Meet the REAL tele-tubbies… It's no secret that rates of adult obesity have skyrocketed in this country in recent years. In fact, there's been a more than 70 percent increase since just 1991 alone. That's pretty scary… But what's even scarier is the extent of the mainstream's naiveté on the subject. Case in point: Apparently, it takes a Harvard University study to convince us that sitting around watching the boob tube is making us fatter! I'm not kidding, here - I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. According to a recent Reuters' health online article, a crack team of Harvard PhDs revealed the results of a 25+ year study of over 50,000 subjects - which determined that for every 2-hour increase in daily TV consumption, women became 23 percent more likely to suffer from obesity and endured a 14 percent greater risk of type 2 diabetes. And while I can appreciate the hard work and energy that went into the precision of this finding, my original question remains: Why do we need a gaggle of scientists at the most prestigious college in the world (some say) to analyze a quarter-century's worth of research before we can safely conclude that sitting around watching television all day (and eating all the while, most likely) packs on those excess pounds? Anyone with a brain, a TV, and a bathroom scale could tell you that!
What's wrong with making a serious study out of it, you ask? I'll tell you - it gives people an excuse to dwell in unhealthy ignorance - or outright denial. After all, if it takes a high-falutin' study from a major college (or the government) to find it out, it must not have been obvious… Therefore, it lets at-risk people say to themselves: "I didn't know! It's not my fault! I'M A VICTIM!" I wouldn't be surprised if one of them cites this study in a lawsuit aimed at NBC for its "addictive programming." Stranger things have happened…. Watching my diet - and not popping pills,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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