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The W - Current Events & Politics - Prepare for the Fat Police
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Grimis
Scrapple








Since: 11.7.02
From: MD

Since last post: 4704 days
Last activity: 3158 days
#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.29
Obese children's lives found full of despair
Study says they view life quality as dismally as young cancer patients
Associated Press
Originally published April 9, 2003

CHICAGO - A study has found a startling level of despair among obese children, with many rating their quality of life as low as that of young cancer patients on chemotherapy.

The research published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association offers a sobering glimpse of what life is like for many obese youngsters nationwide. They are teased about their size, have trouble playing sports and suffer physical ailments linked to their weight.

The study was published in an edition of the journal devoted to obesity research. It also comes amid growing concern about the nation's obesity epidemic and recent data suggesting 15 percent of U.S. youngsters are severely overweight or obese.

Obesity researcher Kelly Brownell, who runs a Yale University weight disorders center, said the increasing prevalence of obesity hasn't made it less stigmatizing.

"It just breaks your heart," Brownell said, relating a story from a Yale patient who recalled being absent from school as a child and learning the teacher had told the class, "She's probably home eating."

In the study, 106 youths ages 5 to 18 were asked to rate their well-being on physical, emotional and social measures.

The dismal scores were far lower than anticipated, said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of California, San Diego.

"The magnitude is striking," Schwimmer said. "The likelihood of significant quality-of-life impairment was profound for obese children."

Obese youngsters were more likely to miss school than healthy, mostly normal-weight kids. Schwimmer said that's probably because they suffered more weight-related physical ailments and endured more teasing at school.

A JAMA editorial noted that study participants had a more than fivefold increased risk of reporting low quality of life than healthy youngsters.

"It seems clear that one of the most compelling medical challenges of the 21st century is to develop effective strategies to prevent and treat pediatric obesity," Drs. Jack and Susan Yanovski of the National Institutes of Health said in the editorial.

The study participants filled out questionnaires last year used by pediatricians. The youngsters rated such things as their ability to walk more than one block, play sports, sleep well, get along with others and keep up in school.

Obese youths scored an average of 67 points out of 100 - 16 points lower than a group of 400 mostly normal-weight children. The obese children's scores were similar to quality of life self-ratings from a previously published study of about 100 pediatric cancer patients.

Girls and boys in the study appeared to be equally adversely affected by obesity.

On average, the youngsters were 12 years old, 5 feet 1 inch tall and 174 pounds. Their average body-mass index - a ratio of height to weight - was nearly 35. In adults, a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese, but in youngsters the index depends on gender and age.

Obesity-related ailments were common among the participants and included fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes and orthopedic problems caused by excess weight.

"Even in the absence of these physical conditions, children and parents reported a low quality of life," Schwimmer said.




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MoeGates
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Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY

Since last post: 14 days
Last activity: 7 days
#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.28
Put down the Playstation. Pick up the Football. it's very easy.



It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Michael Novotny, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, not racist, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, 20% Black, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Tom Daschle, Boston, a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage, and not a Hipster.
cranlsn
Toulouse








Since: 18.3.02
From: Hartland, WI

Since last post: 1955 days
Last activity: 57 days
#3 Posted on
I was going to say:

Put. Down. The. Sandwich.

But combining that with put down the PS2 works as well.

Also add, stop medicating your children for being children. When you have a bunch of kids all strung out on Ritalin, they don't tend to get much exercise.






When all else fails, there's always the Simpsons.

Jaguar
Knackwurst








Since: 23.1.02
From: In a Blue State finally

Since last post: 1894 days
Last activity: 1894 days
#4 Posted on
I don't see how they can even pretend to compare the obesity survey to the cancer one. It's like comparing the happiness of a man who lives in America and can afford to buy a $20 steak once a week, and a man who lives in China and can afford to buy a piece of fish to go with his rice once a week. While they might both rate themselves at the same happiness level, the quality of life is completely different.

Really, just go ask any fat kid: Would you rather be fat, or have cancer? I don't think very many of them are going to tell you that cancer is just as bad as being fat.

-Jag



From the mouth of my uncle Jim, the Republican banker:
"I regret voting for Bush."
"We need to vote him out of office."

I am in Shock. I am in Awe.
dMr
Andouille








Since: 2.11.02
From: Edinburgh, Scotland

Since last post: 2843 days
Last activity: 1189 days
#5 Posted on
Who would have thought kids who are spoiled and self-indulgent enough to reach and breach the stage of clinical obesity would consider their lives to be on a par with cancer patients eh?

If these little ankle biters want to be happy then its pretty simple.

Put down the burger. Now walk away. Walk the fuck away.



"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid."
- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard
Grimis
Scrapple








Since: 11.7.02
From: MD

Since last post: 4704 days
Last activity: 3158 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.29
Either that or those darn parents need to step in and tell Johnny he shouldn't eat three cheeseburgers today...



asteroidboy
Andouille








Since: 22.1.02
From: Texas

Since last post: 4864 days
Last activity: 430 days
#7 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.95

    Originally posted by Grimis
    Either that or those darn parents need to step in and tell Johnny he shouldn't eat three cheeseburgers today...


