Bake Sales Be Gone..! NYC Bans School Bake Sales... Sort of.

Hooray for Eric Goldstein, Chef Jorge, Katherine Grimm, Chancellor Joel Klein, and the entire New York City Department of Education..! They want to make schools safe and healthy for all students... (I chatted this up on a couple MSNBC shows today...Here's the "Way Too Early" show with Willie Geist and here's "Dr. Nancy" with Dr. Nancy Snyderman and Greg Lukianoff.)

The School Food program already offers lunches with whole grain breads and without transfats and ADHD-inducing artificial food coloring. Now, as part of the NYC School Wellness Policy, they're saying "Bye Bye Bake Sales..." (Okay, schools can still have them once a month. why why why??)

40% of NYC's students are overweight or obese... 40%..!

These kids can expect worsening obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, orthopedic issues and fertility complications...

Think we should take this seriously? Thank goodness Mayor Bloomberg, the Dept. of Health, and the Dept. of Ed do.

Bake sales are an easy way to make money. True. (Actually, I can think of a lot of bad ways to make easy money...I bet you can too. Does that make it okay for the PTA..? Click Here for Dr. Joanna Dolgoff's list of non-face-stuffing moneymakers.) It's also true that the bake sale products compromise the health and well-being of kids, they contribute to obesity and diabetes, they create cravings and induce a false sense of hunger, and they habituate children to over-eating and consumption of non-nourishing, ingestible entertainment during the school day.

Hey, I'm all for enjoying a sweet treat now and then. And keeping those indulgences out of school allows them to be preserved for the weekends and special occasions. It should be a-okay for a kid to enjoy cake and ice cream at a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party without worries of weight gain... But who keeps inviting Chuck-E-Cheese to school..?

During the school day, no kid should be confronted with constant junk food solicitations. Period.

And yeah, let's look to the intellect and ingenuity of today's students to conceive fundraising ideas that raise cash while causing no harm. In the era of the Internet, Walk-a-thons and Farmers Markets, I'm pretty confident today's kids will have loads of moneymaking ideas that don't involve stuffing their faces. We're only as limited as our imaginations...

And somehow because transfat, sugar, and enriched flour are agents of obesity and diabetes, which are conditions of habituation and progression, we ignore their seriousness at the peril of our own children's health.

If only baked goods caused lice...


**Big thank you to MSNBC's Willie Geist and Dr. Nancy Snyderman for having me appear today to chat up NYC's Bake Sale Ban on "Way Too Early" and "Dr. Nancy."**

Gotta Love the Gays...

Gays, Heteros and Lesbians... Guess who's the fittest of them all..?

Homosexual Men are the leanest among us. Next comes our Straight friends. And the heftiest are the Lesbians...

Now, guess who has the most sex..? Who's scratching the intolerable neural itch? soothing the infinite ache? quenching the eternal thirst..?

You got it. Seems like those staying in the best shape enjoy the most sex... (Makes perfect sense, right??)

Gay Men are getting it on the most. Then comes the Heteros. And lastly are our buddies suffering the infamous Lesbian Bed Death...

And for the homophobes out there... No, staying in great shape will NOT turn you gay... Although, you never know who might get turned on by your ripped bod, steely guns and six pack.

Hate Food Porn--Not Food (Liars: You're on Notice..!)

On a day when a lot of people aren't eating for religious reasons, it got me thinking about some of the most gawdawful accusations made about me lately. (btw, I don't happen to be religious. I'm a big fan of Sam Harris and the Reason Project.)

For years, I figured people would never believe the hater posts about me, knowing they were the work of the food and beverage lobbyists, Center for Consumer Freedom, or their many offshoots. And of course the bullying, prolific, vicious pro-fat-acceptance bloggers (who now write for Jezebel, Salon and the New York Times, among myriad websites), never seem to tire of inventing false quotations, cartoons or twisted inferences about me. And of course--going against their self-proclaimed tenets of body acceptance--they sure get their jollies making fun of mine..!

Anyway, I've been accused of hating food. Besides being a stupid thing to say, it couldn't be further from the truth. I try not to add to the 24/7, non-stop fetishizing of food--it doesn't do any of us any good. But saying I don't like food because I herald the benefits of natural food over Franken-food is like saying I don't like sex because I'm not into porn. (my super-hot hubby can chime in on this one..!)

