WARNING: Every Friday I will post my own little diatribe about some aspect of health and fitness. These posts will not always be politically correct and you may not always agree with me, but after so many years in the business, sometimes you just have to voice an opinion on things – popular or not.
Look at this as the ‘Dennis Leary’ version of a fitness blog post.
I don’t usually comment on most of the stuff I see in my Facebook newsfeed. But because of my business, lately I do find myself reading more articles and posts there. One I saw yesterday really got to me.
There was a picture of a very, very large woman holding two children. The title of the article detailed her claim that – get this – she needed more public assistance because she could not get healthy with the current financial assistance she had. She claimed that if she was better off she would be able to afford a gym and buy better food but right now she can’t pay gym dues and can only afford junk food.
NOTE: I am NOT calling her out because she has a clear weight management issue, nor do I know her circumstances in life. However, if you are going to make public claims like this, you must be prepared to deal with the fallout.
The story, of course, drew quite a number of comments on Facebook many of which could not be repeated here but I need to be very clear on this. Does anyone really think our forefathers needed to pay for a gym membership in order to stay lean? Does anyone really believe that junk food is cheaper than vegetables? Neither a sedentary lifestyle nor processed foods were an option in earlier times.
Her diet AND her attitude are modern day phenomena.
We live in an era devoid of personal responsibility. I have touched on this theme previously. We all make bad choices. Heck, I do it on a regular basis. I blame no one but myself for the consequences. What kind of mindset does it take to make terrible choices day in and day out and then blame outside circumstances for the result.
Poor decision-making does not discriminate based upon income level. This woman’s logic is flawed on so many levels it’s hard to believe. I could only read the article and just shake my head. Perhaps it’s a lack of education on her part…I don’t know.
She had to make an extraordinary effort to gain as much weight as she has. She refuses to admit it is solely HER fault. Most people I have seen who are really too poor to eat well look malnourished, not obese.
The only saving grace of this bizarre story is the image of her two apparently healthy and weight proportionate children. I can only pray her attitude about health and exercise is not imprinted upon these children. Her choices should remain her own.
Last I checked, walking is FREE and veggies are inexpensive, abundant and good for you, but you might actually have to boil some water to prepare them. How inconvenient…