Fat

Tabby or not tabby? That is the question.

I'd blame society if I wasn't too busy coughing up a furball. Pic: AP

Another key question in the wake of the tragic death of “Meow” the 17 kilo cat overnight, is why oh why did he have to die so young? It’s not like he brought it on himself. He was just naturally big boned and big whiskered. And big tailed and big furred and big, big tummied.

Vets said Meow died overnight as a result of complications from his morbid obesity. Well, those remarks are just plain catty. “Meow” spent his whole life on the high protein Catkins diet, yet still ballooned out to a catastrophic weight.

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  • Mr Rogaine says:

    06:04pm | 10/05/12

    To quote: “He’s not the messiah. He’s a very naughty boy.” Besides I think God Almighty may have something to say about the accusation of Jesus being a bastard. Read more »

  • Holly says:

    04:16pm | 09/05/12

    Jesus Christ, what a mean-spirited bastard you are! Cats don’t have opposable thumbs. They can’t open cans for themselves. It’s in animals’ nature to eat when there’s food around. Blame the bloody owner! Read more »

 

If the majority of your friends drink too much, eat too much and are overweight, it may be time to do some culling.

Now where'd I park the fatmobile so I can drop George off at Jenny Craig?

We become like the people we spend our time with. As a general observation, this would appear to be true. Just take a look at suburbs. It is fair to say that the people who live, work and socialise in the east of Sydney do tend to look and behave differently to those who live, work and play out west. There is no judgment associated with this observation, it is simply because as humans, like animals, we like to associate with others who are like ourselves. This “oneness”  helps us to feel safe, warm and cosy.

When it comes to lifestyle habits though, this connectedness which occurs at both a conscious and unconscious level poses a significant issue as it appears that both good and bad lifestyle habits are catching. This means that if your friends are overweight, unfit and lazy, statistics suggest you are going to head that way too.

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  • Suzi says:

    09:27am | 26/04/12

    LOL… Hey!!...I’m from Sydney too, I find this as ridiculous as you do! Read more »

  • Sharon says:

    03:48pm | 25/04/12

    Yes this is a socially irresponsible article with no real recent facts to back up the absurd statements made and apart from all that it’s just plain mean and nasty. Next Ms Burrell will be saying she only allows her friends to be as blonde and pretty as herself. Maybe… Read more »

 

A storm of controversy has been brewing in the US. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say the storm has been dipped in oil and deep fried.  Twice.


At the centre of the controversy is a series of ads aimed at tackling the growing obesity crisis in American children.

In one of the ads (above) a young girl stares forlornly into the camera and says: “I don’t like going to school because all the other kids pick on me. It hurts my feelings.”

Another opens with the statistic that 75 per cent of parents of overweight children ignore the problem growing before their very eyes. It’s followed by a scene in which an obese boy sits facing his equally obese mother and asks, “Mum, why am I fat?”. The silence that follows his question is deafening.

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  • I, Claudia says:

    07:30pm | 14/01/12

    @ Sam - you make a fair point, but in my case, it really is my boyfriend’s mother’s fault. He was raised by her alone, because she was awarded custody of him after her divorce and refused to allow his father to see him. Read more »

  • adolon says:

    04:25pm | 13/01/12

    @Freeman: Regarding your first point, consider the kilojoule content of an average McDonalds meal. A medium Quarter Pounder meal with Coke for the drink comes out to 4452kJ. If 8700kJ is the average recommended intake for an Australian adult, that meal represents over half (51%) your recommended daily intake of… Read more »

 

The Australian Greens may well be a sanctimonious blight on the national political landscape but I don’t see why they should be teased for eating lentils or tofu.

Oh, the evils of delicious, delicious fat. Art: Ray Hirst. Pic: The Advertiser

There is nothing wrong with lentils at all. They’re terrific. Dhal rocks, as does lentil salad with mint, peas, red onion and feta, and stewed lentils make the perfect base for a grilled sausage.

Anyone who doesn’t like tofu should try the kick-arse Chinese dish mapo tofu, which is fresh tofu served with spring onions, minced pork and heaps of chilli. If that still doesn’t work they should get along to a little place called Barbecue City in Adelaide’s Chinatown and order the tofu with broad beans and pickled cabbage. While there is nothing smart or clever about vegetarianism there is also nothing wrong with eating vegetables, and this vegetable dish is one of the best going around.

