Hoo boy, have I got some good stuff for you this week! Get your fill of news in today’s post, and then run along and have yourself a great weekend. Are you going to be watching the Super Bowl? I hope you have some delicious snacks while you’re enjoying all those mega-expensive commercials and cheering on whichever team you prefer (the Broncos, obviously).
These pictures have nothing to do with this content.
Let’s kick it off with this article about whether or not dieting is worth it, which totally made me laugh. Here’s my favorite bit (bolding mine):
[…]a surprising recent development in dieting research indicates that, at least for cardiovascular disease — the No. 1 killer of Americans — it may be time to ditch the diet. This may sound like good news to anyone who has ever dieted, but it was startling news to dieting researchers.
So, it’s surprising to dieting researching that diets may not be the best idea, eh? That says to me that there aren’t any dieting researchers who have actually, you know, dieted. Because if there were, then they would be like 95% of the rest of us, who regained all the weight we lost (and often more), whose metabolisms got totally screwed up.
I just wanted you to have something pretty to look at.
There is a lot of interesting stuff in this article, from how a diet is deemed successful (hint: an insurance company made up what we should weigh, not medical professionals) to how long most studies last to determine if a diet is successful (hint: definitely not a lifetime). I could go on and on about all this, but take a look at the article yourself so we can move on…
Like this little shell on the beach. Isn’t that lovely?
…to this crazy story about skinny girls in South Korea who let people watch them eat. Whut? One girl “easily polishes off four large pizzas or three kilograms (6 lb) of beef in one sitting, albeit over the span of several hours.” These kinds of stories are fascinating to me because of how many people have no problem with someone gorging themselves on food as long as they are skinny. It also speaks to the idea that someone can be naturally thin… but rarely do those same people believe that someone can be naturally fat.
Plus, it lets me show off my photography. I love taking pictures.
Now, two posts about kids and fat. (You’ll note that both of these articles – in fact, almost all articles about weight – make liberal use of the words “obese” and “obesity,” but I don’t. I find those words ugly and unnecessary. They’re practically swear words to me. Consider them the “o” words.) First, the idea that the risk of a kid becoming fat starts before they even head off to school. Ooh, just what we need – spreading fat fear at younger and younger ages! Here’s a stellar quote:
The study’s findings do not mean that it’s too late for schools to act, but their best tactic may be to focus on kids who are overweight and try to encourage exercise and healthy eating, Cunningham said.
What a great idea! Single out the fat kids and teach them healthy habits! But don’t worry about the skinny kids – they can play video games and eat Cheetos all day, no problem. Oy.
And how about this one, where we see two boys whose parents have been told their BMIs are too high. Doctors, STOP. BMI is clearly not a valid indicator of health.
I hope you enjoyed them!
So, what did you read this week that caught your eye? Share in the comments, or post ’em to the Facebook page. Happy weekend, BFDers!
