Reply #4: The thing is there's obese and then there's OBESE. [View All]

[salvorhardin]

I happen to be OBESE and there are real health problems associated with extreme obesity no matter how much NAAFA wants to pretend that they (or the extremely obese) don't exist.

But for most people obesity doesn't seem to adversely affect their health or their lifespan. There's just no solid evidence to support those claims.

The problem lies in where that division between obese and OBESE lies. It seems to be different for every person. One person can be normally active and otherwise fit at 300 pounds while another person is gasping for breath and unable to climb a flight of stairs. And then there's those people who live normal, active and healthy lives at 400 pounds and don't seem to suffer any adverse effects from their weight while a lot of people would be dead from carting around that amount of excess poundage.

There are a lot of myths out there that very many people still believe in, and for some reason are still being peddled by the government health agencies. It's frustrating because these myths greatly oversimplify human health. It's also frustrating because groups like NAAFA have adopted conspiracist tones that while getting them the prize for being more shrill and hysterical than the surgeon general's office (no mean feat) unfortunately turns off a lot of people.

Never the less, if one is interested in body size and sociopolitical issues, Big Fat Blog is a must read. Just keep your skepti-sense tuned to high.
http://bigfatblog.com