Theres been a few issues that have intrigued my interests as of late
and they all have to do with obesity and body image. Being a nutrition
major, obesity is a topic that comes to our attention often. Growing up
overweight kid and being a different shape than everybody else, obesity
is very familiar to me. Even so, i still currently have a BMI of
31 which lands me in the obesity category... But really, BMI is a joke
to people who lift weights.
This brings me to the first article i found.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22477703/
HOUMA, La. - A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a
restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet line, then
banned him and a relative because they're hearty eaters. A spokesman
for the restaurant denies the claim.
Ricky
Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for eight
months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often as
three times a week.
On
his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's
cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double
the buffet price for two adults.
"She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.
Labit
and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their
size. "I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I
ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said, adding that a
waitress told him he looked like he a had a "baby in the belly."
Houma
accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10 each on
Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more
expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.
'We don't discriminate'
"We
have a lot of big people there," said Campo, who spoke for owner Li
Shang, whose English is limited. "We don't discriminate."
Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the standard adult price.
The argument grew heated, and police were called.
The
police report states, "The incident was settled when the management
advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was
complimentary."
Labit
said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained
that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only
grudgingly cooks more.
Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he said.
"Food
is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a wall
in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."
.... I actually have nothing to say about this
one besides the hilarity it ensues. lol. But having a family in the
restaraunt business. The worst nightmare for a restaraunt owner is
watching your food go to waste. People putting food on their plate, not
eat it.. and just go straight to the trash can. The second is having a
larger than regular people come and raid ur buffett line, leaving you
with extremely small amounts of profit... if any. The highlight of this
article is wen the dude goes.. "I ain't that fat, i just weigh 277
lbs". If this guy is 6'3" and is 277 lbs.. according to the BMI index,
he is about 34.6 which puts him well into the obese category. Of course
this all depends on muscle mass and density... but judging from the
other comment about being pregnant.... most likely not.
But i do applaud to his self confidence. I strongly feel that everyone should be proud of their self image.
Your self-esteem should be high. One thing that i absolutely
cringe at is when people feel neglected at how society treats them
because of their self image. Self pity is gonna get you no where. Self
pity is wat lands you on the Maury Povich show... which ultimately
lands u on Youtube. Your self image is important to you and also to how
people treat you. If you feel displaced, do something about it. Your
own actions are wat got you in what your shape is now... they can also
get you out of it. Be happy about yourself, if not... get up and do
something about it. It is very unfortunate how society can be cruel.
But truth is that it is based on a physical judgment intially.
This brings me to my next article i came
across earlier in 2007. Tyra Banks dressed up as a fat girl and went on
a blind date. Here is the article:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1280787
After reading the article. It is very apparent
that society treats u very differently if you are not the norm. Again,
this is very unfortunate, but don't spend time crying about it.
Perhaps.. conforming to the norm can be a good thing? At the same
time... the public eye should be more lenient.
I agree with Tyra in the article.. and also here in this Youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5unYaNd3c&feature=related
What i don't' agree with Tyra .. is in here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nlMS5k455Q
After lecturing about high self-esteem and how society treats fat
people differently. The rest of her shows are about fashion and beauty.
She even had scantaly dressed buff guys tend to the predominately
female audience in this one show earlier this week. This act of vanity
is EXACTLY what Tyra have been preaching againts about. People want to
see underweight females strut their bony asses down stage. (Imagine if
it were plus sized women in those clothes) People want to see the
chiseled tanned guys dance around in their g-strings. Watever happend
to being treated unfairly while being in a fat suit Tyra? Wat happend
to " Kiss my fat ass" directed to the tabloids who judged you on looks
Tyra? What happend to..... o wait.... Tyra.. i forgot... you're a
supermodel.
Self esteem starts off at a very young age and for some.. low esteem can be a cyclic downward spiral... such as the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_qYKCc9m0A
This is how child obesity starts. I saw my own
childhood in this video...instead of eating eggs and bacon in bacon
grease, i use to eat ramen or fried rice for breakfast.... instead of
bringing two lunch boxes to school for lunch... i use to bring 1 lunch
kit as well as buy food from the cafeteria lines... Yea.. running was
tough for a fat kid... very painful physically actually. Think of
having fat dangle off of u while u run.. its almost like u got a buncha
hands pulling on ur fat. Unlike the kid in the video... i was actually
pretty atheletic for my size. I use to shut kids up wen they made fun
of me by balling them up on the 8 foot basketball goal.. or punting a
soccer ball right into their chests. O .. i was also a known slugger
during baseball.
ANyhow, kids are extremely blunt and non
tolerant towards people who are fat and because of that.. the fat kids
like the one shown in the video.. rely on food to escape the ridicules
of the playground. Which inturn leads to weight gain.. that results in
more poking fun of... Ahh... memories..... sometimes painful
memories....
.......... the best part of this is...............
......... the people who use to poke fun of me back in gradeschool.......
........ are fat as hell now.......
PWAHAHAHA
Even tho i consider myself in the best shape of my life right now, i
still struggle with some wierd eating habits. Such as raiding pantries
at my friends house.. Most favorite would be Grace Lin's house and also
Joe Chen's house. Cookies, chips, chocolate, snacks, crackers. If i am
allowed to eat them... i will go all out on them. I can trace back to
my childhood why i am like this. When i was younger... i was so fat and
got picked on so much, that my mom had no junk food in the house. Being
a kid, this was absolutely detrimental... a childhood is suppose to be
constituted with cookies and candy. As you grow up, you will learn how
to eat those in moderation. Unfortunately for me, i never learned how
to moderate myself in that junkfood category because i never had any at
the house. This is why i eat alot of snacks after smallgroup.. and i
always head towards the pantry wen i come over to friends house..... So ....... parents.. plz have some junkfood in the house.
till next time xangians!!!
DeHorne "bmisaysimaobese...isay...doilookobesetoyou?" Sia
| 