Look, I like food, really really like food. But I have to come up with tons of other life-affirming distractions, as not to overindulge and become unhealthy.

Working with many of my nutrition counseling clients, I ask that they come up with 2 lists to help them not hyper-focus on food: 1- Distractions and 2- Disgusts.

Distractions are all the wonderful things that make you high without hurting you in any way... Think regular exercise, sex, your favorite hobbies, kick-ass songs, time with your children, etc. (Pls don't email that you can injure yourself w/ exercise or have negative results from sex... You guys get the point.) The idea is to have a ready list to remind you of all the ways you can get a quick dopamine fix other than from food.

Disgusts. Obviously, I'm going for the easy-to-remember alliteration of Dis and Dis... Disgusts are all the results you might get from turning to excessive food or the wrong food to get you high. Think sluggishness, guilt, health complications, bloating, loss of libido, etc.

This Distractions and Disgusts device helps me, and maybe it'll help you.

As for all the crazy accusations made about me... I was wrong. I thought people wouldn't believe the b.s., but I've come to find that the b.s. is ALL people believe--Even to the point where otherwise reputable publications have started just picking up this blogger nonsense and using it in their articles too.

Well I've taken all I'm going to take. The First Amendment is a beautiful thing, but it gives no one the right to spread defaming and damaging lies. Period.

Look for later posts regarding MeMe Roth: Fact or Fiction.

You may be disappointed to find I'm far more boring than bloggers and rogue journalists would have you believe... But I think I'm plenty controversial without the help of lazy writers and liars...

Ready to go Twisted Sister..?

Tonight I participated in a Fox Business Network debate about healthcare... Is it or is it not a right..?

Live tv never really affords genuine debate. At least not in the world of news punditry... And try as I might, each appearance results in a failure to complete my thought, correct a false accusation, or make the point I intended to make. That's why it's so addicting..! I'm always certain I'll do better next time... Just gimme another chance...

So no, Healthcare is not a Constitutional right. However, the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental American ideal. It says so right there in the Declaration of Independence. And without health, there is no pursuit of happiness.

Yet we live in a culture that promotes obesity, chronic illness, and skyrocketing healthcare costs... and that's exactly the results we've got. Half of us chronically ill, 80% of our friends taking a prescription med last week, and most of us on our way to overweight or obesity (if we're not there already). Did I forget type 2 diabetes in that list?

Every American deserves easy access to affordable nourishing foods and safe recreational facilities. These are the attributes of a healthy culture and healthy people. Special considerations should be given to at-risk communities. And of course, every child in this country should receive top-notch medical care.

When it comes to us adults, we need to man up/woman up. If we take ultimate accountability for our health, that's the very moment we go Twisted Sister. We're not gonna take it..! If medical costs associated with our lifestyle choices start coming out of our own pockets, we'll be passive no more. We'll demand, DEMAND, that hidden sugars come out of our food, that sodium counts be cut in half, that crazy portion sizes be reduced to Mad Men-era restraint...and all the other hyper-dopamine-inducing formulations, packaging and marketing become above-board and honest. If we're held accountable, we're damn sure gonna hold Big Food and Big Beverage accountable too. It doesn't end there, but that's a start.

When you go back to the basics of health insurance, you land on risk assessment. The statistical risks of the Healthy are meant to offset the risks of the Unhealthy. Obviously risk ultimately equals costs... How is it possible to offset the costs when most Americans are sick? If 8% of us are eating right, exercising daily, not smoking and drinking moderately if at all, then how can we 8% possibly offset the lifestyles of the other 92%? Keep in mind, some in the 8%, even though we're doing just about everything right, will be met with congenital issues, accidents or other circumstances requiring medical attention.

We've all grown weary over the ongoing debate about healthcare. Obama, the House, the Senate...I don't know who will ultimately deliver the go-with plan. At its core is the need to ensure people have health, not necessarily a particular health care plan. It's about keeping each one of us out of the hospital bed.

Poster Boy for Coke and Pepsi- Sean Algaier of Biggest Loser Season 8

Tulsa, OK husband, father, youth pastor, musician and funny-man, Sean Algaier says he's the world's greatest spokesperson for soft drinks...

