Back After Long Absence
Well, started to visit new forums and I spent an excessive amount of time on a post that I feel should be shared wherever just to help recoup the amount of wasted effort that was put into it. I wrote this post in response to a woman that wanted a reason why she should try to lose weight:
The concern isn’t about the weight. It’s that if someone is overweight it’s a strong indication that they’re not being very physically active in their life and/or not maintaining a good diet. Extra energy, an upbeat attitude/more positive outlook on life, greater ability to concentrate, increased productivity are the reasons to be exercising and eating nutritionally; the weight loss is one of the less compelling reasons to try and stay healthy. That a person also gets a better self-image, more self-confidence, and a generally more attractive figure are just perks that come along with the experience.
With the knowledge that there do exist people that stay thin while being less active and simultaneously indulging in lots of junk food seems to have caused a misdirection as to what the problem is. Because of their appearance they tend to receive less public criticism and it has led to the misconception held by many overweight people that the goal is to be thin to avoid criticism and it obscures the real objective. That knowledge also tends to foster a feeling of resentment towards people that don’t have to work to stay thin and a feeling of victimization in overweight people for having been subjected to extra public scrutiny for their lifestyle based entirely on an inference made by a stranger from examining their physical appearance.
Truth be told however, being overweight does tend to be an indication that a person is being more sedentary and possibly over-eating, or eating less nutritional diets, than they should to remain healthy. But this is true for much more Americans than just the overweight ones. A person being thin is not an indication that they are healthy or living a healthy lifestyle.
There also seems to be another misconception floating around. Overweight people seem to be jumping to a conclusion that a person that can eat all they want, be sedentary, and consequentially not get overweight is normal and considered fortunate. But because humans store fat as energy reserves, in my opinion, based on our historical background it means the people storing excess fat more efficiently are the ones that in the past were considered the fortunate ones. Prior to being an agrarian race humans were hunter/gatherers and prior to being hunter/gatherers they were scavengers. Humans that lived as hunter/gatherers or scavengers would have most likely gone through extended periods without food and with a necessity to be able to preserve energy in times when food was not available. Our species would devote the majority of our waking hours in the pursuit of food just to maintain an existence.
Jump forward present day and in developed countries we are people of convenience opting to drive a car to a destination only a few miles away and frequently choosing to eat inexpensive and quickly prepared food which tend to have more calories and less nutritional value. Food is also easily procured and it provides the added dimension that people inadvertently choose to eat larger portions and forget, realistically, what an adequate amount of food is to have at a meal.
kenjitamurako90 