Stop!!! You're Making Me Fat!!!

We are constantly seeing ads, medical reports, doctors and other 'learned' people telling us about the obesity problem in the United States and now ‘THE WORLD’.

The government, politicians, media, journalists, scientists, universities, medical establishment, sociologists and social commentators, claim that obesity is an epidemic, a plague, a crisis, an outrage, a catastrophe, a time bomb responsible for killing 400,000 overfed Americans every year, while ringing up over a $100-billion in health care costs.

To add to the ‘fat terrorism’ problem, people are being brainwashed to think that if they aren’t in the spa/gym at least five times per week, don’t have a pair of ‘skinny jeans’, don’t have a eight pack abdomen, wear a dress size less than six (European or US measurement), don’t have a pair of pants with the waist size under 30 inches (76cm) then you are absolutely useless in your existence as a human being. According to the experts and a certain Fitness Book that is distributed through several colleges/universities around the United States and other countries: “Overweight and obese persons have low self esteem, no friends or companions, small spurts of happiness, a unhealthy love of food, continuous failed relationships and are depressed to the point whereas some have considered suicide and others have succeeded in ending their lives”.

BULLSHIT!!! UTTER AND COMPLETE BULLSHIT!!!

I’ll tell you why:

THE TRUTH: We are experiencing mass moral outrage over fat. Nearly all the warnings about obesity are based on statistical conjecture made by those with the most to gain from the claims. The "obesity epidemic" is worth billions to the pharmaceutical, diet, weight loss, media, and government agencies fueling it.

The International Obesity Task Force (which authored many of the World Health Organization's obesity reports) and the American Obesity Association (which actively campaigns to have obesity officially designated as a disease) are largely funded by pharmaceutical and weight loss companies. Nearly every prominent obesity "expert" has received financial support from the $50-billion weight loss industry.

* For pharmaceutical companies the obesity epidemic justifies the release of new drugs and inflates stock prices.
* For weight loss companies and surgeons performing bariatric surgery, the "obesity epidemic" funds their fees paid by health insurance providers and Medicare.
* For women's magazines the "obesity epidemic" fattens ad revenue and readership with false and misleading weight loss propaganda.
* For government agencies the "obesity epidemic" inflates budgets and programs allegedly aimed at preventing people from getting fatter.

Being overweight and/or obese has been linked as the major causes of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, impotence, depression, sleep apnea, deep vein thrombosis, and dementia.

However, when asked for the source of statistical data as well as the research documentation that should include blind and double blind studies – you won’t get it. These research companies cannot even tell you how many individuals participated in their studies. Don’t try the Freedom of Information Act (US) either as all of the studies are conducted by private companies who don’t have to release the data, but will release the ‘results’ of their studies.

THE TRUTH: Weight is not a barometer of wellness. More Americans die every year from weighing too little than from weighing too much (45,000 from disorders/organ failure associated with anorexia). An estimated 25,000 people die from morbid obesity. Moderately overweight people live longer than those at normal weight.

THE TRUTH: Obesity has not been found to be the primary cause of any of the above health problems. There is little evidence that adiposity (excess fat tissues) produces the claimed pathologies.

The researchers who estimated that obesity is costing us more than $100 billion a year in medical costs came up with this figure by calculating ALL expenses associated with treating type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, gallbladder disease, and cancer. They ASSUME that if we get heart disease or breast cancer, it is because we're fat. Some have claimed that genetic history,exposure to toxic chemicals and STRESS has absolutely no relationship to the above named diseases.

The International Obesity Task Force estimates that 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight, including 22 million children under age 5. They tend to show that one overweight child on television over and over. Watch and you'll see --- he has a stripped shirt, baggy tan coloured pants and a baseball cap!

According to the formula the U.S. government employs to measure weight, any person with a BMI over 25 is classified as overweight. BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. BMI can be calculated with simple math.

THE TRUTH: The B.M.I. doesn't tell you the percentage of body fat you're carrying, or how your fat is distributed. According to this measurement, half of the National Basketball Association is overweight or obese. 82% of the NFL is overweight or obese.