He's 29, 6' 2" and started Season 8 of Biggest Loser at 444 pounds... (about 260 lbs above a healthy weight... Alone, he's the size of healthy father, mother and their teenage child.)

I have to confess my own weakness for the nasty elixir of death--casualty of growing up in Coca-Cola HQ Atlanta where the concern was drinking from the red can instead of blue, lest you put someone's dad out of a job...

Sean though, says he downs a full 2 liters of cola a day. That's 800 calories, 216 grams of sugar, or 54 teaspoons of sugar. Dr. Oz describes excess sugar in the blood as "broken glass tearing at the sides of the artery walls..."

Sean Algaier is taking in 292,000 empty and damaging calories a year. If he changed nothing else about his life other than swapping the soda for water, he'd lose 83 pounds a year. Sean would be at a healthy weight by Thanksgiving 2012. Go Go Go, Sean..!

Think there's a direct connection between obesity and soft drinks? Think a soda tax might be a decent way to raise a little cash while curbing consumption? I do. And so do most obesity experts.

Good luck, Sean, becoming the poster boy for America's obesity turnaround. Change your approach to eating for the rest of your life, and you'll be a role model for the entire country.

"It's So Easy for Healthy-Weight People..." Says Drop Dead Diva Article

I really like Tara Parker-Pope and her "Well" blog at the New York Times... But lately, the entire paper is leaning pro-fat, and that's not a good thing. One recent headline exclaimed we should all just throw out our scales... (Pls note that the scale is a great tool for keeping yourself on track, and well, honest. Delusion is rampant among the obese. More than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese, while 2/3 of Americans report to eat a healthful diet... Studies report that the majority of overweight fail to acknowledge the degree of their obesity or that of their children. hmmm. The answer may be found in the 6,000+ Dunkin' Donuts America "runs on...")

Today's article, based on the "Drop Dead Diva" tv show, really infuriated me. Its premise is that the show is realistic in its portrayal of the overweight because they have cravings for doughnuts and cheezwhiz while thin people do not. You know the mythology: If you're thin it's because it's EASY for you..!

Also, the big take-away is that maintaining a healthy weight has nothing to do with willpower.

I'm gonna tell you here and now that I personally call upon every atom of willpower I have keep myself healthy in this insane culture that does nothing but work against our health...

Here's what I had to say about the article...

Stop by and share your thoughts too.

McDonald's Mac Snack Wrap Conjured in Obesity Hell...

Hell yeah they did..!

Why let the pizza makers have all the glory of OREO dessert pies, Cinnamon and icing drizzled Cinnapies and arks of pizza dough overflowing with pasta...

Noooo, McDonald's needed to get into the "4th Meal" action and knockoff that we-serve-salads-too halo.

I bring you the Mac Snack Wrap--as in Big Mac.

I always joked that Americans will eat anything repentance-free if you add the word "snack" to it--what with it written right there in junk food marketers' good book: "let there be snacking...!"

On your knees, America. Anything with 380 calories, (a day's worth of fat and a teaspoon of sugar), is a MEAL--quite possibly your last.

Meet me in hell, you red-haired, big-shoed, yellow-suited demon.

Let Me Spend that Money, Secretary Sebelius, Thomas Frieden, Commissioner Farley, Kelly Brownell, and Dr.s Ludwig, Popkin and Willett

We should be doing this--spending money on prevention.

I know the Congressional Budget Office isn't convinced, but my gut tells me that a predominantly unhealthy nation is less secure than a healthy one. Whether or not the CBO numbers add up on the side of prevention, it'll cost us dearly to continue condemning Americans to a purgatory of chronic disease--preventible--debilitating, disfiguring, demoralizing chronic disease.

You've heard me say that many of today's illnesses should be reclassified as "elective," meaning that they're a result of our lifestyle choices and unwillingness to be compliant to health, and therefore, we should be paying out of pocket for the costs associated. 100% or a partial contribution? I dunno. But if you willingly eat yourself into type 2 diabetes, cancer or heart disease, it's your right but not your employer's, neighbor's or fellow policy-holder's responsibility to cover those costs--or to subsidize by having their costs skyrocket.

