Is Obese a Four Letter Word?

According to some council members in Liverpool, England, it is. In fact, they find it so offensive, they’re considering banning it from any health campaigns aimed at fat kids.

I’m going to have to go ahead and disagree with this. I seriously don’t think the word obese is offending any kids. I mean, does he look offended?

My lunch box is filled with lard.

(Let’s not let the fact that he’s wearing an Alf t-shirt pass any of us by. I’d be pretty damn happy too.)

But anyway, I digress. Alf t-shirts are not the reason why fat kids aren’t offended by the word obese. It’s because if a classmate is going to taunt a fatty, they aren’t going to use the word “obese” to do so.

“Hey, Billy Obese. Your obese! Yeah, you heard me. Obesey McObese. Hahaha!”

A more likely taunt would probably involve the nickname Triple Chin Tracey being screamed over and over while poor Tracey is chased around the school yard by a crowd of angry children brandishing their Anti-Fat sticks, thus sending Tracey into a fit of hysteria that ends in her drowning her chins in a giant tub of chocolate fudge brownie full-fat ice cream.

What can I say. Kids are mean.

So my advice, Liverpool City Council Members, is to get off your high horses and realize kids aren’t paying attention to your health campaigns enough to realize “obese” is offensive. They’re too busy picking scabs and putting frogs down their pants. And making fun of Tracey.

So, stop wasting your time, and money, on what you should call overweight children, and concentrate your efforts on finding a way to fix the problem.

New Journal Devoted to Childhood Obesity

If you send it, I will blog.

My good friend Bridget is always on the lookout for, and sending me, tidbits of information she thinks I might find interesting.

And this one definitely caught my eye.

Medical publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc will begin publishing a new journal dedicated solely to childhood obesity, beginning in June 2010.

The journal, titled Childhood Obesity (ha! who would have thought?) is just the latest testament of how out of control this epidemic has gotten.

I think this is both great and sad.

Great, because people are finally starting to recognize this issue.

Sad, because it never should have gotten to this point.

Apparently my blog is trending towards fat kids now? Hey, whatever.

Just trying to do my part people.

Maybe I’ll be the next Jamie Oliver. It is a gender-neutral name.