And really, why would you when overweight people are treated like pariahs in our culture?
The Aussie Govt has just released a study (reported in the Courier Mail 26 Jan 2008) which shows that people who are overweight increasingly think of themselves as having an acceptable weight.
The study also says that the percentage of people who are overweight or obese has increased over the last 15 years. In 1990 45% of men and 32% of women were O/O. In 2005 the figures were 62% for men and 45% for women.
And this is causing the Australian Medical Association to call on the Govt to come up with a National Obesity Strategy, like the Brits. They’re apparently spending over $800 million over three years to cure “the epidemic” in Britain.
And this is despite the fact that hundreds of studies over more than 50 years say that being fat isn’t actually a health risk, unless you’re also inactive. Just like thin, inactive people have the same health risks. People carrying extra fat are actually protected from a bunch of diseases like osteoporosis, which is deadly to older men and women. The risks of diabetes and heart disease and cancers (always cited as the health risks of being O/O) are hugely reduced with just a moderate amount of exercise and a change to a nutritious diet – without any change in weight at all. And that weight cycling causes huge stress on every organ of the body. And on and on, one study after another.
Dunno about you, but I’m sooo tired of the hysteria, and the outright lies!