At the same time, we need to offer folks assistance in making better lifestyle choices. Most importantly, a shot at being healthy should be available to all Americans, and that includes easy and affordable access to real food--whole fruits, fresh vegetables, lean proteins and reliably safe water.

But eating issues aren't just about access, they're largely a result of warped conditioning to food-like substances--I call "ingestible entertainment"--which overrides an instinctive appreciation for natural foods.

Our gawdawful eating habits are a result of affluence, abundance and corporate greed mixed with nonstop neuro-chemical euphoria. If we're gonna help people get healthy, it'll take more than just having them pay out of pocket for poor choices; it'll take free and easy nutritional counseling, exercise instruction, and maybe most importantly, behavioral psychology strategies. Be honest, you're not eating to excess because you don't know better, you're eating to excess because it feels good, really really good. Sex-like good.

Hitting the bliss-point with food indulgences reads on an fMRI a lot like reaching sexual bliss. Our pleasure-reward system lights right up. When something so wrong feels so right, it takes a little help from our friends to make a rational decision. Our friends possibly being strangers on the other end of a self-help line, webinar or community support group. Friends who are experts in offering counsel and friends overcoming the same challenge. (Look to models like the 12-Steps-inspired Overeaters Anonymous.)

This investment in education, outreach and counseling will be money well-spent by the Obama administration and local governments to offset the financial cost and human cost of so many of us being so sick.

Whether it's today's big announcement from the HHS and CDC committing $650 Million to the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" and the "Communities Putting Prevention to Work," or it's the potential $150 Billion to be raised over the next decade in soda taxes, the cash needs to go to keeping people well. Without our health, we have nothing. No matter how the CBO adds it up, America needs to avoid zero.

And Prevention adds up to everything.

The Perfect Diet..?

"Diets don't work!"

I hear that all the time... I've even said it. But the truth is, diets do work--generally speaking. Most diets, if you follow them, will result in weight loss. (Will they make you healthy is another story...)

Diets work. People don't.

The problem isn't "diet." Diet just means the way you eat. We all have a diet. The real pitfall is "going on" a diet. The implication is that at some point, you get off. And for many of these newfangled concoctions of lemonade, pepper and pixie dust--the sooner you get off, the better..!

The key is to find a diet, i.e., a way of eating, that you can live with forever. You may have to do some experimenting to figure out what works best for you. That's the idea behind bioindividuality. For example, for some people dairy is a godsend; for others, a complete no-go.

Generally, go for mostly-Vegetarian, non-starchy, non-fried fare with lean proteins like beans, fish and skinless chicken, and of course, plenty of water. Make sure your grains are 100% WHOLE. And look for heart- and brain-healthy fats you find in tree nuts, avocados and olive oil. Avoid sugar and refined carbs as best you can; they spike your blood sugar, induce urgent cravings and trick you into thinking you're hungry when you're not. (Read this awesome Sugar Shock! book if you need help kicking a sugar habit.) Same goes for diet sodas. Experts are making connections between artificial sweeteners and carb cravings...

It doesn't matter what time you eat. It matters how much and what. If you are still growing, or if you have a demanding schedule or a physical profession, that influences the way you eat. Most people benefit from a protein-heavy breakfast. A nice trick is to add straight egg whites to your breakfast to get that extra heft of protein.

If you have a blood-sugar issue, you may be someone who needs many modest meals throughout the day. Or you may be like me--I ignore the clock and social pressure altogether and try not to eat unless I'm genuinely hungry. (It's so hard to tell--what with the constant cues to eat eat eat!) My eating habits are driven by the demands of my day and the needs of my body. Period.

I also like to enjoy plenty of indulgences, (yeah, I have my vices.), so I have to kick-in some extra exercise to maintain my health.

How do I know if my diet is healthy? How does anyone know?

It doesn't much matter what people say about how they're eating; their bodies are nonstop confessors. Your body is constantly telling you how it's reacting to the food you're feeding it. Feeling and looking great? That's a pretty big hint you're on to something good. Maintaining a healthy weight and waistline? Your recent lab results from your blood panel are perfection? BP in the neighborhood of 115/76? More evidence you're eating right. How about mood, energy, concentration, libido, and no need for prescriptions..? Again, looks like you've found a "perfect" diet--for you.

