OBESITY DENIAL

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Just because we differ in opinion, doesn’t mean we differ in principle.” He also said Americans should exercise every day. Both of these Jeffersonian pearls are relevant to America’s current state of obesity denial.

America’s insatiable appetite for all things edible is rivaled only by its appetite for pointing the finger of responsibility rather than accepting it ourselves. To blame fast-food restaurants, advertising campaigns or school lunches for childhood obesity while ignoring the absence of parental aptitude is ludicrous. Even more ludicrous is the notion that government programming at any level can effectively substitute for the discipline lacking in so many parents. Until political posturing can burn about 600 calories an hour, there won’t be much help coming from Bacon Hill or the White Castle House.

In 2003, an appellate court judge in NY threw out a lawsuit against McDonald’s. The suit claimed McDonald’s was responsible for making kids overweight. In his decision, the judge wrote:
“If a person knows or should know that eating copious orders of super-sized McDonald’s products is unhealthy and may result in weight gain, it is not the place of the law to protect them from their own excesses.”

Neither can the law protect people from their own deficiencies. In nearly ALL childhood obesity cases, that deficiency is the failure of parents to provide the proper guidance and role model-ship for their children, be it grounded in ignorance, apathy or both. There are rare exceptions, but look at the parents of any obese child and you will likely see that he or she was not the winner of the parental lifestyle lottery.

As long as we busy ourselves with more politically correct attempts to address America’s fitness malaise, both adults and their children will continue a three-decade long trend of growing fatter and less fit. And as long as politicians benefit more from telling people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear, our country will become increasingly burdened by those who depend on the government rather than themselves.

There are numerous reasons for why America’s lack of physical fitness spans all racial, economic and cultural lines. The number one reason is a refusal on the part of individuals to take personal responsibility for their food and exercise behaviors. To put it in perspective, this lack of personal responsibility is the Titanic, and all the other reasons are just deck chairs being mindlessly rearranged by the mostly well-intentioned who either don’t understand the issue or are too fearful of hurting others’ feelings.

So for now, our kids, our economy, our future and our country will continue to pay the price. Not since the Great Depression has our country needed the resiliency and self-sufficiency of her citizenry more than now. But in this time when America needs us most, most Americans are needier than ever.

Any Port in the “Not my Fault” Storm

Not that this comes as any shock to America’s fitness-minded minority, but there is apparently no end to the relentless pursuit of finding someone to blame for American fatness other than ourselves.

An example of this ongoing blame-game comes from an article titled Health Insurers’ Fast Food Holdings Raise Flag , recently published in the American Journal of Public Health. Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Wesley Boyd, an author of the study, sums up the key message by “finding it ironic that these firms would invest nearly $2 billion in companies that sell food often linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease.”

“The insurance industry, so far as it seeks to make a profit, it does so in an amoral way,” says Dr. Boyd.

Let’s run this quote by Dr. Boyd through what I like to call the “Babytalk Translator,” a wonderfully useful device for extracting the, excuse the misuse here, “logic” from the free-wheeling declarations of liberal blame-throwers.

Into the translator goes “The insurance industry” and out comes “The Bad Guys.”

In goes “to make a profit” and out comes “Those greedy bastards.”

In goes “in an amoral way” and out comes “I don’t have a clue about business.”

Amoral? I assume Dr. Boyd, that we are talking about YOUR morals here, and that those morals are presumed to be representative of the morals held dear by the victimized masses you seek to protect. To the contrary, I’m guessing your fawning minions would flock at warp speed to the first insurance company that could slash its premiums by 50% on the success of its investments in far more dubious relationships than McDonald’s and Mass Mutual.

And where does Harvard put its money these days. How about this little nugget from Bloomberg back on October 17^th:

Harvard University’s failed bet that interest rates would rise cost the world’s richest school at least $500 million in payments to escape derivatives that backfired.

