OBESITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Obese People Have Shorter, Less Healthy Lives

A study from Columbia University in New York has linked weight to longevity and quality of life. Obese men and women will decrease their life span by 3 years (quality of life is compromised for many years before death). They also found overweight and obese people have more mental and physical medical issues than normal weight people.

In the US, 136 million people are overweight or obese (there are about 300 million US residents). According to the research, an obese 30 year old has the same physical problems as someone 20 years older.

While dieting and exercise programs would help, most adults won’t commit to the time and effort these programs demand for success. The best prevention is to educate young children about healthy food choices and get them active. Like most behavioral issues, adult role modeling during the early ages will significantly impact decisions made later.

Schools may have a role to play in controlling weight and promoting fun physical activities but it is the parents and the life choices made at home that will ultimately determine the child’s well-being. Starting young is the right answer.

It is too hard for adults to change lifelong habits that are counter-productive to quality health. Even the body rebels at physical changes by controlling our metabolic set point and natural chemicals (like endorphins) that allows us to feel good about ourselves. Hence, the yo-yo effect of dieting.

Medicine will most likely figure out new ways to increase longevity. The problem is quality of life. What is gained by living a longer life in a state of health that requires constant professional care? Physical fitness has been tied to mental fitness, so the obese person won’t even be able to enjoy reading or watching TV in the years before they die. When we think of life, we think about things we enjoy doing and caring for ourselves. A definition of good health would have to include the person’s ability to say “yes or no.”

Finally, there is no question that overweight and obese people are disdained in our culture and treated with prejudice. Young children that don’t fit the profile of American youth are in for a very long school year. It doesn’t take too much bullying to completely wipe out the fibers of self-esteem.

Need Cash? Tell the US Government You Are a Farmer!

As the workplace struggles to pay employees a decent wage, the US Government is spending billions to farmers not to work. The US minimum wage pays a person just under $11,000 per year, well below the line of poverty. So as government officials work to eliminate individual welfare, government subsidies in agriculture has paid an average of $14.4 billion a year to farmers not to work. It would make more sense to allow farmers to grow crops and use the $14.4 billion to improve wages of non-farmers.

Considering that fuel alternatives such as E85 are in demand and in short supply, it seems counter-productive to pay farmers not to grow corn. But, that’s why we pay our Congressman hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to make these kinds of decisions.

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