When I went to my Cardiologist yesterday I was pleased to see the four slim trim nurses in his practice. Last week at my Oncologist however I observed huge health care workers through out the Cancer Center. A BMI of 25+ is overweight and a BMI is obese. I saw several 30's I am sure.
hmm... did anyone else ever observe this happening ? of course. or did they miss it, because it is so common and commonly accepted ? (since about 1970) for examples, see the videos on youtube or elsewhere, from woodstock, then later years. notice the astronomical increase in obesity from 1960 to 1980 and later years ? Not one fat person seen in 100,000 people at woodstock. Not even one. Normal people were healthy (or healthier) before people got convinced that unhealthy was okay.
It's more than that. People back then were not convinced that "unhealthy is bad" and subsequently put forth effort to avoid that condition...that condition just did not exist. What has changed?
Pollution*. (it causes so much illness, and over 6000 deaths every day, they made up a virus to distract people) *Body,Air, Food, Water, Medicine(manmade), Medicine(mental acceptance of manmade fraud,including viruses)
What has changed is that the media is better at throwing ads at us, now, that help keep us thinking that we should eat and drink their crappy products as often as possible. Coke is seen as such a great product, by most, when it actually is terrible for your teeth, GI Tract, Excretory System, etc. McDonalds does such great charity work with Ronald McDonald House, when, in reality, it probably helps put more people in hospital with its fatty, sugar-loaded, empty carbs products that it sells to millions, everyday. When I traveled to Africa, I saw that most people were in pretty good physical shape, there. In Europe, I didn't see fat pig people on every street. This was in the early 80's. This was before the internet could hustle billions of folks with targeted ads, and such. As soon as I got back, even while still in the airport, I saw what a piggish people we are. There were so many fat people, everywhere I looked. I'm sure that now, with universal access to the internet, the slimmer countries I visited definitely have the same ratio of human pigs to healthy folks, these days. Meanwhile, when I'm out and about, MOST people I see are fat, and many are morbidly obese! Sad and disgusting!
Many, many times, Lon, being overweight -to-obese is due to a medication/medications a person is taking. Definitely not always due to overeating/no exercise. We have a great-niece that is overweight, and closing in on obese, due to the medication she is taking for something. And, Lon, today, perhaps unlike years ago, there are places that will hire overweight-to-obese people. I know, in the medical field it appears weird, to say the least, to see a young person look like this, but it's just the way it is. Depending on the job and/or company, being overweight-to-obese isn't a concern. The experience and college/university degree is much, much more important.
I think a large part of it is due to little-to-no physical activity in people's younger years. I honestly believe that metabolic rates are set in childhood. None of us had cable tv, satellite tv, internet, video games, large houses to stay in. Heck, many of us didn't even have air conditioning. We also had stay-at-home mothers to be there as we were out & about playing. Kids these days are housed in day care and after care and I-don't-care. We only stayed inside to eat and to sleep, or to stay out of the rain (sometimes.) Today's kids gotta stay inside under the watchful eye of their hired custodians.
sidenote: yes, the system has created a whole different thought and definition of "healthy", not at all accurate or right, for money, and to defend and hide the causes of the illnesses, includes making people grow up in a 'culture'/environment/ where "sick" is "normal", and "very sick" is 'okay' instead of something to help and fix.
I can't explain why this would happen among employees in a Dr's office or small clinic, but I can explain the obesity among those in large clinics and hospitals. Workers in hospitals are at the beck-and-call of both providers and patients. Meal schedules are generally irregular and often very short. One nurse said ,"If your lunch break consists of sitting on a toilet eating a granola bar, then I know you are a healthcare worker." This probably doesn't apply to your assisted-living, @Lon Tanner, but sometimes those who work in those facilities have worked in the higher-stress environments and fled those for a more laid-back work environment, but carried bad habits and their weight gain with them. Sometimes the inability to get to lunch or dinner leads to a "meal" of sweets that are convenient and easily consumed.