Survey Says: Most Obese Claim to Eat Healthy

Well, I'm sure you've seen one of the 200 or so versions of this story (here's the original AP version), and the emphasis is -no brainer - on the word claim. The angle of virtually everyone is - another no brainer - denial. To quote the article: "There is, perhaps, some denial going on. Or there is a lack of understanding of what does it mean to be eating healthy..." said Dr. David Schutt.

Fact is, I feel compelled to take the take the last 6 years of lab results with me whenever I go to a new doctor because the assumption seems to be that I eat at Mickey D's 24/7. My cholesterol is 155. My triglyceride is 73. My glucose is 90. And that's how they've been since 2000. I eat healthy. (This article at commonvoice.com concludes that the survey respondents are answering truthfully; however, I do not necessarily agree with the article's conclusions.)

"The [survey] questions leave out quantity," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan of Atlanta's Emory University. Brings to mind my favorite quote from the NY Times 2/7/06: Nothing fascinates the American public so much as the notion that what you eat rather than how much you eat affects your health.

So here's the truth of the matter: I am obese because I eat too much, healthy eating is a whole separate matter.

The article has many references to "normal weight people" - surely they are referring to overweight and obese people because right in the article it says: roughly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or heavier, and nearly one-third qualify as obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But no, according to the article, "normal weight people" are the thin people.

STOP RIGHT THERE. Let's get this straight right now: normal weight in the US is overweight.

This is important. When I go to the doctors I see fat nurses, fat doctors, fat patients. Must be OK to be fat. I see fat people in restaurants, in stores, on the beaches - it must be ok, they do it. And let's not forget this story, in which the new robust American man is seriously overweight.

After I checked out of ICU, I called my friend who is fat, and said: man, you had better do something about your weight, your sleep apnea, I been there, I know. He said he'd check into it [and hasn't]. And what am I going to say - the pot calling the kettle black isn't it?

Or how about this nugget: It seems that pediatricians just don't want to call fat kids fat, for fear of hurting the children's feelings or angering their parents. Some of the doctors say they're not really sure how to get growing kids to lose weight. They say insurance companies don't recognize obesity as a disease and won't pay for its treatment. So they call it something else.

Or what about your family and friends? My wife (a thin person) says she tried to talk to me about my weight but I wouldn't listen. I don't remember, but I can count on one hand the number of friends, business associates, relatives who ever, even once, said to me, "Bob, you had better lose some weight." (My sister said she thought I would get mad at her.)

So the problem as I see it is not the food manufacturers selling junk food, or the fact I don't have to work physically as hard as my ancestors, or high fructose corn syrup. The problem is that basically it is OK to be fat. Plenty of people used to tell me I was killing myself smoking, but not too many ever said I was killing myself eating.

Well, that's fine - I had my wakeup call, and I survived it. But I think overweight and obesity is going to be a problem in this country until it is no longer OK to eat too much - healthy or not.

That means individuals, not just food manufacturers, have to prepare healthy meals for famlies and friends. That means individuals, not just restaurants, have to serve appropriate sized portions. That means individuals, not just schools, have to keep junk food away from kids (well OK, adults too). That means friends can't let friends be fat.