We're Supposedly Fatter

"They're going all out and claiming that 73% of adults in the US "could be overweight or obese" in four years. We're at 64.5% now. Remember, we are the majority." At what point do they start considering people overweight? What measurement are they using? Is someone who is 1% over their BMI part of this 'dangerous' (insert scary noises here) potential 73%?

"People who are not fat are arguing over what to do to 'cure' fat" The problem is that there are also plenty of people who are fat arguing over what to do to "cure" fat. If 64.5% of adults are overweight or obese, then a significant portion of the policy makers are too. But the guilt and self-loathing that many fat people possess is what keeps the tide from turning away from anti-fat bigotry. It's not a simple majority issue at the moment. Unapologetic fat people are the minority, and the rest don't know what to do except tie the noose and put it around their neck because they hate themselves so much. Before we can really make systemic changes, we have to convince more of these folks that their self worth is not contingent on their weight, and that they've sold down the river by mainstream society.

Fair point, Kim, fair point. It really isn't just not-fat people trying to cure fat.

they keep bringing the numbers of healthy weights down, so naturally the those determined as overweight are going up, I can't imagine that we are seeing an epidemic of severe increases in overweight in 3 years, that is illogical. of course everything they seem to do (medical organizations and such who are supposed to be looking out for our best intersts tho they seldom do) is illogical because the motivation is either false infor or money. of course I opt it is the money. RR

The CDC pushing so hard is probably part of the problem. How many ever-so-slightly "overweight" people are going to freak out and try to lose weight, only to yo-yo and gain more? It seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This has got to be the only time I have ever wanted the majority to crush the minority. It is my way or the highway--Now, worship my thighs! Okay, seriously, I agree that a large part of the majority shares the bogus idealogy of the minority. That must change. Perhaps when we reach the CDCs mythical 75%...

The good people of the BBC posed this question to "the masses" and now they're talking back. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4185204.stm

So, if weight is largely genetic, over 60% are 'obese', and the US government has a goal of not more than 15% of its populace at that level, the only way to reach that 'national goal' is... genocide, right? Yikes.

15%? Its just as dumb as this one factory that tried to have zero parts per million of defective parts! Though I saw this report in the local paper and I thought it was interesting that Oregon state's rates were at the same level.

Looking critically at that report, it found that for years the numbers of Americans considered "obese" has remained fairly stable at around 24% (well below what we typically hear). If this were an alternative universe the news flash might have proclaimed: "We're not growing larger like popularly believed!" "Obesity" rates corresponded directly to SES and areas in the South with the highest percentages of Blacks and minorities, but the "growth" of obesity over the past decades in many states, according to the CDC, reflects that "some states did better sampling than others" and they all are recording it more -- meaning the "increase" over the past couple of decades is significantly an artifact. The actual report is filled with horrid pictures of fat people gorging on junk food in front of the television set, etc. --- every stereotype and condescending myth surrounding fat people imaginable. The group that did the "study" was established in 2001 by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other like-minded foundations. They state their goal is to "primarily promote the creation of a Nationwide Health Tracking Network that would involve local, state, and federal public health agencies in tracking the trends of chronic diseases and relevant environmental factors across the country." If you think about this for a minute, it's pretty frightening. They promote the idea that all "chronic diseases" are due to environmental-cultural factors and bad behavior, and use a lot of fear-based rhetoric and bad science to scare people. Of course the "costs" of these chronic diseases are a main justification.

The SF Chronicle had a huge headline: FATTER than ever! Do we know the dates when the cut-off points for obesity and overweight were reset to be lower? Does anyone factor that into these stats?

So, according to this article, physical activity and good nutrition are important to health. Can we all say DUH! together? Then, can we unite to tell America (and apparently, Britain as well)that such things are important FOR EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT THEIR SIZE IS? It's time someone told Big Diet's propaganda machine that good health is possible at any size; that fitness is possible at any size, and that "thin" and "healthy" are not automatically synonymous. Maybe that could be done by getting a bunch of money powerhouses with a vested interest in the outcome together to sponsor a study that says: "Health warning: Complacency Kills. Thin people dying in record numbers because they've been conditioned to believe being thin is enough for good health." But, hey. Maybe that would be alarmist. (Also, did you see that the article, at the end, came closer than most do in honesty about the BMI? They didn't come out and say: The BMI is totally useless, which would be the complete truth, but at least they said it was not accurate for people who have lots of muscle and work out. Naturally, though, they didn't make the leap and discover the fact that plenty of fat people DO work out; nor did they say the BMI keeps getting ratcheted down to suit the diet and drug industry).

