Skip to main content

Ignore the Evidence

[This is another piece I wrote for my “Taking Out the Carbage” column in Kit Pharo’s “Pharo Cattle Company Update.”]


Hilda Bruch, a young German pediatrician, moved to America and settled in New York City. She was “startled” by the number of fat children she saw – “really fat ones, not only in clinics, but on the streets and subways, and in schools.”1 Indeed, fat children in New York “were so conspicuous that other European immigrants asked Bruch about it, assuming she would have an answer. What is the matter with American children? they would ask. Why are they so bloated and blown up? Many would say they’d never seen so many children in such a state.” 1


The public health “experts” usually point their fingers at fast food, computers, TV, and even prosperity as contributing causes. But Hilda Bruch moved to New York City in 1934, “two decades before the birth of fast food franchises and a half century before supersizing and high fructose corn syrup.”1 This was during the Great Depression, an era of soup kitchens, bread lines, and twenty five percent unemployment. Sixty percent of Americans were living in poverty. Twenty five percent of children in New York City were said to be malnourished.


The observation that obesity and under-nourishment occur simultaneously in very poor populations is not limited to Bruch’s experience. This phenomenon has been repeatedly documented throughout the world. Obesity is a form of malnutrition. So how do the experts reconcile these observations with their opinions? They ignore the evidence. They have to. The evidence disproves their hypotheses. 


Makes you wonder what else they’re ignoring …


1. Taubes, G. 2011. “Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It.” Knopf. New York, NY.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Solidarity and Kaivalya

I just read my son a book called  The Yellow Star  - recommended to me by a friend at his school, who read it to their children. I think for me this sums up everything my parents ever taught me about "good" and "right" and being strong, and being a community member. It's how I always felt in my heart and how I want to teach my son to be. It's not just about "standing up for the little guy;" it's about being willing to put yourself out there to make a statement about justice. It's about knowing in your heart that you are part of a bigger community and you must act to support it even if you are not personally needing the direct support. The story was the legend of King Christian X of Denmark. The book acknowledges that the story in it's oral and written history, nor the version in this book, were fully true, but adapted version of an allegory for solidarity and support for ones brethren.  The author writes in the end notes: And what if we...

SUPERPOWERSYOGA® by Robert Powers

SUPER POWERS YOGA ® by Robert Powers is built on traditional Hatha yoga postures (class is 55 minutes). The series is comprehensive but not repetitive. It is safe but challenging, with endless opportunity to transform yourself. After hundreds of classes and thousands of students, I believe this routine does the most good for the greatest number of people. It is an original and proprietary series, but yoga belongs to all yogis. SUPERPOWERSYOGA® SERIES Sequence & Story I developed the SUPERPOWERSYOGA® SERIES largely based on 3 events. 1. Teaching 1,200+ Bikram yoga classes. The Bikram yoga series is sometimes called “26 and 2” because it is the same 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises every time. I started yoga with this series and have always appreciated its completeness, challenge and intelligence. Bikram yoga is 90 minutes in intense heat, which turns many people off. (We got up to 115° a few times.) But the Hatha yoga lessons are solid, and the consistency of the routi...

But, I'm not flexible.

Folks seem to fall into four (broad) categories. (ok it's more than four, but bear with me on this): 1) those who do yoga and are happy to talk about it 2) those that like the idea but sheepishly laugh and say "Well, I hear it's good for you but I can't even touch my toes/I'm not flexible/I have injuries." 3) those that maybe tried yoga, but now shrug their shoulders and say they can't because "It was too boring/it was too hard/it was too hot/it was too weird/I hate all that quiet time meditating/breathing." 4) those who roll their eyes and give you a crossed-arm down glance while telling you they "DON'T do yoga." Let's acknowledge that Group #4 would be a hard sell, and frankly speaking if someone is dead set against even TRYING yoga, there's no point in trying to convince them (it's like politics). Group 3, well, might not be ready, and are set on the idea that any kind of regimen is to be faced with a frown. They MIGH...