Obesity in America
Knitting content next time; today I've got something else on my mind.
For starters, click here for a lovely picture of Americans pursuing an American hobby, courtesy of James Lileks.
In a not-unrelated fashion, Erin, at Lose the Buddha, is reporting on her interview on Good Morning America -- she was discussing weight-loss blogs (hers is one of my favorites).
And it was this morning, waiting with my child for his school bus, that one of the neighborhood children was saying that he was glad his new teacher wasn't the awful one who's "this big" -- size here being shown by wide outstretched arms. Nearby guardian adult immediately told him he shouldn't say things like that -- "at least not where she can hear you."
It was an uneasy moment for our little family, as I am now a medium sized active woman, but a few years ago was an obese, sedentary woman. My weight-loss process (it was 100 pounds) made a big impression on my child, who saw his mother change so drastically. He thinks a lot about the issue of weight in America. I think my boy was worried that I might be upset by the child's remark, and I was disturbed, but not for the reasons he would imagine -- I didn't take it personally (since the neighbor child, though he knew me when I was obese, didn't know me well, was very young anyway, and doesn't remember). But though I didn't take the remark personally, I have a lot of empathy for the teacher the child described. Experience tells me that she's probably not very happy with her condition. But she has a lot of company.
It isn't just media hype, that America is in trouble with weight. If you spend time someplace else -- in, oh, Europe, for instance -- and then come home, you can't not notice that there are a lot more large -- and often very large -- people here than in Germany, France, even England, though the English might be catching up with us. I go to visit cousins in Norway, and I don't think I've ever seen an obese person in Norway. They keep their skis by the door, for one thing. They say "we will go for a little walk. It is a little walk, it will not take long," and you go off with them, and three hours later you're still walking, and they're saying, "it is just a little way now, it will not be far," and they can't understand why you can't keep up.
Next time, though -- next time I go, I'm keeping up. I'm not an athlete, but I try to move all I can. I pay attention to what I'm eating. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.
(Oh, and case you're interested, how did I do it? I ate healthy food in moderation, making sure to enjoy occasional treats, and started -- for the first time in my life -- getting regular exercise: morning walk, weight-lifting twice a week, yoga. What do I do now? Same thing. That's all. I changed my life. That's all. But I don't believe that anything else will work, not in the long run.)
But as I say, knitting next time.
For starters, click here for a lovely picture of Americans pursuing an American hobby, courtesy of James Lileks.
In a not-unrelated fashion, Erin, at Lose the Buddha, is reporting on her interview on Good Morning America -- she was discussing weight-loss blogs (hers is one of my favorites).
And it was this morning, waiting with my child for his school bus, that one of the neighborhood children was saying that he was glad his new teacher wasn't the awful one who's "this big" -- size here being shown by wide outstretched arms. Nearby guardian adult immediately told him he shouldn't say things like that -- "at least not where she can hear you."
It was an uneasy moment for our little family, as I am now a medium sized active woman, but a few years ago was an obese, sedentary woman. My weight-loss process (it was 100 pounds) made a big impression on my child, who saw his mother change so drastically. He thinks a lot about the issue of weight in America. I think my boy was worried that I might be upset by the child's remark, and I was disturbed, but not for the reasons he would imagine -- I didn't take it personally (since the neighbor child, though he knew me when I was obese, didn't know me well, was very young anyway, and doesn't remember). But though I didn't take the remark personally, I have a lot of empathy for the teacher the child described. Experience tells me that she's probably not very happy with her condition. But she has a lot of company.
It isn't just media hype, that America is in trouble with weight. If you spend time someplace else -- in, oh, Europe, for instance -- and then come home, you can't not notice that there are a lot more large -- and often very large -- people here than in Germany, France, even England, though the English might be catching up with us. I go to visit cousins in Norway, and I don't think I've ever seen an obese person in Norway. They keep their skis by the door, for one thing. They say "we will go for a little walk. It is a little walk, it will not take long," and you go off with them, and three hours later you're still walking, and they're saying, "it is just a little way now, it will not be far," and they can't understand why you can't keep up.
Next time, though -- next time I go, I'm keeping up. I'm not an athlete, but I try to move all I can. I pay attention to what I'm eating. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.
(Oh, and case you're interested, how did I do it? I ate healthy food in moderation, making sure to enjoy occasional treats, and started -- for the first time in my life -- getting regular exercise: morning walk, weight-lifting twice a week, yoga. What do I do now? Same thing. That's all. I changed my life. That's all. But I don't believe that anything else will work, not in the long run.)
But as I say, knitting next time.
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