A comment by one of my trailer park friends on a previous post, and a trip to the mall yesterday, got me thinking about weight this morning.
It started early in my mall trip yesterday, with the crazy ass people playing demolition derby with their cars to get a parking spot closer to the mall entrance. Like it would kill them to park a few feet extra spots away and walk their lazy asses an extra step or two.
Once inside, it really hit me. Us A-merry-cans are huge. And I am not talking about the CDC's definition of proper weight per height distribution on their adult obesity chart. Hell a lot of us would flunk that one. Because unless you happen to have a job in television, or you suffer from some sort of eating disorder, that shit is just not realistic. But the folks I am talking about (and I saw plenty of em) are way off that chart. Folks, let's admit it, here in A-merry-ca, we are some big ass people. I mean some folks don't walk they literally waddle from store to store. They have to take very deep breaths with every two steps, and some of us can't even walk anymore. We ride around in portable electronic wheel chairs to get ourselves from point A to point B. Ever wonder why you see all those handicapped parking places everywhere? It's not because everyone is physically disabled due to the loss of a limb or a vital bodily function; no, it's because they are obese. Most of the handicap stickers this city gives out is because of obesity.
For those of you who have traveled to other countries in places like Europe you will know exactly what I am talking about. You see the difference right away. If you are an A-merry-can man, try buying a Corneliana sports jacket or a Loro Piana suit off the rack. It ain't happening because that bad boy won't fit us, our size just won't let it. For whatever the reason, we are just big folks to begin with, which means that we are not working with much before we get to that crisis point with our weight.
As black folks we really have to watch it. Because right now most of us we are in denial and stats don't lie. Diseases like diabetes and other cardiovascular disorders are causing us to die at a much younger rate than the folks in the majority population, and there is a direct link between obesity and many of these diseases. (And please don't even comment and tell me about all the reasons for our poor diets such as poverty, the lack of access to fresh fruits, and grocery stores in many of the poorer neighborhoods. You would be wasting your time, I know all about that shit) At some point we have to say no to the super sized version of the fries. Maybe we should get the one piece and not the two piece dinner when we hit up the Colonel. Maybe we shouldn't eat that box of "fiddle faddles" right before bed. And maybe, just maybe, we shouldn't go to the all you can eat buffet restaurant. Honestly, the way some of us eat, that's like setting a pedophile loose on an orphanage. I am just keeping it real with you all.
Now there is nothing wrong with being big if you can stay healthy and live as long as the next guy. But reality says that will not happen. The statistics say otherwise, and unless you are an NFL lineman, and your livelihood depends on you being as big as a small sub division; then the risk you take for the potential rewards just isn't worth it to you.
And now, just to show you that I am not being a hypocrite, I am going to eat two pancakes this morning instead of four.
