No More Mr. Fat Guy!

Here’s an interesting article.  It seems people are more likely to eat at fast food places that take plastic, which is pretty obvious, since these days many people don’t have much cash on their person.  But it also claims that the average credit card/debit card order at fast food joints is 30% larger than the average cash order.

First, your odds of living to a ripe old age are greatly diminished if you’re obese. But if you do make it, odds are that it won’t be pleasant:

Soaring rates of obesity could cause a dementia epidemic with 2.5 million Britons suffering from the condition by 2051, experts have warned.

Around 700,000 already have Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and the number is predicted to reach 1.5million in the next 40 years as the population ages.

But rising levels of obesity, which increases the chance of developing dementia, threaten to add an extra million to the figure.

Professor Clive Ballard, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Obesity is a huge risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

People who are overweight at 60 are more than twice as likely to get dementia by 75. That is a big, big risk. If we are not careful, it won’t be 1.5 million with dementia, it might be two or 2.5 million people.”

. . . .

Experts have warned that unless the Government acts now, an entire generation faces old age blighted by heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other conditions brought on by obesity such as dementia.

We don’t move enough.  And the little we do do move doesn’t get our heart rate up. That’s why we’re fat and out of shape, even if we don’t eat all that much.  A few extra calories a day can turn into an extra 50 or 100 pounds over a couple decades. Here’s an article by a Washington Post fitness columnist who used a snazzy new device to measure his activity during the day, and was shocked at just how few calories he burns.

Normally, I avoid writing about politics on my blog. But I read something yesterday that made my blood boil, that made me so angry, that I believe the time has come for a radical revolt.

Yes, that’s right - it’s time to overthrow the government.

The long train of abuses has gone too far. The sufferable evils have become insufferable. We have no choice but to foment a new American revolution and start all over again.What pushed me over the edge and turned me into a fire breathing radical?

Was it illegal immigration?

Was it the war in Iraq?

No. It’s something far worse, far more tyrannical. A proposal by the federal government that attacks the very foundations of who we are as a people and threatens to destroy our entire way of life.

The feds are saying that the pollution problem is so bad in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that THEY MAY START BANNING DRIVE-THROUGH LANES.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced plans Thursday to significantly strengthen ozone regulations, saying the existing standard fails to protect the public from the damaging effects of the lung-scarring pollutant.

The proposed changes could mean drastic new restrictions on drivers, workers and industries in North Texas to curb ozone-forming pollution. Some already discussed here are banning drive-through windows during ozone season, limiting hours for motorists to gas up, restricting the use of off-road construction equipment, even banning afternoon Texas Rangers games.

See, I told ya. And you thought I was exaggerating. Not at all. If they can do it in DFW, they can do it where you live. Damn you Al Gore! Damn you to hell! This is all his fault. If he thinks America will sit back and let the feds get away with banning drive-through lanes, well, I think there’s probably a hole in his ozone layer. No, this will not stand. I have too much faith in the American people. They’ve got too much backbone (and backside) to put up with this.

During the first revolution, a popular motto was Don’t Tread On Me! We need something catchy like that to inspire people. I’ve thought of one, and I hope it’ll spread like wildfire: Don’t Make Me Have To Get Out Of My Car And Off My Fat Ass To Get My Triple Cheeseburger!

What a horrible story. Seventeen years old and so fat he has to carry an oxygen tank wherever he goes to breathe. But he’s trying to make changes, so good for him. But does letting your kid balloon up to three times what he should weigh constitute child abuse? If not, why not?

Yet another side effect of the obesity epidemic in America:  more and more boys and men are having breast reduction surgery.

They’re saying that the era of cheap food is over. Mainly because about a third of the grains raised in America are now being used for ethanol. I’ve definitely noticed food prices rising the past several months. But they’re saying it could get a lot worse, and it could be permanent.

Experts are saying the diabetes epidemic is picking up speed “like a runaway train”. 1 in 14 Americans now have it, and the numbers just keep climbing. Of course, the huge growth is strictly in Type 2 or adult onset diabetes, which is preventable. It’s almost all due to obesity, overeating, sedentary lifestyles, etc. I know I’m headed for “diabesity” if I don’t change my lifestyle radically, which is what this blog is all about. And I’m hoping I can encourage some other folks to make some changes along the way. Diabetes is a horrible disease - blindness, amputations, dialysis, etc. And this is the future we’re creating for ourselves if we don’t get the weight off and start eating right and getting fit.

Only about a third of Americans eat at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables a day.

And two thirds of Americans are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese.

Gosh, what a strange coincidence!

