EVERYBODY’S FAT NOWADAYS!
EVERYBODY’S FAT NOWADAYS!
I know, I know – this isn’t exactly breaking news. It’s still scary, though. The latest data show that more than one fourth of the men in this country and more than one third of all American women are clinically obese. This continues a 30-year trend toward bloated-ness (not to mention cancer, heart disease, and diabetes) that now costs us nearly $120 billion a year, second only to smoking in terms of monetary burden to the health care system
According to a recent New York Times article, 87 percent of adults polled said that there are more overweight children today than when they were growing up – and two thirds of these folks considered this increase a major health issue. This means an overwhelming majority of us are aware of the obesity problem at its very root – in our children – yet it persists, and worsens year after year
The $120 billion question is this: If we know about this problem, why aren’t we doing anything about it?
Why aren’t we scrutinizing the carb-heavy lunches our school cafeterias are troweling out to our kids every day? Why aren’t we shutting off children’s computers and kicking them out into the sunshine to run, play, build muscle (not to mention social skills), and burn fat? Why aren’t we more closely watching their intake of sugars and refined flours? Why aren’t we turning off the boob tube to limit their exposure to the astonishing number of ads for junk foods, fast food restaurants, and sugary soft drinks? In other words: Why aren’t we PARENTING?
The answer to all these questions is this: We’re waiting for our government (and lawyers) to do it for us. Take a good look around and you’ll see what I’m saying is true.
We’re condemning fast-food chains for making us fat – instead of simply driving past the drive-thru. We’re suing snack foods (like Oreo cookies) for being high in trans-fats – instead of leaving them to crumble on the grocery store shelf. We’re railing against our already too-powerful government agencies for not banning or further regulating perfectly legal consumables – instead of letting our free-market dollars do the talking for us.
And all the while our children sit watching us, learning that they aren’t responsible for their own choices – that they’re powerless against the big marketing machine that drives our economy. They also learn that the way to avoid what’s harmful is to sue it, petition it, or give even more power to government to regulate it
Not to simply stop consuming it.
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A scam of sizeable proportions
It used to be that men didn’t spend a lot of time analyzing their sex lives: They simply did what felt natural WHEN it felt natural and left it at that. And unless there was a specific problem between the sheets, they didn’t worry so much about it
But boy, that little blue pill has sure done a number on us, hasn’t it?
All of a sudden, we’re obsessing about our sex lives. Seriously, how many men do you think now wonder (especially as they get older): Do I do it often enough? Do I do it well enough? Am I as good in the sack as Bob Dole? This drug-induced sex-mania has even led many to wonder: Am I BIG enough?
Just how do I know this, you’re asking? Because lately I’ve been pelted from all sides by radio and print ads for “herbal” formulas that claim to be able to enhance any man’s, uh dimensions.
Now, as you already know, I may be one of this planet’s biggest believers in the power of natural herbal substances – especially when it comes to boosting your sex drive and supporting your potency. But fellas, I’ve never seen anything in all my years of medicine that would lead me to believe there is any possible way that such formulas could really render the kind of enhancement they claim to
And guess what: They DON’T!
In fact, authorities recently raided and shut down the Arizona-based maker of one of the most popular brands of “enhancement” supplements for their fraudulence – and for illegally charging consumers’ credit cards. This has prompted other makers of such products to drastically tone down the rhetoric in their advertisements for fear of similar treatment. But I’m sure that won’t stop insecure men from ordering in hopes of boosting their, um, confidence
Remember: It’s not the arrow, it’s the archer. Your love life’s not a contest – and it’s not on camera. Be content with what you’ve got, and concentrate on keeping yourself and your lover healthy and happy. That way, your sex life will be the best it can be
Driving past the drive-thru,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
