Weight a While

I'm watching a program about obesity in America that is very interesting. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that our obesity rates, especially among children, have increased dramatically over the past several decades. One of the issues the panelists are discussing is whether being overweight is a choice, and whether it's a choice people should be allowed to make. Obviously, children can't entirely decide what they eat. Having been a fat kid, I see this from a few perspectives. I really think that allowing your kids to get fat is a form of child abuse. It sets them up for a childhood of torment and a lifetime of nutrition retraining. However, the latter actually served me well -- and let's face it: Virtually all children are tormented for something. So I'll focus on the nutrition retraining.

When I was about twelve, I weighed nearly 180 pounds. My mom weighed at least twice that much. My father and brother were thin. So my mother signed me up to go to Weight Watchers with her. I lost a lot of weight -- I don't know how long it took -- and for the most part managed to keep it under control through a combination of exercise and a balanced diet. That worked great until I had some health issues that kept me from going to the gym. Sitting at home recovering set the stage for overeating, and I wasn't burning any of it off. Working out on a regular basis is a hard habit to establish; it's an even harder habit to re-establish. I'm getting there, thanks in large part to the Celebrex, but it's a lot harder than it used to be.

So the crux of the biscuit in this show I'm watching is whether it's anyone else's business that you're fat. This is a harder question than it may initially appear, especially now that we have the option of government subsidized health care. Obese people are statistically more likely to develop a host of weight-related illnesses. Should taxpayers be responsible for picking up the tab on the treatment of those illnesses? This is, I think, a similar argument to seatbelt laws and motorcycle helmet laws -- except that those two are a more immediate choice. Maybe the issue is more akin to transplants for people who have abused their organs in a variety of ways. I'm not sure.

When I saw my doctor last week, she suggested I do myself a favor and get my weight under control before it got any higher. I watched my mother submit to obesity -- I can't really say she struggled with it; I don't think she liked it, but she didn't do anything to reverse it -- and ultimately die from weight-related illness. I don't want to be in that position in twenty years.