obesity

Poor Americans Struggle to Find Affordable Quality Food

by Stephanie Brail

As obesity soars in America, studies are finding that access to good food is a problem for less affluent Americans. HealthDay recently reported that poorer Americans not only have issues with affording quality food, but they have fewer places to buy good foods. One prime suspect: the convenience store now outnumbers the grocery store in many rural areas. The findings come from studies by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in their November 2007 issue on poverty and human development.

According to the HealthDay article: "People with more money eat more fruits and vegetables than those with less money, research shows. In turn, poorer people also assume a greater disease burden relative to their wealthier counterparts."

Let's Find a Middle Ground About Fat and Obesity

Submitted by stephanie on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 11:02am.

I somehow stumbled across this site called "Big Fat Facts" this morning that claims that it's not unhealthy to be fat. It seems, as a backlash to the campaign against obesity and our national obsession with thin, some fat activists are trying to put forth the message that it is perfectly OK to be fat (if not totally obese).

It's mind boggling to me, however, that anyone could claim with a serious face that it's perfectly good for your health to be obese.

No, I'm sorry, it is not. It is not good to be obese. It's bad for you. You only need to watch the documentary Supersize Me to see how adding just some fat can have an immediate and awful impact on your health.

And yes, we do have an obesity epidemic on our hands.

Fat in My Family

An Increase in the Morbidly Obese in America and Fitness Snobbery

Submitted by stephanie on Tue, 04/10/2007 - 2:31pm.

Yet more news on how America is getting fatter and fatter:

Study: Major increase in morbidly obese

We can blame all of this on our sedentary lifestyles, our fattening foods, and our 50 zillion cable channels. There's another culprit here, however: Fitness snobbery.

I used to be one of those people who looked down upon the jocks of the world. I lived in that classic "Revenge of the Nerds" dichotomy where jocks were stupid people, and I, as the artistic and "smart" one, didn't need to be running around doing physical things.

This was made worse by the fact that I was always chosen last for every single team in school. I was simply an uncoordinated kid.

My time spent on disability changed all that. I wanted to run free! I wanted to experience my body!