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Fat people, get real



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 8th, 2003, 02:50 PM
ADP
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Default Fat people, get real

http://archive.salon.com/sept97/news/news970912.html

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.

Fat people, get real!

----------------------------------------

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.


BY LORI LEIBOVICH | it's one of the great American paradoxes. The more we
snatch up diet books, ab busters and fen-phen, the fatter we get.
Approximately one-third of adult Americans are overweight. Fatness -- more
politely known as obesity -- results in hundreds of thousands of deaths
each year from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Last year, a spate of "fat acceptance" books made us feel a little better
about our pear-shaped physiques. All of a sudden, anti-diet authors fed us
the tasty news: You can be fit and fat.

Enter Michael Fumento. A medical journalist and self-proclaimed "debunker
of faux fears" (his last book was "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS"), Fumento
is on a crusade. In his new book, "Fat of the Land: The Obesity Epidemic
and How Overweight Americans Can Help Themselves" (Viking), he tells
overweight Americans -- "fat blobs on legs" -- to get off their butts and
stop using biology as an excuse for their corpulent shapes. Fumento himself
has battled the bulge. Though he doesn't reveal his weight, he admits he
tried dozens of diet books; but only when he began research for his book
did he lose the 25 pounds that had saddled him for years.

Salon recently talked to Fumento by phone from his Washington, D.C., office
about Cheetos, genes and the myth of "fat acceptance."

Why is it that the more we obsess about diets and perfect bodies, the more
we put on weight?

It is quite bizarre, isn't it? First of all, in American culture, obsession
is practically the norm. Here we are buying all these billions of diet
books and yet getting fatter by the year. The fat acceptance people say
there is already a $30 billion diet industry and it doesn't work. But
that's because most of it is quackery, with books that tell you things like
"eat more, weigh less." The big one right now is Barry Sears' "The Zone,"
which is just high fat, high protein, low carbos. It's absolute nonsense.
Most of that $30 billion is not only going down the drain, it is actually
hurting.

How so?

Because what happens is this. You buy Susan Powter's "Stop the Insanity."
But it doesn't work. You buy "The Zone." It doesn't work. You buy Dr.
Atkins' book. It doesn't work, so you buy another book that doesn't work.
You have now bought 15 books. Then along comes somebody from NAAFA (The
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) and they say, guess what?
Diets don't work! It is impossible to lose weight! And you believe it
because you have tried the 15 top-selling books.

But isn't there some truth in that? Won't fatness, like death and taxes,
always be with us?

I'm not sure that we can eliminate obesity. Can we drop it by half? Yes,
possibly. Can we at least stop it from increasing? I should like to think
so. Yet in the last year, four books have come out that I know of, saying
it's OK to be fat!

You have a take-no-prisoners approach toward the overweight.

I want every single American out there who is obese to know exactly what
they are doing to their bodies.

But what if someone is active, healthy, happy and large?

This happy stuff -- I'm really skeptical about it. A few years ago I read
an interview with Paul Simon which really hit me. He said, "Any short man
who tells you that it doesn't bother him to be short is lying to you."
Those who say, "I'm fat and happy," I don't believe it. I cite a study in
my book where researchers talked to former obese people. They say stuff
like, "I would rather go blind than be fat" and "I'd rather have both my
legs cut off than be fat." People don't want to be fat.

You disagree with the fat acceptance books that say it's possible to be fit
and fat?

What do they mean when they say they fat and fit? To the medical
establishment being fit means their cholesterol level is good, their
triglyceride level is good, their blood pressure is not high and that they
have a normal EKG. But there are all sorts of things going on inside that
body that cannot be measured through any test that is yet available. For
example, a study just came out that showed that women who are 44 pounds
overweight have twice the risk of getting breast cancer. There is not a
blood test that can look at a fat or thin person and say that something
that you are doing to your body right now is going to give you breast
cancer in 15 years. So they don't know that they are fit. They can say that
they feel fit, they go on nice, long walks every day and they don't have
high cholesterol. But the facts show that being obese is doing all sorts of
nasty things to their body.

You write that "obese people are made, not hatched." Haven't medical
researchers found there is an obesity gene and many people are born with
the physical makeup of their parents?

