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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Obesity is the number one lifestyle contributor to Type II Diabetes. This is so well documented it's unbelievable you don't know it. But go here: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/#2
Research has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that Type II Diabetes can be delayed and even prevented by weight management.
Diabetes does not, as you claim, only SEEM more prevalent. It is more prevalent - world wide. And the increase is directly linked to rising obesity levels. It is particularly alarming to note the increases among children and adolescents - again, worldwide.
See: "The global spread of type 2 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents" by Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, M.D. and Philip Zeitler, M.D., Ph.D. The article appears in The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 146, Number 5 (May 2005), published by Elsevier.
Boy I'm getting sick of this. First of all, I'm a middle class white dude, so we get all the identity politics and gender issues out of the way.
Secondly, Ladies, men really don't like anorexics. Not white men, not black men, not asian men, not hispanic men. We don't. You look in your ladies magazines and you see concentration camp victims and you assume that's what straight men want. We don't. Straight men have almost no influence over the images that appear in women's magazines. That women-lothing job is done by women and gay men.
Straight men like women who look healthy, and have a big ass and tits. Doubt me? Look at porn, a body-centric media that straight men do influence. Look at Carmella Bing or Michelle B or Gianna Michaels. These are not thin women. They're fit, but they're not starving themselves. They also represent an ideal that appeals to a lot of straight guys. So does Buffie the Body.
who are most defensive about the facts regarding obesity are those that have weight problems themselves. They will ignore any and all scientific data in this regard. This is a fact.
Hi, I'm an anthropologist, and I can tell you a simple thing. Human society is a higher primate society, and as such falls within the patrilineal pattern found in the other ape groups. However, human females have something very important - mate choice. This means that ultimately, their main competition issues are for status amongst themselves , rather than for males. The latter will compete with each other for access to females, but otherwise male-male competition is low. I believe that most of the marketing aimed at [heterosexual] females in our society subconsciously appeals to their desire to acquire status markers. For instance, stick-thin models continue to appear at fashion shows as well as in films, adverts, etc, despite the oft-expressed preference of men from all ethnic and racial groups for somewhat curvy women. Clearly this is not a response to sexual cues, but to a different set of needs - status markers. Fatter standards happen to give the same or similar visual cues as those required by successful child-bearing and hence sexual success - but the randomness of fashion shows that these are not strong enough to always prevail. To recapitulate, women's fashion (including body styles) relates more to intra-sexual competition for status than to competition for mates. This competition is strong enough to overcome sexually-related signals going in the opposite direction, as well as those correlated with a superior state of health. Therefore, unhealthy high-status body styles will continue to exist unless the correlation of a different style with high status becomes apparent. Therefore, if you are concerned about women's health, send signals of status that reflect healthier bodies.
According to the Voice, Buffie "eats nothing but junk food and sugary drinks, and she doesn't work out.
Let's see Buffie in 20 years. Something tells me she won't be posing for any calendars. Hope she has a good health insurance plan.
The hubris of youth!
Debra Dickerson is not saying Buffie is not attractive.
She is saying "Recent press reports show why black women should be alarmed: More than half of us are obese -- 78 percent are considered overweight."
What's wrong with pointing this out? Shouldn't we be alarmed at these numbers?
"The Centers for Disease Control finds that rates of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature death are higher among black women, and when we get these diseases, we're sicker than white women."
She's merely pointing out the consequences of being overweight.
What's the problem?
"Womenshealth.gov reports that "compared with overweight white Americans, overweight black Americans are two to three times more likely to say their weight is average -- even after they've been told they are overweight or obese by a doctor (emphasis added). It's one thing not to "see" that you need to lose weight. It's quite another to reject that knowledge from the medical professional you sought out."
It seems to me that Dickerson is simply trying to point out that black women are more likely to be overweight and are less likely to admit it or do anything about it, in large part because of cultural factors, and that this combination of fact and factors is dangerous to their health, no matter how 'sexy' some people find the results.
Perhaps people are responding to this being a D. Dickerson article - she does seem to raise hackles. But she makes some good points. And Buffie, while undeniably sexy, is by self-admission living a life of junk food and no exercise - what is to celebrate in that? While her shape/proportions are certainly in part due to genetics, she is carrying around quite a bit of extra weight (especially if you look at the full catalogue of photos, including those not heavily air brushed and digitally enhanced). Maybe the extra weight for her (or others posting the fat-but-healthy fantastic) doesn't negatively impact her health now, while she is relatively young..but Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other weight-related maladies tend to be the result of the accumulation of bad habits + years. Many overweight people don't start suffering the consequences of their lifestyle choices until they are 50 or so.
I think that's all Dickerson was pointing out - our country is undeniably fatter and there are undeniable negative health consequences to that, and black women are being disproportionately negatively affected by these trends in part because of a misguided cultural approval to refrain from adopting healthier habits. Maybe I read it wrong, though.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
