Friday, August 25, 2006
You're as big as you feel
Nate Mcullough, copy desk chief of this newspaper, in his column, "It's time to stop killing ourselves", says, "I don't want to be fat anymore" and he beseeches the question, "Who's with me"? I could respond by saying, "Nat, I don't want to be old any more", but the alternative terrifies me.
The fact is that there is a whole world of advertisers out there who 'ain't' with Nat or anybody else who is fat, young or old. Specifically I'm talking about the fast food giants like McDonalds, Burger King etc. who proudly display their latest oversized burgers and fries. They offer sandwiches so large you need to have jaws like an alligator to get them in your mouth. It would be unthinkable for any company to offer cocaine or heroin as a happy solution to depression or lack of self esteem, but its perfectly legal to entice people, children in particular,to hog down at the local fast food eatery. You seldom see fat people depicted in the television ads where fast foods are concerned, but you definitely see a lot of kids chomping down
those over-sized goodies. People who compulsively over- eat are sometimes compared to alcholics and probably need professional help to deal with the addiction. Health agencies are finally getting involved in trying to deal with what has become a serious and life threatening problem, but I don't think most of us 'get it' yet. Walk down any street, visit any school or ball park and you will see a whole world of fat people, young and old, waddling along, oblivious to the inevitable consequences of one quarter pounder too many.
Hey Nat, I am with you, because you do 'get it'. You just need to get less of it. Good luck.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
The fact is that there is a whole world of advertisers out there who 'ain't' with Nat or anybody else who is fat, young or old. Specifically I'm talking about the fast food giants like McDonalds, Burger King etc. who proudly display their latest oversized burgers and fries. They offer sandwiches so large you need to have jaws like an alligator to get them in your mouth. It would be unthinkable for any company to offer cocaine or heroin as a happy solution to depression or lack of self esteem, but its perfectly legal to entice people, children in particular,to hog down at the local fast food eatery. You seldom see fat people depicted in the television ads where fast foods are concerned, but you definitely see a lot of kids chomping down
those over-sized goodies. People who compulsively over- eat are sometimes compared to alcholics and probably need professional help to deal with the addiction. Health agencies are finally getting involved in trying to deal with what has become a serious and life threatening problem, but I don't think most of us 'get it' yet. Walk down any street, visit any school or ball park and you will see a whole world of fat people, young and old, waddling along, oblivious to the inevitable consequences of one quarter pounder too many.
Hey Nat, I am with you, because you do 'get it'. You just need to get less of it. Good luck.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