Look for the foods you love that pack in loads of nourishment per calorie: Think Volumetrics. No matter who you are, you can't be healthy without daily exercise. So go for it..! And if you're looking to enjoy a little treat, just factor that into your workout.

Sugar is the New Transfat

Last month, the American Heart Association sounded the alarm that sugar is seriously bad news... (ha!, Corn Refiners and your nefarious campaign to make us feel silly for worrying about HFCS. "Aw, it's not any worse than sugar..." Exactly..!)

Just a few hundred years ago, a sugar indulgence would've cost ya 3 days' pay... Now we eat our weight in it every year... And to thank us, it's rotting our teeth, jacking up our LDL cholesterol, filling our arteries with triglycerides, wrinkling up our pretty faces, and keeping us chronically inflamed--not to mention the sugar-ignited, meteoric rise in type 2 diabetes.

Sugar is the New Transfat.

Dr. Oz Saves Obama's Health-Care Debate

If we all did what Dr. Oz told us to do, we'd be in much better shape.

When it comes to the health-care debate, sure, tort reform is needed, defensive medicine has to stop, unnecessary medical procedures have to stop, corruption and capitalism-without-compassion among insurers have to stop... And what about Big Pharma? Only we and New Zealanders allow pharmaceuticals to be marketed directly to patients. Anything potentially resulting in a 4-hr hard-on is best suggested in a doctor's office, not peddled along with Cheetos and Chips Ahoy (although if you'd put down the junk food, you may well achieve rock-hard status w/out the aid of magic meds. Seriously, once a man goes soft in the middle, he quickly goes, well, soft down below...)

Back to Dr. Oz and healthcare...

With or without a public option, and all the other hotly contested components of health-care reform, our best bet in avoiding hospital-bill-induced bankruptcy is avoiding the hospital bed in the first place. I don't know about you, but my plan is to look great and feel great right up to the moment I drop dead. (Later is better than sooner.) I'm not the least bit interested in entering a purgatory of chronic illness--no thanks. Did you know half of us already suffer chronic illness..? HALF.

And the best way to avoid chronic illness is to follow the Doctor's orders--Dr. Oz's specifically. He and Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic have authored a must-read series of "You" books that'll keep you as young and healthy as possible. And just today, Dr. Oz premiered his new Oprah / Harpo-produced daily tv show--"The Dr. Oz Show." Check it out.

And do yourself a big favor and follow his directions. Your body will thank you. Your insurance premiums will thank you. Your family and the rest of society (whom you won't be burdening), will thank you..! President Obama and the Congress have a lot to sort out when it comes to health care. But the biggest reform needs to happen with each an every one of us.

Also, go donate over at Dr. Oz's HealthCorps nonprofit. He has young adults talking up healthy living and eating in high schools across the country. Great idea to catch kids before sickness catches them...

Fat Hatred in America on FOX's Alan Colmes Radio Show Tonight

Tonight on Alan Colmes' Radio Show we'll be talking about "Fat Hatred in America."

People don't hate fat people. They hate fat--and what it's doing to the people they love. Just like watching a smoker smoke himself into emphysema and lung disease and the terrible agony that comes with that, so too is it for those of us struggling to keep our own weight and health in check while loved ones are ensnared by obesity and all the horrors that come with it.

Watching my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members eat themselves into type 2 diabetes, cancer, knee problems, hip problems, immobility, dementia, high blood pressure and other disabling conditions is heart-breaking.

Even with that front row seat to obesity-induced despair, I find it incredibly difficult to maintain a healthy weight myself. The non-stop food temptations affect us all. Whether we realize it or not, the sight, smell, even mention of food sets off an involuntary neuro-chemical response telling us to EAT EAT EAT..! We can thank evolutionary survival instincts for that. Our DNA never realized food would become so overly abundant. Our DNA never knew we'd be ingesting non-nourishing (possibly damaging), "edible entertainment" either.

We all need a break from America's culture of constant pressure to consume. Fat Hatred? I don't think so. Hate the Fat Culture? Yep.

