U.S. hits weight marker: 1 in 4 officially obese

[villager]

Source: Chicago Tribune

U.S. hits weight marker: 1 in 4 officially obese

By Deborah L. Shelton, Judith Graham and Robert Mitchum

Americans, who have been getting fatter for decades, reached an unwelcome milestone in a report released Thursday: More than one in four of us are obese.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of adults who say they are obese jumped 2 percent between 2005 and 2007—from 23.9 percent in 2005 to 25.6 percent in 2007. That doesn't include people who are overweight.

A different CDC survey—a gold-standard project in which researchers actually weigh and measure survey respondents—put the adult obesity rate at 33 percent for adult men and 35 percent for adult women in 2005 and 2006.

"It's alarming," said Dr. Robert Kushner, professor of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and an expert on obesity, fitness and lifestyle. "As a country, it means we have a whole population of individuals developing increased risk for chronic illness—diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer. All of these are related to obesity."

<snip>

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obese-states-18-jul18,0,1912364.story

[Wetzelbill]

1. I am more pleasantly plump than obese

I might eventually get there though.

[flvegan]

2. BMI or Body Mass Index is the biggest fraud in health today.

The CDC should know better, but what to expect from this branch of the government.

I'm a certified trainer, and I'm obese according to them. As is the current Mr. Olympia and Arnold in his prime.

Make sense? I thought not.

[New Dawn]

3. Read this part of the article

"A different CDC survey—a gold-standard project in which researchers actually weigh and measure survey respondents—put the adult obesity rate at 33 percent for adult men and 35 percent for adult women in 2005 and 2006."

This was actually using scales and measuring bodies, and it was two years ago. The real obesity rate is probably 35-40% now.

[flvegan]

4. I read it.

It's still shit.

Is obesity a problem? Yes. But, a better tool is need to measure it. The BMI is shit, always has been, always will be.

Using scales and measuring bodies doesn't change the fact that people differ.

[New Dawn]

6. People often object to BMI on the grounds that...

Athletes have high BMIs, even though they are actually physically fit, because muscle weighs more than fat. However, with the CDC actually weighing and measuring people, they would obviously not count someone who is super muscular as fat. That therefore eliminates the main reason that some people try to reject BMI.

In addition, measuring people is not part of BMI, as you probably know. Measuring bodies gives a much more precise indication of an individual's muscle/fat ratio. Therefore, the 33-35% obesity number from the CDC is certainly the most accurate.

[flvegan]

8. Oh, really?

Does that measuring involve immersion testing?

No. No it doesn't. Therefore, your take on any sort of simplistic BMI fails.

The CDC wouldn't know shit if it stepped in it. It's not about weight. The BMI as stated is a shitty base from which the CDC operates from. Their obesity number is still shit, and I challenge you to prove otherwise.

[New Dawn]

12. Provide a source for "immersion testing"

I've seen no reason not to trust the CDC's data.

[flvegan]

13. Provide a source?

Google it.

Embrace the idiot within.

Immersion is (amongst us professionals *nudge wink*) the best means available.

[depakid]

18. Simple observation of people on the street in various places

would tell you that the CDC's numbers aren't too far off....

[NickB79]

7. What methods are available that you consider satisfactory for accurate measurements?

I'm not being snarky, I just wanted to know what you would consider the gold standard of testing for estimating obesity levels. Thanks.

[flvegan]

9. Immersion.

[Nihil]

22. How long does it take to measure it?

"Good news! Your husband is *not* obese.
Unfortunately, the calibration was playing up a bit
and he had drowned by the time that we got a good reading ..."

:evilgrin:

[TrogL]

23. Watch a typical live street scene on TV

...eg. looking at a news report with people walking in the background.

One in four is obese to the point in having trouble walking. Note that this off-the-cuff test excludes those people who can't even walk sufficiently to make it into the picture - they're sitting at home gorging on take-out or in the drive-thru.

[Infomaniac]

11. Agreed

Not all "obese" people are unhealthy either. Although I've lost 65 pounds and five dress sizes, I am still in the overweight/obese category. As my nutritionist describes me, I'm a fit, fat person. All my markers: cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar are in the normal ranges. BMI on its own is an incomplete measure of an individual's overall health.

[flvegan]

14. Wait! You have a nutritionist????!!!

So you've retained someone that actually knows what the hell they may be talking about/promoting????!!