Now Dr. Boyd, wouldn’t you say it’s a bit “amoral” for those penning your paycheck to be associating with those scurrilous derivative dealers on Wall Street?

Two words Dr. Boyd…..caveat emptor.

Business is no place for the we are the world, group-hug mentality of those who think health insurance companies divesting themselves of fast-food stock will make a dent in the sloth and laziness that combine to create America’s number two most expensive pre-existing condition. Number one is stupidity.

Physical fitness, which I believe is your well-intentioned goal, is a function of intelligence. Obesity and cardiovascular disease visit themselves most often, and most harshly, not upon those who lack an insurance provider with a vegetarian stock portfolio, but upon those who lack the discipline and personal responsibility to make the right choices at the right time over the long run.

Maybe the health insurance companies should all get together and invest their money in Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutri-System; major players in the $100 billion a year weight loss industry.

They’ve been around for years and look how good that’s turning out.

Obama….Smoker in Chief

I’m not making this up. Here it is direct from CNN.

(Doctor) Kuhlman noted that the 48-year-old president should keep up his efforts to stop smoking. Obama’s medications include nicotine replacement therapy.

I’m a little curious about exactly how this works. Where does the President sneak off to hide when he smokes? And what measures are in place to insure he remains completely invisible to the press while doing his dirty deed.

Who is in charge of supplying the Presidential mints? Is he diligent about washing the smell off of his ciggy-gripping fingers after every phantom fag?

Is it me or is this just flat out embarrassing? America’s Commander-in-Chief tapping out because giving up the binky is just too tough. This is behavioral amateur hour at a dangerously inappropriate level.

And how about the CNN article? Not until the fourth paragraph does it make any mention of Obama’s smoking. Not until after gushing “the doctor liked what he found,” “excellent’ health” and “fit for duty.” It’s like confessing to a convenience store robbery and then pleading for a lesser sentence because you left a twenty in the till.

Has Obama spoken honestly and openly to the American public about this? Not much. Gibbs would be standing in front of the microphone like the veteran wax-museumer he is trying to cover oval office arse with nauseating platitudes about cravings and struggles. Is it nappy time yet?

Hey Gibbs, when does the president plan to start quitting the butts and stop quitting on himself? Can you hear Gibbs now? “Well, all I’m at liberty to say is that it’s part of our HOPE and CHANGE agenda. I’m HOPING you guys will CHANGE the subject real soon.”

Is this what passes for leadership today? I don’t think so. It instead reveals the psychological DNA of today’s me-first cry babies who far too casually subordinate what is right but maybe tough to what is wrong but hopefully unnoticed.

Where are the secret hiding places that keep the cancer sticks from the curious eyes of young Sasha and Malia? Can you imagine the Marlboro man scurrying for cover as he waves frantically at the air to hide his scent trail from two little girls? At least he could face his chemo with a little dignity.

Man I’m telling you this is pitiful. All I can picture is a foursome of cave-dwelling Taliban huddled around the hookah pipe trying not to whiz their robes while joking about Michelle scolding Mr. Stinky breath.

And spare me the training-wheels mentality about the President’s individual rights. If Tiger Woods was some weekend hacker drinking beers with his buddies on a municipal course do you think anybody would care how many girlfriends he had?  When you sign up for the highest office in the land you man up to the highest standards in the business. At least historically you did. This is the President of the United States we’re talking about here, coming up short against the lowest hanging fruit on the decision making tree.

Let’s all be thankful we don’t have a President with enough posterior leadership follicles (think about it) to step up and say “I quit, and I challenge ALL Americans to quit.”

Just like Hillary didn’t have the guts to throw Monica’s boyfriend’s golf clubs off the White House balcony, Obama would rather hide in the closet for a smoke than step up to the plate and challenge millions of Americans to actually do something that would reduce health care costs.

What else is going on I wonder? Do Biden and Obama giggle and squeal while peeking at the latest Victoria Secret mailer in Michelle’s inbox?  

