Chubby America

Gastro-bypass surgery is such a common term anymore. If someone mentioned 'stomach stapling' a few years ago, you'd probably not know what that meant, you may not even know now. Both those terms are surgical processes that aid overweight people get thinner again, by making a smaller stomach. Jenny Craig, Slim Fast, Weight watchers, used to be the common things people thought of when women wanted to lose weight. This was years and years ago, now their are whole aisles and sections of health and food stores devoted to weight loss for men and women. Pills, tonics, elixirs, powders, emulsions, etc... you name it, are available to help you lose weight. Ten years ago you wouldn't have seen such things at your local GNC or health store, at least not in such quantity or variety.

America is fat. There is no way around this, so many Americans are overweight that it has become norm in our society. The other day I was at a theatre to watch the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. While waiting for the movie to begin I looked around and was amazed on how many fat people were in the theatre. I should probably use 'overweight' but that's just prettying up 'fat' as it's more derogatory. I needed to get a drink of water and as I walked down the large aisle on the side, I had to squeeze myself through two fat people walking up the aisle. Of course these people had large containers of sodium loaded popcorn with extra butter on it. There are even butter dispensers... butter dispensers? More like fat dispensers. That fat allows for the popcorn to slide down easy, you don't even have to chew. Of course you chase it down with a gallon of your favorite soda. Fat people are hardly the only ones who eat this stuff, many others enjoy it too. Though, when a thin couple walks in with a large popcorn it seems too much, but on a fat person the large popcorn seems proportional somehow. That’s pretty scary. I can't even finish a third of the popcorn in one of those large bags, it's just too much.

When I say 'fat' you probably imagine some large 400 pound man or woman who is obviously heavier than is healthy to the point where overweight people think the person is fat. True, that's fat, but my 'fat' also includes those who have pot bellies, beer bellies, or who I consider 'chunky'. Not overweight in excessiveness, but are still overweight or fat. Of course I'm referring to mostly adults. What's scarier is a fat kid. Parents should be ashamed of themselves if their kids are fat, it is their fault and their fault alone. They manage their kid's diet and activity, they are responsible. And don't give me that 'my kid is a healthy eater' or 'my kid has thick bones' excuse, it's just another reason to cover up your short-comings of a parent. Wait, I'm being insensitive, overweight can be considered genetic now. Though, I wonder, 50 years ago, if overweight was genetic, or if it's just an excuse to hide behind in this day and age. It's true, I suppose, I've seen stories where a fat-- excuse me -- overweight person eats healthy and exercises daily and still gains wait. I believe that only a small percentage of people really are affected by that condition, the rest that claim their fatness on genetics are just making up excuses. I also have my suspicions that these this overweight condition can be developed just like diabetes can be developed.

But who can blame them? It's so easy to get fat in America... fast food restaurants, elevators, escalators, moving walkways, rich food, grocery stores loaded with salty and sweet snacks and junk food, delivery of food to your door step, etc... Junk food is inexpensive and healthy food is not. Foods are loaded with sodium, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, preservatives, additives, anything to make the food taste better. What was that? Oh yeah, 'reduced sodium/fat/cholesterol' foods/snacks. Don't delude yourself. Just because your eating those types of foods doesn't mean you are eating healthy. Do you really think you are eating that much healthier when you are eating reduced sodium Doritos’s [chips]? If that appeases your conscience, fine. No trans-fat! Yay! There is still the other fat and it's bad for you too, trans-fat is just the worst of it. Oh, and drinking a galloon of 'diet' soft drinks is probably just as bad as drinking the regular stuff, you just have another excuse to hide behind if you are fat. I've seen regular people switch to 'diet' soft drinks to manage their weight gain. Hey, how about drinking water instead? It quenches your thirst and has no bad stuff in it. If you really need flavor, get some of those flavored + caffeine water drinks.

Soft drinks are available at almost every street corner. Many kids grow up practically breast-fed soft drinks. It's cheap and easy to get. Milk is expensive. Why pony-up nearly $3 for a gallon of milk when you can get a 2-liter of pop for $0.99? I have yet to see a 'pop-machine' dispense healthy fruit or vegetable drinks. That's how bad it is, 'pop-machine', a ubiquitous term that people identify as a machine that one puts money in and then one can select a drink. It's not necessarily 'pop'. It can be water or some sort of sports drink. Healthy drinks are either more expensive or don't sell as well. I'd be happy if I saw a drink-dispenser have fruit and/or vegetable drinks alone. I'm waiting for the day when drinking fountains have a soft drink rather than water.

It seems every town and city have 'gyms', places that you pay to have access to facilities that have weight training, exercise machines, running tracks, and/or swimming pools. When I look into some of these places (most or completely glass paned, for whatever reason, so you can see who's working out) it's mostly slim/healthier people. I'm not saying these gyms are bad, as it's more convenient and comfortable to work out in an air-conditioned building year round, rather than biking or whatever outdoors especially when weather can be temperamental and seasonal. Also, weights are expensive and not everyone has the room or money to have their own set, and a gym is ideal for weight training. You can watch TV or movies while you work out to help make the grueling experience somewhat more palpable. Though, of the time I've spent overseas, which is a lot, I've never really seen 'gyms'. Bigger cities may have them now, but people typically eat healthier and are more active in Europe and don't have the need for 'gyms'. I feel like America is the only place that really needs gyms.

I think that's one of the problems in America, people don't make the time or have the time to eat healthy or stay active. People jam pack their lives so much, that they only have time and patience to pop in to a fast food place or get a microwaveable dinner. Both are very unhealthy. Healthy-Choice dinners aren't as healthy as one would hope. People don't eat normal anymore either, skipping breakfast, and sometimes even lunch, just to eat unhealthy food or snack on junk food later. All your food intake ends up being unhealthy, loaded with sodium and fat. If that's all you eat, it's no surprise that you are fat. A part of keeping your weight in check is to have a healthy diet, but of course everyone knows that. People just define 'healthy diet' differently and end up being fat even when they say they are eating healthy. If you want the true definition of a healthy diet, talk to your doctor or a nutritionist (those only came into existence because of fat people).

There is no easy solution to fix fat America, mostly due to the fact that it's up to individuals to take the steps necessary to maintain a healthy weight. And that 'healthy' is defined by the nutritionists and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) as well as doctors. Fast food restaurants would end up losing money if people chose to eat healthier. Maybe that would force fast food chains to re-evaluate their menu and get rid of 400g of fat burgers. But, it really boils down to the individual to have the will power to do something about their fatness. Many men make the mistake of eating how they did in college, after their metabolism slows down in their 30's. Changing your diet is tough, but it's necessary to change it as your body changes and handles the foods you eat. Women never really have a change in metabolism, but they need to change their diet too, and change it according to the way their bodies handle food. It's easier to develop a healthy diet earlier, the longer you maintain an unhealthy diet, the harder it is to change it. Maintaining a healthy diet requires effort. Fruits and vegetables go bad, so you can't buy large quantities of them and have fresh fruit two weeks later. You also need to be smart about what foods you cook, how much fat, cholesterol, and sodium they have. The initial effort is the hardest, but once you develop a healthier diet you'll find that it is relatively easy to maintain.