George Carlin Ranting About Fat Americans

The late, great George Carlin was one of the best stand up comedians ever to rant from an American stage. For George Carlin, no subject was taboo, near as I can tell. In the above video George Carlin gets in some pretty good bits about the American Obesity Epidemic. Ranting about what he calls "Fat Americans."

It comes at you pretty fast, but I think Carlin mentions American's predilection for fast food, for bad food, for not exercising, for waddling through malls, shopping and eating. I do not remember if he gets in a jab at Wal-Mart.

I do remember that Carlin gets in some speculating about some basic aspects of living that come easy to the non-obese, but must be extremely difficult to manage for the extra hefty.

Since it is George Carlin there is a sprinkling of profanity amongst the amusing remarks. YouTube has kindly bleeped them out. For the most part.

Single Incision Lap Band Surgery For Only $9,900

I saw this Lap-Band Surgery ad, this morning, in a local free publication. It is a publication with page after page of tempting restaurant advertisements.

Every day, at least once, I hear a radio ad for Lap-Band Surgery, with the price being $9,999.

As you can in this ad, the surgery is $99 cheaper than the radio ad, with something called a self pay price, making it even more affordable.

I am really stuck in a quandary. I really would like to lose weight and get back on the road to health.

But, almost $10,000 seems like an awful lot of money. I think it might be cheaper and more comfortable, in the long run, if I just started eating less.

And maybe get in some exercise.

After Lap-Band Surgery your stomach size is reduced from an approximate 6 cup capacity to about 1 cup. I'm thinking I can just force myself to eat only 1 cup of food per feeding. Sort of a Virtual Lap-Band of my mind.

I'll keep you posted on how well this works out for me.

Judge in Brazil Orders McDonald's to Pay Former Employee $17,500 Because McDonald's Made Him 65 Pounds Heavier

There are very few nations in the world without McDonald's. North Korea has no McDonald's. I don't know if Iraq now does.

I do know Brazil has McDonald's. For at least a dozen years.

A 32 year old Brazilian man worked at McDonald's in Brazil for 12 years. He worked his way up to being a franchise manager.

The 32 year old Brazilian man gained 65 pounds during his years of service to McDonald's. The man blamed the weight gain on being forced to eat McDonald's food every day to test for quality, so nothing bad was found by McDonald's "mystery diners" who randomly drop in on McDonald's to make sure everything is up to McDonald's high standards.

The man also attributed some of his weight gain to the free McDonald's food offered to employees.

I know how tempting free McDonald's food is. I have relatives who have exposed me to the temptations of free McDonald's food. I have never thought of suing McDonald's for making me fat from the free food.

But, the 32 year old Brazilian man did. Think of suing, I mean.

This past Tuesday, in the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre, Judge Joao Filho signed a ruling against McDonald's and in favor of the former McDonald's manager, granting the man $17,500, due to the 65 pounds of weight gain brought courtesy of McDonald's.

McDonald's has yet to let it be known whether or not they will appeal the case.

Methinks McDonald's should pay up and make as little noise as possible, lest this suing McDonald's by fat employees turns into a global trend.

The Lament of the Skinnies Unable to Become an Upholstered Woman

Someone calling him or herself Anonymous made a couple amusing comments to yesterday's blogging about the man boobs epidemic and Tom Cruise's lumpiness..

Anonymous used the phrase "Lament of the Skinnies."

I had never heard of the Skinnies before. Apparently there is a silent forgotten minority out there who can eat all they want of whatever they want, defying metabolic logic, by never being able to pack on a pound. No matter how hard a Skinny tries.

I also have never heard the term "upholstered women" before. I inquired of Anonymous as to what that meant. Upholstered women are plus-sized women.

Below is the first comment from the Skinny Anonymous. You'll have to go to the blogging about Tom Cruise's man boob lumpiness to read the other Anonymous comment.....

Lament of the Skinnies. Tom's lumpiness is probably due to liposuction.

