Say What?!? at 6:50 AM

I got called out the other day in a health class for being what the kid called "too skinny". I want to believe that he didn't mean any harm by that statement. I'm sure he didn't choose his words very carefully, he never does. But the statement kind of follows along the same line a lot of people say. "Have another piece of cake, you can stand it," "Why are you worried about what you eat" "You can skip the run, it's not going to hurt you."

As anyone in my family can tell you, I'm not naturally small. Wasn't always a normal weight. Simply put, "fat kid likes cookies." I work at it everyday. I think about what I eat (sometimes knowingly make the wrong choice), skip the sweets for the most part, and try to get in a couple of work outs every week. Nothing huge, but when people assume it comes without thinking, they ignore traits I'm most proud of, self control and discipline.

The comment he made also brings up another point. "Too skinny?" yeah people can be too skinny but medically I'm where I should be for my height and age. With a growin number of Americans gaining weight and talks about raising the healthy weight benchmark, have we started to "normalize" an unhealthy lifestyle? Diversity? All for it. Healthy self image? You go girl! You are who you are? Damn straight. But ignoring a health condition for the sake of feelings or basing health on what is average? Iffy at best.

I'm gay. (shocker right?) And although it's not politically correct to say, that's not normal. Under 7% of the population? Yup not the norm. And a fact that I've had to tell a few parents is that te gay population has to deal with certain health risks most people outside the population don't think that much about. It's a fact, and to ignore that fact in order to make some people feel better is wrong and irresponsible.

Yeah I know not exactly the same things, gay an overweight. But the point is certain characteristics come with specific issues and health concerns. To ignore these issues or differences, in order to make everyone feel equal or the same is idiotic. The same people that shout Diversity shush you when you mention the differences that diversity brings.

So while doctors may have a set number for overweight or ill health, people base their judgments on what they see. Fill a room with blue skinned people and the "normal" pigment is going to start to look awfully close to cyan #3. Just a parting thought, when's the last time we treated or discouraged an average condition or something that's normal in a population?

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