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Thursday, August 2. 2007
Heavy
Does anyone remember Dick Cavett? Probably a very few, but Dick had some excellent talk shows back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s; with such astounding guests, like Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison. Dick has to be older than Moses by now so it’s a good thing he doesn’t really do television these days. Who wants to see a wrinkly old man on TV!I’d much rather see someone like Kathy Griffin – by the way, another “reality” show I enjoy a lot; My Life on the D-List – on TV rather than Dick Cavett. Griffin is a hottie and newly divorced! She’s rich and lives in a trey bon Hollywood Mansion and if you ever get tired of Kathy, she has a fine, fine assistant, Jessica. Kathy is very single, Jessica has a live-in BF and now, reportedly, a GF she hooked up with through MySpace. I just love Hollywood!
Actually, Cavett wouldn’t be so bad on TV, probably a lot better than Larry King –
Did you see Dick Cheney on Larry King last night? What a creepy old man. Larry actually tried to ask tough questions, but in his wimpy, “I don’t hate anyone” kinda way. Eh
So having Dick Cavett on TV isn’t such a bad idea, what with the passing of Tom Snyder – Tomorrow was the best thing on TV for many, many years – we could use some intelligent television again. I would hope Dick (Cavett, not Cheney) would dig a little deeper into the hot topics of the day, like: are Nicole and Paris really friends?
Dick Cavett is a topic today because of his recent column in the opinion section of the New York Times. He’s discussing how FAT we are as a nation. Guilty as charged. I’m at least 60 pounds over weight and it’s far more than a vanity issue, it severely impacts my health. My heart has a difficult time pumping blood, I’m in the beginning stages of type-2 diabetes – I’m a third heart attack waiting to happen. Thankfully, I’ve been steadily losing weight for the past few months – the past year really – but it’s a difficult task given my proclivity for Carl’s Jr. and the Mexican shoppe down the street with the killer carne asada burritos.
Cavett wrote some tough words about the fatness of our nation, citing some alarming trends. We see fat people a lot in commercials; we have fat people promoting themselves as being ok with their weight and appearance. The message in all this, as Cavett points out, is that being fat is ok. Which, for health reasons, isn’t ok. Fully one third of our nation is dangerously obese and the health problem, and the subsequent cost to the nation, is not ok.
According to the National Institutes of Health, “Obesity has risen to epidemic levels in the U.S. It causes devastating and costly health problems, reduces life expectancy, and is associated with stigma and discrimination.”
“Currently, approximately 65 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight (BMI of 25 or greater) or obese (BMI of 30 or greater). The increase in obesity over the past 30 years has been fueled by environmental, social, economic, and behavioral factors, acting on a background of genetic susceptibility.”
The acronym “BMI” stands for Body Mass Index. If you’re a man with 25% (or more) body fat, you are considered obese. For women, that number is 30%.
Cavett’s commentary isn’t the least bit politically correct. He refers to those of us who are obese as fat. Obese talk show hosts, obese comedians – There is a show on the Oxygen network called Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance in which five obese women compete for a $50,000.00 prize in a modeling competition. For Mo’Nique, the premise is to make fat women feel good about themselves, to love themselves. Indeed. One of the many factors that contribute to our overweight nation is low-self esteem – which is a major contributor drug and alcohol addiction. Well, good for her and the five contestants, but do we want to celebrate being dangerously obese?
Obese guests on television shows such as Jerry Springer which celebrates the lowest of our culture, obese or otherwise. Obesity is epidemic in our culture and that is Cavett’s point and by featuring obesity in commercials and other advertisements, we are accepting this health epidemic as if it is ok.
Do fat comics have a right to make a living as other comics? Yeah, can’t really deny it. Occasionally, Louis Anderson is funny, but I don’t watch him, nor do I watch Mo’Nique’s various projects. Forget whether or not being fat is appealing, obesity is bad for our health.
If you’re overweight and would like to change that, it can be done. I’m slowly losing weight, a few pounds a month, but there are a multitude of web sites that can help and give you ideas and inspiration to get started and stay healthy, like This One. It isn’t the only place to get help, there are plenty of organizations dedicated to good health – not to mention all the companies willing to help us slim down for a price. I was tempted to join the plan used by Dan Marino and Don Shula. You’ve seen the commercials. Not only will slimming down improve your physiological health, it will improve your emotional and spiritual health as well.
That’s my rant.
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