How bizarre.

:thumbsup:

[Psephos]

32. Nutritionists can be full of b.s. too

Much better to judge them based on their performance and critical thinking skills rather than upon their certifications and diplomas. Dogma is pervasive in the nutrition business.

[billyoc]

16. Do you really think that the CDC is mistakenly marking people as obese?

Really?

[grace0418]

42. I totally agree. Obesity is definitely epidemic, but BMI is useless.

I work out six days a week (cardio, strength training and yoga), eat an incredibly healthy diet and I am consistently growing stronger and leaner. However my actual weight hasn't changed in a year. It's a plateau for sure, and I'm trying some different measures to get off the plateau. But my BMI would suggest that I'm the same obese person I was a year ago, while I, my doctor, my husband, and everyone who knows me would absolutely disagree with that.

[WilyWondr]

49. Arnold is healthy bodyweight?

Posted by flvegan
"I'm a certified trainer, and I'm obese according to them. As is the current Mr. Olympia and Arnold in his prime.

Make sense?"

Uh, yes it does make sense. We will see how long Arnold or any of the Mr Olympias live.
Do you think they will make it to 70? How about 75?
Are HGH, creatine, Amino Acids and steroids part of your healthy diet too?

Using those people as examples of healthy bodyweight would be hilarious if it wasn't so sick.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Munzer

Münzer died of complications due to the enormous number and combinations of weight training supplements he used while competing. After months of stomach pains, he was admitted to a hospital on the morning of March 12th. By 7 pm, doctors had decided to operate to stop bleeding in his stomach, but shortly afterwards his liver and kidneys failed. Münzer refused a blood transfusion, and died on the morning of March 13th at the age of 30. Schwarzenegger sent a wreath to Munzer's funeral in Styria, with the message 'A last greeting to a friend.'

http://64.233.187.99/search?hl=en&q=dead+bodybuilders

[panzerfaust]

61. As a single index BMI does have problems

However, morbid obesity is much more common than morbid muscularity and can be distinguished at a glance - or simply by measuring waist circumference.

When I see that my next patient for surgery has a BMI of 55, it is more likely I will see someone wracked by disability and disease, than someone in glowing health ...

[AndyTiedye]

5. Let the People Dance!

You don't see many obese ravers. Dancing is very good exercise.
We did not have an "obesity epidemic" while the rave scene was in full swing.
That started after the blue meanies shut down most of the raves.
So now a lot of people who used to go out dancing sit home and watch TV.

RIDE THE MUSIC

[NickB79]

10. Well on our way to the world of WALL-E

Where's my hoverchair and cheeseburger-in-a-cup?

[psychopomp]

15. I am all for the pursuit of happiness

but I wonder if stuffing our faces really makes us happy. Somehow, I doubt it.

[JI7]

17. i wonder why mexico is so high

i'm not surprised about UK .

Italian food in America would make many obese. i wonder what their meals are like and the portion sizes. or maybe it's just being more physically active.

[smirkymonkey]

20. I don't know what the European secret is, but

when I studied in Austria (and ate the typical Austrian diet of meat, starch, pastries, cheese, beer...etc) I actually LOST about 15 pounds over the course of a semester. Of course we walked more than usual, but I think it had a lot to do with the lack of preservatives and additives in the food. Everytime I have been to Europe and have eaten the local food - which is usually heavier than what I eat here - I always manage to drop a few pounds.

[Nevernose]

27. 15 pounds is the amount of additives average Austrians consume in a year

15 pounds is the amount of additives average Austrians consume in a year, which is about the same for Americans and the rest of the industrialized world. The secret in Europe is the amount of walking compared to the US. Their obesity is on the rise, too, though, for the same reasons everywhere else in the world: more driving, more sedentary jobs, more convenience foods.

[krabigirl]

29. Walking.

Also, though, I know from my French relatives (who aren't exactly thin), that many women do take appetite suppressants. :) But that's not the reason for them being thinner. They just eat better, snack less, and walk more.

[shanti]

37. hfcs?

i wonder if the packaged food that the europeans eat contains this...oh wait - they're not eating prepared foods, they're actually doing some real cooking!

[WilyWondr]

50. Carbohydrates

I know I know. No one wants to hear about the Atkins diet anymore, but he was basically correct in his assessment that we in the Western hemisphere eat way too much carbs.