The latest obesity gene study I have seen looked at black women, compared
to white women. We know that black women in the United States on the whole
are much fatter. Now, it was a tiny study -- I think there were only 10
black women in the whole thing. In the study they found that the 10 black
women did in fact burn 94 fewer calories a day than white women. So the
people say, "Ah, there is your obesity." Here is what nobody bothers to
tell you: That white control group, the ones who are burning 94 more
calories per day than the black women, were overall, and for their height,
fatter than the black women. So what does this tell you? It says that while
this 94 calories extra burn might be a little bit of a bonus, or the 94
calories might be a little bit of a drawback, it is not destiny. It is not
eye color, it is not height, it is not hair color. It is a slight, very
slight predisposition. It is the equivalent of three-quarters of a can of
non-diet soda. It is a few minutes on a treadmill. It is walking the dog a
couple of extra blocks. That's all it is.

You cite examples of how Americans are actually becoming more tolerant of
the obese and less tolerant of the thin. Yet it seems there is intense
disdain towards the obese -- and certainly more job discrimination.

Fat people are to some extent discriminated against. But I could say that
every time I don't get a job, it's because I am 5-6. Because it is
genetically ingrained into us to favor attractive looking people. All other
things being equal, the attractive applicant, male or female, will tend to
get the job over the less attractive person. You have problems even now
with the laws protecting black people, and women and stuff. If we set up
laws protecting people from "lookism," that is going to be an absolute
nightmare.

A few months ago, a 680-pound Richmond, Calif., teenager died due to
complications from obesity. She was found lying in her own excrement and
surrounded by pizza boxes. Her mother is being charged with neglect. What
sort of responsibility do parents have to their obese kids?

It's interesting the way the fat acceptance people reacted to this case.
One of them said, "It's not a crime to have a fat child." In my mind it is
a crime. Parents have different ways of influencing their kids. Kids live
basically in a dictatorship while they are in their parents' home. When a
kid is really, grossly fat, that is the parent's fault.

But a lot of overweight people blame their parents for their weight
problems. They say, "My mother or my father controlled what I ate to the
point where every time I was let out of their grasp, I would go and eat all
the junk food I could, because I knew it wasn't allowed in the house."
Don't you think strong-arm tactics can backfire?

Yeah, they can. What I tell people in the book is when they get a craving
they should go out and satisfy it right away. If you feel like getting a
piece of cheesecake, go get it, get a small piece, eat a few bites,
perhaps. Parents need to be the same way with their kids. If the kid really
has a craving, take them out for ice cream, let them have a little bag of
Cheetos. Just not the 16-ounce bag.

Let's talk about that little bag of Cheetos. You talk a lot about portion
size and how we grossly underestimate what we eat, because we are so
accustomed to large portions. So that little bag of Cheetos isn't going to
satisfy most people.

It's a matter of adapting to it. The two best bites of anything -- be it
Cheetos or chocolate or cheesecake -- are the first bite and the last bite.
The Europeans realize that much more than we do. They are much more sensual
about their food; where we like it in quantity, they like it in quality.
Europeans come here and are aghast at how big our food is. People need to
be convinced that the small bag of Cheetos can, once you get used to it,
end up providing as much pleasure, if not more so, than the large bag of
Cheetos. It is a matter of paying attention to each and every Cheeto.

That sounds almost New Agey.


Look, we have a lot of trouble in this country with a notion called
moderation. Nobody wants to say, look, here is an Oreo cookie. This Oreo
cookie has lots of fat, lots of calories, so I better only eat one and
enjoy every bite. No. Or they buy a packet of Snackwells, "fat-free"
cookies and eat all 12. Since these Snackwells may each contain two-thirds
the calories of one Oreo, they end up with a lot more calories, and end up
fatter than ever.

How do you explain the flip side to our nation's obesity epidemic -- the
high incidence of anorexia and bulimia?

I don't buy the anorexia thing. Anorexia is not the result of somebody
going overboard dieting. It is a psychological problem with deep roots. To
anyone who accuses me of encouraging anorexia by saying you need to be
thinner, I would say that by telling someone their hands are filthy and
they ought to wash is encouraging obsessive-compulsive disorder. I am not
telling people to lose weight until you die as a skeleton.

The new diet drugs, fen-phen and Redux, were all the rage, until it was
found that they could cause lethal heart and lung abnormalities in some
users. Do you advocate their use?


I talk about them in the book. As far as Redux goes, I simply panned it.
There is no evidence that it is any better than anything else is. As far as
fen-phen goes, it clearly works, there is no doubt about that. I did not
have access to the latest studies at that time. Some of these are hyped
anyway -- these case studies are usually pretty worthless because they have
no control. They are looking at hearts which already should be damaged
because they are fat people's hearts and they are saying, "Oh this person
has a damaged heart and they use fen-phen." But the question is, did the
damage come from the drug use? That said, with all the stuff coming out on
fen-phen, I'm more skeptical about it than ever. I am not a doctor, but I
would only recommend it for people who are so extremely fat that it
outweighs any risk from the fen-phen.

