Items to be filed under ‘Well, der…’
It seems pretty obvious to us fatties but it seems to require being said over and over (and over) again… FAT PEOPLE ARE NOT THE ENEMY!
Sorry for the cap but maybe someone will actually hear me this time… (not that I am holding my breath over that or anything). It is refreshing to read an article that finally acknowledges that the ‘war on obesity’ is actually a ‘war on fat people’. The ‘war’ isn’t on fat so much as individuals and the way we are perceived as living and the innate character flaws we are presumed to lug along with our lumbering frames. The whole concept of health insurance in the US continues to boggle my mind simply because the system we have here in Australia is SO much different. So very, very much different. I do not need private health insurance to go to a doctor, to a specialist or to hospital. I can have it, if I so choose and in some instances, it can benefit me to have it but it is not necessary and when being admitted to my local hospital, it really makes little to no different if I have private health cover or not. Not to mention that our health cover is in NO WAY associated with our employment (or lack thereof). So yeah, the US thing makes my head hurt.
To quote Rockefeller University’s Jeffrey Friedman – ‘Obesity is not a personal failing’. Hallelujah! Someone else who gets it.
High Traffic Areas May Lead to Kids’ Obesity
There isn’t a lot to say about this one without resorting to a resounding ‘Well, der….’. It seems glaringly obvious that if an area is high traffic, it is likely to be considered by parents to be less safe for their children to play outside. Less playing outside can lead to less physically active children and some children who are less physically active gain weight. Not all, some. So yeah, high traffic areas can be part of the reason some kids get fat. But the emphasis here should be on the physical activity, not the weight of the kids in question. It shouldn’t matter if they are fat, as long as they are being as active as they can be.
Maybe It’s Time to Emphasise Fitness Rather than Fatness
Again… well, der…
As we keep saying over and over (and over) again, fat doesn’t always equate with unfit, just as thin doesn’t always equate with fit.