Why cut back on portions, eat healthier foods, and get more exercise to reclaim your health? Because that’s the only way to lose weight and get in shape. But scientists continue the search for a magic Frankenfood that will taste great, fill you up, and not make you fat. It’s big business for one company in Holland right now. But I say it can’t be done. That’s not how life works, or nature works. Nature already provides us with foods that fill us up without a lot of calories. They’re called fruits and vegetables, and they contain fiber. But we prefer other, tastier foods.

If something is invented that “works”, I can’t imagine how eating it could be healthy, since to have any effect it would have to interfere with or shut down the body’s natural processes. Wasn’t diet pop supposed to make us all skinnier? And yet some studies show that people who drink diet pop are fatter than those who don’t. If you’ve ever seen the Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life, you remember that in Heaven, everyone could gorge on their favorites foods all day long and never put on any weight. I doubt very much if Heaven’s going to be like that, and I’m 100% convinced that life on Earth will never be like that, no matter how many billions companies put into research and development. We’re fat because we eat too much, we eat the wrong stuff, and we don’t get out and move our bodies. That’s the reality, and no Frankenfood is ever going to “fix” reality.

A new joint US/UK study finds that increasing kids’ physical activity by as little as 15 minutes a day can cut a kid’s odds of getting fat in half.  Healthy food choices and portion control are big factors, too, but it’s obvious that lack of exercise is a big part of why our kids are getting so fat.  I don’t know about you, but I was required to take a phys ed class every day up until 9th grade.  From what I understand, nowadays many, if not most, elementary and middle schools don’t even offer phys ed, let alone require it.

Well, the big contest is over.  Alabama state health officials, alarmed that Alabama is ranked the second fattest state in America, after Mississippi, created the Scale Back Alabama program to encourage citizens to lose weight and get in shape.  Almost 20,000 people took up the official challenge, which just ended.  (I actually live in Tennessee, so I couldn’t take part, even though I spend a lot of time in Huntsville.)  Steve Doyle, the reporter for The Huntsville Times who wrote about me, wrote an article about some people in Huntsville who had some success.  And here’s an article from Scottsboro about the final weigh in.  The winner will be announced in early April.

Then keep them away from the television.  The more they watch, the fatter they tend to be.  And childhood development experts say kids shouldn’t watch any TV until they’re at least 2 years old.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic all over America, but in minority neighborhoods in Chicago it’s becoming an outright crisis:

But two out of every three children in Chicago’s minority neighborhoods are overweight or obese - a number that far surpasses already disturbing national averages, according to a 2004 study by the Sinai Urban Health Institute.

Dr. David Goldstein, a pediatric endocrinologist, has written a series of blog posts about the growing epidemic of these related conditions. You can read it here. Scroll to the bottom for Part 1

I told them and told them and told them. But would they listen? No. And so I put all the blame for me reaching 300 pounds squarely on their shoulders. It’s not my fault.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. Thanks a lot.

But it may not be too late to save the next generation. Some parents in Australia are finally starting to see the light.

Homework contributing to childhood obesity, parents say

The Tasmanian Parents and Friends Association believes homework could be contributing to childhood obesity.

The national president of the association wants homework banned in Tasmanian primary and high schools.

Parents and Friends chief Jenny Branch says as childhood obesity becomes a major problem, homework is forcing children to sit in front of computers instead of exercise.

She has questioned the need for after school study.

“When I started to research it, I couldn’t find any good evidence to say that homework at home improves the student learning,” she said.

See, Mom–I told ya!

Of course, as always, some meddling bureaucrat is doing all they can to stand in the way of enlightenment and progress.

The state secretary of the Education Union, Jean Walker, says it is a policy issue for individual schools, but she does not think a ban is the cure for obesity.

“Children seemed to be able to do both homework and not be obese, until this generation,” she said.

Darn egghead liberals. They don’t care about the kids, just about keeping their jobs.

HOW MANY CHEESEBURGERS HAVE GOT TO DIE BEFORE WE WAKE UP AND BAN HOMEWORK?

There’s a new report out in the American Journal of Public Health that says that soda pop is one of the main reasons we’re all getting fat, if not the main reason. They reviewed 88 studies to tell us this? But it’s not just the calories in pop–it seems that the more pop people drink, the more calories they consume from other sources. We all know that soda pop isn’t filling, but they seem to be saying that it’s also an appetite stimulant, which leads to even more food intake.

Of 21 studies, 19 showed that as people drink more soda pop, the number of calories they consume rises. Moreover, the studies using the most reliable statistical methods showed the largest effects.

Instead of satisfying a sweet tooth, soft drinks may do just the opposite. Several studies found that the caloric increase is actually greater than that contained in the soda, raising “the possibility that soft drinks increase hunger, decrease satiety or simply calibrate people to a high level of sweetness that generalizes to preferences in other foods,” the authors say.

“These results, taken together, provide clear and consistent evidence that people do not compensate for the added calories they consume in soft drinks by reducing their intake of other foods,” the reviewers say.