The fact that when you eat animal fat it is not converted to human fat does not seem to sink into people's heads. We have all been taught that eating fatty rich foods will make you fat.

When someone eats a bag of chips/fries or a tortilla or potato it gets turned into fat in order to store that energy. Europeans eat alot more fat(real butter and cream) whereas Americans have been cutting the fat for decades and replacing it with carbs and statins.

People eating rice cakes and thinking they will lose weight because of it do not understand what happens to carbs in our bodies.

[AngryAmish]

69. smoking

[snooper2]

24. Um, the re-fried everything maybe

GOBAMA!

[Nevernose]

26. Mexico has more money than ever before

Which isn't saying much, sadly, but with cheap food (largely imported from subsidized American farmers, ironically causing their farmers to immigrate here in search of work) their diet has drastically changed. Lunch, not so long ago, was a corn tortilla with a couple of spoonfuls of refried beans; now lunch on Tuesday is what Sunday dinner after church used to be. Combine that with more sedentary jobs than ever before, more automobile transportation and hence less walking, and throw in more pre-packaged crap -- sodas, chips, candy --and you've got record obesity even among the poor.

For these same reasons, obesity is actually becoming a major health issue in third-world African nations. In the last ten years, it's doubled in Japan, long the gold standard for good health.

[Crowman1979]

51. It must be the overreactive emotions of most Italians in ordinary conversation...

..is probably the reason they burn more calories. Because I don't recall Italy being known for gyms.

[LeftyMom]

53. The average Mexican two year old drinks half a can of Coke a day.

That probably has a bit to do with it.

[panzerfaust]

62. Genetics too plays a role

... Though I know that one is not supposed to say things like that any more.

[Psephos]

33. Read this and you'll understand a lot more about what makes us happy

http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Myth-Historical-Antidote-Working/dp/0060859504/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201466664&sr=8-1

[NMDemDist2]

19. HFCS and frankenfood

it's no wonder

[RedLetterRev]

21. Bingo

jevver turn storebought stuff over and look at the teenyweenie print? If I can't prounounce the ingredients (and I have a pretty durned big vocabulary, conversationally comfortable in three languages, and can comfortably read in four more), then I really don't want it in my body. I have to believe if they wanted you to know what that stuff was, they wouldn't make it in fine print.

And "hydrolized" anything is plastic. Does anyone really want to eat plastic? Thought not. And we wonder why we can walk down the street and see thunder-thighs, badonkadonk butts, flopping guts, moobs; half the guys walking around you know they haven't seen their own peckers in decades; why instances of diabetes have skyrocketed (I'm still suspicious of Cargill and their HFCS for that); a thousand other things that Monsanto, Sygenta, Cargill, hell, all of Big Agra have tried to pass off as "food".

Yack.

I gave up HFCS years back and recently began growing my own veg (mostly heirloom varieties), and those, pretty-much naturally. What little meats we eat at home, we get locally from a certified-organic, free-range beef farm (kosher-practice, humanely-dispatched). Not that I'm a freak about it... I just wanted something that tasted like, well, food and had, well, food in it. I was raised way up in the mountains, subsisted on garden food in my youth and wanted the tastes of my formative years. Little did I realize until later in life that those were actually the healthiest for me.

Mirabile dictu, once we got off the frankenfoods and got back out in the field a little bit of honest work raising stuff, the bear-pudge dropped off, with very, very little effort entailed. Not only do I feel a million percent better, I've muscled up a bit and the boyz are lookin' my way again (woo hoo!). Not bad for an' ol' f'er heh.

But I realize there's a sobering flip-side to my good fortune. There are at least a couple hundred million Americans who've been raised on Coke and chips and corn products and all the shit that may not kill ya outright -- but enough of it will kill ya.

I don't know what the rest of America can do. I realize I'm among the extremely fortunate few who can and did take control of my destiny, at least in this regard. When a nation has lost control of its food supply, it is basically f#(ked. We did and we are.

There are better choices to make and they can be made, but they are at present difficult. They will require community effort. Folks have to be aware that at the final analysis, it's their bodies and all they've got to live in. Old age isn't for sissies -- trust me, I'm looking that direction sooner than I would have believed. I don't mind aging, but I'll be Dogdamn if I'll allow myself to get old and worn out. I see people my age (I just turned 51 last month) who look 71, largely from poor nutrition.