I’m telling you this is sad. When the behavior of the President matches that of Will Farrell and his frat bros in Old School, you can be sure that cravings are kicking the crap out of courage on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Lung cancer is covered by health care reform, right?

“Director” Kevin Smith….BABYTALK at its very best.

Kevin Smith, oops excuse me, “Director” Kevin Smith’s ongoing tiff with Southwest Airlines provides a veritable highlight reel of the whining, self-indulgence we hear so often from America’s growing legion of belt-buckle busters.

As we like to say in BTC Land, it is Babytalk at its very bust.

Let’s review shall we? Mr. Smith buys two seats on Southwest Airlines in an obvious acknowledgement that just one standard airline seat is no match for his ample caboose. He then decides to change flights, but the new flight only has one seat available. This is where that annoying little thing called “reality” struck, making it obvious that the lucky travelers neighboring Mr. Smith’s seat would be getting up close and personal with Silent Bob’s overflow flesh. Ummm!!! And you know it will only get better in mid flight when the predictable sleep apnea-induced coma kicks in to produce a drool stream connecting his gaping pie hole with the collar of his mustard-stained shirt.

One involuntary muscle twitch and that dangling saliva rope will become a deadly mucous missile heading straight for your snack tray but hey, that’s life. Nobody’s perfect.

The part that kills me is how this whole scenario becomes Southwest’s fault, causing Mr. Smith to unleash a tirade of indignation that he should be treated in such a fashion.

Here are some highlights:

Smith said he suspected he may have been bumped by an airline employee who did not like his comic films, which include “Zach and Miri Mkae a Porno,” “Clerks” and the upcomong “Cop Out”.

Is this guy serious? How many airline employees would you have to survey before finding one who was familiar with this cultural trilogy of Hollywood but Hollyshouldn’t.

Smith says “I’ll never fly on Southwest again!” Can you just hear the sigh of relief coming from the 85 pound female yoga instructor who might have been the next seat-mate to Mr. Smith’s gravitational pull?

And my favorite, Smith is going to launch a “scorched earth” campaign against Southwest in protest of their inhumane treatment of flying fatties.

Listen up Sponge Bob, it sounds like the only thing being scorched is the pavement in the drive-thru lanes of your local eateries. Man up and take your medicine like you take your French fries. If you want to live like a load don’t cry when the reality of living like a load becomes an inconvenience.

Next time stick with the two seats and take it like a man. And I hope your next film goes well. At the rate you’re slaying those burritos, you’ll be paying for a whole row next year! Maybe I can catch Silent Bob Two on my next Southwest Airlines flight.

Billy the Coach
PO Box 852
North Andover, MA 01845
Tel: 978-689-0957
www.billythecoach.com    

Should We Pay for his Surgery?

Click on the picture and watch the video then tell us what YOU think.  Weigh-in on this!

Why A Fat Tax Won’t Stop Obesity

One suggestion for financing health care reform is a proposed tax on fattening foods. It may raise revenue, but if you think it will have any affect whatsoever on the rates of obesity and diabetes in the U.S., you are still intoxicated on the Obamafied Kool-Aid of HOPE AND CHANGE.

Here’s a newsflash baseball fans…it won’t happen.
Digest this.

In proposing a 5% premium on sweets and soft drinks, Massachusetts Governor Deval called it a “critical first step in discouraging the consumption of these empty calories.”
Ironic that Deval’s public health commissioner John Auerbach would acknowledge in a subsequent interview that this “sugar tax” was more about revenue generation than behavior modification. Adding more, Auerbach said “I think it is possible that it will effect consumption, but when we’ve looked at past studies, it is difficult to document that.”

Not feeling good yet about a national version of this nonsense? Keep reading.

In 2003, McDonald’s was the target of a lawsuit alleging food from McDonald’s restaurants was responsible for making people obese. In a victory for common sense, Judge Robert Sweet threw the case out of court.

In his ruling Judge Sweet stated, “Where should the line be drawn between an individual’s own responsibility to take care of herself and society’s responsibility to ensure others shield her?”

