Thanks for posting this, it's a good wake-up call. This part really bugged me:
"Over half the young women between the ages of 18 and 25 would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat, and two-thirds surveyed would rather be mean or stupid."
Odds are, if that's their opinion, they probably are already mean and/or stupid. How sad. Don't get me wrong, I hate being fat, but I like who I am inside these days and there's no way I'd abandon that even for the weight. I can work on the weight, I don't know if I could fundamentally change my personality.
"Over half the young women between the ages of 18 and 25 would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat, and two-thirds surveyed would rather be mean or stupid."
This is a rather vague statistic. "Fat" can be interpreted anywhere between a few pounds overweight and extremely obese. While I don't understand the preferance to being run over by a truck, I do understand wanting to be mean or stupid over being "fat". When I see that, I think "would I rather look like the man on Dr. Phil who was 1000 pounds, or be mean or stupid" and the choice is easily to be mean or stupid.
Wow...what really got me fired up wasn't the article itself, but the comments below it. Reading some of those discussions just reminded me of how stupid so many people really are--how closed-minded, how shallow, how uneducated, etc...it is a sad time in which we live when people can't distinguish between factual scientific studies and mere ramblings posted on corporate websites (or magazines or news reports or whatever type of media).
I do understand wanting to be mean or stupid over being "fat". When I see that, I think "would I rather look like the man on Dr. Phil who was 1000 pounds, or be mean or stupid" and the choice is easily to be mean or stupid.
Hmmmm... when you look at it from that extreme, I guess I can see your point, but, as for myself, I still have to gracefully disagree. Meh, that's okay...
Yesterday I learned that even fat people can be mean and stupid. My junior high students and I were watching some short films made various groups of other high school students. Every time there was a "fat" person on one of the movies my students - even the fat ones- would make comments! Do these kids not know they are fat too? It was shocking to me!
On the "mean or stupid" vs. "fat" thing...I think it seems easier to most people to CHANGE from being mean or stupid than to change from being fat. You can do a lot of things to become smarter, and you can usually easily change your attitude to become nicer, but becoming thinner is a LOT of hard work! I would rather be mean, too, because I think it would take a lot less time to change
I thought that was a really good article. Being thin does not always equate health. When I was younger, I was very thin. I had trouble finding clothes that fit me correctly. I felt weak and tired all of the time. Now, even though I have a few extra pounds, I feel strong and healthy, like I can conquor the world. I'm exercising and eating much better than I did back then.
I also liked the part that spoke about the importance of moderation; not feast or famine type of thinking. I found that I felt best and still managed to lose weight when I was eating lots, just making better choices. It was when I ate too much junk food or failed to eat enough nourishing food that I felt bad and put on the pounds.
I agree with the article that more emphasis needs to be placed on taking care of your health and making good choices rather than on being thin.
One of the comments following the article stated, "I have spent years screaming at the media and at governmental representatives about the lack of sidewalks and the reduction in public transportation as a significant contributing factor in the obesity of Americans."
This has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. I don't think I've seen any sidewalks at all in any of the newer housing developments I've been in, not even the most expensive ones. And what about bike trails? They just redid the main road that leads from my neighborhood to the nearest town, and put a turn lane down the middle--but that meant they had to sacrifice the wide shoulders on the road, which had been the only safe place to ride a bicycle. I'm very patriotic, but I do get upset at America's continued hostility to bikers, pedestrians, and public transportation.
One of the comments following the article stated, "I have spent years screaming at the media and at governmental representatives about the lack of sidewalks and the reduction in public transportation as a significant contributing factor in the obesity of Americans."
This has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. I don't think I've seen any sidewalks at all in any of the newer housing developments I've been in, not even the most expensive ones. And what about bike trails? They just redid the main road that leads from my neighborhood to the nearest town, and put a turn lane down the middle--but that meant they had to sacrifice the wide shoulders on the road, which had been the only safe place to ride a bicycle. I'm very patriotic, but I do get upset at America's continued hostility to bikers, pedestrians, and public transportation.
I guess it all depends on where you live, but that seems to be a really generalized statement.
Where I live (the San Francisco Bay Area) there are probably literally hundreds of miles of recreational trails and bike lanes. All of the developments over the past, oh, 20 years or so have included open space and/or rec trails. There IS one town (Hillsborough) where sidewalks are OUTLAWED - however they have very wide lanes, traffic calming, and very wide dirt paths alongside the roads (granted, they are also one of the highest per capita income towns in the US).
We are also very proud of our San Francisco Bay Trail, which will encircle the entire San Francisco Bay with 500 miles of connected recreational trails when completed - it is over halfway done now. And this is just ONE project - most cities, counties and neighborhoods have local trails, such as our very popular Sawyer Camp Trail.
What am I trying to say here? You can't blame "America" for the lack of trails in your area - if there is a lack, you need to GET INVOLVED and do something about it - projects such as recreational trails are generally local or state projects, not national ones.
I loved the article: We don't need expensive, genetically engineered foods or state-of-the-art exercise equipment. We don't need fancy doctors or pharmaceutical drugs. We don't need the latest diet craze book or even the latest medical study -- they all seem to contradict each other anyway. We don't even need Herculean willpower.
We just need to leave our cars in the garage, stroll down to the park, and play some softball with our neighbors on a Saturday.
It has less to do with purchasing something to fix the problem, and more to do with doing something (often free) about it. This reminds me of the book, Affluenza.
I guess it all depends on where you live, but that seems to be a really generalized statement... What am I trying to say here? You can't blame "America" for the lack of trails in your area - if there is a lack, you need to GET INVOLVED and do something about it - projects such as recreational trails are generally local or state projects, not national ones.
What you're describing sounds wonderful, but after having lived in several different states, and traveled in many more, I have to believe it's the exception rather than the rule, especially in the more rural areas of the country. Since moving to my present area, I've spoken to the county roads commission, I've spoken to the local transit authority, and they're always polite, but there's only so much influence one person can have. Cars are King here, and everything else is a distant second.
Here in Alaska, whenever the state upgrades a "highway" (which is certainly not what the rest of you consider a highway ) that upgrade includes a bike/walking trail alongside of it. In the southcentral area where I live (includes Anchorage) there a miles and miles of trails - it's great.
I found the article to be mostly hog-wash and giving people an excuse for not changing their lifestyle and therefore their health for the better. I, too, was obese and if I had read this 9 months ago, I might have thought, so, I don't really need to lose weight. It's just corporate America and the giant Diet Industry that wants me too. This article has done more damage than it has done good, IMO. There's a huge difference between obesity with all it's health associated risks and the psychological struggle of the anorexic or bulemic. The after-posts were some very shocking. This isn't really the message that we need to be sending to the people here at 3FC who are trying to improve their life, by making healthy changes. I am a little angered by the whole darn thing.
Interesting... I interpreted it totally different than you did, Lilybelle. I didn't think it was saying we don't need to lose weight but more that we just need to get off our butts and exercise and eat right. Which is what I already believe anyway. There is always going to be an excuse... no place to walk, no sidewalks, too hard to cook, etc. Hey I HATE to cook but with a little effort I CAN make it happen when I really set my mind to it!! I also hate the sun and hot weather so summer coming is going to make it harder for me... I will hate being out in the sun but I WILL do it!!
The Big Lie (great article about being obsessed w/ weight)
) that upgrade includes a bike/walking trail alongside of it. In the southcentral area where I live (includes Anchorage) there a miles and miles of trails - it's great.