Got Organs..? Anderson Cooper Shows Only Tip of Iceberg

You see the news headlines: Cheating wife tricks hubby into kidney donation. Brooklyn businessman traffics impoverished Eastern Jews for their organs. Mount Sinai duped in not-really-cousins kidney swap. China's black market for organs. The organ mafia. And there's Apple CEO Steve Jobs' speedy liver transplant done in Tennessee rather than his home-state of California.

Anderson Cooper is doing a special CNN 360 segment on this growing medical crisis--"Secret Harvest."

An estimated 10% of the 16,000 annual U.S. kidney transplants are illegal--meaning the donor is being paid up to $20K for his precious "gift." What two consensual adults decide to do with their bodies, or body parts, is up for ethical debate. But what's clear is that the need for organs will be skyrocketing.

The worldwide escalation of obesity and type 2 diabetes will increase the demand dramatically as hearts and kidneys fail from improper eating. And who will supply healthy replacements? Remember, only 8% of Americans eat right, exercise daily, don't smoke, and drink moderately if at all.

The excellent reality program "Hopkins," based on Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore had a wrenching moment when a heart specialist flew to make a life-saving transplant pickup only to discover the heart was unusable--the donor was obese and his heart encased in fat. Heartbreak for the eagerly awaiting patient and family back in Baltimore.

Even on the popular TV show "House," Dr. House quipped that 80% of the time, organs from the obese are unusable...

I'm sure the new CBS drama about a transplant hospital, "Three Rivers," will be all over this

"Open Happiness" says Coke. "Pour on the Pounds" says Cathy Nonas and NYC's Dept of Health

I'm on Delta heading from Atlanta back to NYC... The Coca-Cola-emblazoned screen on the seat in front of me reads: "Open Happiness."

Coke makes the further promise of "Deliciously Uplifting."

There's no mention that colas are linked to obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, ADHD-type reactions to the food coloring, tooth decay or any other health horror. Not so "happy" I guess.

Meanwhile, Cathy Nonas and the NYC Department of Health and Human Hygiene are rockin' a new campaign to curb cola consumption (along with all those other fat-inducing sweetened beverages). Their sign reads: "Are You Pouring on the Pounds?" And follows up with "Don't Drink Yourself Fat."

Remember, dump 1 soda a day and opt for water instead, and you'll drop 14 pounds of fat by this time next year. Drinking 2 or 3 soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, syrupy coffees or sugar-filled smoothies a day today..? Imagine your shrinking waistline if you go with water instead...

Now if we can just convince parents to hook their kids on water instead of this liquid candy...

Corn Refiners Association Thinks We're Stupid

You've seen the new ads, right? That high fructose corn syrup isn't any worse for you than sugar...

Exactly, HFCS is similar to sugar health-wise: bad for you.

Before you righteously go purchase the "better stuff" Snapple, Mexican-made Coca-Cola, "throwback Pepsi," or any of the other HFCS-free concoctions, remember to check the label for grams of sugar.

(Divide the number of grams of sugar by 4 to get your teaspoon count. 12 grams = 3 teaspoons of sugar. And don't be tricked by serving size verses the entire bottle.)

Sugar, like HFCS, is a pro-inflammatory substance that damages your arteries and raises your "bad" cholesterol, not to mention the risk of type 2 diabetes, excess calories and the added sugars hidden in every product to prompt cravings and over-eating.

Preying on social insecurity, the Corn Refiners' new ads want you to be embarrassed for even questioning HFCS. It's genius on the side of the food/beverage/corn refiners industries...

So yeah, maybe HFCS isn't much worse than table sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc. (Although some studies are surfacing that the heart, among other things, might be negatively affected by HFCS. So keep posted.)

The Corn Refiners Association thinks by saying HFCS = Sugar, you'll say. "Hooray, load me up..!" They think you're stupid.

Ending Weight Stigma Begins with Fat America

Would there be weight stigma if the majority of those overweight and obese became so as a result of rare medical conditions?

My answer: NO

If I were one of the rare few Americans who is overweight or obese due to Prader-Willi, Pica, Cushing's Syndrome or a reaction to certain medications, I would be furious--furious with fat people.

Tell me. How many people do you know with Prader-Willi, Pica or Cushing's? Me neither. How about friends having a serious reaction to medication resulting in excessive weight gain? Again, no one I know. (I'm guessing a few of you might know people in this category.)

