Well, you all probably know that people are getting fatter. And if you didn't, you are either blind (in which case, where did you buy that Braille keyboard?), or in denial. The problem is particularly bad in the good ole USofA (always reliable for a horror story, eh?). I just looked up some figures on t'Internet, and OH HOLY CRAP, you guys are fat.
I don't just mean a little tubby. You don't just have to loosen your belts - you have to replace them with two metre long strips of rope and then pray that you can find some supa-stretch trousers to match. Here's some figures to prove just how goddamn chubby you all are (OK, so not ALL):

Population of US: About 280 million people
Overweight population: 127 mn
Obese population: 60mn
Severely obese people: 9mn
Healthily weighted persons: >100mn

Can I just re-iterate one more time: OH MY PAGAN GODS!!!!!!

I'll just translate those figures into comparable statistics:

Overweight population: UK + France + Denmark
Obese population: UK
Severely obese population: Belgium
Healthy folks: Germany + Greece (and I'm being generous)

So, you have a population equivalent to the size of Belgium that look like walking whales (if they can still walk, that is), and population the size of that of the UK walking around looking like Minis with feet. I am utterly shocked at these statistics. How in hell's name did it ever get this bad? Is MacDonald's that pervasive? Damn!

Can I get some explanations from people? The mind really does boggle (and jiggle).

Aye, it's bad...and the UK isn't far behind, fat bastards that we are. Kids are getting more and more overweight (I'm overweight myself), and it's not getting better.

Yeah, sadly the UK and the rest of the developed world are also starting to catch up with the US. This really is quite frightening.

Oh, Commie, don't be so hard on yourself. You're not fat, you're just... gravitationally challenged. (':P')

ah...gotta love us Americans.. fat, greedy, world domineering, war mongers that we are.. yeah.. would you like to point out any of our other fatal flaws, before we eat our way into the center of the freaking planet?

This topic reminds me a bit too much of one that cause a LOT of forum drama. I just hope you begin to respond in less offensive ways than other people did, because I doubt any of us want to go through that again. I believe the term "whales" was also used in that thread.

Explanation? Well, it isn't like we don't attempt to fight this problem. PE is mandatory in our public schools for most of the time kids are in school (up until high school, most places). Good eating habits are also taught every year. But you can't change something that is ingrained into a person in a public school, normally. If the kid's parents let him or her sit around, watching TV and eating junk food, that's what they'll most likely continue to do throughout most of their life. It's especially bad if parents reward their children with food. Then they just end up turning to food for comfort, which is extraordinarily bad.

It isn't like we "walking whales," as you call us (yes, I am obese) don't try to lose weight. But, like the ever-wise Mata pointed out in the other thread about this...many overweight people are also poor. Lower fat alternatives cost a LOT more. Most overweight adults were also overweight children, and it's just hard to overcome something that you've been working at since you were six years old and have failed time and time again. Anyone who tries to do so deserves support, not ridicule.

I think there is a larger ratio here in the US, naturally. And I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that America is the biggest consumer country in the world. And by that I mean we consume EVERYTHING. Selfishishness, greed, etc run rampant in this country like no other. That's just my opinion. That's not to say all overweight people are these things, oh no. But its a general statement. There are those who have it genetically, and there's little they can really do. I've seen that many times, actually more then I've seen self created obesity. Cand said everything else I wanted to say.


However, Polos. While you have a point, there's really no need to state things in that matter. And while I'm sure you could really care less who you offend, many of us do care and some of us were offended. Just letting you know. My point: No need to insult to make a point. Thanks.

All right, Polo, that's enough. You're being grossly offensive here towards a lot of people. If you want to discuss the reason that the populations of countries like the US or UK are, on the whole, getting larger, that's one topic. Deliberately perpetuating negative stereotypes of overweight and obese people, as well as slinging insults about those people, is an entirely different one.

I don't like how this thread is going. Not at all.

Actually, is not how much, as much as what we do consume...take for example a few decades ago how much of the food consumed was processed?

