Trifecta

Hello
The Crisis that has swept the nation has moved from the threats of our lives by terrorist attacks to threats on our dietary freedom. While some are arguing that those leading unhealthy lifestyle (as determined by body fat percentages) should be paying more taxes and higher deductibles, others are claiming that obesity isn't a choice and therefore not punishable. These contrasting opinions are forming a segregation between the "fat" and "thin" with little or skewed scientific evidence.


Recently Gary Taubes, writer for the New York Times, wrote an article entitled "Health Warning: Exercise Makes You Fat;" the exact statement those sitting on their couch eating McDonalds want to hear. This article encompasses the ideals, values, and current increasing CVD (cardiovascular disease) statics of the future. Modern research on obesity isn't guiding the public any better with it's tendency to promote the predisposition theory; obesity as a genetic disease a biological factor unrelated to lifestyle. Is there some evidence to these arguments on exercise and genetics or are these ideas being embraced in order to support a guilt free conscious while eating a 2,500 Cal snack at Wendy's? While adhering to these theories might decrease the feeling of guilt about that unhealthy snack allowing for better digestion, which may or may not effect the caloric intake, it is still apparent that those consistently waiting in line at Jack in the Box tend to have larger girth circumferences than those partaking in a veggie salad.

Working in health care has increased my exposure to the lack of knowledge of health circulating through the general public. After hearing excuse after excuse about family history, environmental issues, or any condition in which nobody seems to have any control over as a reason for their current seek in health care makes one a little insensitive to the fact that people are actually following the advice of Taubes. After 5 years of working in physical therapy, I have seen a clear distinction between those that practice proper body awareness and diet and those incapable of performing exercise and how this directly relates to their recovery, future accidents or health problems, and their return rate to physical therapy. It's time to put down the Cheetos, pick up the carrots, and check in with reality.

To support the aversion of Taubes and the likes I have dedicated time to seeking the disconnect between the fit and the obese. During the next few months I will be collecting exercise data from obese children high in risk for type II diabetes, heart disease, and possible fatalities. In attempts to discover: what is so difficult about working out and eating right? And in the meantime, continuing to research studies on the topic of weight loss, by those positively and actively knowledgeable on the subject contrary to those encouraging laziness and excuses for the overweight.

Future topics will include: determining body composition (techniques, fat percentages, and theories), health issues related to obesity, scientific and social theories on obesity, the biochemistry of diet and exercise, current events and politics of health and health care, and new discoveries related to obesity and fitness.



