Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh he also had pretzels and Dr. Pepper from the vending machine. Coke is unhealthy according to him, but they said on tv, diet Dr. Pepper is the zing thing
Y'all folks who are obsessive/compulsive about your weight and your health go right on ahead and eat "healthy" and work out and look down your thin, pristine noses at the unenlightened. Go ahead and deny yourself things you like in the name of health, flex your rock-hard abs, pass on that cheese cake. Knock yourselves out.
While y'all are doing that, I think I'll sit on my azz, drink a cold beer, stuff in a few more greasy enchilda's and have a smoke for dessert. Too bad y'all can't join me. I've got plenty and it sure is good!
And, ya know what? You can't prove that I'm taking a single, solitary second off my life. Nor can you prove you're adding one. Neither can you guarantee you'll have better quality of life than I will. And, you can't prove I won't. All you've got is the odds and that's just gambling on a future you have no control over anyhow. You don't even know if you'll live long enough to read this post, but you act like you can manipulate the future. Personally, I think Harrah's has better odds on their slot machines.
I'll bet if someone came on here and said, "Hey! I can see the future!" you'd laugh him off...but you're doing the same thing. If the seer who claims he can see 10 or 20 or 30 years down the road is a screwball, y'all are too.
What a bunch of sissies. To afraid of dying to enjoy life!
Usually I would refrain from even reading a post that began with such literate and profound words as "Y'all folks." But, against my better judgement, I did read your rant.
And let's just say that the content and accuracy and truthfulness of it met my initial expectations.
You stated far too many falsehoods for me to address here, so I'll only take issue with your final one, where you basically said that someone who lives healthy has no better odds than you do of living longer. Any physician will tell you that while, of course, an accident can always happen at any time which could kill us, the vast, overwhelming scientific data shows that taking good care of oneself will increase not only your chances of living longer, but also your quality of life.
And that's the thing with people like you: you're so used to feeling like you do, and have gotten so out of touch with your body, that you think you feel fine and don't need to eat better or exercise. It's sad that you'll never know how much better you could feel and look.
But hey, it is your right to live the way you want; no one is arguing that with you. But let's not over-step that right and take it to the next level by saying us healthy folks are no better off than a sluggard like yourself. That transposes your statement from claiming a God-given right to a ignorant flasehood.
Usually I would refrain from even reading a post that began with such literate and profound words as "Y'all folks." But, against my better judgement, I did read your rant.
And let's just say that the content and accuracy and truthfulness of it met my initial expectations.
You stated far too many falsehoods for me to address here, so I'll only take issue with your final one, where you basically said that someone who lives healthy has no better odds than you do of living longer. Any physician will tell you that while, of course, an accident can always happen at any time which could kill us, the vast, overwhelming scientific data shows that taking good care of oneself will increase not only your chances of living longer, but also your quality of life.
And that's the thing with people like you: you're so used to feeling like you do, and have gotten so out of touch with your body, that you think you feel fine and don't need to eat better or exercise. It's sad that you'll never know how much better you could feel and look.
But hey, it is your right to live the way you want; no one is arguing that with you. But let's not over-step that right and take it to the next level by saying us healthy folks are no better off than a sluggard like yourself. That transposes your statement from claiming a God-given right to a ignorant flasehood.
I did NOT say you health freaks don't have better odds. I said you have no GUARANTEE'S.
And, I said playing the odds is simply gambling and the slot machines at Harrah's offer better odds.
I'm not sure what L.K.'s point was, but it's a legitimate topic for discussion. Health care costs are rising rapidly and many, many diseases are caused or exacerbated by obesity. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and arthritis have all been linked to obesity. The increased costs affect us all.
so explain all the cancer cases for those who arent obese?
It doesn't change the tone of your initial post and we get that A LOT around these forums so perhaps we are sensitive. For example, living in KS we have to do a lot of explaining about Fred Phelps to people too lazy to google.