As a lifetime skinny, I envy you who think a weight loss will solve all your problems of body image and life issues. Noticed is your preference for upholstered women--you all suffer from mass psychosis...that a weight loss will solve your or many of your problems. Not true. We skinnies are left to contemplate our mortal souls while you fatties are left in a safe place with a perceived clear life line of from A to B to achieve nirvana. It pisses me off--heard it all my life; your life is not going to change with man boob reduction and size 34 jeans. Believe me. 

Eye Rolling Life Long Skinny Person.

The Obesity Epidemic & Tom Cruise's Man Boobs

Earlier today I was reading about the Obesity Epidemic infecting Hollywood, causing many actors to proudly sport man boobs.

A few weeks ago there were pictures floating about the Internet of Tom Cruise, shirtless, while filming yet one more Mission Impossible sequel.

I can not remember where it was I saw the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible pictures. I do remember the comments people were making about the current state of Tom Cruise's physique.

There seemed to be pretty much universal agreement that Tom Cruise is now sporting man boobs. And that his muscles have gone flabby on him.

I was unable to understand why people were thinking Tom's musculature had gone flabby or that he had man boobs. To my eyes, Tom Cruise's chest looks like mine. Then again, I have been told I have man boobs, where I was thinking I just had well-developed pectoral muscles.

Below is one of the Tom Cruise supposed Man Boob pictures. Do you see man boobs?

What is that lump above Tom Cruise's belly button? If I were him I'd be more concerned about that lump than I would be about man boobs.

I do not know why, but apparently today DurangObese is all about the man boobs part of the Obesity Epidemic.

I think the first time I heard the term "man boobs" was on the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza saw his dad without his shirt on. This led to Kramer inventing, I think with the help of George's dad, the Brosierre.

With the growing number of American man boobs flopping about, I wonder if anyone is marketing bras for men?

The American Man Boob Epidemic

With myself being a longtime man boob sufferer, it is a subject close to my heart.

This morning I read that Hollywood is somewhat suffering from a man boob epidemic.

This is what I read....

"Hollywood stars have a tendency to search for physical perfection in their appearance but there is a trend of late for male celebrities to embrace what nature has given them. ‘Man boobs’ seen on actors such as John Travolta, Jack Black and even “Indiana Jones” star, Harrison Ford, seem to be somewhat of an epidemic in Hollywood."

I used to think my man boobs were well developed pectoral muscles, til some kind soul disabused me of that notion by pointing out I needed to do more push ups because I had big man boobs.

Man boobs have been around a long time, all the way back to the ancient Greek's heyday. The Greeks word for man boobs is Gynecomastia, which means "female-like breasts."

To varying degrees Gynecomastia afflicts around 60% of the American male population.

There are several things that can cause a man to grow man boobs.

Excess weight is one. Fat can cause more estrogen to be produced, and thus breast tissue. Other things besides being fat can cause extra estrogen to be produced, such as blood pressure medicines, steroid abuse, marijuana smoking and too much alcohol consumption. Tumors can also cause hormones to get out of whack.

It is fairly easy to treat man boobs. If they are due to being over weight, losing the excess weight will shrink the man boobs. If the man boobs are caused by excess estrogen, not related to excess fat, hormone therapy to lower the estrogen levels will shrink the man boobs.

Around 19,000 American men have resorted to breast reduction surgery to get rid of their man boobs. Most often liposuction is the means of reduction, using ultra-sound to target the fat.

For many men with man boobs it becomes a self-esteem/body image issue, with embarrassment preventing activities like swimming.

I can't remember the last time I felt comfortable taking my shirt off and going swimming. Losing weight is my treatment choice.

The Obesity Epidemic Was Sinking Disneyland's It's A Small World Boats

It has been a long long time since I rode the It's A Small World ride in Disneyland. The first time I  rode that ride I think I remember thinking it was cute. And it was fun being in a boat.

I don't think I was ever back in a It's A Small World boat after I left my teenage years.

It's A Small World is now in pretty much all the Disney parks around the world.

The It's A Small World version in Disneyland was shut down from January til November 2008 for some major refurbishment.

Disney denies it, but it is widely believed that American Obesity is the major reason Disney had to shut down It's A Small World for almost a year.