Profile

Retro pink, black, and grey polka dots clashing with a distorted Betty Crocker animation introduce the next Martha Stewart of weight-loss. As a career blogger Melting Mama (MM), also known as Beth, unclothes the real world of bariatric surgery. MM's stay-at-home-mom lifestyle attributes to her success in the blogoshpere, and the 30+ "body loving" advertisements framing her posts are helping to support her family of 6. MM writes with a straight forward outlook, which is apparent in her self-examination of her youthful choices: I attended an accelerated night program for adults at a local college and decided very quickly that I was not an adult, I was seventeen years old and quit when I found out I WAS actually an adult and pregnant. Yes, boys and girls, hindsight is, go to college and finish it, because it's very hard to do when you're 30. Without "formal education" MM's source of research comes from her personal struggles with weight loss and GI bypass surgery. Upon discovering and coping with low blood sugar and resulting epilepsy due to her surgery MM is dedicated to fiercely developing a career in weight control and health prevention, and is striving this goal by unlocking her cynicism on health standards. In comparison to my blog, MM presents a contrasting angle on the subject of weight loss that has the potential to facilitate a diverse prehension towards my research and research subjects. She does so by refining the struggles of extreme weight loss without the inevitable defensive excuses and pity-party tone. This voice is noticeable in the post titled Ch-ch-ch-changes where MM describes how she conquers her struggling inner voice in a comedic dialogue between her and herself. I can change. There's no reason I can't, frankly, I am just stubborn and lazy. it is EASY to just be lazy. Lazy is okay, but it shows on my ass. My fear is that I will continue to stay in this pattern of lackadaisical eating and movement and it will catch with me. "But, Beth, maybe your body wants to be this size?" No, It doesn't, because the moment I get serious about (Uh-oh! Impeding Susan Powter Moment!) eating, drinking, breathing, and moving, my body shrinks. But when I'm you know, la-dee dah, have a protein shake, have some pizza, have a salad, have a bar, have a, waffle? I gain fat. I'm not gaining muscle, I'm not gaining water, I'm not pregnant. I AM FAT. You get that? ... Even with statements such as "lazy is okay" my acquiescence with MM's context is due to her ability in identifying valuable research. In the post Weight Loss Surgery a Magic Bullet? MM references Sharon K. Farber, PhD to shine some light on the implications of bariatric suregery: There isn't any magic. What I have and what the bariatric surgeons have are tools for helping people who eat far too much to modulate their eating. These tools are not magic. The weight loss industry has always profited from people's desperation to lose weight. When Weight Loss Surgery is presented as the only viable solution for obestiy, as is so often the case, this preys upon the sense of desperation that so many obese people have. MM's choice in quotations are clearly understandable and generally-specific to reach the souls of many obese people. Hesitated appraisal is acknowledged due to her limited analysis and little or no description or inquiry about her research, which may or may not be a result of her lack of academia on the topic. On the other hand her posts acquire depth by providing opposing theories made by conflicting scientists', making her statements unbiased and objective. Another appealing aspect of MM's blog is that it provides a "safe house" for people considering bariatric surgery to learn about the first hand risks and contributions from a detailed and revealing person without exposing their identities to the judgmental eye (such as myself). Another MM post entitled "Who Says Americans Are Too Fat? Overselling the obesity epidemic isn't getting us anywhere. You can be big and healthy at the same time," is one of her more controversial blogs. The title suggests that MM is encouraging obesity/fatness, or applauding a new fad of the "healthy fat." She opens with brief evidence on the non-health-risk theory of obesity, as stated, It's hardly clear that there actually is an obesity epidemic, or that fat people are at greater risk of death than people of normal weight, or that weight loss-relentlessly promoted by public-health officials as the solution to America's weight problem- is an attainable goal at all. Her opening argument has the ability to drive readers of weight managed lifestyles or of any background in biology or physiology away. Enduring on she mentions US statistics and some fun-facts on obesity: A 2008 study out of Denmark found that patients with BMI indexes in the overweight and moderately obese categories who had been admitted to an ICU for heart failure did not have higher mortality rates than regular weight patients and actually fared better than underweight ones. Yay! It's good to be fat!... Wait-a-minute, why were these obese people having heart failure in the first place? Uhh... carrying on, MM recapitulates on the overly talked about issue of the failures of dieting... exciting, exciting. Well, the only readers that MM would have kept this far into the post are the ones standing on this line of reason (hint hint... the fat ones). And maybe these are the readers that she wants to capture... Because of her surprising conclusion: The problem with dieting is that it is focused on the elusive goal of weight loss. A promising new approach- shifts the emphasis from the body weight to overall health... Americans are fatter than ever, and that isn't healthy. But, hyping an obesity epidemic and stigmatizing people with big bellies hasn't made us any thinner and doesn't appear to have gotten us any healthier. The sooner we learn to look past the fat and focus on health, the sooner we will be able to effectively combat all the obesity-linked ailments we fear so much. This resolution is a new, effective, and comforting tactic; instead of scaring people into becoming healthy maybe trying to sell them on a lifestyle they are missing out on will have better results. She might make some daffy comments, but MM does make an effective case. Voice "NO CARBS! PROTEIN... PROTEIN!" would be the slogan from a demonstration led by Jimmy Moore. While Livin La-Vida Low Carb, Jimmy strives to debunk the anit-Atkins diet movement, by supplying evidence of his personal success of weight loss via The Adkins Diet, as written in "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." Through his transformation Jimmy inspires his readers by making a declaration to never being able to fit into these pants again (------->) Jimmy's success in the weight loss industry can be attributed to his humorous self-empowering voice, illustrated in a confession written in the post A Crazed Reader: What's With Your Obsession With This Fad' Low Carb Diet?: My "obsession" with livin' la vida low-carb did not encourage me to "be even lazier." What it did was free me from the bondage of thinking that the only way I could eat to be healthy was a nasty low-fat, low-calorie diet. If that works for you, then I'm happy you found a plan that enables you to find enjoyment and satisfaction consuming a vegetarian diet... But eating like that would not be sustainable for people like me and a large majority of my readers because we would be miserable. Low-carb living has given us a long-term solution to our weight and health problems. Cheer! Cheer! Jimmy's response gives the impression that he was a motivational speaker in a past life. His usage of positive conventional terms like "long-term solution" and precarious descriptions such as "bondage" excites and provokes his audience. Thus leaving the reader feeling energized and wanting more! In a recent blog titled: "We Don't Have A Health Care Crisis In America; We Have a Preventative Disease Epidemic That Low-Carb Can Cure" Jimmy uses the irony of the "health care reform" movement as humor to support his theory on individualized health care, as captured below: And States: Although a segment of the population believes in the libertarian principle that they should be able to eat and drink however they choose to without anyone telling them differently, the reality is those are the very people who have rationalized that their actions aren’t really harming anyone but themselves. The wittiness in Jimmy's reply is established by using the the same principle (libertarian principle) that the people he is arguing against use to exploit their hypocrisy. His word choice of "the reality" further describes how out of touch with reality these people are. And incase his point went over your head, Jimmy breaks it down in the posts closing argument, You have a right to choose NOT to eat healthy, but you do not have a right to expect others to pay for your declining health that is sure to come as a result. Is it asking too much for people to be more responsible for their individual choices? The emphasized "NOT" appears frequently in descriptions of eating healthy as oppose to NOT eating healthy. His caps lock choice might be a way of saying there is no argument to what is healthy and what is NOT healthy; there is a distinct factual line, which is unarguable and should be recognized. To finish his argument Jimmy uses a reflective question, possible as a tactic for encouraging others to comment or as a foreshadow of blogs to come. Either way, it keeps the reader engaged and questioning. As a devout Atkins' dieter, Jimmy enjoys his meat, and sees nothing wrong with that! In another post titled: Fun-Filled Friday: Christine Sick, Vegan Humor, Mercy For Animals, Turkey Roll, Cell Phone Karma, And Funerals Jimmy abruptly points out a relationships between anti-abortionists and animal rights activists. After showing a video about the slaughtering methods of baby chickens, he declares: It’s amazing how much concern is dramatized in this video about the “pain” there is with these chickens and yet you never hear the vegans expressing the same kind of outrage at the genuine pain and "killing" that happens with the life of an unborn baby during an abortion. There's such a double standard with this issue that you can't help but notice the hypocrisy. This is one way of putting it...? After watching the 5 min video, of the standard procedure of chicken harvesting with minimal voice over describing the events occurring, one would hardly call it "dramatizing." Jimmy seems to be the dramatic one when it comes to this issue. Although his analogy has some validity he uses the harsh words such as: pain, killing, and outrage, to get his point across. His opinion is voiced by using the vague word "pain" when describing the actions taking place on the chickens as oppose to the gruesomely descriptive word "killing" to describe the happenings of an abortion. I also enjoy his choice of establishing an article before the word vegans; "the vegans" as in "the gays" or "the blacks," further questioning his motive. Is he just fighting for a world of healthy eating consisting of meat, or a world of conformed politics where everyone eats chickens and has 16 children? With scattered thoughts and opinions all supposing to revolved around health, it is hard to say if Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low-Carb lifestyle is worth adhering to. One thing is apparent: Jimmy is successful at capitalizing on his pre-obesity bad judgments and Dr. Atkin's diet plan.

