A couple things from the readings struck me (milk & growth and gene isolation) but surprisingly enough none of the readings prompted me to create this specific blog post. My post will touch upon things from the readings, but it was one of the last slides on the “Modern Diet” PowerPoint that inspired me to research further.
One of the most common misconceptions about people that are overweight is that along with being categorized as “fatties” and “fat asses” they are also perceived as being lazy and having poor nutrition. Very often you’ll hear or, sadly enough for some, picture overweight men and women as people with cheetos covered fingers lying around too lazy to exercise. And while this image may be extreme for some, the unfortunate truth is that many also believe this to be an accurate portrayal of the overweight man/woman. However, the fact of the matter is that being overweight does not always mean following a poor diet. There are countless of “healthy sized” and underweight men and women that eat like crap. I can testify. I, who am considered to be ...kinda underweight, eat terribly and don’t exercise enough. My addiction to sweets and mochas is a hard habit to break and I lack the motivation to exercise pretty much daily. To prove my point, I don’t treat my body as well as I should and as well as people probably believe I do. On the flip-side, there are several individuals constantly labeled as overweight that exercise regularly and eat fairly well. But because of their genetics, they are unable to achieve the “skinny instagram look” that a couple of my friends are currently obsessing about.
Lessons of the day:
1) Being fat does not necessarily equate to being obese and it certainly doesn't always mean unhealthy
HOWEVER
2) Being obese (or dangerously thin) really isn't a healthy state to be in.
(Some FOUL language is present in this blog so hopefully it doesn't distract from the good content!)
The link above is where a lot of my previously somewhat ignorant thoughts were dispelled. The author, Kate Harding, speaks up about fat shaming, dieting, and positive effects on having some pounds on that body - protection against cancer, heart disease, lung disease, type 2 diabetes, etc. Am I skeptical? Maybe so. But, after so many years of people angrily convincing me that “FAT KILLS!” it’s hard not to be. At this time, I’d like to quote what I considered to be the most important point in the article and that was that “poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle do cause health problems, in people of all sizes.” That’s right folks. And while some of you may be thinking “well duh, obviously,” many forget this or choose to ignore the facts.
Link to the a book called “Rethinking Thin” by Gina Kolata that was posted in Kate’s blog. It seems informative and seeks out to pinpoint our obsession with dieting and how that correlates to our perception of society… and all that.
The only thing I found perplexing about the article was her last line about “BMIs being shit.” Does anyone know anything about the accuracy of BMIs? I've heard a couple things here and there, but nothing to form a conclusive opinion on.
Please feel free to leave any comments below and thank you for reading.
Till next time!
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