Some doctors and pseudo-scientific health organizations, like the International Obesity Task Force, have worked tirelessly (with substantial financial backing from diet and pharmaceutical companies) to lower the bar in determining those of us who are overweight and obese.

Until a report by the National Institute of Health (largely paid for by weight loss industry money paid to the International Obesity Task Force and the American Obesity Association) "overweight" was defined as having a BMI greater than 27 and "obese" meant your BMI was greater than 32.

After the 1998 NIH report, suddenly tens of millions of Americans became "obese" even though they had not gained a pound.

THE TRUTH: Today's average American adult is 7 to 14 pounds heavier than one thirty years ago. Not 40-70 pounds heavier as some ‘studies’ have suggested.

In the mid to late 90's, some 14 million prescriptions were written for Phen-Fen, a diet pill, before it was discovered to cause fatal heart problems and was pulled from the market.

In tests people who lost weight with the new drug Acomplia regained it all when they went off it. Apparently, the pill would have to be taken for years to be effective, though nobody knows what the long-term side effects might be. In the meantime, sales of Acomplia are expected to total $4 billion within two years.

Acomplia has two rivals on the market: Meridia, an appetite suppressant and Xenical, which prevents fat absorption. But Meridia can increase blood pressure, and Xenical causes diarrhea --- side effects that limit the products appeal. But the side effects of diarrhea, nausea, faintness, dizziness and racing heart rates, prevents you from eating therefore you lose weight, right? The work, right? How about death? The ultimate weight loss program?

THE TRUTH: Prescription ‘diet’ pills and obesity reducing surgeries amount to $50 billion plus dollars per year for the pharmaceutical companies. The amount that is being spent on diet supplements, programs and pills in the US alone (not FDA approved) is over $110 billion per year. They’ll keep telling us that we are fat and their pockets will get fatter.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that being overweight will contribute to certain disorders getting worse. However, what I don’t appreciate is the hyperbole that is being feed to people to the point where people who are not reflections of male and female models (which by the way are results of Photoshop) are being discriminated against and in some cases, ridiculed and insulted. People have lost their jobs and others won’t be hired because they don’t have the right ‘body image’.
So think about it next time you pass a moderately overweight or clinically obese person --- if the structure of the ‘ideal weight’ changes tomorrow, you could be one of ‘THEM’. The 'fat people' taking over the WORLD!

Revisiting Classic Science Fiction

Ever wonder if some classic sci-fi could be revisited or re-imagined?

I know....that is subjective rather than objective. But still, it's an interesting thought exercise given some of what is classed as "classic" science fiction.

I mean, could you accept anyone reinterpreting Philip Hose Farmer's "Riverworld"? The Sci-Fi Network's attempt seemed lame and totally without regard to Farmer's major points of wonder.

That is but one example of a host of examples showing the film world's terrible penchant for not getting the point. Remember the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still"? Guess what? The Earth never did stand still. No benevolent act of power it seemed was worthy of a mention....even though it was the vital point of the first film.

Should "The Day the Earth Stood Still" have been considered for a remake? Sure! But in a couple of years when whoever owns the rights tries it again, maybe this time they will remember Gort's awesome stature. As opposed to turning Gort into billions of radioactive dust bunnies.

That is not to say that all interpretations of the written word are as bad as that. As we know, some are untouchable classics. Well, only one really. I rue the day that anyone decides to remake "2001: A Space Odyssey".

But apart from that exception, I think just about any written science fiction classic has the potential to be visualised or re-visualised. As long as the original author's point is maintained.

For example (not a written book example, but valid scripts)....remember "The Outer Limits" from the 60's?

Season one, episode one, "The Galaxy Being" - Wanna know a secret? As a kid I never dreamed bad dreams. I never had a nightmare. Until I saw this particular episode back in the sixties.







Cliff Robertson and the "Galaxy Being"



That show freaked me out! When my family viewed it as a repeat back in the sixties, I hid behind the sofa......I was terrified.

But I grew up and the nightmares stopped.

Still, I have always been fascinated by the "Kubrick-esque" aspect of the "Galaxy Being" episode.

