Society has reached a point where frequenting fast food and not turning down a second helping of dessert is now classified as a disease.
Americansportsdata.com, which keeps health related statistics of the United States, claims that 63 percent of Americans are overweight. I understand there are certain individuals who endure circumstance beyond their control which lead to excessive weight gain; in no way is this column meant to offend any citizens which fall into that category. Instead, I am speaking to those who supported the cause of the overweight folks who attempted to sue McDonalds in January 2003 for causing them to be fat.
The number of people classified as alcoholics trumps those who are overweight, yet there have been no lawsuits against liquor stores for causing these people to become alcoholics.
In no way are these words meant to serve as a sermon inspired to turn their readers into bodily obsessed walking skeletons. Although I do live on a substance free floor, and stand 100 percent behind its fundamental values, I do not possess a beach-ready body worthy of acclimation from the great Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. However, I do practice enough self control to not allow myself to reach the obscenely overweight stature of millions of Americans today.
No matter how unbiased of a person you think you are, you immediately formulate stereotypes when meeting someone for the first time and do a double take on the bulge hanging over their belts. Society today has ingrained an image of skinny women and lean muscular men who hang out on the beach all day and drink beer. Aside from this shallow side effect being overweight has on people, there are even graver health risks that stem from obesity.
People classified as obese are much more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cardiovascular disease which can all shave just as many years off your life as a Marlboro Red.
In order to shed unwanted pounds you don’t have to forsake bread for the rest of your life, and prepare to permanently entrench nothing but lettuce and grapefruits on your plate forever.
People need to stop lying to themselves. No one force feeds them super-sized cheeseburgers and fries, not the toothless guy at Burger King, or the weird little guy you can never understand at the Wendy’s drive-thru. It is their hands that bring their food to their faces, and slowly compiles the mounds of excessive body fat they now try to shrug off as a disease.
There are many things in life over which people have no control, and it is these conditions for which the term “disease” should be reserved. AIDS and Cancer are diseases. These two conditions have one thing in common; there is no known cure for either of them. However, a cure for obesity has been discovered; it’s known as eating less amounts of food not fried in oil, covered in cheese, or doused in chocolate.
Overweight people are not the only ones who must do things they would rather not do. While it would be more enjoyable to scarf down a few slices of pizza, the lingering feeling after enjoying a grilled chicken salad far surpasses the ephemeral joy of the pizza. Overweight people need to take a step back and realize how much more important a healthy way of life is in comparison to a fat filled meal.
Ignore everything our twisted society tells you about the perfect body because it leads to nothing more than danger on the other end of the dietary spectrum. Take pride in yourself, and enact some self control on your eating habits because a sound body is the best gift you can give yourself.
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