Fat Firefighters Fail Fitness Tests

The Boston Globe reports that "emergency responders who are unable to perform physically challenging work put themselves, their colleagues, and the public at risk. They also potentially sap funding, the researchers said, because obesity is directly linked to higher risk for cardiovascular problems and other maladies, and responders who are disabled on the job are entitled to disability pensions."

Obesity is, of course, the number one growing health problem over most of the world, and this is despite the huge amount of advice, information and, sadly, insults directed at the people unfortunate enough to be obese. I can't help feeling that insulting remarks and sneers don't make good therapy for obesity treatment. If fat people are sneered at when they go out, they are likely to stay in more and to become despondent and listless. The health problems that are associated with obesity may well be compounded by their increased social isolation. What are these health problems?

Well obese people are more likely to be depressed, more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart problems, circulatory problems, hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis and many more. Believe me, no-one chooses to become obese. It isn't fun. It certainly isn't easy to lose excess weight by following the usual advice given, namely to eat less and exercise more. If it were easy, obesity would not be on the increase. Most fat people are trying, most of the time, to eat less. They look at calorie information; they drink diet drinks, they try to eat low fat food. Again, believe me, if you think most fat people are just greedy and lazy, then you have been taken in by an unfair, untrue stereotype. Look around you. You will see many slim people eating a lot and not taking much exercise, but normally you only tend to notice the fat ones. It isn't fair, is it?

Now I would like to make a completely different suggestion for any overweight people reading this, especially if you are hoping to become a firefighter. Forget about calories and fat. Concentrate instead on avoiding salt and salty food. This is tremendously helpful for overweight people because by eating less salt/sodium, you reduce the fluid retention in your body and excrete a lot of water weight. This rapidly lowers your weight and lowers your high blood pressure, and you feel better and look better and have more energy.

Cutting down on salt is completely safe and brings a multitude of health benefits. Go on! Try it! You have nothing to lose but some excess weight.

The other day we reported how the UK firefighters are called almost daily to help to lift obese people.

Margaret Wilde www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk