18 Comments

Peter, if you’re going to show a photo of my big, fat stomach, you need to pay me royalties! (Unless, of course, it was taken at your Big, Fat Greek Wedding!)

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Big fat stomachs are ubiquitous, dontchaknow. Doesn't mean we gotta like 'em.....

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I've observed that doctors (representing actual medical science) are holding the line on this "movement" that calls itself "body positivity". The documented evidence doesn't really care about one's "feelings" on the matter: excess weight is directly correlated with diabetes, high blood pressure, significantly increased risk of heart disease and stroke, and osteoarthritis. From a pure appearance standpoint, I'll admit to being subliminally biased: when I see an obese person, I mentally categorize that person as lazy and undisciplined. Putting them on the cover of SI isn't going to change that perception and tells me that SI wants to normalize unhealthy, undisciplined lifestyles. Well, bye!

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Ever notice how "acceptance" movements rapidly turn into "celebration" demands? I've fought the battle of the bulge my whole life, know full well how hard it can be, and I don't judge others who are overweight. But, I know full well that, in the aggregate, too much excess body fat correlates with a host of health problems.

I'm very much "do your own thing." I don't presume to know someone else's story. But, I refuse to go along with praising those who say "I'm fat and proud of it." It's a terrible message.

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I'm biased when it comes to morbidly obese people too Jeff. I know genetics, metabolism, etc plays a roll in weight loss/ gain, and it's difficult for some to lose weight. That I get. But, when I see a very overweight person pushing a cart at the store that's loaded with soda, high sodium microwave meals, and other junk food, that's when my empathy starts tapering off and I'm turned off

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Peter's response is probably for the best - people do what they're going to do and it's not my place to judge that. HOWEVER (aka, "but...") - we used to have a lot fewer overweight and obese people. It used to be rare. People tried and fought the battle. We're going in the wrong direction - with 42% of American adults obese and 20% of kids already obese. And since this is a recent, worsening AMERICAN problem (other nations don't have it), it's not a matter of glands and hormones and genes - it's a matter of self-discipline. People are just "letting go" and not giving a damn. So I can't "presume to know someone else's story" as Peter wisely says, but I can damn well GUESS at it. Having lost - oh, I don't know, say 1,000 pounds over my lifetime - I know: it's not easy. And it IS easy to put weight back on. But that doesn't mean we don't try. There's my rant for the day.

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I trace the growth of obesity to the government's first food pyramid - the one where they told us to eschew fats and eat lots of carbs, along with the derogation of eggs, lard, and the like. The worst part isn't how wrong they were, but that their original recommendations were altered at the behest of the wheat lobby.

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And now a rapidly growing population allergic to wheat or having gluten intolerance. There is some chemically remastered sugar from wheat or corn in nearly every packaged product on the grocery store shelf for our convenience. And soy in everything in box or can. We are approaching 50% population with pre-diabetes.

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Is there an actual growth, or is it part of a "trendy" thing? I saw how people started going gluten-free as part of some health fad, when the reality is that those who aren't allergic or sensitive have no reason to. Same thing with salt.

That said, I do believe we're seeing more allergies in people now. Some think it's from insufficient exposure when young.

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I’m allergic to wheat and it seems most grains containing gluten. Also allergic to corn, soy, nuts and some night shades. I know people who are also allergic and two celiacs people. We’ve discussed it and think it could be due to GMO seeds for crops. But most of us have tried non gmo to no good result. You are correct it is fade for many. Those are the ones that don’t have to read every label until their eyes bleed at the grocery store.

From very well health. “The incidence of celiac disease has also significantly increased among Western populations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Research shows it is growing at a rate of 7.5% each year due to an actual increase in the number of people with celiac disease, not just increased identification and diagnosis.”

I am not a anti gmo anti pesticide or chemical fertilizer person. To be that would mean a huge portion of the worlds population would starve. I do believe change in the food industry and farming though are possible issues in all this. Something I learned for instance about gmo seeds is they are most often modified with weed genes to make them less attractive to bugs. My common since tells me it might make some people allergic to them if they were already allergic to the weed.

I was never tested for celiacs but I’ve been blood tested for and know I’m allergic to all the foods I’ve had to cut from my diet. I’ve also had scratch testing coming up allergic to nearly everything listed. Extremely to moderately allergic to the entire state of CO.

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Excellent rant, well said

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I believe you are correct Peter. The "body positivity" movement especially has gone too far in my book. If I saw a picture like the photo at the top on a "swimsuit issue" I'd throw it in the trash and vow to never buy another issue again

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The concept of giving the "customer" what they want isn't limited to corporations. It is in all levels of education - with the "customer" being he teachers/professors and administrators, not the students or parents. I went to s a small liberal arts college. I had the same professors once I got to Junior and Senior years. One professor in pol sci gave me the same grade on papers no matter the topic or the effort. To test my theory, in the middle of a paper I type, "All work and no play makes Prof So& So (I put his real name) a dull boy. I got the same grade = B+. I stopped spending tons of effort and time on the rest of the papers in his courses as I concluded he wasn't even reading them. Once he decided what grade level he thought you were, he stopped reading.

It's true of most groups of people - churches - the minister gives the parishioners what they want or they will go elsewhere or tell him to look for another church. Social clubs, etc..

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What is scarcely about the body positivity move is many, especially young women are embracing it. Obese young people will be morbidly obese unhealthy older people with shit for a quality of life. I know at least two that have adopted this rage and are under 30 yet with health issues. How do you tell friends you’re fat and you’re killing yourself without losing your friends. They whine with medical problems that would go away with 70-80 pounds of weight loss. It almost make me cry when they are out there on their social media pages preaching fat is beautiful. All I can think is you’re gonna die young if you don’t change your attitude. Obese now will be morbidly fat in another 20 years.

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Confusing acceptance and glorifying.

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I cancelled my SI print subscription after being a loyal 40 year subscriber. Think about that- they lost me after 40 years. Although the swimsuit issue was a minor contributor (I'm sorry, I don't like looking at fat women) it was more the SJW/DEI/BLM stuff. SI applauded Colin Kaepernick and his misguided actions. The last straw was the story that scolded me on the cover that I was wrong if I didn't watch the WNBA. That and a completely disingenuous and racially-inflaming article on the Atlanta Braves moving from a terrible downtown (actually isolated) location to the preferable confines of suburban Cobb County, of which the move has been wildly successful.

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