Posted on 06/19/2002 11:21:13 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:54:50 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
An abiding weakness of the conventional wisdom is that, once a supposed fact has become part of that wisdom, it becomes almost impossible to dislodge it.
Contemporary journalism contributes to this problem by relying on technologies that help ensure an assertion, once it is repeated enough times, will never be checked against the actual evidence. Consider for example the claim that fat kills 300,000 Americans per year, and is thus the nation's second leading cause of premature death, trailing only cigarettes. A Lexis database search reveals that this "fact" has been repeated in more than one thousand news stories over the past three years alone. Yet the evidence for this claim is so slim as to be practically nonexistent.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Amen.
But I have to add one little tidbit of info. I have severe scoliosis- a 37 degree bend to be exact. And with even a few extra pounds, my lifestyle gets severly limited. So, I have to make an effort and I do try not to obsess. I guess that's why, in another post, I tried to make the point that it's a very personal and individual problem.
I'm 20 pounds overweight now. I've been as much as 100 pounds overweight. I couldn't walk then. I don't obsess about the 20 pounds. Sure I'd like to take them off, but more important, I know I have the potential to go back to 100 pounds overweight. And quite frankly, that scares me!
And yes, ppaul, I'm overweight, but it's not from munching on goodies you heartless bigot, it's from a thyroid condition I aquired post pregnancy and although the condition is corrected, the weight is still there and it's hard to lose at this point. It doesn't require that many calories to maintain one's weight. All the correction of the hypo has done is to stop me from gaining more weight. So, yes, your misconceptions do hurt. And the fact that some would begrudge someone like me medical coverage for a VALID medical condition(hypo thyroid) that was not a result of any poor lifestyle choice on my part is really sad. I'm sure being a heartless bigot brings about it's own set of health problems as well. Perhaps I should get a pass on paying for any high blood pressure related problems or stress conditions that accompany your negative attitude towards other people?
Well, you have two choices. Either they can control their eating or they can't.
If you've concluded that they can't, then you're hiding it pretty well with your caustic verbal attacks on people who are fat.
Ergo, you've concluded that they can control it. You, on the other hand, apparently can't control your outbursts. So I decided to give some of your poison back to you.
I've told you that I have been fat, and you jump to the conclusion that I am fat. Couple that with the logic in the above paragraphs that you failed to see, and it's obvious you flunked Logic 101, or never enrolled.
Finally, if you've written anything in this thread that you think is funny, I haven't read it.
Are you being deliberately obtuse?
If that happened it would give the bureaucrats and neurotic controllers canniptions.
They would then have no claim or justification to controlling every facet of our lives, their ultimate goal and job security program.
Same with smoking.
Never mind that their illegal meddling triples or quadruples the price of everything they attempt to "reduce" the cost of, by coercing behavior.
I have a tendancy to be too, especially around people who don't understand how difficult it is because they don't have the problem. Overeaters Annonymous has been the only program/diet/advise/ etc. that has ever been able to help me long-term.
I give up my control to God's control every single day---actually every single minute. By His Grace, He gives me success. When I rely on myself, I fall flat on my face.
It's not vanity for me, although it was for a great part of my life. It's health. I have a back problem, and extra weight severely limits me. I love photography---especially nature photography. And to get the shots, I have to hike and climb and bend and twist. The back problem alone can limit me, but with extra pounds, it's impossible.
And then my family history is filled with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis. And the correlation between these diseases and overweight has been observed in study after study.
Don't get me wrong----I do understand. I really do. I have always been overweight and, at times, morbidly obese. I love food---and carrots and celery are pretty close to the bottom of the list of my favorites. But by His Grace, and His grace alone, I can keep the weight down.
I wish I knew why food is a problem for me. I wish I could understand why it isn't for others. But life isn't fair, Jesus never said it would be. It's not fair, and the prejudice only makes it worse. So the way I look at it, it gives me the opportunity to show the Lord at work!
Thanks for the reminder!
What worked for alcohol and drugs, works for food too!
Thank you for speaking up against elitist bigots like ppaul. They need to hear it, even though they'll never understand how nasty they really are.
Thank you for speaking up against elitist bigots like ppaul.You mean elitist overweight bigots, don't you?
Yeah, I'm overweight.
In fact, I've been chubby for a long time.
But I am not wringing my hands over it, or calling people bigots because they might call me a "fatso".
Good for them! I admit I need to stop eating all the bread and pasta.
And, I get a kick out of fatsos who are so darned sensitive.
Stop being so sensitive. Laugh at yourself.
And don't make excuses for being fat.
Either revel in your fatness, or do something about it.
But don't whine about it and call people bigots because they think fat people look funny.
That's life. Live it!
I just ate a "cookie or two."
I never said "everyone" was stupid or uneducated, but a whole lot are. I make this statement based on my personal observations from having taught nutrition classes and the astonishment of those in my classes when I presented them with the nutrional contents of the typical McD's meal or iceberg lettuce.
I have no interest in telling people what they should or should not eat. But I do believe it is helpful for people to know what they are eating because they have been deceived, and I hate deception, in any shape or form. And I find the best defense against deception is to be educated. Learn the truth, then decide for yourself. Just don't act in ignorance.
I have no interest in promoting lawsuits. I personally believe, and resently posted on another thread, that a good use for lawyers would be to put them on border patrol.
FReegards, LGE
Yeah, but obesity in our children is rising at a disportionate rate. I feel sorry for those kids who are being set up for a life of food struggles, by parents that do not know what they are doing because they think what they are feeding their kids is the right food!!!!
Again, educating people is different from policing them. I guess that's where we have misunderstood each other.
And now, back to my cookies....
There have actually been studies done that show that overweight people have MORE self-control in general than those of so-called "normal" weight. But the PROOF (for DB's sake) is inconclusive. I personally don't think that overweight people have any more or less self-control than anyone else. I know of number of very thin alcoholics, drug addicts, and binge eaters!
"Eating at this establishment more than once will likely lead to coronary artery disease, stoke, cancer, malnutrition.....etc. etc. etc.
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