Introduction
I wrote this entry about a month ago, but held off publishing it because it's somewhat mean spirited and the observations made are important but in a limited sense. In fact, they are (as usual) quite obvious observations, but nobody seems to connect the dots and put things together publicly. So leave it to me to state the obvious while upsetting folks. It's what I do. In the time since this was written, President Trump has been hospitalized, then released, with Covid-19. I'm going to publish this now, while he appears on the road to recovery and the observations herein don't have some postmortem cruelty to them. I'll post this as originally written, then add a few end comments.
Politically Incorrect: Americans are Fat
Americans are fat, and it matters. It matters in many ways that never get mentioned on CNN, Fox News, or your local five o'clock broadcast. Americans' fatness matters politically, but it's considered so rude, so gauche, so politically incorrect, that nobody discusses it.
Allow me, then. In one of my first blog entries, I stated that my goal in life is to offend as many people as possible in the time I have left. I'm a man of my word.
It's debatable, however, whether I should be the person pointing out how obesity informs and permeates the United States. I am, after all, somewhere between 15 and 25 pounds above my optimal weight, depending on which formal medical measuring stick is applied. American standards are the kindest, of course, so I tend to quote these. I'm considered 15 pounds beyond where I should be, at least in the states. I am capable, however, of dropping that between now and the election, so I will get to it. But first, allow me to explore the various ways in which American fatness has obvious political effects that never surface in polite conversation.
American Obesity
At the turn of the century, the American obesity rate was a shade above 30%. Since then, according to the CDC, the U.S. obesity rate has climbed to more than 42%. Severe or morbid obesity increased over the same period from 4.7% to 9.2%. Think about that. Almost one in ten Americans is morbidly obese. To put this in an international perspective, as of 2016, the United States trailed ten Pacific island nations and Kuwait in obesity rates. Since then, Americans have easily overtaken Kuwait. Other than the constituents of these South and Mid Pacific nations, Americans are now the fattest people in the world.
Americans tend to not focus on or publicize these facts. With the advent of Covid-19, however, the reality of the U.S. leading the non-island world in obesity has taken on new importance. The ubiquity of American obesity has led to some fascinating, underappreciated political consequences.
Ignoring Obesity
For all of President Trump's aggressive, bullying behavior in primary debates, general election debates, and general discourse, it's been a cultural curiosity that no one has deemed it appropriate to return fire of like kind. He's leaned on attack monikers like Sleepy Joe, Little Marco, Lyin' Ted Cruz, Crooked Hilary, Low Energy Jeb, Pocahontas, and so on. The interesting thing to me is that nobody at odds with Trump assigns him the most obvious nicknames, which would reference his weight. Looking at the president, one is forced to admit that he's obese. My opinion, based on comparing both still photos and live footage, is that the man has gained at least 20-25 pounds since assuming office. Cheeseburgers and eight-hour stints watching Fox News tends to do that. Wearing heavy duty Spanx can't hide the newly minted extra poundage. Other than a one-time Nancy Pelosi dig, however, nobody incorporates Trump's obesity into nicknames or criticisms.
Forty years ago, "Slim" was a common enough nickname-as-dig, but Trump hasn't even been crowned with that rather mild disapprobation. Political opponents drawing attention to the president's weight problem is noticeable by its very absence.
I have several key obesity observations I'd like to make. First of all, I think the reason most people give Trump a pass on his weight is because 40% of the American public is, like Trump, obese. So while the president can mock the disabled, or joke about height, the obvious retort of shining a spotlight on Trump's weight carries too much of an American political downside. If 40% of Americans are obese, then pointing out that the president is woefully obese may have no effect other than to bond the obese citizenry with an obese leader. Thus, Trump's most glaring physical characteristic becomes a non-issue. My suspicion is that in an Asian country, where obesity rates are much lower, a bombastic leader such as Trump would have garnered half a dozen weight-related nicknames.
Mask-Wearing and Obesity
Instead of once again reviewing the effects of obesity during a pandemic and the demography of American obesity, which I've discussed in previous entries, I'm going to go in an entirely different direction. What I'm about to say will, after I say it, appear obvious and banal. It does not, however, get mentioned in polite company, so I'll discuss it here.
Americans have been at war regarding the wearing of masks, with red state citizens interpreting the wearing of masks as some kind of political heraldry. Americans have resisted mask-wearing more than any other population. Americans are also the fattest population. I think that these facts are connected.
Two-thirds of Americans are overweight. More than 40% are obese. Lugging around an extra 25-40 pounds every second of every day is not an easy chore. Breathing while lugging that extra poundage can be a test, especially when carrying things or using stairs. Wearing a mask restricts your breathing. The effect is minimal unless you're working out, but carrying around an extra 25-40 pounds is certainly a workout.
Try jogging two miles wearing a mask, and then jog two miles without. It's a lot easier without. Well, if that's the case, then assuredly everything is easier without a mask. You breathe more easily.
As an old distance runner who has done considerable formal training, I can also vouch for the effects of added weight. Carrying around an additional 25-40 pounds, as I did during a fair number of workouts while wearing weight vests, is flat out hard. Put a mask on and wear a weight vest, and you have a real challenge, which is what all of these obese Americans are facing. A big chunk of extra weight and mask-wearing is a no-fun combination.
Now I'll throw some additional statistics at you, and you can make of them what you will. Obesity increases as education decreases. That's a clear cut and dramatic correlation. Among whites, Trump support increases as education decreases. That is also a clear cut correlation. Finally, those red states where mask-wearing has had difficulty becoming standard practice (it was 15% in Tennessee three months ago), have higher obesity rates than the states with higher percentages of people wearing masks. Coincidences? Correlations? Causes-and-effects?
What I just laid out is as obvious as the grass is green, yet it doesn't get discussed in the national conversation.
Role Models
Seventy-nine year old Dr. Fauci and his wife jog four miles several times a week. I suspect that the doctor has a hard time getting into the head of obese, undereducated Trump supporters who refuse to wear masks while lugging around weight vests made of flesh. And I'm sure the obese, undereducated Trumpsters view Fauci as some alien creature partly because the doctor doesn't seem to grasp the hassle of mask-wearing for some.
Fauci has tried to set one example, but he's alien to the Trumpsters. The president, on the other hand, is a non-jogging, porcine fellow who mirrors their own obesity. Who do you think they see as their natural leader?
These are some of the social psychological dynamics currently in progress in the United States. They are obvious, and they have cost lives. It's time they should be examined and discussed.
Political correctness be damned.
Postscript
In the month since I wrote this, I've managed to lose all of three pounds. I went jogging today, wearing a mask. Although I'm sure the actual reduction in air intake is less than 10%, it's certainly harder to jog with a mask. It is, however, a small price to pay for additional safety.
Bob Dietz
October 7, 2020
