Saturday, July 06, 2013

The Fat Rationalization Hamster

Spin baby, spin!

Update - from our Swedish Agent in the Field.  Apparently the author is a COLLEGE HEALTH EDUCATOR.  Yes, that's who I want in charge of a college's health education program, a woman who doesn't believe in discipline and self-control...though, now I have to ask...why does a college need a health educator?  And you dumb kids and leftists wonder why tuition is sky high.  Idiots, freaking idiots.

13 comments:

White Knight Leo #0368 said...

Hey captain, this is the comment I left on that article. Wonder if it will get approved?

"Speaking as someone who has been at least mildly obese all his life, and is just now beginning to lose weight – trying to develop the right habits and destroy the wrong ones -, this is INSULTING.

I’ve had more than a few problems that contributed to my obesity. I had chronic bronchitis as a child, which made it difficult to exercise. I was also a loner and a bit of a shut-in in, spending my free time reading and gaming instead of playing (not that I didn’t go out to play, but far less than I should have). BUT THAT DIDN’T CAUSE MY OBESITY.

Neither did any of the corporations from whom I have bought nominally unhealthy food over the years, McDonalds and such included. THIS IS NOT THEIR FAULT. I was not forced at gunpoint into their restaurants. I bought the food, I ate it, and I chose to eat more than I should and exercise less than I should.

My obesity is my fault. Period.

And unless you are the rare person with an actual glandular problem, your obesity is your fault too. And if you claim to have such a problem, and aren’t seeking medical help for it, then I don’t believe you when you tell me you have such a problem.

But it’s worse than that. By writing this article, you, Leah, are helping to make this problem worse. Because I have known people who have lost tremendous weight, and kept it off permanently. I’ve also known people who’ve taken it off, and then gained it back.

What did every single person in the latter group have in common? They backslid on their habits. They stopped exercising. They had unhealthy diets. In other words, they decided, consciously or not, that being a healthy weight wasn’t worth the effort it cost, so they stopped trying.

By telling people it isn’t their fault, you are encouraging them to give up on whatever hope they had. You are telling them that they are without moral agency, that what happens to them isn’t really their fault because no one’s choices mean anything in this life. This bleeds over into other areas as well; agency is something that defines your worldview. If you believe that you can effect real changes in your life, then you will decide for yourself what kind of life you are willing to buy (buy with effort, I mean). If you don’t, you’ll spend your life complaining that the bad things that happen are bad luck, and that it’s not fair that good things happen to other people.

Maybe you really are so thoroughly a collectivist that you believe that. Fine. But stop trying to destroy others’ sense of individual responsibility.
"

Pax Empyrean said...

If you are fat, you are taking in more calories than you are burning.

Different people have different metabolisms, so it is easier for some people to lose weight than others, but if there were some genetic condition that could generate fat from nothing, natural selection would guarantee we would all have this condition after fighting off starvation for the entire history of our species until quite recently.

So yes, it is your fault.

Anonymous said...

Curious how only Americans are biologically compelled to be fat. Not sure why Europeans and Asians don't have this problem.

Penrose said...

I've never seen a fat person in a concentration camp.

Anonymous said...

There were no fat people in auschwitz.

Anonymous said...

I live in Germany now and I've noticed that the Germans are getting to be quite large these days. The British are even more obese and now rank as the fattest of Europeans, that is if they consider themselves Europeans at all.

On the other hand nobody beats the U.S.A. for record levels of obesity within the populace.

FKA gord said...

You are correct Penrose.I had to laugh at the concentration camp posts as I had this conversation with my father 35 years ago. I thought being fat could be just a predetermined health cause. My father, who spent 4 years in a German prison camp, pointed out that there were no fat people there.It's hard to argue with that.

Anonymous said...

Plain and simple. Most Americans are fat because of lack of exercise. We drive everywhere, ride elevators, and we sit huddled inside air conditioning watching television and playing video games, or sitting at a desk working. Kids are either driven to school or take the bus. The lucky ones can get some activity but it has to be "structured" and usually involves going in a car both ways to get there.

Our cities are designed around cars and not walking or biking. We have city planning that puts businesses too far away and we can't walk to them. Our jobs have to be away from where we live because of zoning requirements.

We have jobs that for most of the population don't involve physical activity. By the time many people work 8 hours a day, commute 1 or more hours, if you plan to have any chance at a home life, there are not enough hours in the day to get in exercise (which all at one sitting is not as effective as doing it throughout the day).

You go to Europe and you have to walk everywhere. You mostly have to take stairs. You walk to the grocery store or restaurant. Even with public transportation, you walk a mile or so to get anywhere.

Anonymous said...

This is worse than the Pope telling poor people condoms don't lessen the spread of HIV.

Anonymous said...

If millions of people all of a sudden became very, very sick, over just the course of a dozen years, and it had a sever impact on their daily lives, the government and health services, very rightly so, would be treating it s a huge emergency and would stop at nothing to find the cause and fit it.

Now, over the period of a dozen years, MILLIONS of people from all different walks of life and different activity levels are getting fat. So, your theory is that all of a sudden a large percentage of the population became lazy and fat, even with all of the fat taboos we still have??

The FACT is that THERE IS SOMETHING VERY, VERY WRONG WITH THE FOOD SUPPLY!!

The GMO & corn-syurp & 1000's of additives who's chemistry is not well understood is killing us!

Or do you really believe that "all of a sudden" millions of people became lazy and fat?

Robert said...

Fat is caused by three things: Carbs, carbs and more carbs. Exercise has no significant effect on weight. Read some Gary Taubes.

Joe Bar said...

She work in Northamptom, MA. Fits right in. No surprise there.

Jennifer said...

What a ridiculous bit of self-righteous drivel. Did she write that from her couch while snacking on a bowl of Cheetos blaming 'society' for her lack of willpower? She can kiss my size 4 ass.
If you're fat, it's your fault. Own it. You decided that you would be ruled by your appetite and chose to fill your time with things other than exercise. And that's fine. You are free to do so. Just don't rationalize away the effort and choices of those who aren't fat.