"The problems," he said, "are real."

Here is an entire article in MSNBC/Washington Post that talks about the problems that obese people have with receiving medical attention. Noting in passing that "the instance of obesity has doubled since the 1960's", and even that the obese person has increased risks for such things as diabetes, it makes no mention of the fact that we should not have this problem in the first place.

Okay, okay, so there are a few folks who actually have a weight problem brought on by things like thyroid conditions and the like. Here is a news flash - they are the exception, not the rule.

Americans are fat and lazy. We are growing so fast that the medical community can't keep up with us... and that is sad. I am no better. My "normal" weight should be around 185lbs for my height and frame. Sitting at 200, I have been considering that next chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme twice. Diabetes runs in my family - I know that - and yet, I still drink glass after glass of the Southern Pleasure, sweet tea.

My grandfather ate a diet of around 4,000 calories a day for years and yet never gained weight - some call him "wiry"... why? Because he worked on a farm for 10 - 12 hours a day. My other grandfather, same story...except that he worked in a steel mill. I work in an office. I live in a world of carbs with the exercise regimen of a quadriplegic. Our diets have not changed, but our habits have...

Perhaps we, as a country, should start worrying more about walking a mile a day than how to make health care equipment bigger... but it is always easier to band-aid the problem by relaxing standards as opposed to changing behaviors to bring about a resolution.

I think I will have a cup of coffee and a doughnut... while I think about how next to chastise "you" about this whole weight gain issue.