Letters to the Editor
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just because you've always been skinny, don't think you can't get fat.
this is an often overlooked factor, it used to be thought that if you make it to middle age in good shape you didn't have to worry. We now know that isn't true, most people slow down as they age and it turns out that most thin healthy 50 year olds eventually get fat if they live long enough. It takes a real conscious effort for most people to properly manage their weight.
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is it okay to be fat if you have a drug pass
This is a bizarre thing. People begging the court to forgive them. They strive to lose weight. They are 20 pounds from goal! They have drug side effects. Don't lump them in with the others, who are the unclean and should be whipped.
It's like people are confessing to a Priest. Or the judge, trying to get off parole. Maybe we should issue a patch for people to wear who are really trying to make healthy choices or are on government approved drugs so they will be easier to pick out and pay less. Maybe they can pin their stories on their shirts so you'll know they are clean, morally upright folks that aren't okay to hate.
"Research shows it's only getting worse..." The question is: Why is it only getting worse for white women? Why does being fat have no effect on the pay of any other group.
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Why does being fat have no effect on the pay of any other group.
the proposed explanation, and I think there is a lot to support this, is that because only white women receive an economically and statistically measurable premium for looking good, the absence of this premium is only visible in them.
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@ LaurieNY
You are completely right when you say that some drugs can make you gain weight without eating more, just as some stages of life can cause a natural weight gain. For instance our bones and teeth are still growing until about ages 25-28, and our bodies burn calories to grow those teeth and bones. When that process stops, if we still eat the same amount and types of food, we will gain weight. I have read that it is usually between 5-10 pounds.
In her first book The Schwartzbein Principle endocrinologist Diana Schwarzbein discusses how the horomone system in the body regulates weight. Anything that disrupts that system can cause weight gain. She also explains why vegetarians and even vegans can have weight problems and discusses the perils of crash dieting and how it can absolutely ruin a person's metabolism.
Medications influence our horomones. For instance, stimulant use can mess up our metabolism. Common stimulants are coffee, tea, and nicotine. Moderation is a good thing. For example, I knew a girl who had done lots of stimulants of the illegal variety as a teenager. She did meth and cocaine. She got into a program and managed to kick meth and cocaine -- no small task -- but she became depressed and had a mild psychosis (if psychosis can ever be considered mild!) and so she was prescribed legal drugs for the depression and psychosis. She went from being a 5'8" person who weighed 130 pounds to gaining a whopping 150 pounds in less than a year. She had been in an inhouse treatment program where she was fed the government required meal of things like corndogs, tater tots, and iceberg lettuce. All of these things contributed.
Naturally, she was diagnosed schizoaffective, because to take these drugs, one must have a diagnosis. As a result of the weight gain, she developed joint problems. A structural abnormality to her back that probably would never have given her problems was exacerbated by the weight gain. She was encouraged to apply for Social Security for the disabled. During the process -- which can take a long time -- she discovered the sustenance of alcohol from a fellow rehab person -- and became a near alcoholic. At last she got her SSI because it was clear she could barely move, let alone lift, sit for prolonged periods, or sit in a standard sized chair. Now, at nineteen she was really trapped. For a pittance a month, she must never work more than 20 hours a week or make more than $500 dollars a month or risk losing all medical benefits, all psychiatric care, her housing and her welfare payments as well as the SSI income. Last I saw her, she was miserable, absolutely miserable, and very depressed about her weight. She was an extremely pretty girl and had actually done some modeling at one time.
Too bad. Shit happens.
What got this snowball turning? All she can understand is that her parents had a contentious divorce when she was 14 and she turned to drugs of deal with the fallout.
You want to know the real kicker: I don't think she was actually schizoaffective. I think she coulda had a life.
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The reason why we must blame people for being fat . . .
is that we must blame people for something. We cannot pick on the mentally retarded anymore. It's bad form. We can't vilify other people's religions, because people are supposed to have freedom of religion and we don't want them to make fun of ours. (Making fun of religion can be a hilarious pass time as science advances and faith recedes.) We can't serve up racial slurs, because we don't want to be seen as racist (even if we secretly are). We can't attack women just because they are women (one of them might actually fire us!). We now better understand the causes of homelessness (those PTSD vets!). The Islamofascists are too far away to give us any real satisfaction but we can support the war -- or at least abhor burkas. That doesn't leave a whole lot of people. Genuinely crazy people have diagnoses and medications and a physiological cause of their illness, but by God, we can still pick on a narcissist here and there (and everywhere ;) -- but especially those people who ask advice in Cary Tennis' column). For God's sake who can a decent liberal pretender pick on anymore. Oh yeah, I got it!!!!!!!! There's still those fat people. Shhh.... don't tell anyone however, but you must be very careful not to pick on black or Hispanic fat people because then you could be falling into stereotype. Damn it who's left, or rather I mean who is right for a left person to pick on?
Bare your back fatso white bitch!!! I wanna give you a few lashes!
Don't make up any excuses now. We are fed up with excuses because we have hardly anyone left to pick on and, after all, it's for your own good. It's for your health and the health of the nation and the economy stupid.
Is that the opening bars of the "Star-Spangled Banner" I hear? Please forgive my rant. I must go and stand at attention with my hand over my heart.