The term “obesity” describes human body weight considered to be unhealthy  according to certain clinical parameters.  Based upon body mass charts, these parameters are calculated using the heights and genders of non-obese individuals as standards for good health.  When a human being ingests food, the body converts it into glucose (a form of sugar), which is then delivered to the cells as energy.  If the person does not expend all of the energy, his or her body then stores it as fat.   While this explanation is accurate, it is also overly simplistic.  The human body is a remarkable, complex thing; many factors contribute to obesity.  However, our society has seen fit to blame every case of obesity on one’s inability to push oneself away from the table.

Government and the healthcare industry (soon to be one and the same) target those who are overweight, claiming that obesity is the root of clinical disorders ranging from diabetes and heart disease to overtaxed joints.  The so-called experts point to overeating and unhealthy eating as the primary cause of rising medical insurance.  But how true is this, when obesity is also linked to glandular and psychological disorders as well as a lack of exercise?  Why are obese people in the general populace painted as Satan’s spawn?

If we move beyond the general public and into narrower realms, we find that obesity is not only accepted, it is embraced.  Let’s start with the world of sports.  Football players do not suffer from a lack of exercise, yet the combined weight of an average football team can border on tons.  There are no featherweights among American or Japanese Sumo wrestlers.  And, most baseball, hockey, and basketball players possess body masses much higher than the medical community’s standards for “healthy.” 

The next group on the hit list is the czars of the food industry.  Everywhere we turn, we find fat-laden foods on the menu.  While fast food joints harbor the usual suspects of burgers, hoagies, fried chicken, and pizza, eat-in restaurants offer fare such as steaks, pork chops, and ribs.  A few weeks ago, Yahoo’s home page listed the ten unhealthiest foods served in non fast food chains, and guess what?  A salad on Chili’s menu made that list!

If we remove all of these products from the American diet because they are unhealthy, we’ll all be dining on lichee nuts, tofu, and stuffed peas.  What a miserable nation we would be without an ounce of fat!   A day without a little fat is like a day without sunshine.

Looking on the bright side and assuming we are not all going to forage in the forest for nuts and berries, the more obese among us will probably not live long enough to collect Social Security, which is now in serious jeopardy.  This situation will extend the funds for healthier Americans of whom we may say, “They died happy.”

So, instead of demeaning and blaming those who are hefty, I think the government and the healthcare industry should trim the real fat.  The fat cats in Congress have been bribed for decades to do the biding of the fat cats in industry (just take a gander at the ethics problems of Congressman Charlie Rangel).  For generations, both species of bloodsuckers fed off the public’s trust.  The fat cats gave birth to the national healthcare system.  Therefore, it is only fitting that we enact a law ensuring they are the first ones to be impacted by that system.   When and if that happens, those fat cats will become “lean and mean.”  Or rather, meaner.