Recently I saw yet another of the CDC's reports on obesity in America and was yet again annoyed with it's over-simplification of the problem. (Please keep in mind this is not meant to bash the CDC. They do important and generally excellent work, trying to keep a large number of people informed about a large number of health concerns. This is one isolated area I wish it could be dome better) While I do agree, in a general sense, that many Americans are fatter than they should be, it is very important to note difference in terms that are used. I used the term "fatter" not heavier. Fat in the American mind is a very negative thing and rightfully so. Yet most measures for obesity are based on weight not fat. This is where inaccuracies are introduced.
At 6 foot 3 1/2 inches and between 197 and 204 pounds (depending on the day and time of day) I would teeter between the CDC's definition of being overweight and not. Anyone who knows me can attest that this is simply ridiculous. While this is just one example (and since it is me, one I know is accurate), I have several friends that fall into the same category. So why should any statistic being published by a government agency be based on a obviously flawed measurement? Quite simply, it is the easiest (and possibly only practical) way to estimate a large number of people's relative health in regard to fat. The accurate way to take a measurement would be to measure body fat. This however takes more time and more effort to calculate. One that is not practical for the CDC, or almost any other agency, to take on on a large scale.
So what is it we can do about this? Individually the answer is not hard. Take care of yourself. Easy enough right? On a national and political level things are not so simple. Companies, weather they are the one you work for or the health care companies that provide services, want to get the number of fat people as low as possible. A good generalization is an obvious one, the less fat you have the healthier you are. I am not by any stretch an expert at statistics, polling or gathering information, but I would think that taking a relative sample of people across the country and measuring their body fat would be a more accurate tool to help all larger efforts to combat this issue. This would take some effort but I have a hard time believing that it would be that difficult or costly. I believe this information and the weight measurements combined would allow all involved to get a true idea of how bad this issue is.
Completely off the subject...
Please excuse my poor writing skills. I know at times some things can be rambling or confusing. As I get more time I hope to improve these. Send me any comments (good or bad I like to hear it all).
