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Did you know that obesity was rare before the 20th century?
In part, that's because the definition of obesity was commonly held to be a person who was 100% heavier than people of the same age who died.
Later, most of the US used the Metropolitan Insurance Company height and weight charts to determine whether or not a person was too heavy. Most of us fit within that chart at an acceptable weight. Eventually, Body Mass Index (BMI) came to be used as a better measurement, though it does not account for the difference between fat and muscle.
Then, in 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a classification for three "grades" of overweight using BMI cutoff points of 25, 30, and 40.
In 1997 the WHO formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic.
In 1998, the National Institutes of Health lowered the overweight threshold for BMI 27.8 to 25 to match international guidelines (WHO). The move added 30 million Americans who were previously in the "healthy weight" category to the "overweight" category.
Did you catch that? We have an obesity "crisis" BECAUSE THE STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT WAS CHANGED, which made more of us "fat!"
In other words, it's little more than a manufactured crisis, one achieved by moving the goal posts, but one which is already resulting in higher taxes on "unhealthy" foods and more government interference in our lifestyle choices.
Moreover, there is no physical evidence to support changing the standards and recent "studies" merely quote previous "studies" without any indication as to why the standard was lowered. It's precisely the same kind of "science" which resulted in the second-hand smoke hysteria.
Is this alright with you? Are you still willing to support higher taxes on "junk food" and restrictive laws such as the banning of trans-fats or new fast food stores or salt-less kitchens? Do you think schools teaching "body awareness" in Kindergarten to combat the "obesity crisis" is justified?
How much liberty will you surrender to fight a non-existant "crisis?"
We are fatter. I'm 47 years old and the "fatness" today is noticeably more so than when I was a kid. Back then you had that ONE overweight kid in class that was horribly teased and ridiculed because he stood out so much more than others. When I look at my kids' classrooms now, it seems that half the class is overweight. It's sad. Adults are HUGE. Back then, that type of largeness was not the norm.
I chuckled a few years ago when a picture was posted of one of the earlier "fat men" in the Ringling Brother's and Barnum Bailey Circus. He was a freak people paid money to see and he weighed 300 lbs. Don't need to go to the circus anymore to see that.
As with anything, there probably isn't just one cause for the obesity epidemic. I've bought into the HFCS theory as well as firmly believe in the data presented in "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes.
As for taxing junk food, I don't really believe it is a deterrant for bad eating.
Yup. It correlates almost exactly with the rise of high-fructose corn syrup and artificial sweetners. I'm sure there are other factors, but I think those are some main ones.
There is a lot that plays into it, but it boils down to people needing to take responsibility for what they put in their mouths. And what they feed their kids. I know a mom that takes her kids to McDonlads every single day for lunch. EVERY DAY. Now she and her kids are skinny, and just petit, the whole family, but how long will that last? What will those kids grow up to look like? There is no need to eat junk everyday. She also bribes her kids with sweets, if they are good, which they rarely are. Her kids punch her in the back and kick her. They cuss up a storm and they are 17 months, 2 and 4 years old!!! These kids run her ragged, although that is definately her fault, for letting that happen, but she is a perfect example of why America is fat. Daily fast food, and sweet treats.
You're talking about what should be done to fight a crisis which doesn't exist. You're accepting the notion that it even IS a crisis when, in fact, it's mostly manufactured by changing the standards.
So what if people are heavy? There's no evidence to suggest people are heavier today than they were just before the "crisis" was announced, nor that they're UN-healthy if they are a little overweight. They weren't considered unhealthy before the standards were changed. Why are they considered so now? And, why is it suddenly something government should be involved in?
For the first time in over 200 years, our children have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Public health officials say the number one reason is our diet.
Yeah, no big deal.
So, "public health officials," (the same ones who lowered the standards and made us all "obese") are peering into their chrystal balls and guessing how long todays kids will live and you believe them?
Now that you've edited your post with an elaboration, I wish you had just stuck with the one-liner. Honestly, I'm busy right now and can't go line-for-line, but suffice to say literally every single thought you just wrote down is factually incorrect. Literally.
I know, I know; it's not Foxnews so it's liberal propaganda. But try to suffer through it.
I wish you could cut and paste the relevant parts because the NYT wants me to create an account and log in to see it. I'd rather not do that.
In any case, just because the New York Times says something doesn't necessarily make it true. Granted, the Times is generally more honest and truthful than Fox Noise (which I avoid like the plague), but even they have an editorial position to support and can be wrong.
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