Body Composition Analysis

In a world full exemptions following or knowing the standard can be difficult. Particularly when it comes to dealing with weight or health, it seems that the exemptions have become the rule. For example, amongst those exempted people it's often the case that a gland disorder or muscular density is to blame for excess weight and the healthy weight guideline is either ignored or unknown. We all know that the US has the highest percentage of obesity IN THE WORLD, and still there is confusion about weight classification and how it pertains to health. It's not to say that this is to blame solely on the individual, but there definitely seems to be a disconnect between weight/health standards and acknowledging ones classification. So, lets break it down.

The most general tool in identifying weight class is the concept of BMI (body mass index). This is a simple classification that uses the variables of height and weight:

BMI= weight(Kg)/ height(m) x height(m), and the result can be identified in a weight category. For a general rule BMI is useful, the most complaints with BMI is that it doesn't take into account frame size or muscle abundance. So for example athletes are often placed in the overweight or obese category, because muscle does weigh more than fat. BUT, this exemption is for the elite athlete and should not to be used freely.

A more concrete tool for understanding weight class and body composition is body fat percentage. There are 3 main mechanisms for calculating fat percentage: bioelectrical impedance, hydrostatic weighing, and skinfold. Because all 3 of these procedures require specific equipment most people are unable to use this mechanism, and therefor make assumptions of having lower fat percentages and concluding to have higher muscle mass which thus leads to their excess weight. Also, there are slight discrepancies between procedures which can vary the fat percentage by 2-4%. BUT, I think it's safe to say that if you are in the 40% body fat range a variation of 4% makes little different.

