The Twist of Language

It’s amusing to see a politician being on the receiving end of the petty macro life management they propose for the rest of us.

Just ask David Cameron, 46, who was photographed topless on a Cornwall beach this week looking “portly”, according to the Daily Mirror.

In his defence, beachwear is rarely the most flattering attire and Mr Cameron is a very busy man.

The prime minister has a stressful job; he must have very little time for doing the recommended two-and-a-half hours of physical activity a week, and all those state banquets and cabinet lunches are bound to lead to a high-calorie intake.

Unfortunately for him, his lifestyle is likely to increase the amount of abdominal fat in the body – and that type of fat is particularly dangerous.

The bad news is that carrying excess weight, particularly around the waist, will increase the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, some cancers and type-2 diabetes.

What Cameron has, is what many of us have having hit forty plus – a little spread around the middle. He is not obese. Not even close. However…

The next step is to measure the circumference of your waist which is a good way of checking out just how healthy you are.

The National Obesity Forum says that a waist circumference of more than 35in (88.9cm) for women and 40in (102cm) for men represents a “substantially increased risk” of developing heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

I don’t know what Cameron’s waist measurement is – and really don’t care over-much – however, his figure isn’t far removed from mine. I went from a 29 inch waist to 31 and a bit during my forties. Bit of a bummer not being able to squeeze into my old jeans. I am still pretty active and I have a bird-like appetite, yet still put on those few extra pounds. It is nothing to worry about and I am not even remotely obese. So, frankly, I think it is best to ignore the shrill voices that insist upon equating the natural addition of a few pounds in middle age with obesity. It is not. To do so is to abuse the language beyond breaking point. But, then, that’s what these bastards do isn’t it?

5 Comments

  1. XX (102cm) for men represents a “substantially increased risk” of developing heart disease and type-2 diabetes.XX

    And, if one happens to be 2 meters + tall?

  2. As Furor says – what about one’s height?
    It’s a ratio, after all.
    As for me, well I’ve had a 34″ waist these past 30+ years, and I drink a fair bot of beer & enjoy my food.
    Health fascists can fuck right off.

    • Quite. These arseholes don’t bother to look at the larger picture, which is why hefty rugby players are deemed obese when it is blindingly obvious they are nothing of the sort.

  3. Health Fasciitis are usually belsen thin themselves and haven’t seen a decent meal since 1973 (A bit like Joanna Lumley’s wonderful Patsy Stone in Ab Fab) hence why they are so busy poking their noses into everyone else’s affairs they all look like they just stepped out of a Nazi concentration camp, therefore so should we. Most of these people are under 35 and think of themselves as young, they take great pleasure in poking at us over 40’s forgetting they will soon be there themselves…… MWAHAHAHA ……..
    Roll on over 40 for them and watch them spread, and their pathetic attempts at gym work and eating lettuce leaves and the dreaded Hummus become more and more difficult as their knees start to creak and all that healthy living starts to catch up with them as they slide and degenerate into mid life just like the rest of us 😉
    I don’t often stand up for Camoron but on this occasion it’s just another example of an attempt to make someone feel bad and the rest of us to panic and run off to a bloody gym for a huge subscription only to stop 3 weeks later and never see this side of £200 again!
    Fuck of Health Nazis, go get yourselves a proper life and leave the rest of us alone.
    They will be telling us next Dave has had to stop appearing in Vogue because of his portly demeanour and that his Catwalk career is at an end as he just can’t cut the mustard, how long before the headline reads “Prime Minister admitted to hospital for swallowing loo roll” – He said ” I just wanted to stay slim and trim to compete with the new generation of top models”
    OLLOCKS….
    Longue vie et prospérité, heureux dimanche.

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