Weighty issues

Right, if you are easily offended by the topic of weight/size, don't read this. In general, if you're easily offended you ought to grow up. Sorry.


A while ago, I read a blog by a girl who lives near to me. She's extremely overweight, something which she justifies by saying that she "isn't size zero". This annoyed me somewhat - justifying your gluttony by saying that you aren't the other extreme on the weight scale. When the day comes that she has a massive heart attack and my taxes/national insurance are paying towards treating her heart problems and nursing her back to health , I hope that somebody points out to her (and all others like her) that not being size zero does not make obesity all right.

I can't stand when people try to blame their size on some kind of disorder, for example hypothyroidism, causing them to be overweight. Quoting a doctor writing for weightlossresources.co.uk:

"Overweight patients often ask, with great worry in their eyes, whether a thyroid disorder might be the cause of their weight problem. I am completely frank in my reply, because there seems to be a common misconception that such hormone disorders are rife - and in reality, thyroid diseases are in fact highly uncommon. Indeed, less than a fraction of 1% of all overweight people have a disorder of the thyroid gland."

In Gok Wan's recent documentary "Too Fat Too Young", medical researchers explained that around 70% of people can attribute their body type to their genetics. While this may be the case, again, I would argue that it isn't necessarily all right to blame your genes for the way that you look. You might be susceptible to being over- or under-weight, but that does not mean that you are not in control of your own lifestyle. I know that I gain weight easily. In space of less than 6 months I gained just over a stone in weight. But, having realised that my clothes didn't fit quite how they used to, I took a little control and I've managed to shift some of the pounds. (Please note I am not saying that I'm in any way fat, or that it is as easy for other people. Simply making a point.)


I appreciate that some people genuinely do have a reason for being over or under weight - for example, a friend of mine has Cystic Fibrosis which makes it very difficult for her to gain weight. In other cases, people just naturally are very thin. I have a couple of friends who are very slim even though they eat plenty. There must, I suppose, be a "skinny" gene like there is (well, technically are) a fat gene(s). While this may or may not be the case, I consider it to be somewhat of a cop-out blaming your size on your genetics. Again referencing the programme, the reason that more people are getting fatter is because the modern world is a lot more fast-paced. You can get pretty much whatever you want whenever you want it. For example I can (and unfortunately do) spend all of my time sitting in my room, and whenever I'm hungry I can go to my kitchen and stick a meal in the microwave. However, there is one important thing to note: I am not overweight or underweight, despite my currently sedentary lifestyle because I am careful about what I eat and how much I am eating.

This is becoming a little disjointed, and I reckon I'll come back to it. I'm not sure how I feel about this blog but it has given me an idea for a brand spankin' new shiny blog! Yay!