It Officially Costs More To Be Overweight Than A Smoker In America

[hifiguy]

1. I suspect the deniers will be here shortly.

At considerable risk of starting a flame war - which is NOT my intention - I would simply point out,i n a careful manner - that the science and statistics are what they are. The recent studies about Type 2 diabetes are frightening and research suggests it's because kids are fed a lot of shit. If the science is good enough to be convincing on an issue like climate change I see no rational reason whatsoever to doubt it on this issue and to accept the former and dispute the latter is rank hypocrisy. This science certainly is not being funded by Big Agra and the food processors.

There are a lot of related issues - the overprocessed foodlike substances that make up such a large part of the American diet, the price discrepancies between nutritious food and junk food, agribusiness' control of much of the food supply, ludicrous portion sizes, particularly at fast-food places, and many people (overweight and not) who simply shovel crap into their mouths with no consideration for what they are eating.

I am not particularly well-off, but I am a compulsive label-reader and try to eat in a reasonably healthy way. I am not a purist, and occasionally eat fast or processed food. But I do not LIVE on the stuff. I am responsible for what I eat and how much of it I eat. So is everybody else. Parents are responsible for what their kids eat. Those are not opinions, they are facts.

My father battled with weight issues his entire life, and it was a major contributing factor to his death at 65 from congestive heart failure. My mom was petite and ate like a bird and lived to 86 though she was a smoker for more than sixty years. At one time I weighed 50 pounds more than I do today. After seeing a picture of myself ten years ago I decided to change my eating habits lest I wind up going down my father's path. My weight has been stable ever since. To slough this off very real problem off as mere "bigotry," so as to dismiss the entire issue, is wishful thinking and willful denial. Which is what the anti-science repukes do.