Not alot, so the diet was much "healthier" in a sense...

Now, you can get anything you want in more flavors shapes and forms than we ever imagined...but...it has so much added sugar and carbohydrates and sodium, thats even before all the coloring and preservatives...

Add to that how much time most people spend sitting in the office/school/car/whichever....

We're eating more bad food and moving less...

So, we just have to learn one simple rule, unless your always exercising , bodybuiling or work on the farm in manual labor... most of us dont need that much sugar....and carbs together... alternate and avoid candies/potatoes/prcocessed foods

Sometimes just going out and thinking to yourself , Don't eat anything a guy stranded on an island would'nt find... and it helps you focus on what to look for...

Yeah, its seems scary and alarming, but it's all reversible if we put our mind to it...

start with ourselves ...and you'll see he results... hey some of use wer meant to be larger framed than others... some are thinner and so on...nothing wrong with it really , if you think about it!!! It's all gooood!

you know.. I was just going to let this go with a bit of sarcasm... but I don't think I can.. I have to say I am personally VERY, VERY offended by your comments.
First of all your comments are very stereotypical and damaging to people with weight issues. Second.. this post feels like you are just jabbing at Americans. If you have issues with American people then f@cking say so. What constructive conversation can come out of..
Yes people in America have weight issues.. so do people in England, France, Spain, and a ton of other countries.. secondly.. whose is to say these people are overweight.. just because they do not fit a standard scientific formula for healthy weight.. does not make them bad folks or a target for you ridicule. Since day one of this forum we have had some of the best conversations regarding various nations.. their policies, politics, ethics etc.. we have never blatantly attacked the integrity of the people of that country.. that is like me saying.. (not that I feel this way.. just making a point) "god you British have horrible teeth and your breath stinks.. come on people pop a f#cking breath mint- now lets discuss why your breath smells like kaka". It is a generalization and it is unfair to the people of Britain.
I hope in your search to become more politically aware you become more emotionally aware of peoples feelings.

pointless fact: when they did height to weight factors (which most standars come from tests they did in the 50's) women were actually allowed to wear their high heels, so the results aint that greatas far as being correct.

There are people that are overweight because of genetics, and or disease that cause them to retain fat and water.

People around the world have a weight problem, my idea for why this is: People spend more time trying to save time now-a-days. In the west we speand so much time working and learning that we dont have as much time to prepare meals. As a student I can say being as I have to be up a 5 am to get to my first class at six, I tend to grab whatever I can to eat in the car (which usually ends up being something like a pop tart or left over chinese take out). I think its the time factor that really presures people into eating convienent food.

Besides would you really want to live never getting to have a bag of chips or a peice of cake. I know I would veiw my life as pretty bad if I never got to eat anything tasty.

the last time i weighed myself i weighed around 230, wich is alot and im 5'10'' (ive also droped a pants size since) but ever since i was little i was over weight and it just hasnt gone away, i eat one meal a day and i walk everywhere i go, but im on my computer alot so i guess it evens out... i can also bench press 175 pounds... so i gues it evens out a little maybe... kinnda.. yeah im fat

weight also include muscle... and muscle weighs alot more then fat.


Narth are you sure its okay to only eat one meal a day.. That kinda worries me

Right. Enough of that.

The fact of the matter is that both the US and the UK have absurdly high proportions of highly overweight people. This is not a good thing.

As an aside, in my experience of living in both countries, the average American is more health-conscious than the average Brit.

And in summary, I'm going to give Polo the benefit of the doubt, as I think that he/she (sorry Polo, unsure of your gender) is asking a valid question - how did we as a society let ourselves get into such an obviously unhealthy, and what can we do about it in the long-term? I just seemed to be very badly phrased.

It's also worth mentioning that Polo's figures (...population the size of Belgium...) are skewed by the fact that the US is a blimmin' huge place (bear in mind that England is smaller than California, and the US is of a not dissimilar size to all of Western Europe).

im on an hard core diet and i skip days every now and then but ill be ok there normally good sized meals like a double cheeseburger and a small order of fries

erm people, just a little note...