So, to sum up what you're saying: Eat less, move more and don't believe
everything you read.

I am telling people that there is no magic, no miracles. You see these
books, the 14-day diet book, the four-day miracle diet book, lose 30 pounds
in 30 days. Once you have disabused yourself of the idea that there is
magic -- that you can take weight that you have put on over a period of 20
years and lose it in 20 days -- once you have cut away the nonsense, all
that is left is common sense and sensibility. Slightly reduce your calories
each day and lose the weight that you gained over 20 years, but give
yourself a couple of months to lose it. Don't join a gym and work yourself
like a dog only to quit the gym two weeks later. Join the gym and if an
hour on an exercise bicycle bores you to tears, which it does me, do half
an hour. Walk the dog a little farther. These are simple suggestions. But
they are not simplistic, and unfortunately they are overridden by the
massive amount of nonsense out there.





  #2  
Old December 8th, 2003, 03:29 PM
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

OP: Don't crosspost, please.

[...]

:: Let's talk about that little bag of Cheetos. You talk a lot about
:: portion size and how we grossly underestimate what we eat, because
:: we are so accustomed to large portions. So that little bag of
:: Cheetos isn't going to satisfy most people.
::
:: It's a matter of adapting to it. The two best bites of anything --
:: be it Cheetos or chocolate or cheesecake -- are the first bite and
:: the last bite. The Europeans realize that much more than we do. They
:: are much more sensual about their food; where we like it in
:: quantity, they like it in quality. Europeans come here and are
:: aghast at how big our food is. People need to be convinced that the
:: small bag of Cheetos can, once you get used to it, end up providing
:: as much pleasure, if not more so, than the large bag of Cheetos. It
:: is a matter of paying attention to each and every Cheeto.

This is an interesting paragraph. I know that I certainly have come to
really resent eating anything junky that is not really really good. The
last thing I want is a piece of crappy, calorie loaded cake. If I eat cake,
I want it to be delicious -- from the first bit to the last. Anything else
is unacceptable. Getting to the point where two bites is enough is indeed
something I need to work on, however.

And Cheeto's are crap food, imo.

[....]

:: So, to sum up what you're saying: Eat less, move more and don't
:: believe everything you read.

Eww....we've heard that before, huh!

::
:: I am telling people that there is no magic, no miracles. You see
:: these books, the 14-day diet book, the four-day miracle diet book,
:: lose 30 pounds in 30 days. Once you have disabused yourself of the
:: idea that there is magic -- that you can take weight that you have
:: put on over a period of 20 years and lose it in 20 days -- once you
:: have cut away the nonsense, all that is left is common sense and
:: sensibility. Slightly reduce your calories each day and lose the
:: weight that you gained over 20 years, but give yourself a couple of
:: months to lose it. Don't join a gym and work yourself like a dog
:: only to quit the gym two weeks later. Join the gym and if an hour on
:: an exercise bicycle bores you to tears, which it does me, do half an
:: hour. Walk the dog a little farther. These are simple suggestions.
:: But they are not simplistic, and unfortunately they are overridden
:: by the massive amount of nonsense out there.

Imo, one needs to focus on establshing sustainable "health-oriented" habits
that carry into the long-term.


  #3  
Old December 8th, 2003, 06:13 PM
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

Pat wrote:
:: Getting to the point where two bites is enough is indeed
::: something I need to work on, however.
::
:: Gasp! I had to re-read that last sentence twice before I got its
:: meaning. At first, I thought you wrote that "two bikes is enough."

Hey, I'm sure that one bike isn't enough! However, I wish two bites of
really carby/high fat stuff could be enough. Or, even two handfuls of nuts



  #4  
Old December 8th, 2003, 06:20 PM
Karen Rodgers
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 09:29:56 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
wrote:

:
:: It's a matter of adapting to it. The two best bites of anything --
:: be it Cheetos or chocolate or cheesecake -- are the first bite and
:: the last bite. The Europeans realize that much more than we do. They
:: are much more sensual about their food; where we like it in
:: quantity, they like it in quality. Europeans come here and are
:: aghast at how big our food is. People need to be convinced that the
:: small bag of Cheetos can, once you get used to it, end up providing
:: as much pleasure, if not more so, than the large bag of Cheetos. It
:: is a matter of paying attention to each and every Cheeto.

