Obesity and America
Obesity in American History
Unfortunately, little concrete information on obesity can be found predating my grandparents. In the fifties, it wasn't even considered a disease. There is a little information to be found, but not a whole lot-much more from the sixties onwards. Since around this time, obesity rates have increased by more than two hundred percent.
The information we do have from the fifties indicates that obesity was not as severe a problem as it is now. It was not yet recognized as a disease and the issues associated with it were relatively unheard of. Thirty-three percent of the adult population were overweight-which, it should be noted, refers to total body weight and not fat-and less than ten percent of these people could be defined as obese. In the sixties and seventies, obesity raised five percent, and obesity began to be looked at in children, with five-six percent of children considered obese.
In the late eighties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took an interest in obesity and began to track it. This was the first time morbid obesity was measured, and three percent of the population were placed in this category. Obesity was rapidly becoming a serious issue. Around twenty percent of people were obese and more than half of them overweight. In the nineties, obesity rates increased by fifty percent. When the millennium hit, nearly one third of all Americans were obese and just under five percent were morbidly obese. It's estimated that one in three people under the age of eighteen are overweight.
The information we do have from the fifties indicates that obesity was not as severe a problem as it is now. It was not yet recognized as a disease and the issues associated with it were relatively unheard of. Thirty-three percent of the adult population were overweight-which, it should be noted, refers to total body weight and not fat-and less than ten percent of these people could be defined as obese. In the sixties and seventies, obesity raised five percent, and obesity began to be looked at in children, with five-six percent of children considered obese.
In the late eighties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took an interest in obesity and began to track it. This was the first time morbid obesity was measured, and three percent of the population were placed in this category. Obesity was rapidly becoming a serious issue. Around twenty percent of people were obese and more than half of them overweight. In the nineties, obesity rates increased by fifty percent. When the millennium hit, nearly one third of all Americans were obese and just under five percent were morbidly obese. It's estimated that one in three people under the age of eighteen are overweight.
Body Fat
Above are two young adults from different centuries. Chauncy Morlan, on the left, lived from the late eighteen sixties into the early nineteen hundreds. He was a freak show fat man, traveling for most of his short life with the Barnum and Bailey's Circus through Europe. He was thought to have been the fattest man in the world at the time. Juxtaposed beside him is a modern girl for whom I've chosen not to find a name. While the girl's confidence may be shocking to some, her size-not so much.
Within a hundred years, freak show became people of Walmart.
Within a hundred years, freak show became people of Walmart.
This is a photo of today's World's Heaviest Man, Keith Martin. He was a healthy child, and only a little heavy as a teenager, but when his mother died tragically of an illness, he turned to food to soothe himself. At one point, he was eating 20,000 calories a day. After the honor of being the world's heaviest man was set upon him, he became near suicidal. He hurts constantly. He's vowed to loose weight. He now eats around one thousand, five hundred calories a day.
He's determined to fix his weight. Tearfully, he states in an interview that he'd most like to take his Border Collie on a walk, saying he'd, "Take her wherever she wanted to go.'."
I remember watching a documentary about the the world's fattest man as a very small child, only a few years old. It would be impossible to find the documentary or the man now, but I remember feeling bad when he died shortly after vowing to loose weight. Keith says his doctors told him he had to loose half his body weight before he could start on weight loss surgeries. It's been more than a decade since he last walked, and he's only left his house to go to the hospital, but I would like to extend my hopes that he reaches his goal.
In only a hundred years, the fattest man in the world went from Chauncey Morlan to Keith Martin. Chauncey's weight was purportedly around six hundred pounds at his heaviest. However, he was a circus man, prone to being exaggerated-looking at him, it's quite obvious he didn't reach this weight. Let's estimate him at three-fifty, and if you choose to disagree, by all means. Keith Martin weighs approximately eight hundred pounds. With my estimations, that's an easy double. Something changed dramatically in those hundred years.
See, food today, especially in America, is cheap, fast, fatty and abundant, where in the past it was often scarce and famine was common. The people who stored fat the best lived the longest and had the better chance of passing on their genes in a process called natural selection. So these 'fat genes', which preserved family lines previously, are now working against those who have them, making it easy to put on a copious amount of fat. Coupled with the sedentary lifestyle of many first world people, obesity is easy.
Let's talk about the world's fattest woman.
He's determined to fix his weight. Tearfully, he states in an interview that he'd most like to take his Border Collie on a walk, saying he'd, "Take her wherever she wanted to go.'."
I remember watching a documentary about the the world's fattest man as a very small child, only a few years old. It would be impossible to find the documentary or the man now, but I remember feeling bad when he died shortly after vowing to loose weight. Keith says his doctors told him he had to loose half his body weight before he could start on weight loss surgeries. It's been more than a decade since he last walked, and he's only left his house to go to the hospital, but I would like to extend my hopes that he reaches his goal.
