It looks like the anti- anti-fat antibodies are starting to kick in. Back in the early-to-mid 80's it was running. If you ran 5 miles a day you would never die of a heart attack. That was, of course, absurd, and in fact, hard-core runners died from heart disease at rates higher than the general population. They also suffered from serious, life-long injuries to hips, knees, and ankles. Anyone running in a city was doing more damage to their lungs than a pack-a-day smoker. City ER rooms were filled with runners with cuts, abrasions, and head injuries from falls, and more-serious injuries (and not a few deaths) from getting hit by vehicles.

Today it is fat. We are a fat nation. And by extension, lazy, immoral, selfish, stupid, and probably have bad breath to boot. You know you are in the land of the absurd when George Clooney, who causes women around the world to swoon at the mere mention of his name, is technically obese. Not higher-than-average. Not carrying around a few extra pounds. Obese.

[Aside: can someone explain to me what the big deal is with Clooney? To me, he looks like the center from the high school football team that has taken one-to-many shots to the head. The world is full of men that I would consider to be far more attractive, but then, what to I know? Maybe I would have had more dates if I had thought to go with the dazed, mildly retarded look.]

I work with teen-age girls. To a person, they all think they are fat. Not out of shape (which is largely true) or needing to do some sit-ups to get rid of a little belly flab (which is also true of many). Fat. Need-to-go-on-a-diet fat. Need-to-starve-myself-to-the-point-of-passing-out fat. Our teens have enough challenges what with drugs, alcohol, sex, and our crappy schools. Can't we at least let them feel good about how they look?

Anyway. I need to head for home.