"4-Year-Olds In Ohio State-Temple University Study Are Wildly Overweight"

[BlooInBloo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/06/child-obesity-study-one-i_n_183790.html

"CHICAGO — A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age.

Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites.

The lead author said that rate is worrisome among children so young, even in a population at higher risk for obesity because of other health problems and economic disadvantages."




I have learned from DU that it's never within anybody's power to prevent or reduce obesity. It's nothing but genes.

It's a pity, because we are clearly completely and utterly powerless to stop it from overtaking the entire country. C'est la vie.


EDIT: Added chart from article.

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Clearly indexed to socio-economic class

The silly "genes" argument is mostly just used by obese people to avoid responsibility for their own behavior. Yes, I said it, and it's true.

But this is legitimate. Obesity affects these sub-groups more acutely for economic and cultural reasons. This is the other side of malnutrition.

[BlooInBloo]

4. It would be truly amazing if "fat genes" magically knew how to pick out poor folks, wouldn't it?

:rofl:

[Stephanie]

5. It's both >

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1813984,00.html

You're a native-American baby born into the Oglala Sioux tribe, living on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. There are a lot of things that are going to make life a challenge for you, but one of the most perilous will be your weight. Chances are very good that your parents already have a weight problem; obesity is rampant in the 30,000-member community, and half the residents over the age of 40 have Type 2 diabetes. Their genes--and yours, of course--are part of the problem: researchers theorize that Native Americans have a higher than average tendency to gain and store weight, a protection in times of famines past but a risk factor in an America of caloric abundance.

Even without this so-called thrifty gene, you'd face an uphill battle to stay trim. Like many Americans in rural areas, the poorer Oglala Sioux have far less access to fresh fruits and vegetables than those in more connected settlements. This means you're likely to be filling up on high-calorie, processed foods, especially since fatty foods are cheaper than healthy ones, and your family--like more than half the families on the reservation--is probably poor. What's more, the calories you consume stick around, since you're not doing much to burn them off. Your school is probably too far away for you to reach it on foot. Playmates may be similarly distant. And don't even think about parks or playgrounds--multiple studies over the past several years have shown that low-income communities tend to have fewer recreational areas. Though it's all outside your control, nearly every aspect of your environment is pushing you toward gaining weight--which is why 43% of Native-American 5-year-olds in South Dakota are overweight or obese.

[The Straight Story]

2. Simple solution - tax people by weight

We tax everything else :)

[doctor jazz]

3. I've also learned lately that it's acceptable to make fun of obese people if they

have guns.

[keroro gunsou]

6. quoth eddie murphy

"ha ha very funny motherfucker."

i don't use guns. guns are for pussies too afraid to take a personal interest in their work.

[BlooInBloo]

7. :)

[doctor jazz]

8. haha very funny- Eddie Murphy...who also said

"White people can't dance. I'm not being racist it's true. Just like when white people say black people have big lips, it's not racist it's true. Black people have big lips, white people can't dance. Some brothers will be in the club and white people are like, "What are those niggers doing in here?" They watchin' y'all dance. And thy're like, "Look at these crazy muthafuckas." Y'all be stepping on people's feet and hitting one another."

Yeah, he's a real laugh riot.

[keroro gunsou]

9. that's the problem with

observational humor. context is everything. even more so than an actual sense of humor.

last time i checked, stand up comics are supposed to be equal opportunity offenders.

*wonders what to feed a concern troll, since he's obviously found one*

[NeedleCast]

10. Wait, what?

Eddie Murphy was a racist?