The Fat Person Chronicle
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The world as we know it is in constant change, and the people we were a just a generation ago is quite different than who we are today. Not in the true sense of evolving, but in a negative kind of “what happened” way. We have reached the point in our society where our concerns are much more personal and most of us concentrate on eating much more than anything else in our life. The social response has been one of confusion, misunderstanding, unconscious actions and a barrage of verbiage that isn’t resonating with the majority. Almost every day in the media there is a mention of weight or weight control that wasn’t even a concern just a few short years ago. We have become a very fat nation and measure our fatness in state to state polls and feel good that we are only 25th our of 50. “We’re not as fat as Mississippi so we must be doing well”, but statements like that are detrimental to the entire nation.
There have been major epidemics in our life time, but I believe none as sever as the obesity that is plaguing us today. This isn’t like sickle cell or smallpox because there are a certain group of people that are susceptible for those. You see fat is universal. It cuts across class, race, sex and age. There is no one group that is immune to this epidemic. Those that are overweight tend to get even bigger as time goes on. For people that are 10 pounds over their “normal weight,” if no action is taken, have a future where they will gain 20 to 50+ more. It’s a terrible cycle for anyone to be in and has design similar to any addiction like drug, alcohol, or smoking. Of course like an addict; when people worry about this, the first place they turn to is food for comfort.
It’s not like this just happened overnight either, it’s been getting progressively worse for some time now. The spiraling out of control process plays out in less productivity at work and an increase in time off to deal with the physical and emotional problems. Physicians try to work on the problem by reacting and medicating fat medical issues type 2 diabetes and subscribing pills for heart disease. Drug companies are making a fortune on prescriptions. The worse things get with increases of body mass, the more drug makers come up with a new med that works on the next symptom.
Inactivity and portions control are what I feel to be the two major factors in this overweight and obese world. The inability for individuals to even go outside has made us a very weak and soft group. The inventions of remote controls, 24 hour television, wireless phones and internet connected laptops have given us the ability to keep more to ourselves and ignore any exercise. We socialize by signing up for a Facebook, or My Space page and pass on face to face meetings. Little interaction with other humans has allowed us to wallow in self absorption; instant gratification and we self medicate with Big Macs. Fast food has gotten so bad on portions that the perception of sizes has been pushed to limits beyond belief. As an example, the small size of french-fries today at a McDonalds restaurant was what the large size was considered when the stores originally opened. Supermarkets and restaurants have also increased the packaging and plates to mammoth portions. The ironic name (super size) given to huge portions has really been a tag to put on the majority of Americans.
Marketing and advertising has their share of the blame since they make their money by concentrating on larger in just about every area. There are larger cars and SUVs to handle the wider backsides, clothing that reaches 5XL for men and “Big Gal” size 40+, furniture that holds an oversized person and reinforced chairs in theaters and restaurants are a few of the examples. They advertise to them and the main stream news media ridicules them. There are stories about nutritional values and getting restaurant chains to post calorie counts and it cuts away from that story to an ad about having it your way at Burger King. There is no real help here, just business as usual.
Who is to blame for this? I would say everyone has a fair share in this and not everyone is doing their part. For the person that exercises every day and controls their eating habits they also become enablers and allow food to take over friends, co-workers and family. For those that are obese, they don’t get enough education and information to make correct decisions about their future. Although we have at the federal level the President’s council on physical fitness there needs to be more concern from local and state government to help combat this. We spend millions of dollars on vaccines to combat the influenza season, but rely on capitalism to pitch diet and exercise programs.