Your age may explain your insulation if you live in a retirement community a lot of the more obese types quite frankly have likely passed away at younger ages.
Ah, Ok. Now I'm feeling sensitive. I'm only 54, and I have three young children. We live in a suburb of a densely populated urban area. We travel whenever we get a chance.
I have been health conscious since my 20's. What escalated my interest, is having my children late in life and wanting to be around and healthy for as long as I can. I began reading about the "Blue Zones" several years ago, and remember reading about how fat cells develop many, many years ago. I made a conscious effort to keep myself free of disease and teach my children to do the same. Traveling is a great education in so many ways.
I know what the original poster means when he says s/he was disturbed by the number of obese people s/he saw traveling. I think we all get used to just seeing whatever is around us everyday and it doesn't register much anymore; I know that is the case with me. As an example, I live in Chicago, which was recently ranked as one of the most obese cities in the US. A couple months ago I went on a business trip for work where I started in Boston then went to New York, San Francisco, and finally Denver before returning home. I never really noticed how many obese people there are here in Chicago until I spent some time in other cities (Denver in particular, I felt like an elephant there and I'm far from obese currently).
I think the obesity epidemic is scary. I don't put the blame for weight gain entirely on an overweight person. I've struggled with weight all of my life, ever since I ate for comfort after traumatic events early in my childhood. Like it said in those videos, those fat cells will always be there, and I can gain weight so easily, it seems unreal.
I think there are MANY factors at play, but IMO, there are 2 really big ones:
1. Stress - As another poster said, eating is pleasurable and many people do it as a way to unwind or experience pleasure. In this country, food is easily available, it tastes good, feels good (temporarily), and it releases feel-good chemicals in the brain. It's probably the cheapest and easiest therapy out there and eating is something we all HAVE to do, so it's pretty socially acceptable.
2. The food industry - This is the thing that I don't think most people are aware of... Our government still subsidizes corn, which is used to make high fructose corn syrup, a huge culprit in the obesity epidemic. HFCS is addictive, studies have proven this, and it is NOT good for us. HFCS was not always in the foods that we consume, and I really don't think it should be there today (despite what all those stupid HFCS commercials say how it is just like sugar). HFCS is just one example, but the way our governement regulates/subsidizes food has an impact on what is available and affordable to the average American. If we get addicted to HFCS, we want more of it, we "demand" larger portions by virtue of going to restaurants that offer them to us, so everyone increases their portion sizes to stay competitive, and we become comfortable eating still more, and the cycle continues...
I really think that the answers as to why we are so much heavier today than we were 30 years ago lie in the macro level things that have changed. So what has changed in the last 30 years? Are we more car-dependent? More stressed out? Working longer hours? Are certain ingredients more common in our food? Are animals being given different hormones/stimulants? Are our vegetable and fruits being grown differently? Are we more sedentary? Why?
I obviously cannot answer all of those questions, but I think getting those answers and possibly reverting back to some of our ways from the past could make a big difference. Humans are wired to want to eat, to store fat, to enjoy sweet/salty/fatty foods, that is just how we've evolved and that is not what has changed in 30 years. Our willpower hasn't dramatically changed, but many things have. I think that's where you'll find the answers to this epidemic.
As an aside, the government does all sorts of studies saying that this, that or the other isn't harmful in whatever typical dose. I believe that to a point, but I'd love to know who sponsored any given study. Could it be that corn farmers want us to think HFCS is the same as sugar? I wonder why that would be.... Also, just because one thing alone isn't harmful or promoting weight gain, maybe 10 newer chemicals in combination are, and that's something that really isn't feasible to test in a scientific study.
Reading this thread is what convinced me to work out just now, btw, so if nothing else, there has been that benefit.
so explain all the cancer cases for those who arent obese?
Of course thin, healthy people get cancer too, just like people who have never smoked can get lung cancer. But statistically speaking, being obese increases one's odds of being diagnosed with certain types of cancer.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
