A few notes on things I ran across on the web.
Note 0: Fat asthmatics may need weight-based dosing. Suddenly I don’t feel guilty that I sometimes need 3 inhaler puffs instead of 2.
Note 1: “The Drink-8-Glasses-of-Water-a-Day is a myth” story has hit Fark. Maybe doctors will get it soon?
Note 2: Some of these other medical myths are interesting, too.
Note 3: And exercise myths? There’s a zillion, starting with how physically fit == healthy. “[P]eople not considered “healthy” can live well through exercise and exercise can help them manage chronic diseases they may have.”
Note 4: This PDF on http://www.obesitymyths.com* shows how the lowering of the “overweight” boundary in 98 moved over 20% of Americans from the “normal” BMI classification to the “overweight” classification.
Note 5: Michelle’s started a new blog called Fat Nutritionist, and First, Do No Harm has been more active recently. Both are welcome.
Yes, I made a post about why I choose not to have gastric bypass. Yes, I understand that some readers have had gastric bypass or are losing weight in other ways and are happy with it. No, I am not digging comments that link to weight-loss sites and blogs out of the spamtrap.
*Obesitymyths.com is run by the Center for Consumer Freedom, so I take much of their info with a grain of salt.
Living ~400lbs 
Thanks for reminding me of First, Do No Harm since I’d forgotten to subscribe to it due to the fact that it had been inactive. :)
Some good links, thanks. I’m also very happy about the Launch of the Fat Nutritionist blog!
Actually, that fact about the lowering of the cut-offs for ‘overweight’ & ‘obese’ is true, & has been amply documented by many sources over the years.
That’s why I included the link the PDF (along with other sources) — it rather graphically points out that just shifting that 20% is why the US classifiies over half of its adults as “overweight or obese”.
Note 3 is most interesting to me.
My therapist recommended today that I try moving around when I get stressed, overtired, or depressed as an alternative to some of my other not-really-working (or I wouldn’t need a therapist) coping mechanisms.
Not pounding ‘regular’ exercise, but just taking a simple short walk once a day or as needed.
And you know . . . that sounds right to me.
It works for me too, and there’s research that shows it helps for some mental health conditions. I think partly it’s that I have a job where I’m mostly using my brain, so moving my body and letting my brain rest a bit gives me balance. ;)
I am reassured by the knowledge that we only need a moderate amount of exercise. With my increasing joint/leg pains, I am finding difficulty walking much over 30 minutes at a time. In one sense, that is probably a good thing, because part of the reason why my joints are breaking down so badly is that I have always had a strong tendency toward compulsive exercise. Now my body is forcing me to slow down.
And, yes, I do find it interesting how many more people can become ‘fat’ just by the stroke of a pen.