise? The answer is YES! People are not going “evolve” in a decade. Certainly not an entire species. No matter how much we try to deny it, no matter how much we whine and complain that it’s “in our genes” the truth is we are just a nation of lazy piggies. The fat really is simply in our jeans.

Sorry, but the truth’s gotta be stated, even if it’s offensive.

Obese Teen

This 14-yo weighs over 400 pounds.  She recently had surgery to reduce the size of her stomach, courtesy of her health insurance.

I’d be willing to bet that this girl will remain obese. She will stretch her new, reduced stomach so that she can continue her feeding frenzy. (It happens to many gastric band patients.) This teen already admits to liking junk food and to being a couch potato. It’s unlikely that will change.

The parents should be fined. A lot. They should be required to pay back the costs of this surgery.  Take a look at these pictures of this girl. She was not born fat! She didn’t start growing fat until about age two.  These parents could have stopped or prevented this.

Nutrition Info Doesn’t Matter

As part of the new health care legislation being signed into law, larger chain restaurants will have to post nutrition info.  I seriously doubt this will affect our obesity rates. New York City fast food restaurants have been required for two years to post their info, and studies found that most folks don’t even pay attention to the nutrition info.  My bet is that this trend will continue when taken nationwide. The only people who will use the nutrition postings will be those people who already maintain their weight–and it’s unlikely you’d find them porking out on fast food any way.

Healthcare Needs Premiums for Obese Consumers

With this new healthcare bill about to become law, I hope there will be a provision in there for obese consumers. Smokers have to pay a premium on their insurance, so should ppl who cannot control their eating.

This is not a new idea, but it does need to be given serious consideration. The laundry list of health problems associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and joint replacement can specifically be pinned to overeating.

If you choose to continue eating cardiac fries and a double-bacon cheeseburger, why should the rest of America have to pay?

The Unspoken Conversation

So here’s one reason why I started this blog. One of the bloggers on WordPress has as her tagline for her “Fat Bridesmaid” blog, “Who wants a twig when you can have a whole tree?” First, this metaphor is a wee bit unsexy. A tree? Reminds me of gnarls and stumps. Or many men climbing a big tree.  Or a home to other animals and organisms. But I digress.

The thing is there are an awful lot of overweight women out there who are rude and antagonistic to fit and/or slim women, and I was getting tired of it. I’ve even seen fat women elbow their men or give them evil-eye looks because they were checking out a nice-looking woman. That doesn’t bother me so much-what bothers me is the comments and looks the big girls give the “other” woman. Just because YOU don’t exercise and take care of yourself doesn’t give you the right to throw proverbial stones at the women who do. 

We all know this to be true–fat girls, skinny girls, men–we know there is a war of the weight issue. My guy even notices it. He’ll say, “Did you see that big woman give you the evil eye?”  I’ve just learned not to look other ppl in the face. The women are far worse than the men about checking you out–at least the guys are subtle. The women stand there with a smug look.

Slim people get the smart-a** remarks from acquaintances, too, “There’s no way you can eat that much without purging.” Well, yes, way. A body in motion requires a lot more calories, but far less, I’m sure, than an obese person eats with her poor diet. 

So when you stop your rude remarks and your whining, I’ll stop mine.

Fitness Instructors Should NOT Be FAT!!

Yet my gym has one that teaches a weight-lifting class. This woman is at least 30 pounds overweight, with a big, jiggly belly. She can’t even complete the class herself, so I wonder why the gym would hire her (or still allow her) to teach? I mean, she’ll stop half-way through the exercises, clearly struggling, and laugh about it. Then she walks around. Of course, she preaches to everyone else about working hard and screams at people who have stopped.

She claims she’s on a diet, but since the 1st of the year, I have not seen a change. It’s pretty sad when your fitness instructor is a overweight.

Eat Less Food

You’ll hear the argument (far and wide) that eating “healthy” is expensive. This is simply not true for two reasons. The first is that a shopper need only buy the produce on sale. The produce on sale is usually in season, fresher and cheaper. Buying what’s in season will also help you keep your diet varied.

The second reason is that dieters are supposed to be eating LESS. This means buying less, too. If you buy less of an item and if you buy fewer items, especially junk food, you’ll find it is not expensive to eat healthy.