There needs to be a proactive approach at the grassroots level that involves everyone. Exercise campaigns need to be established and just like a lunch break at work, activity time should be planned. Competition can be set up and it breeds enthusiasm similar to “the Biggest Loser” where families, like individuals or age groups push toward a common goal. Nightly walks or early morning walks can add more to communities and may even control an ancillary problem like idleness of today’s youth. Schools should teach nutrition and exercise and physicians should look more to certified nutrition specialist as part of their team. If we continue to ignore this and continue to grow at this alarming rate we will be a nation of really big losers.
| 3.1 |
Being Overweight Sucks
You roll out of bed in the morning and feel as tired as when you laid down last night. You shower and primp in the mirror and wonder what item of clothing to choose will hide more than it shows. You walk to your car for your commute to work and know that you could have saved some money with a compact, but the seats are just too small. Your size has again made you realize that being overweight sucks.
You’re now the average person in America since over 66.3% of adults (age 20 and older) are overweight or obese. These statistics are taken from the National Center for Health Statistics. Of course the statistics are only one way of looking at this epidemic, since emotions usually aren’t factored in. Millions of people are affected by this fat problem and it’s broken down in 3 major areas:
Health - The data is in and being overweight or obese leads to or causes a number of medical factors that those in a healthy weigh category don’t see as epidemic. Here are some stats on those factors of overweight or obese individuals taken from the Surgeon General’s website.
- Premature death - An estimated 300000 premature deaths are attributed to overweight. Individuals that have a BMI > 30 have a 50% to 100% risk of premature death. BMI stands for Body Mass Index and you can see a calculator at the Center for Disease Control
- Heart Disease - Incidents of heart disease (heart attack, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death, angina, chest pain, and abnormal heart rhythm) is dramatically increased with a BMI > 25.
- Diabetes - Over 80% of all people with diabetes are there because of their overweight condition.
- Cancer - Overweight or obese increases your risk for different types of cancer to include; (cancer of the lining of the uterus), colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney, and postmenopausal breast cancer.
- Breathing Problems - Sleep apnea and asthma are associated with weight increases.
- Arthritis - For every 2 pound increase in weight you increase the risk of arthritis by 9% to 13%.
- Reproductive Complications - Overweight mothers to be have a 10 times greater increased in high blood pressure, low blood sugar and death to mother and baby.
- Additional Consequences - Gall bladder dieses, incontinence, depression, increased surgical risks, joint (especially knee) problems.
Financially - The finances associated with being overweight or obese is staggering. The weight loss industry is in the billions of dollars so there must be a target audience that they’re going after. Here are some of the items that are connected to this issue.
- Health Care Costs - The staggering dollar amount for caring for those individuals who are fat are associated with all the health related items above, but also take on issues like oversize beds, wheelchairs, toilet seats, scales, etc. and this doesn’t even take into account the lost time at work and increased doctor visits.
- Transportation - As I stated in the beginning, larger cars have been manufactured so that individuals can sit in them comfortably. The increase I n size has also increase the cost and cost to fuel since most are made with larger engines to haul people around. Airlines, trains and ships have all had to make changes to increase the room necessary for a larger society.
- Home Living Issues - Increase in the size of furniture has increased cost in order to reinforce the padding and structure. Refrigerators, Washers Dryers and other appliances had to be increased in order to account for more in them.
- Feel Good Items - Those things that are made specifically for the extra large person that attempts to work on their psyche. Stores that cater to Big Beautiful Women (BBW) or oversize men. Dining out from fast food to fancy where extra size is normal fare. Jewelry with extra links, shoes with extra widths.
Emotionally - As was stated in the Health related category, depression is a large problem for those that are overweigh and obese. These problems are also enhanced by how others look at these individuals and the rejection that comes from being in this condition. We have included oversize, extra size, double extra large, and supersize as new words in our vocabulary.
- Job opportunities - Even though this is considered a protected class of individuals now, discrimination exists when applying for a new job or seeking a promotion based upon weight problems. Some managers say “If they can’t control their weight, how can they control any aspect of business?”
- Relationships - If you seek a significant other as a partner in life, you may find that your personality is not all you can get by on. The perspective mate pool dries up fast with the stigma that comes with being overweight.
- Activities - This is related to health as well, but large people get excluded in certain activities like sports, dance, drives, etc. because of the ability to keep up or even participate.