This is an interesting paragraph. I know that I certainly have come to
really resent eating anything junky that is not really really good. The
last thing I want is a piece of crappy, calorie loaded cake. If I eat cake,
I want it to be delicious -- from the first bit to the last. Anything else
is unacceptable. Getting to the point where two bites is enough is indeed
something I need to work on, however.

And Cheeto's are crap food, imo.


If I'm going to have a serious cheat, I'll have a peice of cake, one
that I made from scratch with a real buttercream (or whipped cream)
frosting, not some store bought yuck fest topped with shortening and
powdered sugar, or, worse, a cake out of a box mix with canned
frosting. That's not worth anyone's time, dieting, or not. Long
story short, give me a quality cheat, not a substandard one. I'm with
you, give me something worth eating, not just junk.

That reminds me, does anyone have a good lc recipe for fruitcake
(light, not dark)? I'm thinking of doing one with nuts, berries, and
some other lc friendly fruit (none of that nasty traditional candied
fruit, ick, pooey). I know, you start with almond flour...

Karen Rodgers

**********
Windbourne, folk singers of the future
http://www.windbourne.com/
remove "_rice_" from my email address
**********
  #5  
Old December 8th, 2003, 06:41 PM
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

Karen Rodgers wrote:
::
:: If I'm going to have a serious cheat, I'll have a peice of cake, one
:: that I made from scratch with a real buttercream (or whipped cream)
:: frosting, not some store bought yuck fest topped with shortening and
:: powdered sugar, or, worse, a cake out of a box mix with canned
:: frosting. That's not worth anyone's time, dieting, or not. Long
:: story short, give me a quality cheat, not a substandard one. I'm
:: with
:: you, give me something worth eating, not just junk.

Exactly. No more junk eating. I'm going to practice getting enjoyment out
of just two bites of something really really good.

::
:: That reminds me, does anyone have a good lc recipe for fruitcake
:: (light, not dark)? I'm thinking of doing one with nuts, berries, and
:: some other lc friendly fruit (none of that nasty traditional candied
:: fruit, ick, pooey). I know, you start with almond flour...

Oh my....I really enjoy fruitcake (haven't had any in at least two years).
A LC version would really be nice.


  #6  
Old December 8th, 2003, 07:43 PM
TreadMill
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

On 8 Dec 2003, (ADP) wrote:
http://archive.salon.com/sept97/news/news970912.html

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.

Fat people, get real!

----------------------------------------

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.
snip


What an excellent article. Fumento really knows what he's talking about.
Obese people should really close the fridge, push away from the table, and
get on a treadmill.

HTH

S*nort





  #7  
Old December 8th, 2003, 09:30 PM
Jay
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real


"Ignoramus25226" wrote in message
...

Let me ask you.

If someone is fat and likes being fat, what's wrong with that?

Why are you so obsessed with insulting people who are fat and like
being this way.


Are happy though?


  #8  
Old December 8th, 2003, 09:36 PM
A J Davenport
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

(ADP) wrote in message ...
http://archive.salon.com/sept97/news/news970912.html

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.

Fat people, get real!

----------------------------------------

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.


BY LORI LEIBOVICH | it's one of the great American paradoxes. The more we
snatch up diet books, ab busters and fen-phen, the fatter we get.
Approximately one-third of adult Americans are overweight. Fatness -- more
politely known as obesity -- results in hundreds of thousands of deaths
each year from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Last year, a spate of "fat acceptance" books made us feel a little better
about our pear-shaped physiques. All of a sudden, anti-diet authors fed us
the tasty news: You can be fit and fat.

Enter Michael Fumento.


Gee, would this be the same Michael Fumento who claims that
hetrosexuals don't get AIDS?

A medical journalist and self-proclaimed "debunker
of faux fears" (his last book was "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS"), Fumento
is on a crusade.


Guess so!

Consider the source.

AJ
Because, somebody has to be the Diva
  #10  
Old December 8th, 2003, 11:38 PM
Tony Lew
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Fat people, get real

TreadMill wrote in message ...
On 8 Dec 2003, (ADP) wrote:
http://archive.salon.com/sept97/news/news970912.html

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.

Fat people, get real!

----------------------------------------

STOP THE INSANITY, GET OUT OF THE ZONE. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
TELL YOURSELF IT'S OK TO BE OBESE.
snip


What an excellent article. Fumento really knows what he's talking about.


You wouldn't be saying this if you read Gary Taube's bitch slapping
of him.


Obese people should really close the fridge, push away from the table, and
get on a treadmill.

HTH

S*nort

 




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