Health-conscious

Remember the '60s, when Twiggy ruled the fashionistas' hearts and minds? Thin was in.

Well, thin is still in, for some God-forsaken reason. It seems that a starlet can't be considered hot enough to lust after if a person couldn't play a solid xylophone solo off of her ribs.

Men aren't that much better off-the number of different 'ceps and 'oids that are supposed to cover their bodies would make Schwarzenegger balk and, with both genders, anything more than five percent body fat is unacceptable.

Can you pinch an inch? Better hope not.

Paradoxically enough, in a nation of thin-obsessed fools, obesity reigns. While the average person might aspire to that svelte form, statistically he or she is far more likely to carry some extra baggage rather than need to find it. Anorexia might be the average aspiration, but obesity is more the reality.

How did this happen? America as a whole possesses greater access to medical information and technology than almost any other country in the world. Shouldn't we be a melting pot of genetic super-people with artificially enhanced health and an average lifespan of a century or better?

Blame the media. Somehow 'thin' replaced 'healthy' and 'low-fat' replaced 'eat-a-balanced-diet-and-get-some-exercise.' There is a tendency in this country to view food as a tool for health, rather than as a single component of a healthy life.

Eating low-fat food will not burn calories. It's processed food, not magic. It does not become good for you just because it isn't as bad for you as a Quad Stacker. Food is not inherently bad or good, but Americans lay the blame for their bad bodies on their meals.

Eat five hamburgers with enough vegetables and complex carbohydrates to balance it out, and it's a healthy, if large, meal. Hence, a balanced diet. If you're worried about caloric intake, don't demonize your meal - get some exercise. Stop viewing food as a tool and start viewing it as what it truly is: Food.