Get Fat or Die

Many months ago we had author Paul Campos as a guest on our show to talk about how a fat ass nearly cost Bill Clinton the presidency. That's how we teased the story at least. Campos came on to promote his latest book The Obesity Myth, an examination of America's obsession and hysteria over weight. In researching the topic, he came to the conclusion that equating being thin with being healthy, and being fat with being unhealthy, is not supported by medical evidence. In reality, he proposed, one's weight has little to do with how healthy one is, and that an entire weight-loss industry has grown around lies and false statistics. Some people are going to naturally be thinner than others, and vice versa. The folks who aren't naturally thin, who have a different body type, are being led to believe that they need to lose weight. What do they do? They go on diets, buy pills, see doctors, get gym memberships and all manner of things that cost money in pursuit of an unattainable goal: reaching their "ideal" weight.

I'm not sure if his research is entirely accurate or not, but I can easily see how important it is to make people feel unhealthy to keep the weight loss industry thriving. In Los Angeles you can't throw a latte two feet without hitting someone who's had liposuction or gotten gastric bypass surgery, expensive procedures both.

Could the government be in bed with the weight loss industry? After all, the Centers for Disease Control only talks about the dire consequences associated with obesity, and obesity is almost always described as an epidemic. But when it comes to describing obesity's advantages, mum's the word.

That's why I was struck by an article I read today about a 9 year old kid who could have died were it not for the extra pounds he carried. The little porker was shot by a neighbor while they were doing some target practice. The bullet entered through the kid's side and passed through his body without hitting any major organs. His blubber saved him.

I don't see this article on a government website. What does the World Health Organization have to say about fat and friendly fire? Nothing, that's what.

I wonder the percentage of people whose lives are saved by their extra poundage. How many skinny people freeze to death on camping trips while their heavier friends survive? I have no idea because the government doesn't want me to know. The government doesn't want YOU to know. Richard Simmons doesn't want you to know either.

And if exercise is so good for us, why are people always injuring themselves when they do it? Pulled muscles, bad knees, back problems...These injuries don't occur when you sit on a couch. And yet I don't see any statistics about this either.

I smell a conspiracy.

I am now going to throw out my running shoes and fry up some bacon.