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The United States of Obesity |
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Written by Felix Wong - View Profile
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Wednesday, 04 October 2006 |
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More good news for the Rocky Mountain State! Using data maintained by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an organization called CalorieLab has concluded that — once again — Colorado has (by far) the lowest percentage of obese people in the nation with just 16.9% of its citizens being classified as ticking time-bombs of lard. Hooray!
 Well, I suppose that is the good news. The bad news is that every single state in the union are suffering from ever-expanding girths except for Nevada, which posted a trivial 0.1% decline in the three-year obesity average versus last year’s numbers. Furthermore, it is probable that even us Coloradoans look a little, um, wide compared to those in, say, France or Vietnam. Or virtually any other country in the world for that matter, except for maybe Canada, the U.K., and Germany…
Then again, things could be worse. For example, look at Mississippi, which won the title of “most obese state in the nation” for the second year in a row. In fact, if you live in the Magnolia state, there is greater than a two-in-three chance that you are FAT! Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn would feel extremely out of place there among the sumo-types nowadays…
I have to admit that how we Americans are continually getting fatter and fatter is a great mystery to me. In this age of the Information Superhighway, with literally entire bookcases at Barnes and Noble devoted to diet and healthy living, is there any human being in this country who can honestly claim that he does not know that being obese (usually technically defined as having a body fat index of over 30 but is more easily identifiable as having a big blubber-belly or blubber-butt) poses all sorts of health risks and is, in general, not aesthetically attractive? Or that soft drinks, french fries, and anything with trans-fats, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, or white flour are not good for the body and very often lead to weight issues? That fresh vegetables and fruits are largely preferable to potato chips and candy? That a moderate amount of exercise is largely beneficial for health and staving off excess pounds?
Then again, I have not lived in a place like Mississippi where it might be easier to empathize. I am also not here to lecture on the merits of healthy eating and exercise when there are already plenty of Dean Ornish, Barry Sears, and Jack LaLanne types out there. So I will just say: keep up the good work, and watch those waist lines. | |
OK, but wait. . .
Written by FullMetal Alchemist on 2006-10-05 10:36:47
Why should we care that we don't look like the people in the UK? I say, better yourself for YOUR sake not because it's "unhip" according to assholes in some other country. I hope you're not saying we should look like the skeletal remains of what used to be people walking up and down the fashion runways in paris and LA? Of course I'm not condoning being a fatass either. Part of this is the idea that fitness is a punishment that was ingrained in the minds of all young americans as we were growing up. if we didn't do well in Gym; we ran laps, if we didn't do well in sports; we ran laps. this is the WRONG message to send from the beginning. Lazy fatasses are one thing, skeletal mind-fucks are another. (anorexic-insecure crybabies) of course that's no excuse for being either. it's not sexy and makes me want to vomit when people like Kate moss are considered "sexy" Selma Hayek is sexy, Kate Winslet is sexy. To quote David Ryan Harris: when I put my arms around a girl, I want to feel a woman, not the body of a 10 year old boy. gotta have a body like a coke bottle. 90% of all this is respect for your own bodies. Quit your crying, nobody cares that you have mental baggage holding you down. get over it. get over yourself and start running laps, hiking, playing a sport, feeling and looking the way you want, not making excuses for it. |
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A Breath of Fresh Air (60)
writen by: felix
Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. |
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
| | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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