Seems there were some problems with boats getting stuck, causing It's A Small World traffic jams, which made those behind the stuck boats cranky.

When It's A Small World was designed, Disney Imagineers calculated the boat's load capacity based on the average male rider weighing 175, with the average female rider weighing 135. Those figures are as out of date with 2010 reality as the City of Tomorrow.

Over the years, to compensate for the ever growing heft, ride monitors would leave seats open. This annoyed those waiting in line. I guess Disneyland did not think it a good solution to put up a sign informing those in line that due to the Obesity Epidemic the boats could not be fully loaded.

Even with leaving seats open, so the boats could be buoyant enough to successfully float, occasionally one would bottom out at some point in the ride. The ride monitors then would have to locate the stuck boat and tactfully get the plus-sized persons off the boat and on to the emergency escape route. Some passengers did not take kindly to being selected as the cause of the boat not floating.

Disneyland needed a solution to the BIG problem with It's A Small World. So, the It's A Small World's water way and boats were replaced, with deeper water and more buoyant boats.

I don't know how long it is estimated the new boats will be able to reliably keep floating before the Obesity Epidemic starts sinking them again.

If you have never been to Disneyland and have never heard the It's A Small World song, or ridden the ride, watch the video below. You will likely see why being stuck on a boat hearing that song over and over again would quickly get quite annoying.

Ranking the American States From Fattest to Skinniest in CalorieLab's United States of Obesity 2010

According to CalorieLab, in 2010, for the 5th year in a row, Mississippi wins the honor of being the Fattest State in America. Colorado is again the skinniest state. Colorado seems to be the skinniest state in just about every one of these type rankings.

Maine put on some weight this year, moving up to being the 29th Fattest State. Maine was the 35th Fattest in 2009.

Tennessee also got fatter this year, moving from 4th, to a tie with Alabama for 2nd Fattest. The rest of the Top Ten Fattest are West Virginia at #4, Louisiana #5, Oklahoma #6, Kentucky # 7, Arkansas #8, South Carolina #9 and North Carolina #10.

Where I live currently, Texas, is #13, up one notch from last year's #14 ranking. I have not noticed Texans being noticeably fatter.

My old home state, Washington stayed steady at #28.

Oregon, where I was born, is way skinnier than Washington. Oregon lost a lot of weight in 2010, going from being tied with Washington in 2009, at #28, to shrinking down to the #38 spot.

California is even skinnier than Oregon, at #41.

The Top 10 of the Least Fat States (and Washington, D.C.) are New Jersey at #42, Montana #43, Utah #44, Rhode Island #45, Vermont #46, Hawaii #47, Massachusetts #48, Washington, D.C. #49, Connecticut #50, with, like I already mentioned, Colorado being the skinniest at #51.

Sharon Osbourne & Other Celebrities Losing Weight with Lapband Surgery

You are looking at a before and after picture of Sharon Osbourne, beautiful wife of Ozzy Osbourne. Sharon had a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band placed around her stomach in a procedure popularly known as lapband surgery.

I don't know how big Sharon Osbourne was when she had this procedure done. She seems like such a strong-willed woman I would have thought going on a diet would have worked for her.

There have been a few others of the entertainment industry celebrity sort who have publicly acknowledged having had the lapband procedure.

Ann Wilson, of Heart. Muhammad Ali's daughter, Khaliah Ali. Actor, Brian Dennehy. Guiding Light soap opera actress, Caitlin Van Zandt. Actor, Benedict Francis. Golfer, John Daly. And others.

I am currently not considering having the lapband procedure done. I had a Ruby Red Grapefruit, glass of skim milk and a stalk of celery for breakfast.

Abraham Lincoln's Obese Miss Mary Owens Fiance

Obesity did not just begin in our modern fast food times. There have been obese humans, for almost ever, likely starting soon after God chased Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

Well over a couple centuries ago there was this American named Abraham Lincoln. Eventually he would become very famous with a wife named Mary Todd.

Before Lincoln married Mary Todd he was engaged to another Mary. Miss Mary Owens.