OK I can understand that some of you don't understand Alex' sense of humour, and if most of you who answered here are American then that's another reason (considering the Brit/Irish sense of humour is SOOOO different to the American's), but he's just being sarcastic. I REALLY don't think he meant anything negative about this...at ALL, and I know him pretty well. Just thought to say, don't take it the wrong way, I don't think he would mean it like that, just a wee bit of sarcasm, with teasing, just as a way of a laugh. Sure put up a ratio about how many English people have bad teeth, or how proper they are (I REFUSE to say we, I'm still Irish ). Or saying how drunk the Irish are...its just going to stay as some teasing and what not. He's not being deliberately nasty here...

Just had to defend Alex there...

Aysha xxx

Hey I'm sure someone's told you this, but what you're doing (I can't say, I don't know your eating habits) this having one meal a day is not right. It lowers your metabolism rate. Plus with all the exercise, you sound pretty healthy to me...are you sure you're not confusing muscle with fat there

Sorry, just thought to say

Aysha xxx

Defend him all you like, it won't help matters.

I understand his humor. I just don't find it funny. At all. There's no need to resort to being offensive. His "jokes" are almost always completely inappropriate and just plain rude.

yeah, but as a rule you're all lovely people

can't wait to finish university and go there to be a tea boy in some recording studio somewhere.....oh wait...coffee and dohnut boy....must remember to take PG tips with me

yeah.. you better hurry up and get over here before our cellulite from our asses takes over, marches down the street and eats everything in sight... cause you know we are the new locus of the world... sorry just a little sarcasm..

A little acusatory, the OP. speaking as an american, you must relize that many of us simply don't care. Its 2003, there is no reason to have to be fit, and if you have a problem with that, have your salad and eat it too.

*turns into a locust*

hey whos being sarcastic...

*falls out of chair laughing her cellulite inflicted butt off*

I have polysystic ovarian syndrome (sp). It screws up my hormones so much that my body constantly thinks it's pregnant; among other, less nice, things. There's very very little I can do about the weight problem this causes except to have a hysterectomy. And even that might not work. So I've learned to accept that I'll never look on the outside the way I do on the inside, and to seek out people who accept me for who I am; not how I look.

The reason why we're "so fat" is because we have a lot of food. Also, a lot of team sports are too competitive so shy kids don't get a lot of excercise. A lot of times, people are just born with bad metabolism. But it really isn't right for other countries to worry so much about our weight and criticize us. No one's running around saying how fat or whatever other nations are.

Here we go again

Aw well. Anyway, what I said in he other thread is sometimes obesity is more a genetic thing than food wise. In bio last year, apparently in genetics, being bigger is a dominant trait. Not always, but that is how it is...just like how brown eyes are a dominant triat and blue eyes are recessive. I know I ate pretty normally but not insanely as Polo thinks so. I am about 230 like narth and about 5'8. I walk to school and back everyday and its a good walk. Ask my boyfriend, he knows how far i walk now. I simply love veggies when we have them, same thing with fruits...but i think I am rambling again

All in all, yes some foods will cause obesity, but genetics play a role as well. People should not protray us as all slobs...perhaps there might be people who are but who says what the standards are for that?

i dont really know the reason for obesity. i've never really been over weight.. im always under... erm.. i guess its cuz we dsont like getting off our asses.. or maybe genetics.. or becuae there are so many fast food places that we just can resist *shurgs* but im not obese... or maybe i am.. but i just fit in a size 3 *shrugs*

Huh??

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand that last comment. How could you possibly be obese and fit into a size 3?

Polo, sorry but the mods have had to give you a warning for this thread. It's fine to talk about obesity, but your attitude, even though you were most likely only half-serious, was offensive and so the warning had to be given.

Please be more thoughtful in the tone of your posts in future, especially when you're writing about subjects that are so obviously going to be delicate for some people.

