Delusional

I'm sure most people have heard of or read about Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. Although I haven't seen the film, the documentary follows a man's attempts to eat nothing but McDonalds for an entire month. The other interesting twist is that he always says "yes" when asked if he'd like to "Super Size" his meal. Just about anyone can predict the outcome.

What surprises me more than the outcome of the documentary is the distorted self-image of many U.S. Americans. Most people, even when overweight, don't see themselves as such. In fact, 6 of 10 overweight folk believe they're at a healthy weight. Take this blogger, for example.
He talks as if 5' 9" and 170-175 pounds is a reasonable weight (his post inspired this rant, by the way). Are you kidding me?! Sorry David, but that's well outside the range of healthy. Unless you're some kind of ripped body builder, you probably need to shed at least 10 pounds.

And this, I think, is the more important idea to take away from Super Size Me. As U.S. Americans, we have a horribley distorted view of what it means to be fit and healthy. Most people don't eat fast food for every meal. They do, however, overeat at almost every meal. Even if we're not at McDonalds, we treat ourselves to super sized portions. Additionally, most American's don't get nearly enough exercise. The National Academies' Institute of Medicine recommends one hour of cummulative exercise EACH DAY. Those of us who manage to meet the one hour exercise minimum and eat reasonably rarely have to concern ourselves with weight issues.

For the last seven years, I've been a vegetarian. Naturally, my fat and calorie intake is pretty low. I also exercise for about an hour each day, 40 minutes of which is running or swimming. For the last seven years, my weight hasn't fluctuated more than 5 lbs. At 5' 9", my weight has stayed within the 137-142 lb range. For most of that period my weight has stayed between 138-140. Granted, I'm at the low end of the Body Mass Index.

If people had a more realistic notion regarding eating right and exercise, we wouldn't need films like Super Size Me to tell us we're a bunch of lazy gluttons.

For a really good laugh, read the comments on the linked blog. Check out all the people trying to dismiss the negative effects of smoking and passive smoke. As a smoker who presently isn't smoking (I can't begin to explain how much I freaking miss cigarettes), I'll be the first to admit smoking is the root of many health evils. If you're going to smoke, drop the denial gig and admit you're risking serious health issues (and exposing others to those risks, too). Even when I was smoking, I was crystal clear about what I was doing to myself. It's a choice, and a choice that will probably lead to negative health consequences.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.