Lincoln had fallen deeply in love with one Ann Rutledge, she being the beautiful, blue-eyed blonde daughter of a New Salem saloon-keeper. In 1835 Ann suddenly died, sending Lincoln into grief so deep his friends feared he might kill himself.

Still grieving a year later, Lincoln agreed to marry, sight unseen, Miss Mary Owens, she being a well-to-do Kentucky spinster who was the sister of one of Lincoln's New Salem friends.

Lincoln later described what he thought upon first seeing Miss Mary Owens.

"I knew she was over-size, but she now appeared a fair match for Falstaff. I knew she was called an 'Old Maid,' and I felt no doubt of the truth of at least half of that appellation, but now, when I beheld her, I could not for my life avoid thinking of my mother, and this, not from withered features, for her skin was too full of fat to permit of its contracting into wrinkles, but from her want of teeth, weather-beaten appearance in general, and from a kind of notion that ran in my head that nothing could have commenced at the size of infancy and reached her present bulk in less that thirty-five or forty years, and, in short, I was not at all pleased with her. But what could I do? I had told her sister that I would take her for better or worse, and I made a point of honor and conscience in all things to stick to my word, especially if others had been induced to act on it, which in this case I had not doubt they had, for I was now fairly convinced that no other man on earth would have her, and hence the conclusion that they were bent on holding me to my bargain."

It took Lincoln over a year and a half to convince Mary Owens that life with him would be a living hell. Lincoln went into celebration mode when, in 1838, Mary Owens decided not to marry him.

The image I found of Miss Mary Owens must have been made long before she reached the size she was when Abraham Lincoln agreed to marry her.

The Top 30 Obese Nations of the World with America #1

America is proudly #1 in the world in a lot of areas.

Including being the #1 most obese nation in the world.

30.6% of Americans are considered obese.

When last measured America also had the world's highest availability of calories per capita, with 3,754 calories per person.

In 2nd place in the race to be the world's fattest nation is Mexico, with 24.2% of the population being obese.

The Top 30 Obese Nations

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	30.6%
# 2	Mexico:	24.2%
# 3	United Kingdom:	23%
# 4	Slovakia:	22.4%
# 5	Greece:	21.9%
# 6	Australia:	21.7%
# 7	New Zealand:	20.9%
# 8	Hungary:	18.8%
# 9	Luxembourg:	18.4%
# 10	Czech Republic:	14.8%
# 11	Canada:	14.3%
# 12	Spain:	13.1%
# 13	Ireland:	13%
# 14	Germany:	12.9%
= 15	Portugal:	12.8%
= 15	Finland:	12.8%
# 17	Iceland:	12.4%
# 18	Turkey:	12%
# 19	Belgium:	11.7%
# 20	Netherlands:	10%
# 21	Sweden:	9.7%
# 22	Denmark:	9.5%
# 23	France:	9.4%
# 24	Austria:	9.1%
# 25	Italy:	8.5%
# 26	Norway:	8.3%
# 27	Switzerland:	7.7%
= 28	Japan:	3.2%
= 28	Korea, South:	3.2%

America's Obesity Epidemic

I am in Fort Worth. Fort Worth is in Texas. Texas is one of the United States.

Fort Worth is one of the most obese towns in one of the most obese states in the most obese nation in the world.

America.

Europeans call Americans balloon people.

When I am in a more healthy part of America. Like Denver or Seattle, it looks to me like a lot of people have had the air let out of them.

Among the many things that bothers me about obesity is it is just hard to look at. The extreme cases, I mean.

Sloth and obesity, for the most part go together. By sloth, I mean slob. Way too many obese people squeeze themselves into clothing they have no business trying to wear. The vast majority of obese people, or so it seems from what I have observed, have let themselves go in multiple ways.

Overweight, out of shape, ill-dressed, ill-kept. And way too often with a tattoo and some strange body piercing.

Visit any random Wal-Mart, particularly in the South, and you will usually get yourself an eyeful that you would prefer not having seen.

I have no idea, for sure, where I am going with this DurangObese blog. We'll see.