No shit. When you raise your kid on McDonald's happy meals and substitute Disney movies for human interaction and video games for physical activity, what the fuck do you expect?

I don't blame the kids as much. If they had their butts whipped into shape by responsible parents, they wouldn't be fat, lazy slugs.

But no, let's hold someone else responsible. Yes, McDonalds makes shitty food that's bad for you. Don't buy it. So, your school cut recess? Send your kid outside to play. If you're too tired from work to interact with your kids, then don't have more.

We just don't seem to be happy as people, if we're not deflecting blame from ourselves.





-- Asteroid Boy


Wiener of the day: 23.7.02

"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport."
"Was he no-selling?"
Nate The Snake
Liverwurst








Since: 9.1.02
From: Wichita, Ks

Since last post: 7183 days
Last activity: 6653 days
#8 Posted on
I have to wonder how much of this is actual cultural laziness and how much is the effect of the hormones and chemicals we load into pretty much anything even remotely edible these days, y'know?

If it is connected, though, we probably won't have to worry about it for too long, since all the vaccines in our food are helping evolve super-virii to take care of it. (: Ain't evolution nifty?



Kansas-born and deeply ashamed
The last living La Parka Marka

"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
astrobstrd
Bockwurst








Since: 13.3.02
From: Loveland, OH

Since last post: 6015 days
Last activity: 5982 days
#9 Posted on
I am a little surprised by the anti-fat sentiment on here. Admittedly, our culture fosters a "do-nothing/eat junk" attitude, but for a number of people, weight is extremely hard to keep off due to genetics. For example, people of Eastern European descent are on average, bigger than those of say...Asian descent. I was rail thin as a child, and have a slightly above-average weight today, but I eat more than many obese people I know and get just as much exercise.

It seems a little wrong to me to call one kid "Fatty McFatsack" and say he's spoiled and needs to run off his fat, but to not say anything to a kid, who like me, has the same habits, but had a good metabolism.



Ph-nglui mgwl'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
MoeGates
Boudin blanc








Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY

Since last post: 14 days
Last activity: 7 days
#10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.28
Different people have different body types, sure.

All but a very, VERY few people, however, are genetically predisposed to have an UNHEALTHY body type. Which is what they're talking about. There is a big difference between the "big-boned" kid that eats right and runs around like a normal kid, and the kid that's simply fat because their parents feed him ring-dings and plop him down in front of the Playstation all day. And if you at the trend over the last few decades, we've now got a lot more of these kids. Genetics hasn't changed.



It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Michael Novotny, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, not racist, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, 20% Black, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Tom Daschle, Boston, a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage, and not a Hipster.
Pool-Boy
Lap cheong








Since: 1.8.02
From: Huntington Beach, CA

Since last post: 197 days
Last activity: 154 days
#11 Posted on
That whole "being fat is in some people's genes" arugemt is such a cop-out. Really! YES, it is true, but if you look at those people, they are overweight, but not disgustingly so. They are slightly bigger. Maybe by 20 pounds at the most. But damn- some of the people who use that excuse are HUGE! An old friend of mine had a girlfriend who claimed that, and every time I saw her practically she had a double quarter pounder crammed in her mouth. What she does to herself is her own problem, but I don't want to be berated, because I don't find it appealing (You are such a bastard for not finding fat sexy!!), and I don't buy the excuses. You want to be fat, fine- just don't insist that I pretend it is normal...

Personally, I could care less what people eat, or what they do to their own bodies. What bugs me is when they pass it to their kids. More and more these days I see little kids who are plain and simply blimps. Way more than I remember as a child. And it is everywhere- and it has gotten to a point where I see more of these kids than normal sized ones. You can't tell me that a 120 pound 10 year old girl is normal! Sometimes I think that parents should be brought up on child endangerment charges for letting that happen...





Still on the Shelf #3
Freeway
Scrapple








Since: 3.1.02
From: Calgary

Since last post: 3740 days
Last activity: 3427 days
#12 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.96
Hey, I was raised in the same times as these kids, and I ain't tubby. The reason? Mixing sports and physical activity with video games and TV. Minor hockey, baseball and track have kept me in fine shape [5'11"/ 140] compared to a lot of my friends who, god bless 'em, are FAT AS HELL.

Needless to say, a basic physical eduction system should be in place and manadatory for every student from Grades 1-12. That way, the school systems won't put fat lazy folks into the world.



Flames: Golfing

Stampeders: Golfing

Blue Jays: 3-3
spf
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02
From: The Las Vegas of Canada

Since last post: 3060 days
Last activity: 395 days
#13 Posted on
Dang it, and I was just about to say how wonderful it was that there was finally a thread in the Politics forum where we all were basically in agreement when Freeway had to go and push one of the buttons that drives me the most nuts.

