I made an appointment for a routine CT scan this morning
and before hanging up, the scheduler asked
“Mrs. Waltz, do you exceed the weight capacity of 300 lbs.?“ Huh?
The fact that she even had to ask me if I was over 300 lbs. tells me
that there must be plenty of folks getting scanned who weigh plenty over 300
lbs. I was shocked by her question, but
the more I think about it, maybe I’m not.
Obesityitis is everywhere- on TV shows, in commercials, in every restaurant, in every hospital, in every mall, in every school, in every everywhere. Obesity has no boundaries- intelligent, rich, poor, young, canine, feline, you name it. And drum roll please…………………… obesity is now competing with smoking for the numero uno risk for cancer. Yes, obesity promotes cancer- all types of cancer. Some of the major leaguers include breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, liver, pancreas and gallbladder.
One of my favorite cancer survivors and wellness
advocates David Servan-Schreiber wrote in his book Anticancer that the typical American diet is fertilizer for
cancer. If you know me, you know
that I am on the thin side. In fact, I
have been thin all of my life- the ‘made fun of as a child skinny type’. Even though I never struggled with weight, I
grew up on the American diet that I know contributed to all the ailments I have
dealt with in my 40 years. Autoimmune
issues since I was young, low blood sugar, sinus disease, colitis and then the Big
Whammy Cancer.
What is the typical American diet? Is it the double meat pizza or chicken fried
steak with a baked potato, or maybe a juicy hamburger with extra cheese, mayo
and bacon? My family went on a Disney
cruise for Thanksgiving week and I’m pretty sure I witnessed plenty of cruisers
enjoying the typical American diet. What
frustrated me the most was the choices for kids. Every child menu consisted of chicken
tenders, a ‘cheeseburger’ (I’m not sure what is really was), cheese pizza and
macaroni & cheese. All of them came
with french fries. There was always a
healthier choice like baked cod. But,
most kids I saw were eating the ‘typical American diet’ (including my
own). By the end of the first night we
had come up with some guidelines for our kids- every meal must include a fruit
and a vegetable, one roll per dinner and Sprite only once a day. Now, you are probably thinking “it’s
vacation, don’t be so hard on them.”
That in my opinion is the typical American response. Shouldn’t we guide our children to wellness
no matter if we are on vacation or not? My
kids did enjoy plenty of Mickey chocolates on a stick and Mickey chocolates in
our beds every night and Mickey waffles for breakfast. Ai Yai Yai!
I wonder if Mickey is on Lipitor or Metformin, or if Minnie suffers from
Celiac disease? Have you seen the wheat
belly on Donald?! Come on Disney!
What is it going to take for America to change? It’s hard when even the most magical place on
earth is serving junk to our kids. We
have to be mindful- all the time, even when on vacation or in the middle of the
holiday season. (Like now,
wink-wink!)
I have a current favorite book. It’s called Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD.
Pick up a copy and read the introduction- you will be hooked. Dr. Davis believes that the increased consumption of genetically modified modern wheat explains
the contrast between the slender folks of the fifties and the overweight folks
of today. Wheat Belly is full of
measurable data consistently showing the extraordinary results of decreasing or
eliminating modern wheat from your diet.
Thanks Dr. Tom for the recommendation J.
Be Well,