Another consequence of childhood obesity is that more and more girls are hitting puberty before they’re even 10 years old, as reported in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics:

CHICAGO - Childhood obesity in the United States appears to be causing girls to reach puberty at an earlier age, for reasons that are not clear, a study said on Monday.

The report from the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital said a multiyear study following a group of 354 girls found that those who were fatter at age 3 and who gained weight during the next three years reached puberty, as defined by breast development, by age 9.

“Our finding that increased body fatness is associated with the earlier onset of puberty provides additional evidence that growing rates of obesity among children in this country may be contributing to the trend of early maturation in girls,” said Dr. Joyce Lee, the lead author.

“Previous studies had found that girls who have earlier puberty tend to have higher body mass index, but it was unclear whether puberty led to the weight gain or weight gain led to the earlier onset of puberty,” she added.

“Our study offers evidence that it is the latter,” Lee said

And it’s not good news:

“Earlier onset of puberty in girls has been associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including psychiatric disorders and deficits in psychosocial functioning, earlier initiation of alcohol use, sexual intercourse and teenage pregnancy and increased rates of adult obesity and reproductive cancers,” the study said.

Not only are more and more adults getting gastric bypass surgery and other procedures, but the number of teenagers going under the knife to solve their weight problems has tripled in recent years:

CHICAGO — The number of U.S. children having obesity surgery has tripled in recent years, surging at a pace that could mean more than 1,000 such operations this year, new research suggests. While the procedure is still far more common in adults, it appears to be slightly less risky in teens, according to an analysis of data on 12- to 19-year-olds who had obesity surgery from 1996 through 2003.

During that time, an estimated 2,744 youngsters nationwide had the operations. The pace tripled between 2000 and 2003, reaching 771 surgeries that year, the study found.

If anyone is considering gastric bypass, I’d suggest you read this article first. It’s a balanced look at both the benefits and the severe risks and drawbacks of weight loss surgery. Here’s an excerpt:

The procedures can offer astonishing benefits for people with obesity-related health problems. According to a recently published research review in The Journal of the American Medical Association, 77 percent were cured of diabetes, 70 percent lowered their cholesterol, 78 percent bid adieu to high blood pressure, and 86 percent no longer suffered from sleep apnea. For obese but otherwise healthy patients, a respite from society’s judgment is often reason enough to go under the knife.

Yet the potential downsides are also astonishing. The risk of death, depending on which study you’re looking at, ranges from 0.2 to 2 percent — arguably high for an elective procedure. The popular Web site ObesityHelp.com hosts a memorial page listing 132 members who have died since 2000, a mere fraction of the total post-surgical deaths. Up to 20 percent of patients require subsequent operations to address complications. Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lactose intolerance, signs of nutrient deficiency such as anemia and hair loss, agonizing stomach pain, and shockingly pungent gas and stool. And those who lose weight successfully often have huge folds of excess skin to deal with.

These post-surgical ordeals, and the accompanying emotional adjustments, can persist for many years. Then there’s the cost: Even if insurance covers the initial surgery, the price of subsequent cosmetic procedures and myriad dietary supplements required for optimal health can add up quickly. To top it all off, there’s no scientific evidence that weight-loss surgery makes people any happier in the long run.

In some places, if you’re covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance, you have to pass an IQ test before they’ll pay for your gastric bypass. I’m not kidding!

The headline of the story is “Obesity Epidemic Strikes US Military”, and it says that a recent survey found that 60% of those serving in the military are overweight.

From the LA Times:

More than 120,000 obese Americans had some kind of surgery to help them lose weight in 2004, with the biggest increase among middle-aged people, according to a study released Wednesday.

In 1998, 772 people age 55 to 64 had gastric bypass, stapling or some similar procedure known as bariatric surgery to help weight loss. But that number ballooned to 15,086 in 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported.

In 2004, the figure was 120,000. Two years later, it’s pushing 200,000 surgeries a year in America:

About 177,600 people in the United States had bariatric surgery to treat obesity in 2006, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

How long before it’s a million people a year getting their stomachs stapled? That same article reports that obesity in China, virtually unknown a few years ago, is also exploding as the Chinese abandon their traditional diet for a more American style of eating:

SHANGHAI: Zheng Chengzhu started researching surgeries to treat weight-related illnesses in China 12 years ago, when he saw his countrymen getting richer — and fatter.

Now Zheng, 47, chief of surgery at the Changhai Hospital in Shanghai, is profiting from a fast growing market. “When Chinese people get money, the first thing they do is invite all their friends out to dinner,” he said.

The girth of the affluent Chinese classes is expanding as fast-food chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken win converts. The number of obese people tripled to 90 million, about 7 percent of the population, as the economy grew sevenfold from 1992 to 2006, the World Health Organization said.