***

Anyway, while I would by no means be considered anywhere near obese I have found as I wander in the direction of my late twenties that it is becoming a lot harder to stay in shape. The weird thing I find is that I'm still among the fittest of my friends when really I'm only in reasonable shape...

What I've been wondering lately is have the general standards of society declined so that my reasonably-fit level is now considered fit or is it that the media's representation of how fit we are meant to desire to be is so high that we all seem less fit than we should be by comparison? I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I read a very interesting article given to me by a gym instructor a couple of months ago that really changed a lot of misconceptions that I had about dieting and exercise. I think I'd got so caught up in the 'eat less, exercise more' way of thinking that I was forcing my body do try to maintain itself with fuel that just wasn't sufficient for the job. I think that, like many people, a better understanding of how my metabolism works really helps with getting/keeping fit.

It's very hard to find the right balance these days, food labels can be very misleading and there are more difficult physical factors for others of us to take into account.

From my understanding (which, we all know, could be off), everyone has a weight that their body naturally gravitates to. We all know that everyone has different body shapes. Haven't you heard of the comparisons between the different body shapes and fruit? You know... the banana, apple, and pear. There are also different "normals" as far as body weight goes. That doesn't mean that people cannot gain and lose weight--just that the body will naturally gravitate towards a certain weight. Which, is why some people stay slender without much difficulty at all, and other people have to constantly struggle with their weight.

Regardless of the reasons, I don't think that any single person should be judged based on their body weight--and I don't think that an entire country should be judged for it either.

I just have to add this too... because it's been bothering me. In every country, there is both good and bad. In every religion, there is both good and bad. And EVERYBODY has their own flaws--both physical and character flaws. Some people may have weight problems, some may have bad teeth. Some people may be really selfish, and some are extremely stubborn. Are generalizations going to continue? Are people still going to be judged and criticized? Yes, and yes. I just think it's really sad....

OK, I'm sorry for the pro-Alex thing I've put up, but I've got to defend him again (some sort of weird duty of being a friend). You can attack him on his sense of humour, sure but you can't attack him by telling him that he's generalising America and making these stereotypes. Everyone does that. Do you KNOW how many anti-Irish/Paki/Islam jokes I put up with? Thing about it is that they're all just teasing me, and I know that. They never ever meant to make offence, and I never took it as that way. If they did then that's an entirely different matter, but he wasn't here. It's all well and all attacking people who make stereotypes, I do that, thing about it is though we all use them subconciously, I know I do (then get annoyed at myself for a brief 2 secs)

*gives Crunchy a hug*

That's about it people! Remember eat fruit!!!

Aysha xxx

I completely understand you defending him. You're his friend, and that is what good friends do.

However, although I know that Polo was joking, that doesn't make his comments go over any easier. You see, before either of you joined up, we had a topic very similar to this one. And there were some rather horrible comments directed towards obese people that were not in jest. They were, in fact, very serious. That incident, combined with hundreds more like it in real life, have left me personally rather sensitive on this subject. The thing about it is...a lot of people aren't joking when it comes to this. They will look in your face and call you a disgusting pig and not even blink when you start to cry.

After stuff like that...jokes about it just aren't very funny. Indeed, it gets hard to tell apart people who are telling jokes from those who are out to maliciously try to hurt you. So, I'm sorry if I'm overly sensitive about it or if I get too defensive. I just think a discussion about this could have been lovely and civil...if it had been handled with a little more tact.

But, enough of that. Drama isn't good for you. It causes cancer in lab rats. Back to the topic of obesity and off of the topic of Polo, eh? I think what oobunnie said earlier about being just too pressed for time to eat a healthy meal made a lot of sense. Especially if you're someone who has a job where you work long hours, but you sit in a desk most of the time. Not exactly a recipe for health. =/

I'm sorry to hear about that, i really am. I didn't take into account that people may have suffered...insensitive of me, I know.

But I think you're right, turn this into a sort of advice help-line thread or whatnot. Meaning that people who want to lose weight (or gain it) can come here and tell people what they're doing and others can give their input etc etc etc...its a healthy result.