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  • HeatherG says:

    07:29pm | 13/10/11

    Recent research has shown that margarine eaters are *as likely* as butter-only eaters to have cholesterol and heart disease—and obesity. The real culprit for heart disease is now known to be trans-fats, found more often in manufactured vegetable oils, and not at all in butter. Transfats are well-known in EU… Read more »

  • James says:

    10:35am | 12/10/11

    So you are saying Hitler’s overiding motivation in power was saving endangered species and protecting habitat?  That must explain why he bombed the f*** out of most of Europe.  I don’t recall any speach by Hitler on why vegetarianism is “the way to go”, I do recall speaches spouting a… Read more »

 

According to Andy Warhol, everyone has their “15 minutes of fame”. Looking back at four decades of work as a health scientist mine will probably be the development of ‘GutBusters’, the world’s first men’s “waist loss” program in 1991.

A stimulus package for your belly. Pic: Getty Images

GutBusters lasted for over a decade before it was taken over by Weight Watchers and closed down for being unprofitable (men won’t admit to having anything wrong with their health and hence won’t pay for it).

This is despite the fact that it achieved (and still has) world-wide acknowledgement as an ethically-based and economic scientific weight loss program. Those are rare, by the way.

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  • marley says:

    08:36am | 06/10/11

    @Sean - actually, I’ve read several refutations of the statistics and methodology used in the China Study. Read more »

  • Geoff Russell says:

    08:00am | 06/10/11

    @marley: There is plenty of data on disease rates of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores in many contexts. Have a look at pubmed. Standardised mortality rates at all ages for vegetarians has been compared with omnivores in the UK ... typically the former is about 50% of the latter for all… Read more »

 

I am the postgraduate dream. I live on minimum wage; I have a flirtatious relationship with the poverty line. However, I think this is a karmic repercussion of my own bad choices. As a younger, less-worldly type I entered into a line of work - dirty, unrewarding work - from which I seem unable to escape: I kill people.

I need to get me an anti-fat suit. Pic: Dean Martin

In the beginning it all seemed like good fun. Harmless fun. However, recently the inescapable truth has dawned on me. Hospitality is about killing people. Most of us are all too familiar with government propaganda about the perils of smoking and drinking, two activities frequently central to hospitality.

However, it’s not these which really grate against my sensibilities. It’s the fat that is propelling me towards a nervous breakdown. They haul themselves out of their cubicles and waddle in at least once a week. Very often they appear more frequently, their numbers certainly seem to be growing.

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  • neue liebe finden says:

    05:58pm | 14/08/11

    Blue Happy,notion avoid gather act observation head brief entirely gather how after reject stuff reasonable find during change understand individual fruit pay activity iron tell positive okay better appeal selection sight grow result retain box shot already really powerful day date absolutely smile at available thin mind assumption fast appointment… Read more »

  • Oz says:

    06:12pm | 25/05/11

    No one is telling you to stop eating altogether you moron. Just eat small portions of healthy food and do some exercise! Read more »

 

It may sound like a risqué sexual manoeuvre, but in fact it’s a burger - KFC have decided to rid a chicken burger of its cumbersome bun – instead of those pesky empty bread calories you now get fried chicken. It’s called the Double Down.

Come and get me, tiger. Pic: AP

It’s two slabs of fried chicken spooning strips of juicy bacon, cheese, and it’s got almost 2000 kilojoules.  Mmmm… kilojoules.

Cue the righteous disgust from health professionals.

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  • Daniel says:

    04:27pm | 10/04/11

    5 MANTIMES IN 1 SITTING   full coverage and review here - the followup to my review of the burger below in this thread!  http://www.domenicromeo.com/2011/04/throwing-down-mantime-gauntlet.html Read more »

  • Louise says:

    06:31pm | 03/04/11

    Caesar salad ISN’T healthy?!? You don’t say! Read more »

 

Having won its long battle against evil smokers, the Australian Medical Association now wants to implement graphic Quit-style advertisements for fat people showing diseased organs and larger lads drinking litres of liquefied lard before keeling over to die.

This is ALLLLL muscle, man! Pic: AP

This is the thin end of a fat wedge.

Unless they’ve been living under a plus-sized rock, every last big boned person is already well aware of the dramatic social and health implications of being overweight.

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  • Tracy says:

    01:16pm | 11/01/11

    @ Aeeta From the posts of yours over various articles, i can only assume you are the ultimate perfect person…on the OUTSIDE. Your personality seems very ‘lardo’ to me. By your argument about ‘lardos’ costing the tax payer (which, seemingly, you are the only one who is a taxpayer) you… Read more »

  • Observer says:

    09:10pm | 10/01/11

    Well argued and well presented Chris. How did your comment get past the mods? Read more »

 

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