Friday, July 18, 2008

We're Out of Milk, Just Use Gravy On Those Frosted Flakes...

"More Than One in Four American Adults Now Obese"

This really doesn't bode well for the future of America...

Why is it that whenever they show show a fat person in the media they are:
a) Always alone or shot in some way to seem like an outcast?
b) Always eating something and it's usually take-out or fast food of some kind?
c) The photo is taken at the most cruel angles in order to get the maximum fat roll content?

I thought these statements were interesting:

"Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet — high in fat and fried food — may be part of the answer..."

"The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black women — two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates..."

"In today's America, poor people tend to be obese: The cheapest foods tend to be calorie-heavy, and stores offering healthier, and more expensive, food choices often are not found in poor neighborhoods..."

I can hear Al Sharpton's computer keyboard clicking away constructing his next public outcry of racism and demonization of the southern black community. Actually, I would lean towards agreeing with him. While the statistics are probably true, taken in context, I think they are a little biased.

In relation to the number of black people that are in the south, the rates of obesity are higher yes, but the overall number of fat black women compared to fat white women is most likely significantly lower. So, I ask, what's their excuse. They say that the blacks are fat because of basically "fried food and no money to buy healthier items", so what's the reason for fat white folk? If they have the stores with the healthy food and the money to buy it, why the hell are they busting at the seems also?

Seems to me that the reason that everyone is fat is because we stuff our faces with crap and are to lazy to work it off. That's why I gained some poundage. Not because I'm "poor" (who isn't really nowadays) or "ethnic", it's because I got lazy and decided that I wanted a pizza and some beer rather than that grilled chicken salad and iced tea. Simple as that.

So what do we need to do to overcome this? Get the fuck off the couch, put down the fork and get to running or some other activity that sucks ass but slims you down. I have actually started to go back to the gym and have now logged 9 miles on the elliptical trainer in the past 3 days. Not where I was when I started the pizza diet but definitely above my expectations. When I get back to 4 miles a day and lifting weights again, I will be happy with the effort.

And it does get easier as you go along, as cliched as that may sound. You just have to suffer for a bit to reap the reward... and suffer I am right now...

1 comment:

Metro said...

In answer:
a) Because they know a quarter of us identify with that image.
b) Possibly because it's easy to find and film fat folks at fast food franchises?
c) For the same reason FOX specializes in outrage.

The US is fat because food, particularly fat-laden, bad-for-you food has never been cheaper, portions have never been huger, and marketing has never been more blatant.

"In relation to the number of black people that are in the south, the rates of obesity are higher yes, but the overall number of fat black women compared to fat white women is most likely significantly lower."

Sources, please? It seems to me the article speaks against that simply by saying that black women overall are more likely (cause unknown) to be obese.

I'm not sure I understand where you went with this. Poor whites get fat too. No mystery to it. I mean, are you suggesting that if poor black people are fat at in larger numbers than poor whites that it's some idication that they're lazier?

Yet at the same time you seem to be saying it's not specifically a black problem, which is abundantly true, but it makes the above discussion seem like a needless digression.

Me, I'm about thirty pounds overweight, but summer's here and I'm sweating some of it off.Good luck with your program.

On the topic--I'm looking at the sandbag workout.