Obesity in America. What it's like to be Fat!

Obesity is defined as being a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected. It used to be that anyone 100 lbs over their ideal body weight was considered obese however it is now mostly based on bmi or Body Mass Index.:

* Any BMI > 40 is severe obesity
* A BMI of 40.0-49.9 is morbid obesity
* A BMI of >50 is super obese

BMI is calculated by dividing the subject's mass by the square of his or her height, typically expressed either in metric or US "Customary" units:

Metric: BMI = mass / height2 (kilograms and metres)

US/Customary and imperial: BMI = lb * 703 / in2

Let's forget about all of that medical jargon. We are talking about fat people here. Overweight, obese, fat.. whatever you want to call it. The number of overweight americans has increased significantly over the past few years. In some areas of the country obesity has gone from 9.9% in 1991 to 16.95% in 2000!.. and it's now 2009, I'm sure those statistics have increased even more! The obesity epidemic has gone from 200 million to more than 300 million in a very short time!

So what is making American's so fat? Is it technology? Are we just becoming lazy? Maybe we are just too BUSY to have time to prepare a healthy meal every night when it is soo much easier just to pick something up at the local fast food restaurant?

I'm sure some of you think that people choose to be overweight.. but it really is not that simple! There are soo many reasons a person can be overweight: disease, genetics, medications, stress, depression, habit. It's no different than being anorexic or bulemic. It truly is an eating disorder but people don't see it as being that. Most just see it as people being lazy and doing nothing but stuff their face all day long. It really isn't that simple.

I'm one of the unlucky ones. I started to gain weight around the age of 5. I remember I had this really horrible, mentally abusive babysitter who used to force me to sit there and eat at 8-9:00 at night.. an entire dinner. Every bite of it. Even if it was something I didn't like. That's where it all started...

My mom was a single mother, not receiving any kind of child support. She worked but it was very difficult for her. We lived on cheap foods: mac and cheese, hot dogs, cheeseburgers... etc.. Nothing very healthy. When we had the extra money we usually spent it on fast food and I always made sure to eat every last bite. Maybe that stemmed from that awful babysitter? To this day, I still always feel like I have to finish every last bite even if I'm so full I feel as if I'm going to burst.

I was teased for most of my life. The kids made fun of me growing up, called me fat and every other name you can think of for an overweight kid. I was always picked last; always slower than everyone else. I had a few friends but was never a part of the "in" crowd.

As high school approached, it just got worse. Boys were not interested in me. I was teased and taunted. I absolutely hated going to school every day. It was torture for me.

I've always been very shy and insecure, even at the ripe old age of 31. I still feel those same insecurities. I can't stand to look at myself in the mirror. I think I'm ugly and disgusting. I have a husband that loves me for ME and three beautiful children but I still ask myself, "how can he possibly love someone like ME?". I'm very insecure and shy when meeting new people. I think that in their heads they are looking at me like I'm some fat, disgusting pig!

I've suffered depression most of my life. I'm currently taking Prozac for it. I still have the same insecurities. I always feel like people are staring at me even when in reality, no one is paying attention to me! My husband used to constantly tell me how beautiful I was and got upset that I couldn't see it. I tried explaining to him that after years and years of being told that I am ugly and disgusting it is how I truly feel inside about myself.

I've tried many diets.. I've won and I've lost. Last year I lost 46 pounds. Gained some of it back, kept some of it off. I've struggled with my eating for as far back as I can remember. Food is a source of comfort for me.. as cliche as that may sound. The odd thing is when I'm feeling sad and depressed I DON'T want to eat, but as soon as I start to feel relieved then I feel that I have to stuff my face with a bunch of bad foods to kind of "celebrate" the relief. Then I feel sick and disgusted with myself. I've tried throwing up after binging but I don't have much of a gag reflex and can't make myself throw up!

I don't think eating disorders are just for people with anorexia and bulimia. I think over eating is a disorder as well. It's not something most of us WANT to do. We don't want to be fat. We don't want to be made fun of. We don't want to be unhealthy. We don't want to NOT be able to wear cute clothes.

I remember one time watching a rock and roll documentary on tv. A band member was talking about past hard drug abuse. He quit drugs and then gained a bunch of weight. He said that losing weight was HARDER than getting off of the drugs! Think about it. We can go the rest of our lives without drinking alcohol, without having a cigarette or without drugs.. but we CAN'T go without food. We have to face it every single day. It's always there, everywhere we look. Stores, tv, radio commercials, everywhere. We can't escape it. It's like telling a recovering alcoholic that he has to have ONE drink a day but can not have more than just that one! How likely is it that the person would succeed? Not very likely.

I made this lense to explore obesity in our society. It's something that millions of americans struggle with every day.

I have 3 children of my own. One is 5 and I also have 4 year old twins (eek!). Luckily all of them are at their ideal body weight. My twins are actually quite skinny! I'm very careful about what I feed them. I try not to give them too much junk food and I don't make them eat everything on their plates! I try to make sure that they are active and can get outdoors and run around as much as possible. My biggest fear is that they will have to go through what I've gone through. I can't let that happen to them. I was an overweight child. My mother is overweight. Her mother is overweight. I know it is in our genes (and our jeans). I'm so scared of passing it onto them...

P.S. that photo is of me as I slowly became overweight...

I found an interesting article today on what ideas the Government has come up with to help stunt the obesity epidemic.

* Mounting large scale mass-media campaigns to promote healthier diets and physical activity;
* Requiring chain restaurants to provide information about calorie content on menus or menu boards;
* Designating more downtown areas as pedestrian malls and automobile-free zones;
* Having health insurance companies pay for effective weight-loss programs.

Would any of these work?? Well some of them have already been incorporated. I'm sure most of us have seen the calorie listings at some of the fast food restaurants. A lot of schools and even work places are scaling down their "snack" machines by offering only low fat snacks. No chips, no chocolate, just healthy snacks. Is that going to stop people from bringing in their own junk food? Maybe. Maybe not. Schools I can understand a little bit better because these are children that don't always think about their actions.. but for adults, I think it should be left to their decision.

One way I've heard that people are attempting to fight the obesity epidemic is to require physical education classes in all schools. My question is: Does physical education classes really help? In my opinion, no.

Why?? Well, let me tell you from personal experience. First of all, I had phys. ed from first grade through tenth grade. I was still fat! The fat kids remained fat even though they participated in gym class!

To be honest, I think gym class can cause more emotional damage then physical help! When you are the fat kid in gym class you always get picked last. No one wants you to be on their team because you are slower than everyone else. If the teacher picks partners for you, the fat kid undoubtedly somehow gets partnered up with the jock who is not happy to be partnered with the fat kid! It's humiliating. You know how many times I faked cramps or feeling sick just to get out of gym class? It wasn't because I was lazy, it was because I absolutely hated being the odd one out, being picked last and being laughed at! Luckily, my school did not have a swimming pool but a lot of schools do! I just can not imagine being a growing teenage girl and having to put on a swim suit in front of my peers and parade around for everyone to laugh at! Absolutely humiliating!

My only idea to solve that problem would be to make it some sort of class, like an aerobics class or something along those lines. One where everyone is doing the same exercise at the same time and there are no teams or partners. Otherwise, unless you are lucky to have friends in your gym class it will be nothing but embarassment and resentment!