Young Americans too fat to fight

The Scotsman ^ | August 27, 2007 | Emily Wagster-Pettus in Biloxi, Mississippi

[George W. Bush]

Yes, obese people just gain weight from the thin air.

I know a few morbidly obese friends who I've never caught porking it out. OTOH, I'm skinny and eat like a complete hog.

We’re a nation of gluttons. Be it food, money, sex, power, toys, whatever - we’re a nation of greedy, lazy gluttons.

Well, no one said capitalism and liberty are always pretty. Just far less dangerous than the alternatives.

What you do after realizing it...defines you. I chose to not be like that. If you disagree, fine. It’s your life.

I don't think we want nanny-staters like Bloomburg (or even Huckabee) to herd us into fat camps and tobacco camps as their Final Solution.

[PISANO]

Has anyone ever wondered why ever increasing numbers of those who are obese coincides with the ever increasing numbers of those who occupy the poverty level and below in our society??

[toast]

BMI doesn’t account well for muscle. Well muscled people can weigh more for their height than normal. This will give them a higher BMI.

I do believe our military personnel have more muscle than average americans. I don’t trust the numbers used in this article.

[SmoothTalker]

“The crisis is in the minds of wanna-be totalitarians whose most fervent wish is to control what you and I eat, drink and when and how much we exercise.”

Oh come on. Some folks are concerned that we are a nation of lard-@#@#@. And we are and we as a nation will have to pay for it as these folks have gigantic health problems in the future. Personally I don’t want to pay higher insurance rates because somebody never walks anywhere and stuffs his face with things like McDonalds and Chinese buffets everyday of the week People need to show some personal responsibility and take care of themselves.

[SmoothTalker]

“You are, no doubt, correct, but whatever happened to the studies that say that slightly overweight people live longer than underweight people ?”

We aren’t talking about folks who could lose 10 lbs. We are talking about gigantic folks who could lose 100 lbs. And we as a nation have tons of ‘em. Just go to any Walmart.

[metesky]

Personally I don’t want to pay higher insurance rates because somebody never walks anywhere and stuffs his face with things like McDonalds and Chinese buffets everyday of the week People need to show some personal responsibility and take care of themselves.

I agree with you, although we might differ as to means. I don't believe in gub'mint mandated insurance (single payer), but I don't believe insurance companies should have laws made against them charging premiums on a real acturarial basis.

But here's a sad fact that will surely frost your a$$: In Bangor today they are building low income, elderly and welfare apartments on two corners of a four-way intersection and on the third corner? ... You guessed it, a brand new Oriental Palace II!

So they are moving about 150 low income families and elderly, people admittedly already on the plantation, right across from a business that is probably building with an SBA low interest loan

The whole thing becomes circular, a government funded round pound and they expect you and me to pick up the rent, the heat, the lights, the food plus pay for their insurance.

[Tully Pettigrew 1]

It amazes me that this story is what passes for news in Scotland. Why should they care? Are they so concerned for our health? No, of course not, the answer to that is really quite simple, it gives them yet another reason for their readers to take cheap shots at America and Americans. We are the only group in the world who isn’t covered by European PC madness. I guess it keeps their minds off their own problems.

[deebee1]

What do we need a military for anyway? According to the Dems, if we just act nice to everyone, they’ll act nice to us too.

[George W. Bush]

Has anyone ever wondered why ever increasing numbers of those who are obese coincides with the ever increasing numbers of those who occupy the poverty level and below in our society??

I think they eat their money. Just a pet theory.

[beezdotcom]

I have a sister who is 5’3” and weighs 500 pounds. She lives on diet soda. Listen to the term sodium saccharan what is the first word, sodium and what does too much salt do? makes you hold water weight.

Okay, diet drinks and what else? Seriously. 350 pounds of that is not likely to be water weight. There's either a thyroid issue, a hidden Ho-Ho issue, or both.

[beezdotcom]

Has anyone ever wondered why ever increasing numbers of those who are obese coincides with the ever increasing numbers of those who occupy the poverty level and below in our society??

I dunno - because some of the cheapest food is also the most fattening? Because poor people are drowning their sorrows in Ho-Hos? What's YOUR theory?

[Dead Dog]

whatever.

Europe is also getting fat.

[DesScorp]

The reasons:

Not enough physical activity; the Xbox has replaced the football field

Two working parents: two income families save time by ordering out a lot. That means lots of fast food, and lots of sugary soda to wash it down with, not to mention a lack of vegatables in the diet.

Good food is more expensive: it used to be cheap to eat healthy. Now it’s actually cheaper to eat unhealthy.

Microwaves: increasing US obesity rates track almost exactly with the rise of the cheap microwave oven in the early 80’s. The two graphs match each other almost point for point.

More vehicles: more people (including teenagers) than ever have their own vehicles, and they ride everywhere, even on a short trip to the store.

Air conditioning: The availability of cheap air conditioning keeps us cooler than nature intended. Hot bodies have reduced appetites. Colder bodies have increased appetites. Cold temperatures triggers an instinct to gather energy for the long winter ahead.

[t_skoz]

When is the last time you went to Europe? I was there 2 weeks ago. By the way I never mentioned anything about Europe.

[Dead Dog]

Italy last November, lots of fatbodies.

[Billthedrill]

We’ve been through this before within the military. Now, I’m not discounting a national obesity issue but with respect to the military specifically I can recall a previous enthusiasm for BMI that had my CO telling one of the best collegiate wrestlers in the country that he was overweight. Guy had a 29-inch waist and was built like a Mac truck, probably not enough fat on him to fill a teaspoon. Ship’s Doc just rolled his eyes and asked the CO if he wanted him to amputate a leg or something...

[George W. Bush]

I can recall a previous enthusiasm for BMI that had my CO telling one of the best collegiate wrestlers in the country that he was overweight. Guy had a 29-inch waist and was built like a Mac truck, probably not enough fat on him to fill a teaspoon.

Guys like that aren't included in the scale. Extremely high muscle ratio (probably 5% or less). It's more of the tyranny of the averages and fixed notions about weight and health.

Most of us know if we're fat or not. Eat more or less, exercise more, don't go in for goofy diets that teach your metabolism bad tricks. And don't embark on radical self-imporvement projects.

Of course, I went to the store today to grab up a couple giant bags of Almond M&Ms so that I could pound an couple of thousand extra calories in. It's just something some slim people have to do, not something the rest of you should ever make a habit of.

There's a kind of tyranny about these ideals and medical standards that results in a lot of unhelpful behavior and thinking. It's like pretending that your doctor prescribing medicines for you in a standard dose is somehow going to have the same exact effect on a 350 lb. man as it would on a 110 lb woman. Crazy. Yet, few question it.

[dfwgator]

My understanding is that diet soda, even though it doesn’t have sugar, still tricks the body into producing insulin, which can lead to fat.

[jude24]

Has anyone ever wondered why ever increasing numbers of those who are obese coincides with the ever increasing numbers of those who occupy the poverty level and below in our society??

I know why. When I started eating healthy (more fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains), my food bill doubled. I could eat at the McDonalds Dollar menu for less than what it costs me to make a healthy dinner.

[dfwgator]

Sounds like it’s time to bring back “Victory Gardens.”