The most useful and realistic tool for identifying body composition is a mechanism taught and honed by Dr Girandola; the mirror test. The procedure is as follows: walk up to a mirror, face it frontwards, sideways, and any other angle, and if you look fat... then you probable are. This is not to be insensitive, but the reality of assessing the body comes from the individual and cannot depend on books, taxonomy's, or theories.

Therefore, by applying and taking averages of these tests and mechanisms it should be relatively easy for someone to identify their weight class. So why are people still so confused?

...

The US has a high concentration of scientific research that are accompanied by many theories about weightloss and health. So, it is difficult to assess ones own health class or the standard with all the exemptions that are not easily detected. What is comes down to is that if you are healthy then you are probably at a normal weight range. Determining health is a simpler approach than trying to analyze weight standards. An easy way would be getting a physical, blood test, or observing your illness rate, energy level, and cardiovascular endurance.

The Voice of Jimmy Moore

Jimmy Moore's blog is an attempt to debunk the anit-Atkins diet movement. He does so by supplying evidence of his personal success of weight loss via The Adkins Diet, as written in "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" book. Where he discovers the low carb way of life as a philosophy for better health. Through his transformation, Jimmy has not only analyzed the health care crisis as a result of personal "bad lifestyle choices in which individuals should be penalized for, but he has also made a living selling books, you-tubing, and blogging on his experiences.

In a recent blog titled: "We Don't Have A Health Care Crisis In America; We Have a Preventative Disease Epidemic That Low-Carb Can Cure" Jimmy uses the irony of the "health care reform" movement as humor to support his theory on individualized health care:

And states:

Although a segment of the
population believes in the libertarian principle that they should be able to eat and drink however they choose to without anyone telling them differently, the reality is those are
the very people who have rationalized that their actions aren’t really harming anyone but themselves.

The wittiness in Jimmy's reply is established by using the the same principle (libertarian principle) that the people he is arguing against use to exploit their hypocrisy. His word choice of "the reality" further describes how out of touch with the reality these people are. The posts closing argument states:

You have a right to choose NOT to eat healthy, but you do not have a right to expect others to pay for your declining health that is sure to come as a result. Is it asking too much for people to be more responsible for their individual choices?

Jimmy chooses to emphasize the word "NOT" in many other sentences that describe eating healthy as oppose to NOT eating healthy. His caps lock choice might be a way of saying there is no argument to what is healthy and what is NOT healthy; there is a distinct factual line between healthy and unhealthy which is unarguable and should be recognized. He then ends with a reflective question instead of a statement. This could be a tactic for encouraging others to comment, or as a foreshadow of blogs to come. Either way, it keeps the reader engaged and questioning.

As a devout Atkins' dieter, Jimmy enjoys his meat. And sees nothing wrong with that! In another post titled: Fun-Filled Friday: Christine Sick, Vegan Humor, Mercy For Animals, Turkey Roll, Cell Phone Karma, And Funerals Jimmy abruptly points out a relationships between anti-abortionists and animal rights activists. After showing a video about the slaughtering methods of baby chickens, he declares:

It’s amazing how much concern is dramatized in this video about the “pain” there is with these chickens and yet you never hear the vegans expressing the same kind of outrage at the genuine pain and "killing" that happens with the life of an unborn baby during an
abortion. There's such a double standard with this issue that you ca't help but notice the hypocrisy.

This is one way of putting it...?

After watching the 5 min video, of the standard procedure of chicken harvesting with minimal voice over describing the events occurring, one would hardly call it "dramatizing." Jimmy seems to be the dramatic one when it comes to this issue. Although his analogy has some validity he uses the harsh words such as: pain, killing, and outrage, to get his point across. His opinion is voiced by using the word "pain" when describing the actions taking place on the chickens as oppose to the word "killing" to describe the happenings of an abortion. I also enjoy his choice of putting an article before the word vegans; "the vegans" as in "the gays" or "the blacks," further questioning his motive. Is he just fighting for a world of healthy eating consisting of meat, or a world of conformed politics where everyone eats chickens and has 16 children?

With his scattered thoughts and opinions, all supposing to revolved around health it is hard to say if Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low-Carb lifestyle is worth adhering to. Regardless of motive Jimmy is successful at capitalizing on his pre-obesity bad judgements and Dr. Atkin's diet plan.