Good question. And equal consideration for “Where should we draw the line?” should be given to the question of “WHO should draw the line?”

The America I live in was founded by people brave enough to fight such intrusive government agendas. And the America I hope we never see is one that taxes the food choices we make because the government told us we were too stupid to think for ourselves. And we believed them.

Fatness in the U.S. From Bad to Worse

The annual obesity rankings report recently released by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows fatness in America going from bad to worse. Colorado remains the perennial thinnest state, with ONLY 19% of the adult population being obese. And Mississippi keeps a fat grip on the number one spot, retaining its “fattest state in the Union” status for the fifth year in a row with 32.5% of adults obese. Way to go Ole Miss!! You must be so proud.

And what a shocker this is! All those unconscious Mississippi adults are raising the fattest kids of any state as well, with 44.4% (yes that’s frighteningly close to half) of their children ranking overweight or obese. Isn’t that nice?

Just how bad is it? In the past 5 years, not a single state has shown a decrease in the number of overweight and obese adults. That’s 0 for 50 for you baseball fans out there.

But my favorite part of this national disaster is Obama’s desire to institute a government run health insurance plan that will pay the oncoming tsunami of health care costs generated by a population that clearly lacks the will or desire to eat responsibly and exercise effectively.

Anyone hearing any talk of holding Americans accountable for their preventable health care costs? Are you hearing any talk about mandatory lifestyle modification programs for those diagnosed with Type II diabetes or high cholesterol. Anyone hearing calls to deny health insurance to those who continue to smoke cigarettes? I don’t think so.

Hold on to your wallets folks. Obama wants to throw a health care party for America the obese. He wants you to pay for it, and it looks like it is going to be open bar.

I can’t weight.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

The Obama administration’s credibility on health care reform just went up in smoke….specifically the President’s personal cigarette smoke!

For clarification, here is the dictionary definition of reform:
Reform –noun
1. the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc.: social reform; spelling reform.

2. an instance of this.

3. the amendment of conduct, belief, etc.

If anyone on the planet has a responsibility to lead by example, it should be Obama.

He is a parent.

He is the face of health care reform.

He is a black American (Blacks have very high rates of smoking).

Oh yes, and he also happens to be the PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.

“95% cured of smoking” as Obama said in his press conference is not good enough.

If you’re going to ask the Americans to trust you as their President, sneaking a smoke behind their backs is not good enough.

As the Commander in Chief, if you ask American soldiers to show courage under fire, your courage should at least hold up against a pack of cigarettes.

Time to man up Mr. President.

Time to put on the Big Boy Pants.

BTC

NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE…..MODERN DAY SNAKE OIL

Featured in today’s CFN news is a story titled Snake Oil For Our Health Care Ills by Shikha Dalmia, a Senior Analyst at Reason Foundation and author of a biweekly column for Forbes. In the article, Dalmia references a study by the actuarial firm Milliam Inc. which disputes the Obama administration’s claim that Medicare is a model for cost-savings through government managed health care. In her own words, and I quote, “This is 21st century snake oil.”

Now just because Dalmia expresses this opinion doesn’t mean she is right. But the fact that she might be right, and the fact that many Americans share this opinion, is cause for concern given the $1.6 trillion price tag on Obama’s plan.

Do you think the government has proven itself to be a worthy steward of Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs, and therefore worthy of our confidence that it can effectively manage a national health care program?

“WHERE’S THE FITNESS???”

Revamping the country’s health care system is a major goal of the Obama administration.

How it will be managed and who will pay for it are complex issues that won’t be resolved easily. But one question should be first and foremost in a system that we’re told will be built upon the premise of preventative care. “WHERE’S THE FITNESS???”

 With obesity, diabetes, hypertension and many cancers on the rise due to the continued poor lifestyle behaviors of the majority of Americans, is it realistic to think any health care system can care for a population that refuses to care for itself?