The Morbidly Obese

If you ask a doctor what are the health problems associated with morbid obesity, she will tell you the following:

·         Cardiovascular disease

·         Diabetes mellitus type 2

·         High blood pressure and cholesterol

·         Obstructive sleep apnea

·         Some cancers

·         Stroke, gout and birth defects

·         Fatty liver disease

·         Osteoarthritis

·         Depression and social stigma

·         Asthma

And if that’s not enough, most morbidly obese individuals feel crappy, lack energy and have significantly reduced ambulatory capability.  To get a first hand observation of the morbidly obese and their physical limitations, visit any Walmart store during daylight hours.

Beside Walmart where are you most likely to find the morbidly obese?

No, we don’t mean Costco or Target; McDonalds or the donut store.  We are seeking the country or countries where most of the morbidly obese live.  Where do you think that is?  Well, rather than visit all the countries of the world and do a survey, some clever fellow or gal came up with this idea – figure out where people live who buy the most calories at the food store(s).  Take a look at this map of the world:

The dark reds indicate the highest level of available average daily calories per person per day (food bought).  As well as we can tell by looking at this map which we found on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_map_of_Energy_consumption_2001-2003.svg  – those with the most food available per person per day live in Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, Ireland and America.  And, that tiny speck at the top of South America is French Guiana – we think.  By the way, the dark red represents 3,600+ calories per person per day.  It’s tough to not add a few pounds consuming that much food daily.

It occurred to us as we were researching this essay and writing it that there is one more common link between these countries – at least the European countries and America.  And you know what it is – massive government spending, massive government deficits, massive unemployment, massive debt, massive economic and fiscal and financial problems and, most importantly, massive waistlines.

This discovery of this connection between waistline size and economic output – an inverse relationship, reminded us of one other discovery made in our youth as we traveled to various earthly locales – the closer any society was to the equator, the less that society produced.  In other words, one just doesn’t work that hard when it always hot outside.  Ditto if you are morbidly obese.

Sometimes you don’t need a PhD from Harvard to figure out what’s going on.  Sometimes you don’t even need a PhD.  Just a map, some common sense and a few calculations will do.