- Insults - There are more insults projected at overweight and obese then at any other stereotype. The reason is that most people in this condition take it or practice self deprecating rather than demanding this practice stop.
Being overweight or obese really does suck for the millions of individuals dealing with this problem. The reality is all the items above that show what you go through if you have this excess fat. One shining ray of hope is that you can do something about it. Once you start to shed some of the additional pound you can reverse health and emotional factors. The financial situation will eventually correct itself as well. The time to start is right now, not tomorrow. If you took the time to read this article you may feel you’re in this number. Get some help and get well again.
| 2.5 |
Get a Love Handle on Belly Fat
Wouldn’t you know it, the season has changed and you are wearing less clothing that you did when the weather was cold. You have just discovered that you packed on a few or quite a few pounds since you last had those clothes on. You can’t believe it, but your belly has gotten fat and flabby. How could that happen and where did this excess fat come from? I’m sure if you think back to those extra pieces of pumpkin pie over the Thanksgiving Holiday, the huge Christmas party with all of those delicious finger foods and oh yes, those incredible liquor coffee drinks with the heaping mound of whipped cream might give you a hint.
You might take solace in the fact that you’re not alone here, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are overweight and need to do something about it. Fat around the midsection is one of the hardest areas to reduce and control. There is good news though; that is that it’s not impossible a chore to tackle. You just have to make some changes in order to get back to that person you used to be when you always had a flat stomach. Here are your changes to reduce that waist:
1. Change the way you eat - “What’s that?” you say “What are you talking about? I can’t change the way I eat”. “I go to work each day and need to stop at the deli and then there is lunch with the gang and of course the family sits down each night to a nice hot meal. How can I change”? You can change by looking seriously at what it is you’re putting in that belly.
- Write down everything you eat for a whole week. That includes snacks, meals, drinks, etc.
- Check the calorie count of all those items and add it up. Most individuals need between 1500 to 2000 calories a day to exist. You have been way over that amount. You can go to CalorieCount.com to get a real good idea of how much each item equals.
- Start to substitute cereal for you breakfast and salads for meals. You will find that you can still feel full with these alternatives, but the caloric intake is greatly reduced.
- Eat when you’re hungry and not by a clock. Waiting for a time to eat or eating when you’re really not hungry increases the calories by a huge total.
2. Begin to Exercise - Again you say “How can I exercise? I can’t even find a little bit of time for me, let alone exercise”. We’ll you got this way because you haven’t been exercising. I’m not saying you need to run a marathon; you just need to start doing something.
- Set up time to exercise - You need to do this around the same time each day so it becomes part of who you are.
- Start Slowly - Exercise is good for you and helps your body but if you push yourself too hard and overdo it, you’ll give it up almost right away.
- Check with your doctor - You got to make sure that you’re able to start an exercise program and what medical obstacles may be in your way.
3. Check your weight - I can’t do this because I don’t want to know. Well even though you’re overweight you need to know by what extent and how you can approach fixing it.
- Don’t weigh yourself too often -When you start, just weigh yourself first thing in the morning and don’t check again until a week has gone by.
- Expect to reach plateaus - You can’t lose every week because your metabolism changes with you so don’t be discouraged by it.
- Keep a log - If you track over time you’ll feel better about yourself and notice that you now have a flatter stomach.
4. Get a partner to help - It’s amazing how much better one sticks to a routine when they have someone to talk to, get advice from or workout with. Don’t make this too difficult as this can even be someone on-line that knows what you’re going through.
5. Don’t take any pills or drugs to help -It only will work for a short amount of time and may make you feel jittery or depressed. It took you a long time to put on the weight and will take a long time to take it off.
Once you start to accomplish those things, you’ll see some changes in your body. Feeling good again will help. Why do you think those that go through the show “The Biggest Loser” are smiling at the end? They feel better about themselves and it forces it to show on the outside. You will be surprised how the fat will melt when you follow those simple items above. Good Luck!
| 2.5 |
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