The Fat of the Land
J We already rate privileged, self-centered fat people. Check out any field
guide for life insurance, and you will
definitely find BMI limits for being accepted in a preferred or discounted rate
class. We do decline people for obesity
in the life industry, and no one has a
problem with that. Our health industry
needs to be able to rate fat people better,
but with Obamacare demanding a free
guaranteed issue pass for all sick people,
fat people will still gobble up far more
than their share of premium dollars for
their own luxurious benefit, as they are
now accustomed to doing. The people
who make obesity “normal” include far
more people than our food industry. Our
fashion industry completely disregards
obesity as a negative attribute, substituting the word “curvy” for “fat,” and
insisting that only prejudice and unfair
discrimination would be the motivation
by anyone who criticizes obesity as the
new normal. Many, many enterprises
make money by selling things to fat
people, whether it is food, clothing, or
services that make being fat enjoyable,
more convenient and less stigmatized.
Fat people often do not bear the literal
burden of their bodies, whether physically or economically. Fat people are
allowed to object strenuously when they
get too obese to function at work, yet
force us employers to keep them in their
jobs that they no longer can perform
well. If fat people do end up getting fired
because they are too obese to function
at work, they apply for disability so the
rest of us can pay their bills. If they get
injured on the job because they are too
obese, the rest of us are forced to pay for
their new knees or gastric band surgery
because it is “not their fault” that they
are fat, and we owe them medical help.
Fat people have been told often and thus
believe that being fat is not their fault,
and that the rest of us should provide
them jobs, health care and respect, no
matter what we think of them. Until fat
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people are held to account for themselves, we will continue to see more
and more and more of them, all with
attitudes that being fat is our problem,
not theirs. What the rest of us need to
do is to start telling fat people to pull
their own weight, and quit making us
pull their weight for them. Until we start
doing that, we will have lots of obese
people living off the fat of our land, with
no reason to do otherwise.
sunforester
J High fructose corn syrup is simply a
kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the
same by the body. The American Medical Association stated that, “Because the
composition of high fructose corn syrup
and sucrose are so similar, particularly
on absorption by the body, it appears
unlikely that high fructose corn syrup
contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.” High fructose corn
syrup is an ingredient that provides competition in the marketplace for a government protected ingredient: table sugar.
Manufacturers of corn sweeteners do not
receive government support payments.
Our industry buys corn on the open market and has been faced with above average corn prices due to increased demand
for corn. There is a widely held view that
HFCS is in everything – unnecessarily.
And that many of these foods/beverages
never used to contain a sweetener until HFCS came along. In fact, almost all
of the products that now contain HFCS
used to contain another caloric sweetener (primarily sugar). Furthermore, U.S.
Department of Agriculture data shows
that per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup is actually on the decline,
yet obesity and diabetes rates continue to
rise according to the Center for Disease
Control. As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation
as part of a balanced lifestyle. Consumers can see the latest research and learn
more about high fructose corn syrup at
www.CornSugar.com.
Audrae Erickson, President
Corn Refiners Association
J I am confused; I thought you were an
insurance publication. However, when
I picked up the April, 18, 2011 Life &
Health issue, I notice the article, “The
Fat of the Land.” This is a health issue you are writing about, sir. You even
mentioned Starbucks and KFC, as well
as several independent food establishments in various locations throughout
the country. Sir, I believe you are out of
line by naming those companies in your
article. Surely you can find something
more interesting of which to editorialize.
Dan Hosfield
J I returned last month from a 12-day
trip to Corsica and France. During the
entire trip, after seeing thousands of
individuals, I can honestly say that I
saw two people who would be classified as overweight. And it wasn’t until
I arrived at the departure lounge of
Charles de Gaulle Airport that I saw
two obese individuals. The one person
was wearing what appeared to be an
American sweatshirt. So, they might not
have been French. The French may die
of smoking-related illnesses but cheese,
croissants, coffee and wine seem to suit
them - and from what I saw, they don’t
overeat. After making that mental note,
returning to the States, I was aware
of obesity everywhere, including the
30-something, 5’ 8”, 350+ lb. woman I
saw waddling into the supermarket.
We are killing ourselves with too much
food and too little exercise! Unfortunately, I see it in my own family.
Edward C. Auble
J I go back to the days of Steve and
was surprised when he left. However, I
never grabbed the NU the nano-second
it landed in my inbox the way I do now.
I absolutely can’t wait to read your editorials. I think our fathers were twins
of different mothers, unconcerned until
the boom fell. That said, though, I had
buffalo sirloin on my salad last night…
no weight, blood pressure or heart issues
(yet). Keep up the great thought-provok-ing editorials!
