By Will Mannion
500,000 people in the United States alone die due to obesity every year statistically. The picture above may be just an example of heavy morbid obesity however being obese includes anyone with a BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 30 with a muscle percentage lower than 15%. There are websites available for finding out your BMI by entering your weight and height.
Smoking is a very large killer in the US and the UK too and should still be recognised as a problem. The only difference between obesity and smoking is that smoking will take up to 20 years to reverse if the user decides to never smoke again during that period, some smoking related changes are irreversible, but obesity can be turned around by sheer will and decreasing calorie intake and burning more calories.
The current political climate has affected the view on obesity, as Andrew Breitbart once said “Politics is downstream from culture”. Ever since it was stated that obesity is something that is to be ’embraced’ and ‘never criticised’ and that it should be made into a community of ‘pride’ just because these people in this category are too lazy to lose weight. In order to lose weight effort is required, like quitting smoking. The two addictions are very alike, eating junk food feels good even if it is only for the duration of consuming and so does smoking. Both are relievers of stress and are just fun in general. The biggest difference is that obesity kills 20,000 more people per year than the number of people smoking kills in the US alone.
How can what Andrew Breitbart said about ‘politics being downstream from culture’ relate to the massive number of deaths caused by obesity? It is now deemed ‘politically incorrect’ to criticise someone from being overweight. Obese women are embraced by third wave feminism, that tells them that they are beautiful and perfectly healthy regardless of weight or how much one eats in a day. Certain governments are hiring obese people into public sector jobs that they are unfit for, only for political correctness brownie points.
This is the health minister of Belgium, Maggie De Block, who is responsible for the health of her country. De Block weighs in over 20 stone which is a dangerous weight, especially for a lady. De Block was only appointed for the same reason countries in the EU have females as their secretary of defence, so that Belgium can be seen as politically correct and accepting of everyone. At this point, God forbid if someone who fits their job roles and tasks perfectly gets the job. Actual qualifications are immediately scrapped with this type of hiring process, when the seemingly most oppressed or those who have the least ‘privilege’ gets the job they apply for and they only get hired for those merits alone.
Despite how third wave feminists are pro ‘body positivity’ many have criticised President Trump for gaining approximately 40 pounds since his inauguration. Although they hold a relevant argument over how Trump’s weight gain is laughable, they are hypocrites to say this; let alone do they see the real issue of Trump setting a bad example in the means of healthy eating.
There is also the emotional element when it comes to obesity, nobody likes being told that they are unhealthy and about to die. There are obvious levels of being overweight and there are those who are the size and weight of half a cow, literally. It is never a bad thing to have some body fat on you, having too little can be just as unhealthy, a good time to assess your dietary choices is when you find yourself able to fit into XXL clothing and unable to fit into what you were able to wear at ease 6 months ago. The key to weight loss it to decrease calorie intake and increase physical activity, ensure that you are eating 500 calories less than your maximum intake (2000 for males/1500 for females). Most dieting courses statistically do not work and they are never able to help in the long run, it is to do with competing with the physical activity of your prehistoric ancestors 1,000 years ago – as they did not need treadmills or weights to get into shape as their physical day-to-day tasks of fighting, building and providing easily substituted for it.
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