And another thing that I want to ask, which probably shouldn't be here but oh well whatever nevermind. What is this warn level thing???

Aysha xxx

It's been my experience that obese people are some of the nicest people I've met. Possibly because they feel they have to be nice to overcome a stereotype. Also, possibly because most of them I've met offline are drama teachers. My mother's drama teacher, my drama teacher, my brother's drama teacher... it's interesting.

I agree with what VVes said... have any of you really read ingredients on a regular basis? I have allergies to soy, peanuts, and nuts (peanuts aren't actually nuts, they're legumes), so I'm reading ingredients everywhere I go. There is so much stuff that does not need to be in food, especially the "special flavors". Next time you're in the grocery store, read the ingredients of Original Fritos. Then read the Barbeque Fritos. Original is a line or two... Barbeque is a paragraph. Same with plain potato chips and flavored. Our food is so clogged, and it makes it hard for us allergic people (we can't eat things that say "flavors", because it isn't specified what they are). All this extra stuff can't be helping people's weight. Even breads have unnessecary ingredients... soy flour is so pointless, I swear... bread's perfectly good without it. There are more, soy flour is just my pet peeve, because it's in all white breads, most wheat, and almost all doughnuts.

around this time last year i weighed 320 pounds, my nickname threw highschool was titanic befor i decided i wasnt going to deal with it and i droped out. and even tho im no longer offended by what people say to be, basickly because i have a very low opinoin about alot of people i know (all off line i think rather highly of everyone on here) and you just get used to it the problem isw you shouldnt get used to it there shouldnt really be a stereo type at all my current weight is exactly 200 pounds and there are diffrent sized people everywhere people are short and tall but whereas somone would just tease a short person they taunt and ridicule a fat person. but thats the way the world works everone seesthe worst in other people.

I have, and will continue to deal with obesity my entire life. When I was in sixth grade I weighed more than I do now (I was about 210, now I'm about 190) and I was short (I've always been short). It's not that I'm lazy or eat a whole lot. I got screwed by genetics. I understand what a lot of people go through and, looking back, I wish I would have been less sensitive about my weight like I am now (hence all the fat jokes). And as for whether or not you can be big and attractive, I dated one chick who weighted 220, my last girlfriend weighed 200 and, of course, Narth (I've got a thing for chicks with a lot of booty ). I am happy to say that I am much healthier now and I'm glad I joined wrestling and realized I love working out. And if anyone needs support or encouragement concerning his or her weight, I'm always here.

College is a pain in the rear about weight management. I lost 20 lbs this summer, and I've gained 10 of it back since coming back to school. I only eat 2 meals a day and I'm three times as active as I was back home, yet the weight comes back anyway, because the food here is full of carbs and fats. The alternatives to these foods are... salad. No joke, that's about all there is.

Americans are set up for obesity from college-on, I think.

Hmmm...seems like the opposite fer me.

In school, I am not all that hungry so I don't eat lunch (Hey I am not gonna eat if I am not hungry Y'know?). So I would lose some weight. I noticed in previous summers I will eat a bit more and gain some of it back, so last summer I pretty much resisted over eatting. I just ate when I KNEW I was hungry.

Ya genetics can sometimes be a pain in the butt. One thing I found amusing in the days when we were so primitive (I learned this in art class last year) Apparently rounder females were portrayed as incredably sexy and plentiful. Wow, how society has changed since then.

Least I am not as messed over with the genetic factor, my height overrides my weight a bit and that is pretty good.

Sir Mix-A-Lot had the right idea:


I like big butts and I can not lie
You other brothers can't deny
That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist
And a round thing in your face
You get sprung
Wanna pull up front
Cuz you notice that butt was stuffed
Deep in the jeans she's wearing
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
Oh, baby I wanna get with ya
And take your picture
My homeboys tried to warn me
But that butt you got makes me so horny
Ooh, rump of smooth skin
You say you wanna get in my Benz
Well use me, use me, cuz you ain't that average groupy

I've seen her dancin'
To hell with romancin'
She’s sweat, wet, got it goin' like a turbo vet

I'm tired of magazines
saying flat butts are the thing
Take the average black man and ask him that
She gotta pack much back, so...

