If I had actually said anywhere that fat people are lazy or disgusting, that would certainly be wrong.

I think, though, what I've been saying is that fat is unhealthy, we are getting fatter, and that the health consequences are going to be serious. But, that is construed as being shrill, as humiliating or shaming people. There seems to be an automatic defensive response - how dare you say that anyone is fat, how dare you imply that being fat is unhealthy! Go away! You're not helping!

This is a public health problem, and it's going to require commitment on the part of politicians, public health professionals, parents, educators, food producers, and all other citizens to get a handle on it. And it's going to cost money. Education is critical, of course, just as it was in helping people to be aware of how AIDS is transmitted, and how transmission can be prevented. It's got to start at the earliest levels. Physical education needs to be put back in the schools, and we need to get rid of the soda and snack machines. Parents need to provide their children with healthy meals, and families need to exercise together. It has to be a commitment on a national scale. But, we've got a lot of other probles we're dealing with right now - public health is kind of far down the list (unless it's an infectious disease - we're pretty good at dealing with those.)

Have I persuaded anyone to lose weight? Well, I persuaded myself. The number on the scale kept going up, and I WAS in complete denial about why that was happening. Day after day, I was presented with the evidence that I was getting chubbier, but I didn't do anything to change it. I finally realized, to borrow a saying from Al Anon, that "nothing changes if nothing changes." I signed up for Weight Watchers (I'm not promoting this at all - it's just what I chose). I learned what a portion size is. I learned how many calories I could consume to maintain my weight, and how many to cut out to lose weight. I started to walk several times a week. I was out-of-my mind hungry for a long time. It was very hard. But, I started to lose weight. I ended up losing 20 pounds. That was three years ago. I have put back on 6 of those pounds, and am trying to lose them again. Is it a struggle to maintain? You betcha. At age 45, none of this is effortless anymore. It takes thought, planning and willpower (which is often in short supply).

I'm no saint. I know how hard this is.

Like Jeanette D., I persuaded *myself* to lose weight. I topped out at a cool 149, and on my frame that's BIG. I have little bird bones so I didn't carry it very well at all. Finally after purchasing a size 11 pair of jeans I decided enough was enough. I joined the gym through work (discount as part of employee bennies) and stopped eating so much crap. I dropped down to 129 in a little over a year. I'd love to shave off another 5 from where I am now, but mostly I'd like to be more toned and fit rather than physically smaller.

What absolutely baffles me is how people can eat heavy, fatty, food all the time and go about their business as usual. I can tell the next day (sometimes within the hour, if I've eaten something like fast food, which makes me fall asleep at my desk) just how bad for me a given meal was. For example, on Tuesday night I ate whole wheat pasta shells with veggies and some diced sausage tossed with tomato sauce. The next day I went for a 2.5 mile run and felt great. That night I ate Chinese takeout and my run yesterday had me gasping for air the whole time and my leg muscles nearly giving out before I was halfway done.

Don't people who eat badly just feel sluggish and sick and tired *all the time*? Why would you do that to yourself if it makes you feels so bad, or do people just not realize that it's the food making them feel like that because that's the only kind of food they eat and they've never felt the difference?

I know I probably come off as all smug and what-have-you, but this just really astonishes me. Why would you be content to live your life like that?

Also, in answer to a few 'what do you propose we do about it' regarding getting people to lose weight (although, see above, it can be done with out too much hardship at least for some), I think the real answer to that is "don't gain it in the first place" and that's where all the directives regarding eating well and keeping active are pointing. It's a lot easier to stay slender when you start out that way than it is when you have to lose all the weight and keep it off.

“I can tell the next day (sometimes within the hour, if I've eaten something like fast food, which makes me fall asleep at my desk) just how bad for me a given meal was.”

I never eat fast food! You are so gross for ingesting it! No wonder you’re still fat. You’ll never loose that last 5 lbs ingesting that crap even occasionally. And let’s face it – you should probably loose 10. You must have no self control. I’ll bet you’re lazy too. Maybe a stair master and some therapy would help you. Even at my fattest I was skinner then you are now!

That feel nice? I’ll bet not. So how come you dish it out like that to other people? You think you are the only one on the planet with feelings and hardship and a million things going on?

You do come off as smug and it’s wildly unattractive no matter how great you look on the outside.

Cheers.