Tag Archives: fitness

Overweight People Have the Advantage

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The ideal body can’t have any flabs. We exercise to shed off the fats and we cringe upon seeing the bad but luscious foods. We feel guilt when we munch them.

 

But why can’t a bulky body be healthy?

 

A recent study indicates that 20% of obese people, by looking at their medical risks, are healthy. This trumps the notion that all obese people need to lose weight. But majority is still on risk. This means that 4 out of 5 are susceptible to obesity-related diseases like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

 

How about those who are overweight? In what ways can fats be their asset?

 

People whose BMI is 25 – 29 (thus, overweight) have 6% less risk of death than those with normal BMI (a.k.a. the fit ones). In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute reported 100,000 fewer deaths among overweight people.

 

According to the researchers, this may be because these people at risk visit the doctors more often and their health is monitored. But the data will agree that overweight people “outlive the obese, the underweight, and people at normal weight”.

 

Overweight people have their own advantages. They have fuller faces and glowing skin leading to a youthful appearance. They have stronger bones and osteoporosis are less common in them.

 

Women with rounder shape are in sound condition. Those with bigger thighs have a better metabolism, thus lowering the risk of heart disease. Extra pounds also increase fertility while underweight women have 72% risk of a miscarriage. Fats protect post-menopausal women from cognitive decline.

 

And of course, their boobs are bigger and unfortunately, it’s also true for men.

 

Doctors are baffled as to why overweight people are better in fighting an illness. It seems that fat act like reserves to keep the body functioning during hard times for the body. After all, fats are for storage of vitamins A, D, E and K. It covers the cells and helps supply nutrients. This much-hated substance has a critical role in inflammation, blood pressure, and clotting regulation.

 

As long an active lifestyle and healthy diet are dominant, it seems that the weight won’t matter. It became a social expectation to be model-like.

 

What is your favorite fatty food?

“I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday, For a Hamburger Today”

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I recently watched an older episode of “Parks and Recreation.”  It’s the episode where Ron Swanson and Chris Traeger have a competition to see who makes the better hamburger.  Chris pulls out all the stops with seasoning, toppings, and sides to please the palate, whereas Ron simply cooks a plain ground beef burger and puts it on a bun – and wins.  Sometimes less is more. Jimmy Buffet captured his love for the cheeseburger in his famous song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and Wimpy’s catch phrase from Popeye quickly caught on as “I”ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”  So what is it about this food that has us salivating and including it on menus of virtually every American restaurant around?

 

I think part of the appeal of hamburgers is that they are familiar to everyone.  When you go to a restaurant and you look at all the options, it makes choosing more difficult.  However, with picking the Hamburger, you already know its a dependable option and will leave you feeling full and satisfied.  It’s also the more economical choice when comparing it to say, seafood options or steak.  Hamburgers are often paired with a heaping serving of chips or fries that will leave you feeling that you got your money’s worth in food.  Hamburgers are also easy to eat.  They don’t require you to cut into them, you just simply pick them up and shove them into your mouth.

 

The hamburger is a timeless meal.  Restaurants are always competing to try and remaster the hamburger, adding fancier toppings, changing the meat from ground beef, to sirloin, Angus, and turkey.  Even the vegetarians and vegans have their own meat-free options like the garden burgers and boca burgers which tried to emulate the familiar taste that you get when biting into a juicy hamburger.  The hamburger and bun also serve as a template for anyone wishing to be innovative with their toppings and sides.  You can add pretty much anything to it, and you still know its going to taste good.

 

Among the biggest reasons why hamburgers are America’s national food are because they are social and nostalgic food. They bring community in the sense that people often serve them at neighborhood barbeques and parties.  They remind us of summertime, pool parties, and conversation with friends. They go great with beer, and they’re a crowd pleaser because everyone likes them.  It also helps that they’re relatively inexpensive to make and can accommodate a plethora of people.  People tend to stick with foods they already know they like; and as Americans, we know we can always count on the hamburger.

 

What’s your favorite hamburger restaurant?