Fellas (yeah), fellas (yeah)
Has your girlfriend got the butt (hell yeah)
Tell them to shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it,
shake that healthy butt
Baby got back

(LA face with the Oakland booty)
Baby got back
(LA face with the Oakland booty)

I like ‘em round and big
And when I'm throwin' a gig
I just can't help myself
I'm actin like an animal
Now here's my scandal

I wanna get you home
And ugh, double ugh, ugh
I ain't talkin' bout Playboy
Cuz silicone parts are made for toys
I want ‘em real thick and juicy
So find that juicy double
Mixalot's in trouble
Beggin' for a piece of that bubble
So I'm lookin' at rock videos
Knock-kneed bimbos walkin' like hoes
You can have them bimbos
I'll keep my women like Flo Jo
A word to the thick soul sistas
I wanna get with ya
I won't cus or hit ya
But I gotta be straight when I say I wanna uh
Til the break of dawn
Baby got it goin on
A lot of pimps won't like this song
Cuz them punks like to hit it and quit it
And I'd rather stay and play
Cuz I'm long and I'm strong
And I'm down to get the freak shit on

So ladies (yeah), ladies (yeah)
Do you wanna role in my Mercedes (yeah)
Then turn around
Stick it out
Even white boys got to shout
Baby got back

Baby got back

Yeah baby
When it comes to females
Cosmo ain’t got nothin to do with my selection
36-24-36 ha ha
Only if she's 5'3"

So your girlfriend rolls a Honda
Playin' workout tapes by Fonda
But Fonda ain't got a motor in the back of her Honda
My anaconda don't want none unless you've got buns hun
You can do side bends or sit-ups, but please don't lose that butt
Some brothers wanna play that hard role
and tell you that the butt ain't gold
So they toss it and leave it
And I pull up quick to retrieve it
So Cosmo says you're fat
Well I ain't down with that
Cuz your waste is small and your curves are kickin'
And I'm thinkin' bout stickin'
To the beanpole dames in the magazines
You ain't it Miss Thang
Give me a sista I can't resist her
Red beans and rice didn't miss her
Some knucklehead tried to dis
Cuz his girls are on my list
He had game but he chose to hit 'em
And I pull up quick to get with 'em
So ladies if the butt is round
And you want a triple X throw down
Dial 1-900-mixalot and kick them nasty thoughts
Baby got back

someone told me a statistic the other day that comes to something like (not exactly i cant quite remember): a third of the world is dying of hunger, a third of obesity.
thats what sickens me. deeply.
i am passing NO comment about overweight people here, in whatever opinion (course i have opnions but they're pretty normal)
its just the way the world's gone that that could happen.

oh yeah, and if anyone who's reading this is wanting 2 lose weight id recommend the author Susie Orbach. ive never had a weight problem myself, but then my family's just plain weird by how healthy we are and eat and im lucky that in genetically pretty slim (but being female of course i stress about the size of my thighs etc thats not the same as obessity..) but someone i know has got a kind of pet hobby-high-horse about diets and how rubbish some of them are, and i can actually see that the woman's just so SENSIBLE. usually, diets dont work, at least in the long run. fact for ya. exercise does. another one. again ill say im not stating any opinions here or insulting anyone... and muscle weighs more than fat, so i dotn even bother weighing myself. its pointless. denise lewis, frinstance, is pretty blatantly not overweight but id bet she weighs a lot!
ive made a vow to myself over the course of time tho: i want to be an actress, but if i have to be stupidly thin to achieve that, ill just be a poor one. celebrity just makes the whole problem of women (men as well i dont discriminate but realistically its more women) worrying, oh yeah and killign themselves, girls my age and anorexic far worse. in my opinion, victoria beckham and geri halliwell should take some responsibility for maybe an actual death.
but thats slightly off-subject. people shouldnt be jeudged on their WEIGHT. thats like judging someone on their... teeth, or accent. but people DO... i do it without thinking then get angry with myself. when obessity threatens health it is a problem. but the problem for people just plain overweight isnt so much them, as society. but thats a thing no one can change.