It all starts with a change of attitude. My body may not be a temple, but I'll be durned if I'll treat it like a tent, either.

[OKthatsIT]

35. ditto that

[KansDem]

47. And TeeVee.... Nielsen reports American TeeVee viewing at an all-time high...

Nielsen Media Research reported that the average American home watched more television the past TV season vs. any previous season. During the 2004-05 TV season (September to September), the average household in the U.S. tuned into television 8 hours and 11 minutes per day. This is 2.7% higher than the previous season, 12.5% higher than 10 years ago, and the highest levels ever reported since television viewing was first measured by Nielsen Media Research in the 1950's. In that same time frams, the average person watched television 4 hours and 32 minutes each day, the highest level in 15 years

Average Hours and Minutes Tuned into TV Per 24 Hour Period (Sept-Sept)

Year
Avg. Household Use
Avg. Person Time Viewing

2004 - 2005
8:11
4:32

2003 - 2004
8:01
4:25

2002 - 2003
7.55
4.25

2001 - 2002
7.42
4.18

2000 - 2001
7.39
4.15

Source: Nielsen Media Research, 2005

Center for Media Research

[Skittles]

56. and those same people will tell you

"I don't have time to exercise." Yup.

[WriteDown]

25. Don't need a study....

Just walk outside in most U.S. cities. There is no European secret and I can't blame presevatives. The answer is simple: portion size. The original McDonald's meal was the size of a happy meal.

[WriteDown]

28. One thing to add....

There may be European secret afterall. Most of them smoke, and I mean SMOKE. They smoke even while eating. Despite its downsides, a great weight loss aid.

[CBHagman]

58. I suspect a sedentary lifestyle contributes as well.

What else has changed dramatically in recent years? Our use of technology. Long hours with computers (A real issue for me, both at home and work), increased use of cell phones, and leisure hours spent on sedentary pursuits: TV watching, video games, etc.

Then there are people who have almost no walking or biking or whatever built into their days at all. I've had co-workers who commuted by bike, and I've had co-workers who literally avoided standing up occasionally from their desks.

In any event, this story is not merely about BMI or appearance. There are unbelievably serious health consequences for this increase in obesity.

[Locrian]

30. carbs and sugar

Carbs and sugar (same thing really). Look at any kids diet. Yes there is the greasy fast fats, but 90% of their diet is snack food. Chips, pop, bread, macaroni, hot pockets, donuts, crackers, more pop, candy, etc. Vegetables are like f-ing kryptonite. Even a nice steak or whatever is lost on them.

The tiny bit of junk meat or fat is FAR outweighed by the insulin shock these kids hit themselves with 24/7.

Its because carbs/sugar is ADDICTIVE. It releases pleasurable chemicals in the brain.

Think about it - what makes you drool more, even if you are stuffed? A warm cinnamon bun with icing or a salmon steak?

[underpants]

31. I'm obese

for a 6 foot male the most you can weigh is 230 to not be considered obese.

I was recently diagnosed with having a thyroid problem

when I ran my first marathon last November I weighed 250
when I ran my seond marathon in May I weighed much more than that-probably 260 or so

[Megahurtz]

34. Fluoride in the Drinking Water,

High Fructose Corn Syrup in the food, actually any type of added sugar in all processed foods for that matter,
and whatever else they put in what we consume that they're not legally bound to tell you. Among other things.

Throw no physical activity into the works, and it's a recipe for Obesity.

[WriteDown]

36. I thought fluoride was used....

to allow the govt to track our teeth by satellite. :sarcasm:

I don't wear a tinfoil hat so while I think that too many sugars are a bad thing, I still lay the blame squarely on portion size. The size of the American plate has even grown to accomodate the larger portions.

[Megahurtz]

39. That's true.

If you compare the portion size of France for example, to ours, we look like gluttons.

[Quantess]

52. Fluoride does slow the thyroid, in large amounts.

Dentists will tell you that.

Not that I think it makes a big difference for the average person.

[Psephos]

43. Thanks to fluoride I have strong teeth and no cavities

Both my parents have a mouthful of crowns, root canals, and metal fillings, so it's not a matter of genetics.

Bad teeth can lead to blood infections with staph and subsequent death. How many deaths - let alone how much nonfatal misery and diminished happiness - has fluoride prevented? Somehow these stats never make it into the fluoride rhetoric.

