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Kate that is wonderful to do it that way. Its funny because the medical community keeps saying more people are getting it. Guess what!!!! of course they are they changed the glucose limits. Same with blood pressure. Of course no major medical person will issue a report of how many are now taking meds to previous with the before and after changes. Also how much money the medical and pharmicuticals are making on the changes on meds and more appointments. Amy you are saying that people with gall bladder problems would never have to get surgery if they didn't eat fat??? Are you a RN or MD?
No..there's no way you could say something like that across the board. Medicine isn't that cut and dry. But, certainly the first step in adressing for ex., gall bladder attacks, is to eat healthier. We are certain gall bladder attacks can be triggered by the intake of fatty foods- so don't eat the Big Mac and fries!
As far as the pharm. and medical company...supply and demand. Again, people don't go to the doctor and listen to advice like...."hey, lose that weight by cutting all this junk out of your diet. Eat like this..." or ( classic ) "stop smoking for heaven's sake...it will lower your blood pressure, stop that hacking," etc. No, most ( not all! ) people want the doctor to hand them something to fix it w/ little effort. "Yeah, I can take a pill each day a lot easier than I can eat right and cut out fast food and meat and fatty foods,etc.". And if that doctor keeps 'harping' on them to lose weight, they'll find another who will simply give them a prescription.
The key to a healthy weight and well being has not changed for centuries...eat less calories than you burn. Pick veges and fruit and whole grains over processed, fried or meat based foods. Every time I read an article about the benefits of veges. like tomatoes or fruits, like blueberries..I'm like, no suprise.
I know that food tastes good ( Pizza Hut or McDonald's,etc.) I really think it stems from home and the example children are given as to how one should eat. I have yet to see an obese kid with a thin, health conscious parent in tow.
Anyway...I'm an RN.
Well I dont smoke I do eat right ...I have been told I have hbp & borderline diabeaties.
I weight 300 pounds & am in a wheelchair... I watch what I eat & avoid stress...take nothing but a pain pill at nite. There is no way I can loose weight. & believe me I tried.
OH when I weigh 150 pounds I had a gallbladder attach....doc said it was caused by stress. AND my bosss that was 125 pounds lost her gal bladder...she was a vegitaian!
So here again Fat gets the blame!!
Well I dont smoke I do eat right ...I have been told I have hbp & borderline diabeaties.
I weight 300 pounds & am in a wheelchair... I watch what I eat & avoid stress...take nothing but a pain pill at nite. There is no way I can loose weight. & believe me I tried.
OH when I weigh 150 pounds I had a gallbladder attach....doc said it was caused by stress. AND my bosss that was 125 pounds lost her gal bladder...she was a vegitaian!
So here again Fat gets the blame!!
I see more and more fat people walking down the street every day. Many of the people I know who have always been concerned about their appearance and weight in the past now seem to have lost interest and have just let them selves go. I suspect much of the reason is so many of their friends, relatives and peers have got fat so the stigma is gone.
If almost everyone you know is overweight, why go through the effort it takes to be slim? (other than health concerns of course)
I am afraid being very overweight is no longer a real concern with many Americans especially from small towns and working class communities.
Being overweight myself I can say with certainty that my physical appearance has nothing whatsoever to do with losing interest in my appearance and letting myself go. My attitude toward my appearance is actully something more like "My opinion of myself is not based upon what other's think of me".
Back in my thin years food was some kind of sick, all-consuming obsession. My life revolved around what I could or could not eat to maintain my svelt appearance. I cannot count the number of times that I missed events, or did not participate because I could not/would not deviate from my eating pattern in the fear that might gain a pound or two.
Since I am the point in my life where being "model slim" is no longer a priority I am now free to enjoy myself in a way I was never able to before. Perhaps the majority of Americans are coming to their senses and realize that one's quality of life is not - and should not - be dictated by what size he or she wears. Let's hope so anyway.
Amymcc I know what you are saying. What I want is not to be treated after I have something-no matter what the disease. The medical community and insurance needs to rethink/support and treat before disease can be formed in many cases. Telling a person to quit smoking is (I'm guessing not that effective).
Something I have not seen brought up here, that I think has an effect on obesity, is the higher costs of healthy eating. Not saying that it's an excuse, but I do think it makes a difference, especially for those of us "working class" people.
Compare the cost of white rice versus brown rice, or the cost of a cheap bag of pretzels as opposed to a bag of fresh fruit. A plate full of pasta is much cheaper to feed your family than is a healthier meal. I know that when my budget is tight the first thing to come off my grocery list is meat, then fresh produce. I know that's not healthy, but when the money just doesn't go far enough I go for the pasta and white rice to carry me through.
I do not believe being over weight is always the person's own fault. The idea that you shouldn't hang with overweight people because 'you are who your friends are' sounds to me exactly like racial discrimination. People are people, whether their problems are mental or physical or visible to you or not.
I always was lucky enough to be born thin and not worried about gaining, then I grew these awful fibroids and look just like a very pregnant woman -- not gaining weight elsewhere, I look fat, I feel fat, I am always asked when I am going to have my baby and when people realize I am not pregnant they frequently get disgusted with me for not just having a hysterectomy. (There are physical reasons I dont' want to risk it, whether I should have done it 'sooner' or not can't be reversed now.)
I definitely feel the stigma of being 'fat'. I am hoping some things I am doing will work on this problem, but meanwhile -- yes, people treat you different when you're overweight than when you're not --- or, maybe they ESPECIALLY treat you different when you're overweight and didn't used to be.
Everyone knows it's a health issue, but please don't be judgmental towards people about it. Whether they are at fault or not, whether they could fix it or not, nobody likes being fat. Being plump, not slim, is another matter; people come in all shapes and sizes and genetics does dictate alot of that, we simply live in a society that worships thin-ness.
If its not their fault, than who's is it? It is their fault or is it just some big coinencendence that each generation gets fatter and fatter, must be evolution.
People don't like fat people because fat people are disgusting to look at and they obviously have a lack of respect for their bodies and their health. I do not associate with any fat person.
Genetics does not dcitate it as much as you like to think unless all of a sudden in one generation the genetic makeup has changed, whcih if that was the case, it would defy all knowledge that people had about genetics before.
And I guess those genetics just apply to Lazy Americans who gobble down their processed food all day while sitting on the sofa watching the latest CSI show.
Wonder why Asia, Russia, Sweden, Finland, etc... have not had the same genetic change?
Oh wait, I guess it could be that fat people are lazy, eat too much and do not care about their health.
But hey, as long as they got excuses, thats all that matters.
Well I think people that are skinny are ugly...and they too put their health on the line by not eating right.
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