Fat Caskets. A new line of caskets for a new race of people - XXL. Never would they have thought in the days past when they were making caskets out of wood that one day we would have to make caskets three times as big as a regular person. But the term regular person no longer means an average size. The reason for this is because there no longer IS an average size. And if there is, heaven forbid it, for it's got to be huge. In the United States of America, 64% of adults are overweight and 26% are obese ( "Obesity Statistics: U.S. Obesity Trends". North American Association for the Study of Obesity. 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060206185213/www.naaso.org/statistics/obesity_trends.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-08.) Over 20% of children are obese in the US and the rate at which it is growing is outstanding. More children will grow up to have heart problems, asthma, diabetes and that's if they grow up at all. The increase of obesity is parallel to the increase in childhood mortality rates.
What has happened in our country to make the majority of our citizens overweight? This is especially odd with all the fad dieting, increases in exercise opportunities, and the presence of Hollywood in every home. The percent of US homes that have at least one television is 99. The average amount of televisions within a home is 2.24. On average, the television is on in the home for over 6 hours a day. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. If a person lives to be 65 years old, s/he will have spent 9 of those years in front of a television. 9 years! (http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html) What are people thinking? If you stop and ask someone on the street who Angelina Jolie is, how possible is it that they will know exactly who she is, how many kids she has, and her recent issues with her husband? It's sick to think just how much the average person (there's that word again) knows about what's going on in the media.
Recently in my Young Adult Literature class, we studied The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. We discussed this obsession we have with Hollywood. Media has such a control over our lives. In the world Collins has created, the main city is sparkling with people who are thin, trim, young and beautiful. Outside the capital are hundreds of little towns full of starving people. The main girl in the story comments on this by saying that where she comes from, to look old is revered by her people because this means you have survived. Yet in the capital to look old is an awful, horrid, thing. Heaven forbid anyone see my wrinkles. This is an adequate representation of how we view Hollywood. I believe Collins was also making a statement on the United States and other countries.
In a place where Botox is as common as having a swimming pool in your backyard and everyone owns a gallon of make-up and a gym card, why in the world would we have the highest obesity rates in the entire world? Pressure maybe? One day I was shopping with my best friend and we saw this woman. She was so morbidly obese, she had to ride around Walmart in a wheel-cart. My friend leaned over to me and said quietly, "If I ever get that fat, will you shoot me and put me out of my misery?" I agreed. I would want her to do the same thing to me and save me from the humiliation of being buried in a Fat Casket.
What has happened in our country to make the majority of our citizens overweight? This is especially odd with all the fad dieting, increases in exercise opportunities, and the presence of Hollywood in every home. The percent of US homes that have at least one television is 99. The average amount of televisions within a home is 2.24. On average, the television is on in the home for over 6 hours a day. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. If a person lives to be 65 years old, s/he will have spent 9 of those years in front of a television. 9 years! (http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html) What are people thinking? If you stop and ask someone on the street who Angelina Jolie is, how possible is it that they will know exactly who she is, how many kids she has, and her recent issues with her husband? It's sick to think just how much the average person (there's that word again) knows about what's going on in the media.
Recently in my Young Adult Literature class, we studied The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. We discussed this obsession we have with Hollywood. Media has such a control over our lives. In the world Collins has created, the main city is sparkling with people who are thin, trim, young and beautiful. Outside the capital are hundreds of little towns full of starving people. The main girl in the story comments on this by saying that where she comes from, to look old is revered by her people because this means you have survived. Yet in the capital to look old is an awful, horrid, thing. Heaven forbid anyone see my wrinkles. This is an adequate representation of how we view Hollywood. I believe Collins was also making a statement on the United States and other countries.
In a place where Botox is as common as having a swimming pool in your backyard and everyone owns a gallon of make-up and a gym card, why in the world would we have the highest obesity rates in the entire world? Pressure maybe? One day I was shopping with my best friend and we saw this woman. She was so morbidly obese, she had to ride around Walmart in a wheel-cart. My friend leaned over to me and said quietly, "If I ever get that fat, will you shoot me and put me out of my misery?" I agreed. I would want her to do the same thing to me and save me from the humiliation of being buried in a Fat Casket.
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