Fun Fact #28: I'd be humilated...

I was watching the news this morning at the gym and there was a report on the obesity epidemic. That in itself is nothing exciting, there's always a report on how Americans are eating themselves to death. This report used the typical footage of obese people walking around and eating, and, as usual, the footage avoided showing their faces to preserve their identity. But people can still recognize themselves and others without seeing a face.

Footage like is always on and I realized that there must be people that are innocently watching the news and then they see an image of their body being shown the represent someone who is morbidly obese. Can you imagine how horrifically depressing that would be?

I'm sure this has happened to quite a few individuals and I actually feel really badly for them. I wonder what their reaction would be?

I googled the term obese to find pictures to go with this post and realized that people could also come across pictures of themselves that way too. I just cannot even fathom what it would feel like to see your body alongside some medical article about obesity. I think I'd be totally and utterly humiliated.

These people must know that they're overweight, but I just don't think they'd be thrilled being with their "anonymous" image being broadcasted during a CNN report on America's gluttony.

Fun Fact #18: I'm neither obsessed nor overly judgmental of obese individuals

I want to address my apparent "obsession" with obesity and my seemingly severe judgments of those who struggle with it. This blog is just meant to be a way to communicate with people I don't talk to that much anymore (at least relative to when I lived on the West Coast) and that I see even less. I just write about whatever is on my mind, no matter how stupid or inane it may be. And what is on my mind is often influenced by things that stand out for me...whatever they may be.


Pittsburgh is not a healthy city. People don't work out as much as they do in other places I've lived and finding healthy food can sometimes be a relatively big ordeal. They even put French fries on their grilled chicken salads, I feel as though that fact alone says a lot about the city. Therefore, as one may guess, I've seen a lot of obese people here. More than I've ever seen before and it's a sad sight. I fully realize that some people are obese due to medical problems or other issues beyond their control, but the vast majority aren't. Most people are obese due to their own personal choices, and I don't feel guilty for writing down my reaction to them here. And remember, when I say obese I mean obese, I'm not just using the word as an exaggerated substitute for heavyset or chunky.

The cities that I've lived in on the West Coast, for better or worse, are big on health issues and physical fitness seems to be more of a priority there. Sometimes it's taken to a dangerous extreme and people diet themselves into skeletons. If I were in LA right now, I'd probably be writing about all the disturbingly thin people that I see on a daily basis. Obese people inevitably stand out in a crowd, and therefore I write about them, since I write about things I notice.

I personally believe that physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle are exceptionally important, but I would have noticed the same things that I now notice in obese people even before my health kick. When people are so heavy that they need a scooter to get around or they take up two seats on an airplane, people will notice them and judge them. I see that as inevitable, and whether or not that's a good thing can be left up for debate.

Plus, I'm a judgmental person. I always have been. I'm not going to pretend that something doesn't bother me when it does. Obesity is something that I fully admit to judging harshly, but that's because I believe it is, in most cases, the result of poor personal decisions. I also admit that out society is one that makes junk food far more accessible and far cheaper for the majority of people than healthy food. Numerous people have heard my "fun fact" that a Twinkie is cheaper to produce than a carrot. And while that's definitely a large part of the obesity epidemic, I believe, that in the end, individuals still choose what they put in their mouths. Society has obviously contributed to the problem, but all the blame cannot lay squarely on its shoulders.

Fun Fact #11: "It's a Small World" is too small for this world

It's no secret that Americans are becoming more and more obese, it seems as though every day a new study is released proclaiming how dangerously fat Americans are becoming. But this article just struck me as especially sad because it declares Americans are too fat for one of my favorite childhood rides.

I chose this picture because it was the first one that popped up when I googled it and because I loved the stylish outfit that the couple in the center of the boat are wearing. I'm especially a huge fan of their matching hats (click on the picture to see them in all their glory), which I chose to include it even though it's obviously dated

"It's a Small World" was built in the 1970s (when Americans were lighter), and now Americans have become so heavy that the boats can't deal with extra weight and get stuck:

The Small World ride now must accommodate adults who frequently weigh north of 200 pounds, which it often cannot do. Increasingly, overweighted boats get to certain points in the ride and bottom out, becoming stuck in the flume.

The ride monitors attempt to leave empty seats on many boats to compensate for the hefty, but this routinely antagonizes the hundreds of paying customers waiting in line. When a boat does bottom out, a long line of other boats backs up behind it, their passengers slowly going mad from listening to the ride's theme song.

The ride monitors must then track down the stuck boat and attempt tactfully to help a rider or two to exit at one of the emergency platforms, which the riders in question do not always deal with graciously

The visual imagery this quote provides is just kinda sad, can you imagine being asked to get out off a ride because your extra weight caused the boat to get stuck? How awkward would that be? I've been to Disneyland countless times and "It's a Small World" has often stopped but I always thought the ride had just stalled for mechanical reason. I once saw some a heavyset couple getting off a boat when the ride had stalled, but I never realized that it was because they were causing their boat to sink and therefore delay the whole ride.

This article also totally reminded when Space Mountain was stopped when my family and I were on it It happened because a car with a lot of heavy people had gained too much momentum and was going too fast, it was about to hit a lighter car in front of them when the ride was stopped. All the lights were turned on, and I can promise that the ride is far scarier when it's lit because you realize how close the beams are to your head.