Land Of The Free, Home Of The Supersized.
Check out THIS ARTICLE from the BBC World Service.
The article is not really news, we already know about it - we just do not want to think about it. After all, thinking about stuff leads to depression, and depression leads to chocolate and cheesecake, and cheesecake leads right back to the problem at hand.
And the problem is obesity.
Anyone can verify this simply by going outside and watching people. Right now, according ot the article, 64.5% of the adult population (115 million adults) are overweight or obese. Doctors predict that by the next (summer) olympics, that figure will expand, like an elastic band on sweatpants, to 75%.
Three out of every four people. Think about that for a little bit.
Of course, it is not just America. EVERY first world nation, where food is cheap and all over the place and life is easy, is having the same problem. Never before in the course of human history could so many people plop down on a couch and eat pints of ice cream for hours a day. Back in the "good" old days, people had to work much longer and harder - farming is a rough life.
Now for a very long time, I just did not worry about these problems. I am a fairly tall person, and for the longest time I wore 29 inch pants (34 inch length). But then one day, when I was getting close to 30, those pants started to be just a little tight. Not too tight that I could not fit into them, but I had to suck in just a little bit.
Then it got to be a crisis. One day the 29s were just NOT going to button or zip up. It was a crisis because most of my jeans were 29-34s. I had only a few pairs of 30s or 31s.
But it worked out, because finding 29s is a bitch, where finding 32-34 pants is pretty easy. So it was not a big deal.
Except now those 32s are starting to fit a little snug. Not so snug that I can not zip em up, just a little more snug than they used to fit. I will be 32 in January.
Another problem is that type II diabeties runs on my dad's side of the family. His aunt had it, and now he has it. There is also heart disease in the family - on both sides but mostly on my dad's side.
So, with all these potential medical issues possibly buried in my DNA, the waist line expanding at an increasing rate, it was obvious what had to be done.
Healthy living begins now. I have no choice. So I went out and spent $500 on a bike with the idea that I will use it to not be so darn out of shape.
I also have to watch what I eat, and change my food choices. This is what is going to suck the most.
But I have already invented a good way to avoid things I just do not need, like glazed doughnuts. I ask myself "is this glazed doughnut worth loosing my eyesight, a foot, or an entire leg for"? Type II diabetes could lead to all those things you know. I know. And I also know that if I do nothing, odds are good I will get it. Then I will have to watch by blood sugar constantly, worry about circulation problems, and possibly loose sight or body parts over. None of this is good.
Right now my body mass index (BMI) is in the upper 23s or lower 24s. I forget which. Anyway, 25 is the border like seperating "healthy weight" from "overweight".
My plan for now is fairly simple. Drive less and move around more. The supermarket is about a mile from home. Do I HAVE TO drive there to get a 6 pack and some cat food? No, I could walk. I don't walk, I drive - and that is a big part of the problem. Do I HAVE TO spend my days off sleeping till noon, watching some TV, playing some video games, and stuff? NO. The fact I have been doing these things is another part of the problem.
For several years now I have volunteered to work communications for the annual M.S. Breakaway To Key Largo. This is a 150 mile bike ride from Dade County to Key Largo FL. The event takes place over 2 days, each day the route is about 75 miles. By NEXT YEAR (2007, lets be real here) I want to be able to make the ride. Maybe not the whole thing, but at least to the 50 mile point each day. To make this goal, I will have a lot of work to do - but it is by no means impossible.
posted by The Lazy Iguana @ 10:24
9 Comments:
My grandmother a stubborn and diabetic woman ultimately suffered some of the most unpleasant consequences of ignoring diet and exercise.
It's admirable that you've set goals for yourself. Good luck and good for you.
I could walk, or jog, but I don't. Jogging is really not very good for you, it puts a lot of shock stress on the knees. I do a good deal of walking at work.
The bike gets the pulse rate up, and keeps it up. This is good for something, or so I am told. Also it is low impact, or at least lower impact than jogging.
In reality, the BEST thing I can think up to get fit is swimming. Swimming is about as low impact as you can get, it works ALL your muscles, and the water keeps your body cool while you are doing your thing.
But I do not have a pool.
Reality sucks. But you're making the right moves.
This is why I walk everyday with a buddy. Neither one of us would stick to it alone. It's easy to say, "I'll walk later." But this way, someone else is depending on me. I have to get up and go. I'm determined NOT to be a fat old lady.
Yeah. I'm doing my part for the statistics. I'd love to have a 32" waist... :-(
The point is not the 32 waist. In all reality, the 32 pants are a little too tight. My suit pants I wear to work are all 34s.
The point is the somewhat rapid increase, and the fact that if I do nothing about it - I will be wearing 40s very soon.
Having a baby really did a number on my metabolism and I have to really fight the extra pounds now where it wasn't too much of a problem before. I come from a long line of heart attack and stroke victims so I too worry about the consequences of too much lazy time.
Are we going to have to start calling you the Non-Lazy Iguana?
So true...We do not walk or move around enough.
For me, walking every day is a necessity. Neverthelss, I can relate to those cheesecakes and other sweets as well.
Good for you! But you will have to change your name!
I find it hard to believe you're even close to chubby. I've seen the pics from your last vacation!
This is a preemptive strike. I have to fight the bulge BEFORE it can attack me. By the time I notice "gee, I am chubby" I will have to work 10 times harder to do something about it.
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