Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Obesity

OK, so I work for a hospital.
I realize that there are many conditions for which people seek medical attention, one of which is obesity, and generally not capable of moving more than 10 feet without having a little red go kart tote them around.
I saw a blurb on the news that "by 2046, all Americans will be obese".
Whoa. Hold the Twinkies, the Ho-Ho's, and the Milkshakes.
Does that mean that the Atkin's diet, anorexic jackasses are going to be eliminated? Right, they will all have died as a result of clogged arteries and heart attacks. But at least they'll be easier to carry down the aisle to the altar in a pine box.
How about the professional athletes?
Laborers?
Marathoners?
Distance cyclists?
Well, that begs the question, what is "obese?"
Obesity is defined as being above your BMI, which is calculated by your height, weight and sex. MY weight should be no more than 170, max, to achieve a "normal" BMI. I haven't seen that since I had mono.
In another article, I read they are going to stop pushing the "BMI" or body mass index as a method of judging if a person is healthy, even though they may be considered overweight according to their BMI. Take someone who is active (may not get quite as much exercise as they would like, but still able to ride a bicycle for 2+ hours at 16 miles per hour), has "normal" blood pressure, "normal" lipid profile, and "normal" fasting blood sugar, but tips the scale a bit higher than the "average" person. They are told they are "overweight" and made to feel guilty, stress about what they eat, and attempt to change everything they do to try and fit into a cookie cutter image that the government would like to promote.
I went to see my doctor for my annual physical. Ok, I know that I'm NOT the posterchild for a bikini advertisement, unless they slicked up Baby Shamu and slid him in. I don't pretend to be. I try to wear clothes that are fashionable and moderately flattering, but I prefer BDU's and army boots, which are anything but.
However, my doctor looked at me and said, without gleaning any background info about what I eat, do for exercise, etc, that "You should consider joining Weight Watchers...Not that we endorse them or anything, but we've had patients that were successful at weight loss."
******WHAM*******
Unsolicited, blatant, telling me that I'm a porker (thanks, as if I didn't know that already, you jackass. I needed another blow to my ego...don't worry, it will bounce off the blubber), and need to start running on the treadmill. I hate running. My boobs hit me in the face, and I get more workout in my chest than my legs, unless i duct tape and saran wrap them in one place. Instead of "advising me" to join some shitty, dehydrated, chemical flavored, mail order food company, that I can't afford, why don't you do a little research? Barriers to prevention? (Cost, I like the food I eat (homecooked, mostly organic, thank you), need new sneakers (that I can't afford right now), can't do push ups because my wrist hurts and if you'd give me two fucking seconds to take a breath you might actually hear that, my back is giving me crap, and add to the fact that you were just a complete ass? Take your suggestion, shove it sideways where the monkey stuffed the nut, and go find a class on compassion, you useless, arrogant, deaf, waste of a copay and my insurance dollars. Go write more on your precious journal.

In some ways, I applaud the Dove commercials that are trying to promote a young woman's self image, but produced by a company that tries to sell firming creams and help women keep their "youthful" appearance? uhh...OK...

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