Blaming the Fat
November 17th, 2009 | 
Author: The CBS News tonight convinced me I will likely completely cease watching their news show—-it is a rare event now. The show had a lengthy section on the “cost of obesity” wherein they blamed the health care crisis on fat people.
They showed huge belly after belly—largely pictures of individuals who would be termed “morbidly obese” in more cases than not.
“Experts” came on talking about how the complications of obesity cost the fat and all the rest of American tons of money. They all look very righteous and indignant. Now, before you start commenting about those “cows” and “fat bastards” let me tell you a bit of something you might not know about the “obesity epidemic” in America.
Do you know the definition of obesity the medical folks are using to show you huge numbers on the television screen? Sit down, ok. Anyone who is 20% over their proper weight is officially obese. The weight chart for my height says I should weigh about 122-125 pounds. So 20% of that would be 24 pounds. My actual weight hovers between 140 and 148.
Meet the face of obesity in America folks! I am it! I am 5′2″ tall and wear size 10 or 12 clothing depending on the maker. I am an obese American. Congratulations you medical quacks and you, too, CBS…for foisting a load of CRAP on America. Be sure to take a good look at how disgustingly fat I am, ok? What a crock of crap Americans are being sold—a load of scapegoats to the slaughter!
It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with American corporations selling CRAP food full of things like corn syrup that may actually affect the metabolism and INCREASE the likelihood of weight gain and health issues, right? No, it’s all those fat people being fat again. Right. CBS? Bite me.
Posted in Walk of The Fallen
Indeed, you would think with the 21st century upon us, they would know how to define obese in such a manner as to not stigmatize half the country? And yes, it is the sensationalization that drives me batshit crazy—pictures of very overweight people and the announcements of stuff like “one out of three Americans is obese”…and to blame the health care crisis on it is about on par with 1930’s Germany blaming their economic crisis on the Jews.
I came over because your other post. I hate the way the news does shit like, but the medical definition for “obese” has *always* been more than 20% over the ideal body weight. Feel free to argue that is a stupid number, but it is the same number that has been used all along when the medical community computes percent of population that is *medically* obese.
There is a big difference between medically obese and what that term has come to mean in modern day media and cultural language. That is obvious by the pictures they showed during their broadcast. The media grabbed the word how many years ago and redefined it as morbidly obese, but then used the medically obese defintion for their reports.
It’s been more than a decade since I started complaining about the media doing it and nothing has changed. It would be *lovely* if they would address the reasons for the increase in obesity in America (and sometimes they do, but not often enough), but it is so much more ratings and PR productive to yell hysterically at the “fat people bankrupting our health care!!1!!!!eleventy-one!1!!!”
Fuck ‘em.
Trust me, I know it. You have seen the Manchild…right? He has 2 or 3% bodyfat. He is technically “obese” by the formula they use to come up with the figures the news folks like to shrill at us. Talk about red herrings…and the photos they use, well those are straw man arguments walking.
And people wonder why I don’t watch tv news!
When the SO was with the survival training branch of the air force, many of those in that branch had to go down to the hospital (only place nearby they could) and get a water displacement body fat measurement so they wouldn’t get kicked out of the air force for being overweight – with body fat % around 7% or so. I kid you not! These weren’t pilots, they used the muscle.
You are welcome. I am sick of the news cooking the data for various reasons, but this one is the most cruelly petty and lying trick yet. Numbers from hats that are far from magical…and distorted images to support the lie. They need to send a camera up Katie Couric’s ass AGAIN….to see if the truth is ‘up there’.
Thank you for this!