You're Next, Fatty

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

The feds have been ramping up their interest in sleep apnea for some time.  Commercial truckers and airline pilots know this.  Now, the FAA has decided that ALL pilots with a body mass index over 40 will be screened.  They say up front this is the first step and that evenually they intend to screen all pilots with a BMI over the norm.  We're not talking about airliner pilots, we're talking about your Uncle Ralph and his Piper Cub.  The NHTRSA has been increasing it's demands on CDL holders for some time.

The industry points out that in almost no cases are any deaths directly attributed to sleep apnea.

At the same time, states are legalizing marijuana so a person under the influence of drugs is more likely to be on the road.  

With ACA and recent medical publications that any amount of overweight for any reason is bad, can the general population be far behind in government pressure? 

Over the past 25 years we've seen societal pressure apply considerable restrictions on tobacco use and on drinking.  Societal observations on weight have also been critical but there are frequent push backs.  "Big is beautiful" and other slogans that tell people to stay out of other people's eating habits.  There is little doubt, though, that there has been an increasing emphasis on weight control, even if many of us don't show it.

At the same time we are able to more specifically and individually determine what causes health problems, we get these massive one-over-the-world campaigns that tar all with the same brush.

Better push back, fatty, you're next.

[Kay/NC]

Jim, I have fought ( and mostly lost) the weight battle, since the birth of our third child. There were signs during my pregnancies that diabetes was in my future, and that came to be.

I can actually trace the beginnings of the fight to trying to stay awake until he returned home from second shift...I would eat a snack to help me stay awake. That turned into a nasty habit. (BTW, some theories blame shift work and even electric lights - for extending daylight too long artificially - for obesity.)

I have dealt with more expensive health insurance premiums at my highest weight, and fortunately got the worst of it under control. The truth for me seems to be that I can either deal with the stress of this business OR control my weight within the acceptable range, but not both at once. Yes, that does make me consider changing my line of work.

The complex causes of overweight are uncertain. On some levels, it is just math, not magic. Factoring in intangibles like stress, genetics, possible pathogenic influences, etc., we can see that what works for your weight management might not work for mine. The altered state of modern foodstuffs is at least partly to blame.

Being fat is the last socially acceptable condition left to open ridicule. I bristle when I hear a fat joke, because it isn't really funny.

If you want to know anything about weight control, ask an overweight woman. We have read every article and book known to mankind on the subject. We can explain virtually any diet, because we have tried them all.

Right now, I have decided to make peace with my body. I am avoiding gluten as much as practical, and that is reducing cravings immensely. Beyond that, I try to do as Craig Ferguson advises, "Eat less, move around more. ".

[Shaggy98]

Kay, I agree with you that shift work can create unhealthy eating habits. I have been working my off the farm job for going on 12 years now that has a rotating schedule. Days, evenings and nights that I must rotate weekly. Unfortunately for me, I battle with not having an appetite. I have to really force myself to have a meal when I'm at work or when I am the only one at home. I used to live on caffeine and junk food, but I was catching myself not sleeping for 24-36 hours and that had a whole other set of issues. I've since have cut nearly all caffeine and junk food out of my diet and find myself being able to get more restful sleep. Shift work can be a real struggle at times.

[weedman]

The big problem with weight control is it has to be done partially. What I mean is, I have stopped drinking and tobacco use and those were easy in the fact that you don't have to have either to live. But we have to have food. And there is the rub. Portion control is the hardest thing in the world. I can't imagime having 1 can of beer. Never happened. If I had 1 I had 6. Or more. How to do it with food.

It has much to do with a persons mental state. Sometimes resisting things are easier. Identifying those times is the trick. I just had hip replacement surgery, and something in the process has really allowed me to control my eating. Wish I knew what it is, so I could replicate it when I wanted.

[Kay/NC]

I quit a four-pack-per-day smoking habit, cold turkey...so, I know I have extremely strong willpower. You are right that portion control is key, and also very hard to do.

Mike wenta on his physician's lowfat diet in June, due to marginally rasied cholesterol. He started eating lowfat yogurt, in 90 calorie portions. What started as one with lunch ended up as two with lunch, two more after dinner. That was an added 360 calories per day.

I didn't say much, but after about a month, he was complaining of putting on a few pounds. When imtold him it was the nonfat yogurat, he disputed me sort of ferociously...it was, after all, NONfat yogurt.

In another few weeks, he realized a few more pounds had crept on. Thank goodness he is tall, so it wasn't too obvious. He woild fuss and ask me whatbcouod be causing his gain...and I said that 360 addd caloris a day is a pound of gain every ten days. He finally gave in, and kicked the yogurt habit. He now admits he is a yogurt junkie....

When you see visuals on what constitutes a real portion size v a typical supersized fast food meal, it is clear that fast food is often a much overfed product. I think that is the crux of the matter in terms of making fast food a regular part of the diet.

Am sitting between engagements tonight, relaxing wit a pot of hot tea, in a restaurant with an unlimited Chinese buffet. This is a test of my resolve to improve self- comtrol when it comes to portion control. So far, so good, but I have another half- hour to go before leaving for a funeral visitation.

The lack of appetite is a good unintended consequence of your surgery. I have noticed similar responses at differents times of lif...after our child's passing, I didn't eat a ral meal weeks, for example.

You may be experiencing an aftereffect of anesthesia...i think maybe the total relaxation of being all the way unconscious may be at least a temporary stress reducer, as coiod be the absence of pain from your bad joint.

For me, stress feels like a mouse gnawing righ behind my bellybutton...which is easily confused with hunger. I tend to feed the rat, instead of dealing with what caused it t kick up a fuss. Got to get better at that!