Newsweek on obesity

This week's Newsweek's cover story is titled What You Don't Know About Fat. There was a lot in there that I didn't know about fat, and the article said a number of interesting things about the biology of the fat cell and how a better understanding of it is giving researchers insights into how to combat morbid obesity.

I was fascinated by the sentence "The point of this research isn't to prove that obesity is bad for you; the evidence of that is statistical, and unassailable", mostly because I've certainly seen articles assailing that. (I'm by no means a doctor; I'm not really in any position to evaluate the claims.)

But by far my favorite sentence of the article was this one, which appeared after an enumeration of some of the health risks:

For anyone thinking of becoming obese, this ought to give them pause.

What an incredibly inane statement. I'm trying hard to imagine the hordes of men and women across America saying things like "I've got no plans for this weekend. Maybe I'll try to become obese" or "I just feel too darned socially accepted these days; serious weight gain ought to take care of that." And I'm failing.

And then the press wonders why we don't trust them.

Aren't you glad you don't live in here?

Apropos of nothing: I passed a sign today outside of Harvard, in the window of an empty storefront. The sign read "5,800 sq. ft. Not divisible."

Of course, I knew what it indicated (that the space couldn't be broken into more than one store, presumably), but I reflexively thought, "Ah, so that's what 'prime real estate' is."

I observe this to remind those who are inclined to hit me with rubber chickens when I tell bad puns: you hear the ones I tell out loud. But I have to live with these thoughts all the time. Isn't that punishment enough?