So for every 100 overweight or obese Americans you see, if you assume their weight is due to improper eating, you'll be wrong fewer than 5 times (probably fewer than that).

An accuracy rate higher than 90% is still an A, right? You're not biased, you're statistically sound.

And why the stigma? Because self-destructive behavior goes against human nature and the will to survive. It's hard to convince the rest of us that self-induced disfigurement, disease and disability is a good thing. It's even harder to convince us when you ask us to pick up the $147 Billion tab..!

But if obesity were the anomaly it would be if it occurred mainly as a result of rare medical conditions, there would be no weight stigma. Groups fighting for fat acceptance, claiming "weight discrimination," are off-base. Instead they should be promoting genuinely healthful eating, holding people accountable for their lifestyle choices, and championing awareness campaigns for those truly suffering, by no fault of their own, from Prader-Willi, Pica, Cushing's Syndrome and pharmaceutical reactions.

PETA to Fat America: Save the Whales..!

Think PETA's mean..? Maybe.

But you know what's really mean? Doing nothing while people eat themselves into obesity, diabetes and cancer. The results of obesity are far crueler than any billboard. Think birth defects due to obesity. Now that's cruel.

Sure this PETA billboard will shock, offend, hurt a few feelings. But most importantly, it'll save lives.

People can't help but talk about it, and word will continue to spread that a plant-based diet is far healthier than meat-based. Be a "mostly vegetarian," vegetarian or vegan who avoids fried or starchy veggies and your body will thank you, planet earth will thank you and whatever health-care program the U.S. ends up with will thank you.

Please make sure you're taking a B-12 supplement! And remember, it's "vegetarian" not bag-of-chips-and-a-diet-coke-atarian.

Angry Town Hall Meetings- Health-Care Reform- Obesity Bailout

"But I'm a Vegetarian..!"

I hear loads of overweight and obese people say they eat "healthfully" or "exercise" or are "vegetarians..."

But what your mouth says doesn't much matter when your body tells a different story. And your body is a major confessor.

Many people who claim to be **vegetarians, when a better description is "Carbotarian," "Macaroni-n-Cheeseatarian," or "Bag-of-Chips-and-a-Diet Coke-atarian." I worked with with a bright young woman in D.C. years ago. She called herself a vegetarian, but I never saw her eat a vegetable that was green. She was big on corn, pasta and mashed potatoes.

And yep, her body told on her. She was kinda squishy and pasty and frequently under-the-weather.

We're seeing a whole bunch of hoppin' mad Americans shouting down Congressmen and Congresswomen at local Town Hall meetings. Maybe they have a lot to be angry about when it comes to the health-care reform plans on the table: Obama's, the House's or the Senate's.

But I'm sure you've noticed what I've noticed. Most the screamers are also visibly overweight or obese--just like the rest of America. And no, it's unlikely they're suffering from rare medical conditions that promote obesity such as Prader-Willi, Pica or Cushing's Syndrome. 9 times out of 10 it's extra weight as a result of improper eating (eating the wrong foods, too much of the right foods, or a combo of both), and inadequate exercise.

We know the expected fate of most of these folks: chronic disease--very expensive, decades' long, chronic disease.

You'll be paying for it. You already are. It's the unspoken "Obesity Bailout." No matter what becomes of today's raging health-care reform debates, you're already paying higher premiums due to a nation with self-inflicted illness. Employers already pay $45 Billion a year due to employee obesity in lost productivity, extra time off an a higher incidence of workers compensation claims. And as you know, the annual U.S. price tag for obesity is $147 Billion--with a big chunk to cover obesity costs through Medicare and Medicaid.

So as our fellow countrymen shout out at elected government officials during Town Hall Meetings, we are indeed seeing Democracy in Action. We're also witnessing far more than what's being said. Freeze your frame, and take a look at what all these overweight and obese American bodies are telling us.


**(I'm a "mostly-vegetarian," eating chicken about once a week.)

Today is My Grandmother's 85th Birthday

The debate rages as to how many annual U.S. deaths can be blamed on obesity: 40,000? 400,000? Absent a definitive digit, obesity acceptance groups counter that maybe being obese isn’t the threat headlines proclaim. Either way, using mortality figures to gauge obesity impact isn’t the answer. Medical advances can keep the obese living decade upon decade, whether they suffer from diabetes, heart disease, orthopedic problems, cancer or all of the above.