I understand what you mean about weight not measuring obesity. There was a guy on my wrestling team Ricky "Pop" Tart who was 265 pounds of pure man. For a guy his size, he was pretty fast andthe gentlest guy I know. He aslo drove a small car while the smaller guys on our team had SUVs. Makes ya think, don't it?

And I understand Missy about college weight. I usually don't eat very much (e.g. for breakfast a handful of cereal and a glass of water, for lunch a Powerade or a bottled water and if I'm lucky the rest of a friend's sandwich and for dinner, whatever I can scrounge up from my sister's apartment), but between school and class, I never have time to work out anymore. I would suggest to anyone wanting to get in shape (me included) to get a partner to work out with, preferably someone your same gender and of your power rating or higher. That's what I want to do. Once Rick gets into college, I know we'll be working out together all the time. It' cool cause it really burns off stress and keeps you healthy at the same time.

Just wondering...but what do people think of the Atkins diet? Anyone tried it?
My boyfriend's mom tried it for a while but soon lost interest...but no weight.

It doesn't really work because your body goes into starvation mode on the Atkins diet. Once off of that mode, you gain every bit of it back because your system thinks it needs all of the fat so it stores it. Or so says my science teacher..

I was on that when I was 9. As a really, really fat little kid I had some major self esteem problems since other kids seemed to alternate between making fun of me for my weight, or saying something along the lines of "No wonder your father ditched you, you're such a stupid fat kid". It got really hurtful and all I really knew how to do to comfort that was eat, since I didn't really have friends to turn to or anything like that. It really got bad around sixth and seventh grade since everyone knows middle school kids are awful about that, but around 8th a lot of my weight issues started to drop away because I had someone else to turn to and not food, and I was also getting taller. So that transition took off about 100lbs from the end of 7th to the beginning of 11th, and sometimes I run into those people who would make fun of my family and myself in elementary school.

Really? It just makes you think. People shouldn't read into what others say about them because it just fuels the problem. And on the other side, people shouldn't make weight comments especially if they have no idea about the cause. It's a lot like some folks making fun of the homeless and saying they're homeless just because they drank and made themselves poor.

Don't judge a book by its cover, kids. No matter how big said cover is.

After I moved to Florida from Philadelphia, I sent an old friend of mine a pic of me (looking much thinner and much sexier) and when I visited, she took another pic. She showed them to this girl Meagan who remarked, "Oh, my God! Is that (Righteous's real name)? He's hot now!" This other girl Chantal said, "You know, I should've liked him. I really should've." I started giggling like a little school girl upon hearing this. It's amazing how much losing thirty pounds can do to you.

hmm...im not too big on the subject. i know and respect a lot of obese people (in fact one of my fav ppl is obese) but beside that point they arent any less of a person b/c of their size.

i say big EDIT deal. me? im thin as a rail and ive actaully always been envious of the person who cant be overweight and be happy, if not proud, about it. we are made the way we are made, there is something we can do about it, but i think that is changing the person who we are, and if we do that then we are just masking the truth. im not trying to demote losing weight, thats perfectly fine, but what i am saying is that you should be happy with who you are (even tho to me that sounds really hypocritical). trying to lose weight and reduce your size is fine (in moderation), and i think its atrocious when people MAKE FUN OF other people for circumstances that are beyond their temporary conrtol.

i also have something to say to anyone who has ever been made fun of.

those who make fun of other people do so because they are insecure that other people will think that of them. its like mata said, "people try to disclaim what they are most worried about."(from the preoloader to one of the mr.sb animations....cant think of which atm). anyways, what im saying is, if someoen makes fun of you for somehting, instead of getting angry or totally ignoring them...AGREE! they hate it more than anything else, and it will amuse yourself more than anythign esle. ex.: on the bus a bully was calling me a "f*g"(please never use that word aroudn me unless its in that sense...nothing upsets me more). so i started hitting on her. it was great fun (and she was pretty hott too) and it annpoyed her beyond comprehension. and i cant think of anything that will tie together those two thoughts, so ill leave it there.

