Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A victory for women’s health

A fashion show in Rome has carried out it’s early threats, and banned 15 models for being too skinny . When one looks at these models, the following quote is hardly surprising: "One girl fainted during the trials," he said, adding, "I had to give her a ham sandwich.” The only question is whether even the Roman standards are enough- there is every reason to believe that even the “healthy” weights are too skinny:
1. I used to sell life insurance, and was surprised to learn that the insurance industry has it’s own “ideal weight” charts- and they average 20% heavier than the doctor’s charts! The instructor in the licensing class said, “I’m not permitted to say that people are healthier at these weights- I’m not licensed to practice medicine. But we do know that they live longer; we know, we write the checks.”
2. Following a tip from my wife, I did a little research of the medical industry’s numbers. They may have changed them in the last couple years since I did the research, but at the time I found this: if you take an average woman at the “ideal” weight, and use their formulae for the daily calorie count needed for maintenance, and spend those calories according to their food pyramid, it’s impossible for that woman to get the minimum RDA of several vitamins and minerals without taking supplements!
I can only hope the Roman example becomes an industry trend.

5 comments:

Chalicechick said...

So, were these weights that the clients had supplied without verification?

Maybe it is just honesty that makes one live longer...

CC
For whom a weight loss of twenty percent would be a good start.

Joel Monka said...

Lol- I had not considered the client honesty factor... still, you'd think if they were going to lie about their weight, they'd take pounds off, rather than adding them.

Joel
For whom 20% off would scarcely be noticed- I'm heavier than my photograph from Monte Carlo. But then, my wife is lighter than in that photo- so I suppose it's still accurate as a family average.

Shannon said...

I am thrilled to see these rules being applied and followed. Hopefully we will see even more of this!

Unknown said...

The Harvard School of Public Health has pretty much demolished the USDA pyramid.

Chalicechick said...

(((still, you'd think if they were going to lie about their weight, they'd take pounds off, rather than adding them.))

Well, yeah. My theory was that both groups weighed the same. The liars who underreported their weight were the ones dying young...

CC