In only a hundred years, the fattest man in the world went from Chauncey Morlan to Keith Martin. Chauncey's weight was purportedly around six hundred pounds at his heaviest. However, he was a circus man, prone to being exaggerated-looking at him, it's quite obvious he didn't reach this weight. Let's estimate him at three-fifty, and if you choose to disagree, by all means. Keith Martin weighs approximately eight hundred pounds. With my estimations, that's an easy double. Something changed dramatically in those hundred years.
See, food today, especially in America, is cheap, fast, fatty and abundant, where in the past it was often scarce and famine was common. The people who stored fat the best lived the longest and had the better chance of passing on their genes in a process called natural selection. So these 'fat genes', which preserved family lines previously, are now working against those who have them, making it easy to put on a copious amount of fat. Coupled with the sedentary lifestyle of many first world people, obesity is easy.
Let's talk about the world's fattest woman.
That's Pauline Potter. She holds the Guinness World Record for the fattest female on the planet as of last year. At the time, her weight was six hundred and forty-three pounds. She started gaining weight after a messy divorce from her husband, caused by her inability to bond with his son. She went after the title in the hope that it would shame her into loosing weight-she is no longer even able to wash herself and has trouble getting around..
Her ex-husband, Alex, has stated he felt even more attracted to her than he used to after finding out about the media attention she was receiving. He says that within a day of getting back together, they'd coupled on six occasions. This rigorous work out has been repeated almost every day since, six to seven times a day. Pauline has lost around a hundred pounds and says she burns five hundred calories a session, which, for those of you counting at home, is around three thousand, five hundred calories a day.
To each their own.
Her ex-husband, Alex, has stated he felt even more attracted to her than he used to after finding out about the media attention she was receiving. He says that within a day of getting back together, they'd coupled on six occasions. This rigorous work out has been repeated almost every day since, six to seven times a day. Pauline has lost around a hundred pounds and says she burns five hundred calories a session, which, for those of you counting at home, is around three thousand, five hundred calories a day.
To each their own.
Contrasting these two record-holding people is Susanne Eman, an obese model. Far from being ashamed of or upset about her weight -more than seven hundred pounds- her goal is to increase it. She wants to be the heaviest person to have ever lived. Her goal weight is one thousand, six hundred pounds. She hopes to hit eight hundred pounds, the halfway point, by the end of the year.
The organization behind her is a fringe group of the BBW (Big, Beautiful Women) who refer to themselves as SSBBW, Super Size Big Beautiful Women. Their support is constant. (Click at your own risk.)
She's said she wants to know if it's humanly possible to hit one ton.
According to Susanne's biography, she is extremely happy with her body. She says she feels good and confident. It's a personal rebellion for her-she feels beautiful and free with her weight. She says she's still very active and mobile, which brings about the question of fat and exercise coexisting.
The organization behind her is a fringe group of the BBW (Big, Beautiful Women) who refer to themselves as SSBBW, Super Size Big Beautiful Women. Their support is constant. (Click at your own risk.)
She's said she wants to know if it's humanly possible to hit one ton.
According to Susanne's biography, she is extremely happy with her body. She says she feels good and confident. It's a personal rebellion for her-she feels beautiful and free with her weight. She says she's still very active and mobile, which brings about the question of fat and exercise coexisting.
What is Obesity and Why Does it Matter?
Obesity, in technical terms, is "an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight." The term comes from the Latin word obedere, which literally means overeat. In layman's terms, it's when the body stores too much fat. Usually, to determine whether or not someone is obese, a simple scale called a BMI is used. They use a simple equation-(weight in pounds)/(height in inches)^2x703. The resulting number puts you in one of four weight categories-Underweight, Normal, Overweight and Obese.
Chances are you've spoken to people who fall in all four categories today, but the last group is drawing the most concern as it expands (no pun intended) rapidly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of all American adults are obese. Different groups feel the impact more strongly- non-Hispanic blacks are a hair below one half obese, Mexican Americans are at forty percent, and non-Hispanic whites are closer to one third.
New Zealand is the third fattest country in the world, with an obesity rate of twenty six point five percent as of this February. It closely trails Mexican by just four percent, and the fattest country? The United States, weighing in at thirty-three point eight percent.
Our fattest state? Mississippi, at just under 35% obesity rates. They have to compare to their mighty river, I suppose. But before anyone can get too cocky, let's look at some of the other fattest states-Louisiana. West Virginia. Alabama. Michigan. Oklahoma. Arkansas.
This isn't happening o'er yonder. This is right here at home and a serious problem. The health effects of obesity are widespread and dangerous, including gallstones, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, breathing problems (including sleep apnea), colon and breast cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, Osteoarthritis, liver disease, and even infertility.
Chances are you've spoken to people who fall in all four categories today, but the last group is drawing the most concern as it expands (no pun intended) rapidly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of all American adults are obese. Different groups feel the impact more strongly- non-Hispanic blacks are a hair below one half obese, Mexican Americans are at forty percent, and non-Hispanic whites are closer to one third.
New Zealand is the third fattest country in the world, with an obesity rate of twenty six point five percent as of this February. It closely trails Mexican by just four percent, and the fattest country? The United States, weighing in at thirty-three point eight percent.