Simply put there is no more useless institution than the gym class. School districts in times of general leanness are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to make sure that some disinterested kid shuffles through some laps around a basketball court and whacks at a badminton birdie with a bent racquet. And if they're unlucky and happen to be uncoordinated or slow or anything of that ilk they get to be humiliated and mocked by their classmated and usually their throwback of a gym teacher. And for this priviledge we pay these people sometimes tens of thousands per year. I'm sorry but school time is limited enough as it is, we don't need to spend a good chunk of it in that manner.

Of course, perhaps I'm bitter due to being in Illinois. Firstly because the gym teachers are so well organized in this state I believe we have the most stringent requirements for gym in order to graduate public high school here. And then in order to guarantee they are taken seriously they get pushed through things like what they did at my old high school. Your grade in physical education now counts against your GPA and class ranking. Now while I could concede it's a nice goal to have all your students be fit, if I were a straight A student who got bumped out of being valedictorian and lost my Harvard place because I couldn't do enough situps in one minute to please some frustrated ex-jock I would be pissed beyond words. That is absolutely ludicrous to do such a thing at the high school level.

Oh, and before anyone posts any smart-ass response I was a fairly good athlete growing up, was picked early in most sports and got good grades in gym when I felt like applying myself, so no it's not just fat kid bitterness or anything ;)



"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it." - Robert E. Lee

For anyone who thinks that Booker will be going over HHH at Backlash, feel free to PM me about the HHH Challenge.
MoeGates
Boudin blanc








Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY

Since last post: 14 days
Last activity: 7 days
#14 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.28
5'11"/ 140.

Damn. I'm 5'9"/155 and always considered myself a bit too skinny.

I agree about the gym class. Some kids ARE just born unco-ordinated, and shouldn't have to be punished for it. Gym is one of those classes where I really think grades based on effort is the way to go.



It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Michael Novotny, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, not racist, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, 20% Black, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Tom Daschle, Boston, a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage, and not a Hipster.
Nate The Snake
Liverwurst








Since: 9.1.02
From: Wichita, Ks

Since last post: 7183 days
Last activity: 6653 days
#15 Posted on
I have no problem with encouraging fitness, hell, I played my share of football/baseball before the depression kicked in and removed any desire to, like... get out of bed, but gym class is NOT the way to go, at least not as it is now. It's pretty much a government-endorsed hazing program.

I'd like to see, maybe, gym combined with a study hall. You need the time for schoolwork, it's there, if not, you have the gym stuff available if you want it. If not... your choice. NOT someone else's.



Kansas-born and deeply ashamed
The last living La Parka Marka

"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Hairy Caray
Bauerwurst








Since: 28.10.02
From: Wrigley Field hot dog stand

Since last post: 7128 days
Last activity: 7126 days
#16 Posted on

    Originally posted by MoeGates
    5'11"/ 140.

    Damn. I'm 5'9"/155 and always considered myself a bit too skinny.

    I agree about the gym class. Some kids ARE just born unco-ordinated, and shouldn't have to be punished for it. Gym is one of those classes where I really think grades based on effort is the way to go.



Growing up in the 80s and 90s, our grades were based on dressing out and participation. Of course, I guess it is kind of weird to have half of your grade dependent on stripping down in front of your peers and coaches.

Many schools now are making gym an option. You can take music class or something else to replace it if you want.



Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!
Swordsman Yen
Frankfurter








Since: 16.2.02
From: Shaolin

Since last post: 7372 days
Last activity: 7355 days
#17 Posted on | Instant Rating: 10.00
From the desk of Swordsman Yen

    Originally posted by Hairy Caray

      Originally posted by MoeGates
      5'11"/ 140.

      Damn. I'm 5'9"/155 and always considered myself a bit too skinny.

      I agree about the gym class. Some kids ARE just born unco-ordinated, and shouldn't have to be punished for it. Gym is one of those classes where I really think grades based on effort is the way to go.



    Growing up in the 80s and 90s, our grades were based on dressing out and participation. Of course, I guess it is kind of weird to have half of your grade dependent on stripping down in front of your peers and coaches.

    Many schools now are making gym an option. You can take music class or something else to replace it if you want.



It was even weirder (bordering on disturbing) having gym teachers that required you to shower. Back in high school, gym class was my last class of the day, so I thought it was pointless to shower at school when I can just as well do that in the comforts of my own home. Fortunately, I didn't have a shower Nazi for a gym teacher, so just dressing out and participating was good enough to ace the class.

Gym class has been a joke since my school days. Looking back, I was glad that I became an NBA fan and wanted to be like Mike, which got me started in basketball and athletics in general. Sadly, if we implemented a strict fitness program that required passing for graduation right now, the dropout rate would skyrocket, and not only would we have more dumb, fat kids out there, we would have more dumb, fat kids on welfare. It's a tough call to make since much of the adults aren't leading by example themselves. We're probably the only nation who has a large (no pun intended) percentage of the poor that is obese, for goodness sakes.



Be nice to me, or you won't get an XFL franchise.
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