Consider my grandmother. At five-foot-nothin’ she tips the scale at 300 pounds. For decades, she has lived in a self-decreed obesity exile, where she won’t socialize beyond family, hides when the cameras come out and refuses invitations other than to sedentary gatherings where she can hold court from her easy chair—or in recent years—her bed.

You’d really like her. She’s a sassy and skilled conversationalist with a great sense of humor, a heaping dollop of southern hospitality and a dash of gossip. Her looks harken back to a 40’s movie studio starlet: heart-shaped face, smoky eyes and full lips. Grandmom was always voluptuous—when voluptuous meant curvy and curvy meant hourglass, not fat. Since the 60’s, becoming twice widowed and after numerous failed diet attempts, she donned a muumuu, surrounded herself with walls of commissioned artwork of luxuriating beauties, and added another 150 pounds to her petite frame. As the weight increased, so did the limits on her activities. It’s the norm now, but back in the early 80’s my grandmother was the first person I ever knew who had a handicap parking pass for obesity.

She’s survived breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, orthopedic issues of every kind, broken bones from falls—the list goes on and on. At 82 years of age, Muriel “Merle” Hamilton Coomler Hamn Williams is certainly alive and off the obesity mortality chart.

Her way of living wouldn’t rate as living for many of us. Her colossal adiposity suffocates. She’s in endless and indeterminate pain. Frequently hooked up to oxygen, the pressure from fat poundage on her chest leaves her breathless. Surgery is out of the question. Instead she’s now hooked on OxyContin, amid a sea of other pills, inhalants and medical gadgets. My once lucid grandmother is uncertain as to who is or isn’t in her family—and if she does guess that you’re “in,” you’re likely mixed up with an aunt or uncle of a different generation. My grandmother is certifiably alive, but dead to me. Don’t worry for her feelings; she’s forgotten she has a granddaughter.

Grandmom is cared for around-the-clock by Carolyn, a pseudo-nurse, who’s mostly my grandmother’s gofer and sole companion. The family is immensely glad for Carolyn’s existence and crosses fingers she’ll never leave, die or be run off. She is sent out daily to purchase a bounty of pies, shakes and cakes. Sometimes she fibs that Piggly Wiggly is out of cakes. But that doesn’t fool my drugged-out grandmom. She manages to collect herself enough to make a quick call to the bakery department. “Thaay haaayuv caaakes nowah, Darlin’.”

You also help in my grandmother’s care. Medicaid, or was it Medicare, came in as an answer to Carolyn’s pleas to force my grandmother to bathe. She had refused to leave her bed for any of life’s little emergencies. Too much effort.

If she were anorexic, suicidal, even one of today’s “cutters,” the family likely would commit her or at least convene one of those terribly awkward interventions. But that’s just not done when the danger is obesity. Discussing a Southern Belle’s ample weight is simply out of the question. She’d rather die.

More to Love...or More to Fear..?

She's a self-proclaimed "size 18" who thinks plus-sized should be called normal because it's America's new statistical norm. Plus, she thinks leading lady love interests on TV should be overweight to prove mainstreaming and acceptance of overweight/obese. Here's her article specifically about these new plus-sized reality shows.

More to Love or more to fear..? I'm going with fear. Meet pro-fat pundit Joy Tipping by clicking here. (Blink and you'll miss my appearance...)

And for fun check out the difference between obligatory compliments vs. the real deal... Is that a Victoria Secret catalogue in your pocket, Harry Smith? Or are you just glad to see the underwear models up close and personal..? Either way, authentic desire is a dead give-away... Harry throws compliments of "beautiful" to plus-sized poster child, Emme, in the link above. But just watch him here with the models... Healthy hetero-libido doesn't lie.

Should a love connection be made on the FOX show "More to Love", keep this in mind. These contestants are 200-300+ pounds and only in their twenties. Ahead the expectation should be orthopedic problems, snoring and sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, kidney stones, and more seriously, type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia, as well as fertility and pregnancy complications including a greater likelihood for a child with birth defects. This is the "reality" of obese love in America 2009.