"Kubrick-esque"? Sure! Note the blinding brightness of the Californian sky in the beginning. The clinical difference between one scene composition and another. The careful reasoning meant for the science questions that were sure to follow. This episode of "The Outer Limits" is a classic for those reasons alone.

It only took me 40 f***ing years to get that. But then again, I didn't know Kubrick back then.

But one night, I asked myself a question.........could that be re-written? Could that be updated? Could that be re-prepared for a 2010 audience but still be faithful to the original? I mean, the facts that have overtaken the original zeitgeist are enormous. But still, could it be reworked keeping the original moral question intact?

I think it could.

What do you think?

I'd like to ask readers (if any) to comment on how best the original intent of the story could be served and how the technology could be updated to reflect the 21st century and not seem so hokey.

I have a good idea.......but do you?

Events or Things We Could Have Done Without During 2009

Celebrity News - Was it absolutely necessary for us to know who was getting divorced, had an affair, posed nude, got beat up, got arrested or the worse, had to sell one of their multi-million dollar homes?

Teabaggers – As much as I would like a well formed protest, this movement was suggested by a well known network and the people who were protesting didn’t have a clue of what they were actually protesting about. C’mon – they were protesting against tax hikes, TARP funds and changes in Medicare which were initiated by the previous US President.

The Balloon Boy – Networks were interrupted for non-stop coverage featuring a silver balloon floating in the air. If that wasn’t bad enough, some networks decided to loop the video over and over.

The Balloon Boy The Next Morning – Once again the networks looped the video of the little boy stating that he was sick and somehow managed to turn up the volume output to accentuate the fact that he was vomiting in the bathroom.

Town Hall Meetings - Truly an embarrassment to all Americans. The whole world viewed angry Americans, violent Americans and other Americans who were manipulated by corporations who released false information in order to scare people and set in fear. When fear is abundant, truth rarely is listened to or offered.

Levi Johnson – His claim to fame is that he was able to get the daughter of the Vice-Presidential nominee pregnant.

Jon and Kate Plus 8 - Didn’t know who they were until they appeared on every single tabloid magazine cover in the supermarket and every major network morning show. Still don’t know why I should get to know them.

Reality Shows – Just stop doing them, please! There was a time when networks had comedy shows and variety specials. Now they have shows to feature people you should criticize and detest. That way you feel so much better about your life.

The Snuggie - now available in prints!

15 Minutes of Fame Politicians – “Whatever it is, no matter how much good it will do, I’m against it.” In actuality, the statement that should have been said was “I must protest against the better road for the country so I can get on TV. That way the people who voted for me can remember my face when I run for office next year".

Unemployment Statistics – I’m not against the revealing of how many are unemployed, I am against the statistics being stated. In the US the ‘official’ unemployment rate is currently 10.1%. However this is not a true percentage of Americans out of work. The real number is 27% if they include the people who are no longer receiving unemployment, have stopped looking for a job because they are not available and temporary workers who are signed with an agency, but are not working. And if they don't include the foreign workers who work for the government on foreign soil, then it is actually higher.

Wall Street Executives – The boys club to beat all boys club. Each Wall Street executive has worked for another Wall Street firm and they leave and go to another Wall Street firm for the same reason: Money. The same guys who worked at AIG, worked at Goldman Sachs, worked at Bank of America, worked at Citibank, etc. Nice to able to have eight weeks on a job, resign and walk with $40 million in your bank account. I thought it was so endearing to have a previous Wall Street executive complain that with his salary ($22M plus stock options) he couldn't maintain the private petting zoo for his daughter.

OctoMom - She had eight babies and she was five cans short of a six pack. Would have liked to see more about people who are foster/adoptive parents to 10 or 15 children, some of whom have emotional or physical disabilities. They just don't make the news for their efforts!

Swine Flu – Although the threat of a pandemic was real, we really would have appreciated some honest and credible information regarding who had it, who it affected and why the vaccine was so late in being released and only available to certain people. What got up my nose is that certain companies who were not in the health services field, were able to buy the vaccine for a very profitable price.

Of course this list is only a sampling and I would welcome comments regarding other events or things we could have done without during 2009. Just think of what the list will be like for 2010……