Oh, and another thing. I am really, really tired of having the costs of health care placed on the size of my waist. I rarely go to the doctor because--shockingly!--I have the good fortune to enjoy overall good health! (Although, I am also afraid to go to the doctor, for fear he/she's just going to see fat, not a person, and try to "treat" that instead of my complaint; then suggest I'm in denial if I object!) Even if I didn't have my health, I pay both insurance and taxes and I don't think it's unreasonable for me to assume I should therefore be allowed equal access to the services provided by insurance, or to Medicaid or Medicare if I should ever need it. And I'm not going to undergo "counseling" so I can get a seal of approval for something thin people who qualify for tax-subsidized treatment can access without doing so. The most offensive part about that whole bit was the inherent assumption: I'm fat because I "choose" poorly; because I don't know how to eat properly; because I'm too stupid to realize that obesity "kills." So, I better consent to being brainwashed, or, with the way things are going, in the future, I could be denied medical care for refusing to play along. Three cheers to the Cato Institute for coming out and saying governmental nannying has run amok. Now, if only the rest of mainstream America could wake up. It seems as though America's lost its civil rights compass. Personally, when I read pieces that stop just short of asking whether fat people have the right to eat what they want, I am sharply reminded of a certain raging debate that basically comes down to whether women have the right to control their own bodies; their own medical destiny; to make their own spiritual choices and the capacity to deal with the inevitable personal consequences of whatever decision they make. This is not to say "fat is like abortion" (it's not); only to point out that the MINDSET others have concerning both fat and abortion have certain similarities.

I know what you mean, Rebelle. It's almost gotten to the point where I'd rather hang out with chain-smokers and alcoholics who never exercise or eat vegetables than with people who actually "take care of themselves," since at least the former aren't so frigging self-righteously smug.

Fat isn't like abortion because abortion involves two people-- mother and child. The child has its own DNA and blood type, etc. This is the crux of why people get involved in anti-abortion. The fetus is not just part of the woman's body, it is not present at the woman's birth and it MUST be expelled at some point, plus it is capable of living on its own after viability. Fat is part of our bodies and doesn't leave us. Fat cells can get bigger or smaller but they don't go away (unless you get lipsuction). Regarding the right to choose what one can or can't do with their own bodies, we currently don't allow people to harm themselves through suicide or mutilation. If a person is deemed a danger to themselves, they can be put in a mental hospital. So no one really has a choice over their own bodies and lives in the end. It's all very arbitrary. Smokers are also being told not to smoke (granted smoking affects other people in ways eating does not), meat eaters are told to slaughter living plants instead and so on. As long as we aren't living in a vacuum, we're always going to have someone's opinion or laws affecting our lives and choices. We're told to "express" our sexuality but not to have kids, we're told to eat but not get fat, we're told to get to work on time but don't own a gas guzzling car and so on.

So basically what you're saying Pollux is we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. ;-)

I'm surprised (or maybe I'm not) that NONE of these articles that is going "OMG, Obesity rates have skyrocketed!!!!" even concedes the point that a couple years ago, the cutoff rates were lowered - and so, people who were "not obese" before, became "obese" overnight. I mean, if we had a real dystopia and they defined "obesity" meaning "women over 120 pounds and men over 150 pounds" then something like 85% of the adult populace would be defined as "obese." But definition does not reality make.... I don't know. I wish they'd shut up about the obesity already. Although there have been a spate of "And what the hell am I supposed to do with that information?" health-related news stories - one, this week, saying that apparently there's a link between daydreaming/musing and Alzheimer's, and another saying that worrying about stuff makes you age faster. (Then why the hell tell us and give us another thing to worry about?) I think what they need to do is create a new network exclusively for these stories and call it the "OH NO! You're going to DIE!" channel. then the rest of us can hear our local weather and sports in peace.

LOL! I like that idea, Beakergirl.

You know, I think there is another of those weird disconnects between Big Medicine (and its hench*man* Big Diet) and most Americans. If they had a dialogue, it might go something like this. Here is the dialogue you inspired, beakergirl! American: Yeah, we're all going to die someday..so? Big Medicine: But if you are obese, you may lose 2.6 months of your life! Big Diet: Don't you want everyone to stop saying you are fat, even if it makes you sicker than you can imagine now as you diet yourself to the point of starvation? American: But dieting doesn't work and will make me fatter anyway. And to tell the truth, I don't care about people who want to make money selling me drugs that will make me sick, even if they make me thin. Big Medicine: Then we will deny you health insurance. American: Great, seems you're doing that anyway. So I will die sooner without taking your worthless medicine, not because I'm fat, but because you refused me health insurance because I didn't want to get sick taking a medicine that has three hundred side effects and because I don't want to get sick from starvation. It's like you're commanding me to get sick from getting thin so you will give me health insurance. Big Medicine: But we are just doing what is good for you. Big Diet: You'll die sooner if you don't diet. American: I'll die sooner because I don't have health insurance!

Beakergirl, they already do consider women over 120 obese pretty much automatically if you are shorter than average. And yeah, I wish they'd have health news and ads for weight loss products on a separate program so I can watch the news without getting pissed off. As it is, I mostly read it on the Internet and change the channel whenever the "OMG U R So Go1Ng 2 D13!!1!!!1" crap comes on.

"I think what they need to do is create a new network exclusively for these stories and call it the "OH NO! You're going to DIE!" channel." BWAH! I love it! ROFL:) I'd love the "You're thin but you're STILL going to die!" channel, too. Beanietude -- yep! Can't please everyone, so you have to try to just please yourself and those you love and who love you. :)