THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT PEOPLE

This was the heading on a small article I read in a magazine recently.  Talk about stating the obvious or perhaps not.

"Some people are biologically programmed to fatten up on few kilojoules and are less able to turn food into physical activity.  Exactly why this is so remains uncertain.  It may be genes or upbringing (or more likely both).  Whatever the reason the tendency to gain weight is not due to laziness or lack of willpower, nor can it be 'cured' with appetite suppressants, drugs, fasts or fad diets.

Fat-prone people can become and stay slim if they accept the fact that they can't eat the way they would like to, the way they used to, or the way they think others eat.  They must avoid 'empty' fats, sugars and refined starches, and design their menus from filling, not-fattening foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meat, poultry, seafood daily foods and grains."

I read this through a couple of times and thought to myself "Obviously fat people must design their meals the same way diabetics are told to design theirs.  In other words what would be considered a healthy way of eating for almost everybody.

Apparently I was about 10lbs at birth so maybe I wasn't intended to be small??  I have seen photographs of my birth mother and she certainly couldn't be said to have been sylph-like so genes obviously play a big part there.  Upbringing?  Yes we ate butter, Mum used lard in cooking, we kept the dripping from the roast etc. etc.  Of course we also exercised a whole lot then as many people didn't have cars when I was young so walking was a big part of our life.  Also I danced a lot and played tennis, things that many young people don't do these days.  At 35 I returned to the work force and a very sedentary job so the weight went up a little but I was still able to do lots of walking which was good.  Then the really bad arthritis set in later in life and I was unable to exercise as I once did (couldn't even go for a walk any more) and the weight went on and stayed on regardless of changing my type of diet or food intake.

OK I am a fat person now and have never been skinny; but just a normal weight for years.  So many articles one reads these days tell us that if we are fat we are doomed.  We have to try and live with that prediction and hope that as is often the case with predictions that this one just won't come true too soon.