Our fattest state? Mississippi, at just under 35% obesity rates. They have to compare to their mighty river, I suppose. But before anyone can get too cocky, let's look at some of the other fattest states-Louisiana. West Virginia. Alabama. Michigan. Oklahoma. Arkansas.
This isn't happening o'er yonder. This is right here at home and a serious problem. The health effects of obesity are widespread and dangerous, including gallstones, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, breathing problems (including sleep apnea), colon and breast cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, Osteoarthritis, liver disease, and even infertility.
What is the Health Value of Fast Food?
Practically non existent.
You don’t consider yourself to be over health-conscious, but you do watch what you eat. You try to only go to McDonald's once or twice a week, and all you get is a BigMac, a medium fry and a large sweet tea. But, you’re consuming five hundred fifty calories in the burger, one hundred and eighty in your drink, and three hundred and eighty in your fries. That’s more than twelve hundred calories in one meal, and four hundred and thirty of them are straight up fat calories. Let’s say you weigh around a hundred and fifty pounds, you’re a girl and only moderately active. You should be getting around one thousand, eight hundred calories a day, total. Five hundred forty of those should be from fat. This starts adding up quickly, as you can see. What about what you’re feeding your kids? Two hundred and forty calories for the small fries, three hundred for the cheeseburger, and a hundred and fifty for the small coke. Just under seven hundred thousand, and two hundred and ten are fat calories. It simply isn’t healthy. Check here to see how many calories you're taking in from the golden arches.
Uncomfortable, you turn away from McDonald's. They're the worst, right? Wendy's is just fine, they don't even freeze their beef. But you and I both know that isn't true, else this segue wouldn't be.
Say you get a Baconator. Those are good, right? Mm, bacon. Then a medium natural-cut fries. Top it off with a small coke and a small chocolate frosty to dip your fries in. That's more than two thousand calories, your entire daily intake. Fine. Let's go to Burger King. I'll have a Whopper with cheese, a medium fries, and a medium Dr. Pepper. More than thirteen hundred calories. Chick-Fil-A, then. Let's get a spicy chicken sandwich, a medium waffle fry, a medium coke, with some barbecue sauce and ketchup-more than a thousand calories?
Whatever, let's go to Taco Bell. I haven't tried those Doritos Locos Tacos yet. I'll have one of them, a Cantina Burrito, a medium Mountain Dew... Twelve hundred calories.
It looks likes this across the board. Let's talk about calories for a second. What is a calorie? It's a measurement of the amount of energy in food, and each calories is defined as "the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 degree Celsius". Calories themselves aren't bad-it's taking in more calories than you need that causes fat gain and obesity. The amount of calories you personally need to maintain your weight varies depending largely on how active you are.
So say you have two normal meals and then a fast food meal... You're probably around three thousand calories, and most of them are empty. There are few vitamins and minerals to be found in fast food.
You don’t consider yourself to be over health-conscious, but you do watch what you eat. You try to only go to McDonald's once or twice a week, and all you get is a BigMac, a medium fry and a large sweet tea. But, you’re consuming five hundred fifty calories in the burger, one hundred and eighty in your drink, and three hundred and eighty in your fries. That’s more than twelve hundred calories in one meal, and four hundred and thirty of them are straight up fat calories. Let’s say you weigh around a hundred and fifty pounds, you’re a girl and only moderately active. You should be getting around one thousand, eight hundred calories a day, total. Five hundred forty of those should be from fat. This starts adding up quickly, as you can see. What about what you’re feeding your kids? Two hundred and forty calories for the small fries, three hundred for the cheeseburger, and a hundred and fifty for the small coke. Just under seven hundred thousand, and two hundred and ten are fat calories. It simply isn’t healthy. Check here to see how many calories you're taking in from the golden arches.
Uncomfortable, you turn away from McDonald's. They're the worst, right? Wendy's is just fine, they don't even freeze their beef. But you and I both know that isn't true, else this segue wouldn't be.
Say you get a Baconator. Those are good, right? Mm, bacon. Then a medium natural-cut fries. Top it off with a small coke and a small chocolate frosty to dip your fries in. That's more than two thousand calories, your entire daily intake. Fine. Let's go to Burger King. I'll have a Whopper with cheese, a medium fries, and a medium Dr. Pepper. More than thirteen hundred calories. Chick-Fil-A, then. Let's get a spicy chicken sandwich, a medium waffle fry, a medium coke, with some barbecue sauce and ketchup-more than a thousand calories?
Whatever, let's go to Taco Bell. I haven't tried those Doritos Locos Tacos yet. I'll have one of them, a Cantina Burrito, a medium Mountain Dew... Twelve hundred calories.
It looks likes this across the board. Let's talk about calories for a second. What is a calorie? It's a measurement of the amount of energy in food, and each calories is defined as "the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 degree Celsius". Calories themselves aren't bad-it's taking in more calories than you need that causes fat gain and obesity. The amount of calories you personally need to maintain your weight varies depending largely on how active you are.
So say you have two normal meals and then a fast food meal... You're probably around three thousand calories, and most of them are empty. There are few vitamins and minerals to be found in fast food.