From: payner@netcom.com (Rich Payne)
Subject: Re: Why are many low-income women fat? (was Re: Separate but Equal?)
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 16:53:24 GMT

In article <BzBFDx.7Bu@news.cso.uiuc.edu> levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu (Lenore Levine) writes:
>payner@netcom.com (Rich Payne) writes:
>
>>How about the misconception that fat people are healthy? Most fat people
>>that I have known have plenty of problems, their feet always hurt, they seem
>>to catch every cold that goes around, some have back problems, etc...
>
>I'm fat, proud of it, healthy, and look 10 years younger than I am!

Wonderful, I am happy for you. I am not fat, and also look a lot younger
than I am (it seems to be about 10-12 years, people often ask when I seem
too knowledgable and experienced my visual age, I have started asking for
their guess as a condition for an answer), so this looks more like a 
matter of genetics. I am curious as to wether it means that one will live
longer as well.
 
>Not as "fit" as I'd like to be, though. :-(
>
>>Perhaps you are confusing 'fat' and 'healthy'. Not all fat people are
>>unhealthy, but a greater percentage than normal are.
>
>Not true for people whose weight is *moderately* over the weight
>tables. They are just as healthy as thin people, if not more so.

A recent study showed that people who were overweight as children
(even 20%) lived significantly fewer years than those who were not
overweight as children, even of they later lost weight. I will
post the abstract if I can dig it out.
 
>True, to a certain extent, of extremely large people. But (at least
>according to the study I read) they are no more unhealthy (on the
>average) than people slightly under the weight tables. 

Health is a difficult thing to measure, it is much easier to measure
sicknesses. What was it that the study used as health indicators?
And was this done by survey?
 
>I know when I look around the math department, I see a lot of
>people (e.g., graduate students) under pressure because of
>exams, and a lot of people (graduate students and professors)
>who work too hard. If these people are fat, they tend to
>get fatter; if they are thin, they tend to get thinner. Either
>way they don't look real good; but it's only the fat ones
>who think of themselves as unhealthy.

Yes, in case it needs to be explicitly stated, being thin is not
the same as (or a guarantee that one will) be healthy. 
 
>I've also seen a lot of large people (e.g., office people) who 
>look fine. Then they go on a diet, look like hell for a few
>months, then gain the weight back...

The problem is dieting, which never was a good idea. One needs
to change the diet (permanantly, and to healthy foods, not starvation
rations of water or watermelon, or whatever the diets call for).
  
>What is really making me stark, raving furious about this
>weight issue? Well, I'll be getting my Ph.D. (hopefully)
>some time in 1994; and I plan to be job hunting next fall.
>What are my chances of hitting some interviewers (even for a 
>very technical position) who use my supposed "unhealthiness" as 
>an excuse for not hiring me, because I'm not a babe!

And if you do not get some job, will it necessarily be because of
weight discrimination? I can just imagine Jen Kilmer (from a previous
post) suing for discrimination (she'd probably have better luck just
suing for sex discrimination, she may well win even if there was none).
 
>!(&*$#&*()!!  $#*)&**!*!@!!
>
>Lenore Levine
>levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu


Rich

payner@netcom.com