Obesity, A Southern tradition.

[Dargo]

According to the CDC, if your Body Mass Index (BMI) is over 30 you are considered obese. Body Mass Index is a computation of your height in relation to your weight.

And I consider this system a crock! I had to get three medical doctors to write specific notes to insurance companies to not consider me overweight, borderline obese for life insurance reasons. I even let the insurance companies pick the physicians. I'm about 5'10 or 5'11 (dunno why it changes) and around 195 pounds most of the time. I have had my body fat measured professionally and it varies between 9% to 11%. I have always worked out hard and have a resting heart rate of around 58. I'm no longer into bodybuilding or powerlifting, but I do have the ingrained habit of working out and working out hard.

Every physician who has examined me states that I am a living breathing reason that the BMI charts are extremely flawed. I'm no professional athlete, but I'm told that most professional athletes who are powerfully built would also be considered obese by government BMI charts. As far as I'm concerned, the BMI charts are about as useful as would be a text book written by Michael Jackson on how to interact with young men; that is, for most reasonable and educated people, it would have no value nor would it be accurate.

This is not to say that many people are not only obese, but morbidly obese. Just go to a 'pitch till you win' feeding trough. You know, an all you can eat buffet. You can pick out the well seasoned 'professionals' there no problem. Believe me, in my home state we have quite a few that get the reading "one person at a time please" when they step on a digital scale.

 

[dynasim]

I don't have time to read the full thread, but I would like to point out that the survey definition of "obese" is different that than what a reasonable person would think.

I weight 255 lbs(I am 6' 8"), and by their definition, I am obese. I am clearly not. At 245, I look like I am sick.

Politicians and do-gooders use statistics for many purposes, few of them good.

Chris

 

[MossRoad]

Anyone remember the "Pinch an inch" test? If you can stand up straight an pinch and inch at your waist, you are overweight. Personally, I can grab a slab! I could stand to lose a few, but man, I feel so happy right now.

 

[Logan]

The same doctor I had who told me not to go fishing every day, that I mentioned in my last post, also asked me once what kind of diet I was on and if I ate a lot of fat. I told him no, but I liked barbeque, particularly spare ribs. He told me to eat them. He said worrying about what you eat is worse for you than eating it. I hated it when he retired.

 

[Bird]

The same doctor I had who told me not to go fishing every day, that I mentioned in my last post, also asked me once what kind of diet I was on and if I ate a lot of fat. I told him no, but I liked barbeque, particularly spare ribs. He told me to eat them. He said worrying about what you eat is worse for you than eating it. I hated it when he retired.

Sounds like my kind of doctor. I'm kinda fond of ribs myself, but today, after I finished my yard work and walked around the block a couple of times I had to shower, put on clean clothes, and go to our youngest daughter's place and take the pork loin and turkey roast that I smoked yesterday. She and her husband did the brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, and fresh ears of corn this time. It was a right tasty barbecue.

 

[Egon]

I've looked back thru some old pictures taken in the 30's and 40's of farm activities and family events. Did not see any overweight farmers in the pictures.

 

[alchemysa]

We did have soda machines and we had a small case with some peanuts and candy bars, but nothing like you see today..

That brings back memories Bird. I worked in a service station as a kid too. The snacks were in a small wooden framed, glass door, cabinet. The **** were piled side by side on a few shelves, and the drinks (in glass bottles of course) were in a classic red Coke fridge filled with icy cold water. I don't think Coke ever tasted any better.

 

[dmccarty]

Back in High School I was bused downtown for desegragation. I learned alot but I don't think I learned what I was supposed to learn.

We had to wait about 30 minutes after school let out for the bus to show up to take us on the long ride back home. This made for many hours on the bus and was very helpful learning. Not. The school was surrounded by projects and there was a small grocery store in one of the buildings. Sometimes we would kill some time by heading over to the grocery store. What really stuck out at me was the food being bought. Was it healthy cheap food? Nope. It was expensive chips and soda. Junk Food. They were not buying rice and beans but just plan junk. With food stamps. I knew they were eating junk and I was just a kid.

Sorry, but good quality food is not expensive in this country. You can get a pork loin on sale for $2 a pound. A six pack of soda would buy a pound of pork. Canned veggies are cheap especially on sale. Some of the chips I see are $2-3 a bag. I could get 4-6 cans of veggies on sale for that price. Buying a premixed/premade salad is expensive. Not so much if you make it yourself. And if the price is high buy something cheaper.

Its about choices and how one spends the dollar. People often eat what they grew up eating. If their parents fed them junk food they will pass that eating habit to their children. Most Southern Food/Soul Food is peasent food. You can live on Red Beans and Rice for danged near forever. Might get boring though. But its cheap.

The two big lessons I learned when I was bussed is that food stamps don't mean people buy healthy food. And if people dont own something they will tear it up for sure. One project was in rough shape and old. The projects near our school were new and made of brick. Very nice. I have lived in far worse. But the new projects were quickly going the way of the old project. The people were just tearing them up.

People don't eat bad food and get fat because they are poor. They do it because they don't know any better. My dad's family was more than dirt poor. They did not even own dirt. My grandmother raised four kids by herself on a teachers salary. During a time when teachers were really poorly paid. They did not have any money but they ate healthy food though sometimes I don't think they had enough. No food stamps or public assistence but they got by and they ain't fa, though they are from the South.

Well my dad is but that is because he likes potatoes.

Later,
Dan

 

[tallyho8]

Well, I just got back from an Alaskan cruise today and I gained 5 pounds in one week. All the excellent food that you want, anytime you want is not healthy but it sure is tempting and besides, you have to get your money's worth, right?

I've spent most of my life in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana which is just outside of New Orleans. It is divided by the Mississippi River and is like 2 different towns completely because nobody who lived on the east bank used to move to the west bank and vice versa. I was raised on the east bank and moved to the west bank when I got tired of city living.

The east bank is predominantly white collar workers and thinner people who eat for quality, not quantity. The west bank is predominately blue collar workers who are heavier and eat for quantity not quality. Many all-you-can eat buffets went out of business on the west bank because the people ate them into bankruptcy. The west bankers appear to be more down-to earth friendlier type people who care more about how a person acts then how a person looks and they generally have less formal education than the east bankers but more trade skills and probably earn about the same on the average. Most of the west bankers are from Cajun descent while the east bankers are from a more varied ancestry.

People on both sides of the river are much heavier than they were 50 years ago and I see this trend continuing into the future as people have more modern conveniences and do less physical activities. I doubt that any of my ancestors ever got to lounge around on a cruise and eat everything they wanted for a week while having to do absolutely no work. I'm sure that this same situation is what led to the fall of the Roman Empire and I am also sure than there is no way we can prevent history from repeating itself again.

 

[Redbug]

I don't think obesity is just a southern tradition, either. I have lived in Indiana, Kansas and been to fairs in Oklahoma and Colorado. There are some pretty big people out there, too. I'm not sure if the percentage compares to the south, but I bet it's close. Maybe it's the cold winters and boredom that cause people eat more out in the midwest?...

Tally...Glad you took a trip to Alaska. Did you stop at some of the Alaskan towns along the way? Sitka, etc? I have taken the ferry from Haines to Seattle, (with the vehicle on board) and also drove the Alcan, (used to live up in Fairbanks and King Salmon). Everybody should see our last frontier before they get too old. It will put things in perspective in our crowded work-alcholic lives. Are you ready to go back?

Right on...Dan. I have seen them line up in the food stores with food stamps, WIC and seen what is being bought. Not very healthy, but it has calories. The poor kids.