anyways, i have to go shower now, luvs.

since i started college i lost about a stone (thats 14 pounds) and i think its becuase i have had to walk a lot more than i did before to get between lessons. i never realised how little excercise i did before. i think a lot of people don't realise how little people excersise anymore, as someone said above, we just don't need to move as much as we used to!
height/ weights ratios are a bunch of rubbish. at 140 pounds and 5 ft 8 i am apparently nearly overweight, when i know perfectly well i am not.
obesity is a major problem, but it still doesn't affect who the person is.
life expectancy is set to fall because of problems stemming from obesity (diabetes ect) and something needs to be done by the food companies to sort it, because a lot of the problem is ignorance of what really is in what we are eating.

let's sing a little song,shall we kids?

"I'm not fat,and i don't care,
she's not fat,and she don't care,
he is fat,and he don't caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare
so-everyone-just-bugger-off-and-leave-everyone-else-alone-even-if-they-are-pretty-mahusive-cos-they-don't-care
thank,yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooou"

point made,i will be quiet now.

oh yeah,doctor's don't know squat about fat-i'm a size 10 (UK sizes) and a size 7 (US) and i weigh 10 and a half stone-the doctors told me i was overweight at a regular checkup,and then called me back in after sitting there going YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT YOUR FAT! just to tell me that it was all muscle!do you have any idea how emotionally scarring and horrible that is!!!!!ITS EVIL!

bloody quacks

awwww you poor thing. *gives lots of hugs*

damn doctor

*sniffs* thanks very muchly.

doctor's don't know squat!lol

p.s-no one commented on my beautiful song think i deserve an award for that masterpiece!

I didn't read this whole thread because well, it's too damn long so if this is a repost, ignore it...

You made a common mistake when dealign with statistics, you took population and compared it other countries without using percentages.

You need to take population percentage, not population. This is common when people want to hide or trick poeple into believing something that is false.

This is exactly what that idiot Michael Moore did in Bowling for Columbine. If you haven't seen the movie, let me tell you he's full of shit throughout the entire movie and anyone with an education should be able to figure that out which why it astounds me all the idiots out there who believe his bullshit...
ANYWAY... he said the gun death rate of America is ####. Then he goes, the gun death rate of Switzerland is ####. Guess what, America has 280million people. Switzerland has like 9million. That means you're going to see a number that is ridiculous. You will also notice he typically compared America's statistics to countries of SMALL populations and low crime rates.

Back on track... you did the same thing Michael Moore did. Yes it is true Americans are overweight. We are also the one of the fastest paced cultures in the world and many people don't have time to sit down and eat only healthy meals. Other cultures have long breaks in the middle of their day to spend with their families eating. They also work less hours in a work week. Like in France, isn't it illegal to work more than 30 hours in a week? Americans work 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, rotate their Saturday shifts and pull overtime. This typically means a lot more fast food and unhealty foods. But, as mentioned before (from the parts I did read) other cultures as they are picking up on the American culture and work practices are picking up their weight as well.

Another important note is that you are considered overweight if you are muscular or in shape. Muscles weights three times more than fat and will put you over the height/weight limit for most people who are of a halfway decent build. Americans are also on a huge work-out frenzy. Turn on the tv and you'll see a million infomercials for work-out equipment and you'll find a multiple gyms within a few miles of each other in most towns.

key words in that quote you made of polo was COMPARABLE STATISTICS

and i think mata said 5% of gun deaths in america are in self defense, make you think what the other 95% is?

that's a little over 3% seriously obese, just over 21% that are obese aaand mildly more than 45% over weight*

and it doesn't matter if you're over weight because of muscle or fat, its called an ideal weight for a reason



*if i did my sums right that is