Meanwhile, I completely agree with you on the HFCS. That stuff is like liver crack. :hi:

[OKthatsIT]

38. Artifical Sweeteners, MSG, GMO, Hydrog Oils, Barium Oxides...

The list goes on...

Eating and drinking artificial sweeteners and refined carbohydrates signals the liver to make fat..even if you're eating protein, thereafter. It won't matter if the body needs the protein, it still goes to fat.

Thats why cereals in the morning arent such a good idea. Make them eggs, have them eat it, then make them toast.

ALSO...Barium Oxide(aerosol sprayed in our skies by the US Military's Weather Modification Programs) is wrecking havoc on THYROIDS. If thyroids are being destroyed, one becomes depressed, gains weight, etc.. Many people never know their thyroids have a problem until the damage has already been done. This heavy metal also causes high blood pressure which leads to stroke.

[Megahurtz]

40. I thought about

the Chemtrail spraying too. I bet that has a lot to do with it.

[haele]

41. Normal diet industry blah-blah-blah...

Depending on genetics, one could look borderline obese and still be perfectly fit. It is just as unhealthy to be overly skinny, in fact, for some people, more unhealthy. If I need a strong back and stamina to do a job, I'd rather go with someone who was overweight than underweight. Overweight may be slower, but underweight tends to be weaker or sicker.
Besides, when the economy is on the skids, there will be far more radical departures from the norm, as people don't get enough healthy food in their diet, or have enough time to properly exercise - not the usual over- or under-exertion done by people who are struggling to by cheap high carb/high protein diets to keep from getting too depressed at their situation or survival chances while they're looking for enough work to keep their family fed and a roof over the head. Any anthropologist can tell you that natural part of survival in a species is to store up fat during lean or stressful times. Also, during such times, the age of fertility in females gets lower, so you tend to see more young teen mothers as times get harder.

Obesity is a symptom of many factors - it's not just "the choice to sit around and stuff your face with twinkies".

Haele
(who is genetically descended from "pear people" - borderline obese frames who usually live long, healthy, active lives up into their 90's and 100's...)

[Vinca]

64. Thank you. Obesity is a much more complex problem than

whether a person stuffs his face with chips or celery. Genetics and emotional health play just as large a role as anything else.

[Deja Q]

44. Hey hey hey! Potato chips and red beans are cheaper than broccoli!

[Psephos]

45. Beans are good, chips are bad, but broccoli is cheaper than both

I buy a week's worth, fresh, for a buck. Sometimes a quarter more or less depending on the season.

Beans are an awesome food, full of protein and fiber, unless you dunk them in a sugary or fatty sauce, like commercial packers do.

[ohio2007]

46. supersize it

New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less


http://www.theonion.com/content/video/new_wearable_feedbags_let

fat tax at the drive through ?

[CoffeeCat]

48. High fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fat...

...is in so many foods that we eat. These things, as well as sedentary lifestyles are making us fat.

It is an epidemic.

Right now, it's challenging--because the price of food is through the roof. Fast food and processed food
are much cheaper than healthy food and fresh produce.

I remember in college, you could almost watch many of the foreign students blow up before your very eyes.
They came over here and started eating the food, and they became not just overweight--but bloated. Our
food is saturated with salt, preservatives and all sorts of other junk that is not good for the body.

This country makes it difficult to stay healthy and a normal weight. It's too easy to eat crap. You
have to make the conscious decision to ignore the fast food and the quick fixes--and go out of your
way to eat healthy. It shouldn't be that way.

I don't believe in the BMI either. That's a failed experiment. However, that doesn't mean that
obesity isn't an epidemic. It is. Leave it to the government to screw up this metric. It's as if
they created some bizarre, inaccurate standard of measurement, just so Americans would say, "Screw
it. I'll weight what I want. The BMI is flawed." Well...the BMI is flawed, but we are still
getting fatter and more unhealthy.

I swear, they're trying to numb us out and slow us down, so we don't notice that they're destroying
the country. :P

[GeniusLib]

54. Sorry I have a tough time believing 1/3 of the people in this country are obese

Dictionary says obesity is an "abnormal accumulation of fat"

Having the same standard for obesity now as in the 1950's is worthless considering what a sedentary society we have become. People aren't out working on a farm 10 hours a day and therefore having a higher body weight per height is more normal.

