30.5% Of Americans Agree That Obesity Standards Are Too Strict

With the obesity rate in the US rising sharply, many people are looking for ways to "cut the fat", and slim down in time to avoid massive cardiac arrest causes by almost complete artery blockage. Although we would like to think that America can regain control of its weight and perhaps begin to live a healthy life, experts say that it is unlikely to happen, citing years and years of rising obesity rates and fat jokes. For that reason, I feel that it is time we lower the standards for fatness in our society.

Currently, around 30 and 1/2 percent of people in the United States are considered obese, and another 34 percent are considered overweight. Raising the standards would make people feel better about themselves, and also relieve the pressure of having to worry about things like proper nutrition and exercise. On the right is a group of people who under today's standards would be considered obese and probably quite unhealthy. The looks on the faces of these people can only be described as despair. They represent a large portion of Americans who are picked on daily and treated as second class citizens. There is nothing more embarrassing than having to walk down the street in pastel-colored one-piece leotards because the big and tall clothing store didn't have anything in your size.

The current standards state that anyone with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher is overweight, and anyone with a BMI of over 30 is obese (go here to calculate your BMI). BMI takes into account height and weight, which means people who are very short may not get accurate readings. For instance, the person seen in the photo in the green leotard has a BMI of just about 100. Under my new standards, the 2 men on the left would have their condition upgraded from "obese" to "slightly overweight", a level that many large people find much easier to come to terms with.

The fact is, many obese people simply give up on diet an exercise, instead resorting to claims that they are "big-boned" or that they have "bad genes." My new levels would increase self confidence and most importantly, show those skinny, arrogant scientists that they will no longer be allowed to treat large people as though they have a problem. The United States needs to do something to solve the obesity epidemic, and diet and exercise is overrated.