As per my normal daily routine I was sifting through the CBC
news site under the health section when I came across the article “Quitting
smoking adds more weight than thought.” I skimmed through the article and
because I had a bit of spare time started on to the comments. Comments left
were of varying degrees of pro and con, but one comment…one comment leapt off
the page grabbed me by the eyeballs and pulled me closer.
By the pseudonym “Mr.
Lo Key” came the very articulate thought: “It’s a simple case of those with a
lack of will power and self control, trading in one addiction (smoking) for
another (over eating).
If you eat the proper
amount relative to your activity level, you WILL not gain weight.
Remember one thing,
obesity (like smoking) is a personal choice.
Putting aside the terrible comma splicing….ah….no words. I
was not aware that smoking inherently took the place of over-eating as an
addiction. I was equally unaware that obesity’s sole cause was due to over- eating!
Thank you Mr. Lo Key, for shedding light on this terrible terrible issue. There
is no doubt in my mind that you are obviously a dietary/ medical professional
to come up with that level of wisdom.
Sorry, that was rather rude. You’ve just witnessed one of my
biggest pet peeves. Someone anonymously spouting on about issues that they feel
they are above. Of course lack of will power and self-control are the sole
reasons people don’t quit smoking (heavy on the sarcasm). There is some good
advice in there with the eating proper amounts relative to your activity level,
I will give good ol’ Mr. Key that, however someone leading a sedentary
lifestyle still has to consume a normal amount of calories! Instilling this “you
can only eat if you’re active” mentality is terrible! Yes, proper nutrition is
huge, balancing healthy foods with the occasional treat is key, and proper
portion control is a great practice but that’s not to say you won’t gain
weight!
The kicker, my favourite part, is “remember one thing,
obesity (like smoking) is a personal choice…..
Are you new here?
In what convoluted back-alley thought process did that
opinion come from? Obesity is NOT a black and white issue! Being “obese” does
automatically equal health issues and not having the ability to control
yourself around food! For many people (myself included), being a little
vertically challenged and some persistent Italian genes have made it so I’m
always going to sit in the BMI category of obese or overweight. I do portion
control, I eat a varied healthy diet, I exercise daily; but I will always be
under that label. For a lot of people that’s the case, they can be in amazing
shape but the height to weight ratio slaps them under being overweight.
The Canadian national average size for women is a 16. There
are plenty of women who fit that average who are in amazing shape, healthy as
horses, fit as fiddles and all those other euphemisms. I think it shows a poor level of understanding
of what exactly constitutes healthy when comments like this are still out
there. I think while weight plays a part we need to take it out of the limelight
of healthy.
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