The dangers of obesity!
It is common knowledge that there are many dangers and health risks associated with obesity. Despite this, the world is getting even more and more obese by the decade! It has even affected our children. I was appalled when I came across the story of the 200lbs 6 year old! WTH were the parents thinking????
Anywayz, what let me to blog about this is the fact that last night a patient came into the ER with heart failure. Why did his heart fail? Because it was under the severe strain associated with pumping blood around a 500lbs body. Unfortunately this man is going to die. This is sad because he is very young and it could have been avoided if he hadn’t allowed himself to become a dormant 500lb man.
I’ll be honest, I primarily want to lose weight for aesthetic purposes. I want to look good dammit! After seeing this patient I got to thinking on a deeper level. I don’t want any disease that I can avoid- there is such a wide spectrum of crap you can get as a result of obesity (e.g. diabetes and heart disease). I won’t list them all, but when you have time I think you should google it- it may shock you!
My father died at 56 years old from complications of diabetes. He could have lost a little belly fat (which is the worse possible fat by the way!) but he wasn’t obese. At the end of his life my dad had complete organ failure and partial blindness. It was so sad to see him like this, and I miss him terribly 
He didn’t take care of himself when he was initially diagnosed with diabetes-he essentially ignored it. He wouldn’t have died so young if he had taken care of himself..changed his diet and exercised..when he was in his 20’s.
I have the opportunity to live my life in a healthy way to decrease my chances of getting diabetes (and other obesity related diseases), because it is an evil disease that affects every part of your body. So on top of looking good I want to be healthy..I also want to continue to live a healthy lifestyle so that when I have children I can teach them to be healthy too.
So, I commend you all for doing something about your health and working hard. Trust me, it IS worth it! Whenever you lose motivation, just remember that this healthy journey is more than how much you weigh or how your clothes fit..the healthy path you have chosen will extend your life and keep you around for a long time so that you can enjoy life’s beauty.
Stay healthy my friends 
October 28, 2009 at 6:32 pm
didnt know you worked in the Health field either….but yesss I soooo know what you mean by this. I had a call to a house of a 500lb patient who had died in his home. we had to cut a WALL out to get him out & when we got to him he was surrounded in food. IF THAT DOESNT CHANGE YOU, I DONT KNOW WHAT WILL. you know? i hate that about your dad & im sorry. sad we have to learn from things like this but thats sometimes what it takes for people. LOVE YA GIRL
October 28, 2009 at 6:45 pm
This is a wonderful post! I am in the same boat in a way… I want to lose weight for aesthetic purposes (don’t we all?!?!), but also want to stay healthy because diabetes, heart problems, cancer, etc, run in my family. The healthier I am , the less chance of me having health issues (knock on wood)!
October 28, 2009 at 9:35 pm
went out with friends last weekend and sat in disbelief at the amount of food that was being consumed. now i’m not one to throw stones for it was a gentle remainder that just months ago that was me. appetizer, main course then desert. now that i know better i do better i hope i’m leading by example not to be easy on the eyes but that maybe just maybe one someone watching can avoid the pitfalls of poor health. thank you for bringing that into focus and my heart goes to you in the loss of your father.
October 29, 2009 at 7:23 am
Good Post. I think while its important to be mindful of your health, its also important to understand these terminoligies. For example: I remember going to this one Dr for the first time. After the initial physical, he came back into the room and told me that I was extremely Obese and that i needed to lose weight quickly to avoid serious health problems. I looked at him as if he were crazy, and then asked what made him think i was obese. His "medical" response was, at 6 feet you should only be weighing 180 piounds. I put my clothes on and walked out of his office. Theres no way a Dr could look at me and the my muscle mass and conclude that I was obese because of my weight. But my point is someone that might not know the difference might take him on his word.
Obesity is a serious issue especially here in the states. And its occuring earlier in ages than ever before. Kids these days no longer play outside. They dont play tag, freeze tag, street football, bike ride, or do much of anything unless they are on a team. X-box, playstation and other gaming systems have completely imobilized our youth and in doing so has atributed to the obesity problem. We as parents need to understand that we also need to reliquish the hold of needing to have more or maintain what we have in order to take care of our kids health. If they wont go outside, and be active, then we need to get them active. It’ll be a win win for everyone.
Peace!!
October 29, 2009 at 11:54 am
Hey there, I think no matter what the motivation is for you, at least it exists! Besides, if exercising made us look worse, I think most of us would skimp on it.. so I think whether people admit it or not, aesthetics are definitely a motivator.
Love "Electric Feel" by the way.. just getting caught up on people’s blogs so commenting on your post from a couple days ago haha
October 29, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I wish more people had your mind-set. They are trying to take physical education out of our schools and increase the personnel at our hospitals….doesn’t make sence. Prevention is the key! There is no reason a child should be obese…..I understand there are certain conditions that can cause obesity, but at 6? Sad. …..and I’m sorry about your dad. Its also sad that things like that can be motivation to stay healthy, but I’m glad you’re on the right track!
October 29, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I can totally related to your blog. I have the same issue with my dad, except that he’s somehow managed to outlive all his healthy friends because of all the drugs he has to take for cholesterol, diabetes etc. etc. But, his mortality is always playing on his mind since the first heart attack in 1988. I don’t want to end up like him - and yes, I want to look pretty too