[CBHagman]

60. I live in a city and travel by public transportation.

I see the locals and out-of-town visitors all the time, and believe me, there are a lot of obese people, far more than I remember seeing while growing up.

[Codeine]

63. Obesity isn't a relative term,

it remains the same regardless of how fat your average face-stuffer gets.

[Toucano]

65. It has to be at least 1/3.

Maybe it depends on where you live if you see it or not.

[sakabatou]

55. And I actually had to gain weight for my frame

[JNelson6563]

57. Many eat too much.

I can mention countless examples I have witnessed personally. One friend of mine is always struggling with her weight. We went to a Dem meeting a couple hours away one time, stopped for fast food lunch on the way home. We ate it and then she pulls into Dairy Queen and gets this big ol' dessert. Ugh. I felt pretty full from lunch and was amazed at how she could wolf that down too.

People eat too much. The body gives you a "full" feeling for a reason. Many ignore it and keep eating. Then they wonder why they can't lose weight. If you eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full maintaining a healthy weight is easy.

:hide:

Julie

[slackmaster]

59. I've lost three pounds in the last 10 days

Working on it...

[ismnotwasm]

66. This is a problem

With the highest concentration in the Southeast. I saw the BMI argument up thread, I think it should be more of a general guideline than anything cut in stone.

The fact remains that we're seeing the outcomes of obesity, mostly diabetes kidney failure in my particular field. I work in renal/transplant, and most centers have a BMI limit before a patient is able to be listed, so it can be a vicious cycle once the kidney's are shot. We do a lot of inpatient dialysis, and that is not projected to get better anytime soon.

[davsand]

67. Have you ever looked at the clearance racks in clothing store?

A lot of times they are chock full of size "SMALL" or maybe even "medium." They are NOT full of X-large or even the multi X sizes. Anecdotal evidence of a bigger population? Yep, you bet ya. I think it was sometime in the last year I saw an article talking about the sizes that sell most often in women's fashion, and it was a 16. Used to be something like a ten. (Sorry, no cite for it just memory.)

We have, as a society, become over fed and under nourished. We also are a lot less physically active than our ancestors were. Taken in combination it is a recipe for obesity and we are proving it daily.




Laura

[JNelson6563]

68. Hunger

This from, of all places, the Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34165

Point: (Whiney American)

Oh, my God, I am so starving. I swear, if I don't get something to eat in like two minutes, I am going to die.

I cannot believe how completely famished I am. Why do we have to wait for Tyler to get home from soccer practice? I want to eat now. It's almost 6:15.

I didn't even get to eat lunch today. Erica and I had to sign up for kickline tryouts at noon. We got to the cafeteria way late, and we weren't about to stand in line with the sophomores. All I had was a Twix and half a bag of Fritos. Plus, the stupid machine was out of Diet Coke.

No, I did not still have those carrot sticks left at lunch. I ate them all after second period. Duh.

Did you hear that? I can totally hear my stomach making these weird growling noises. I think I'm going to faint.

Please, please, please let me eat now so I can go up to my room--I have a ton of people to call

Counterpoint: (Truly starving)

My God, I am starving. If I do not find something to eat soon, I will surely die.

Hunger consumes my life. My young body is hunched and weak, as if I were an old man. Some days, I pass the time by counting my bones.

I would walk 100 miles through the desert to reach a handful of millet. The sight of a sparrow carcass would make my mouth water, if only I were not too dehydrated to salivate. I have not eaten a full meal since the last rain, which caused a few precious patches of field grass to sprout. Soon, there will be none of us left.

I am so very, very hungry. I grow thinner and thinner, as my body starts to digest its very self. The last thing I ate was a small lizard. This was nine days ago. I gave half of it to my only remaining brother. I did this to return a favor: Last month, he discovered a piece of tree bark and shared his bounty with me. Unfortunately, my body was so unaccustomed to food, I was soon doubled over in pain, as a flood of liquid shot from my bowels. Ever since then, my rectum has protruded from my anus. My lower intestines have begun to push their way out, as well.

So tell me again how it is the truly poor who are fat. Reassure me it's not that people just eat too much food. No, it's that they don't eat the finest food. Yeah, that's it.

Never do you hear so much whining and excuse making as when it comes to eating habits in greedy America.

Julie