<p>IS Oprah running for POTUS? News to me.</p>
<p>I’d suggest reading up on Oprah’s marathon training program.</p>
<p>She trained many overweight women to run marathons.</p>
<p>I thought this thread was about obese people being incapable of performing at the level of potus, not about whether someone ran a marathon last millenium. As far as I know Oprah is obese, and I know she is not running for pres. But if I agreed with her positions I wouldn’t question her competence because of her girth.</p>
<p>Threads wander.</p>
<p>Can Christie run a marathon? Oops, I mean a 5K walk. Can he touch his toes? Can he have a salad for dinner and not starve? Is his EKG OK? How are his cholesterol numbers? Can he disclose his real weight?</p>
<p>How do we know that Governor Christie does not exercise regularly, and is not taking his weight seriously? I tried searching around and found a few articles that suggest that he even has a personal trainer. I’m not sure how trustworthy those are because it seems as if it is not possible for someone to be obese but still be physically active.</p>
<p>As of February this year, Obama had quit smoking for a year. There don’t seem to be any more recent stories on whether or not he’s resumed, so I think we should assume he’s still not smoking. </p>
<p>I would prefer to not vote for an obese candidate. But I have to first consider their position on the issues that matter to me and their capability. If the alternative was unacceptable, then I would vote for an obese person, but not happily.</p>
<p>I have plenty of friends who are overweight, and many of them struggle with their food addiction. I can understand and accept people who are overweight, but I find it hard to find sympathy for someone who is obese. I have some not-thin friends who are in good shape. But I have other friends who can’t walk half a block without gasping for breath. I wouldn’t want someone in that condition to be president.</p>
<p>It is possible to be physically active while obese. I imagine that it’s a lot harder when you are morbidly obese. I used to play 60 to 90 minutes of tennis at 245 pounds. It took me three or four days to recover but it was pretty strenuous exercise. I started my running program back then too - it was only 4.2 to 4.6 MPH but it was a start.</p>
<p>Diet has a bigger effect on weight loss than exercise does. You can’t out-train a crappy diet.</p>
<p>I think having a political opinion based on obesity is just as valid as having one based on animal rights or preservation of the wilderness regions of the US, or energy production and consumption: green vs. drill baby drill…</p>
<p>None of these are “my” particular issue, but I think they are all as valid as any other reason to vote or not vote for someone. JMO</p>
<p>I don’t know why we torture ourselves with this subject so often on this board. As much as some of us would like for it not to be so, there are many people who view fatness as a character flaw. Because it is immediately visible, the viewer can make a judgement about the lack of self-control of the fat person without ever having to say a word to them or get to know them at all. They see fatness as a choice.</p>
<p>The fat person is usually repelled by their own fat and wishes they were slender. However, they know slender people who seem to display lack of control and still stay slim. It’s hard to listen to people who are naturally slim, or who enjoy their exercise regimen, lecture about their superior will power and character. It breeds resentment and anger. For many people, the effort required to lose weight is crushing, and success in keeping it off seems unattainable.</p>
<p>For me being obese would be a serious strike against a candidate but not a deal-breaker all by itself. If I otherwise liked the candidate’s policies I could probably choose to overlook the obesity and vote for him/her.</p>
<p>“It’s hard to listen to people who are naturally slim, or who enjoy their exercise regimen, lecture about their superior will power and character. It breeds resentment and anger. For many people, the effort required to lose weight is crushing, and success in keeping it off seems unattainable.”</p>
<p>^^ Well said! </p>
<p>I know it’s a stretch, and off topic, but can’t the same be said of a 2200 SAT?</p>
<p>FWIW, I am neither thin nor obese, and my SAT was “fine”, but no 2200.</p>
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<p>Good to hear that he is finally doing something about it. It seems that he finally found our exercise thread and took a look at what idad has been able to achieve. 
Or Michelle kicked his rear end hard enough… I told DH that I will divorce him the minute he touches a cigarette. I can never kiss a smoker. I might as well lick an ashtray. :)</p>
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<p>Crushing? A few baby steps go a long way. It does not take a Biggest Loser-type of an effort to shed a few pounds. Is giving up before even trying a positive thing?</p>
<p>I’m not naturally slim and I do not have superior willpower. But I put my running shoes on and hit the trail and do not pig out on pasta. Does this make me qualified to post my opinion on what our POTUS should be like?</p>
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<p>It’s an addiction but it’s of our own making (our government that
is). We discuss this on the diet and exercise thread. It is very hard
to fight biology but that’s what we do with government
recommendations. Working with biology makes losing weight considerably
easier. Fortunately we’re just starting to see what works and it is
getting into venues like Weight Watchers.</p>
<p>Furthermore, we have free Information Technology to help us now.</p>
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<p>Lucky them.</p>
<p>They won the genetic lottery.</p>
<p>But we all have to live with the hand that we are dealt.</p>
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<p>We talk about methods, technology, biology, research, motivation and
success on the diet and exercise forum. Many of us have been obese
and worked our way down. Will Power helps but technology and biology
make things easier.</p>
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<p>Education.</p>
<p>McCain’s age didn’t bother me to the extent that it would have prevented me from voting for him. Christie’s weight bothers me just a bit more, but if I were in ideological agreement with him, it wouldn’t stop me from voting for him for one second. I like his face. Reminds me of my step-son’s. And I like how straight forward he can be, like when he told people to “get the hell off the beach” (so refreshing) in the wake of Hurrican Irene. Yeah, when I see him on TV, the word “Teletubbie” frequently comes to mind, but ultimately, whether or not I’d vote for him would depend on his stand on the social and economic issues, job creation, etc.</p>
<p>“Will Power helps but technology and biology make things easier.”</p>
<p>Thank you, BC. Our basic HS biology education (where kids should be learning things about metabolism) stinks.</p>
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<p>Agreed. Since I don’t agree with him, I am more than happy to not be bothered if people use his weight against him. Politics trumps weight.</p>
<p>There is the matter of health and fitness, and rightly or wrongly, weight plays into our belief about other’s self-discipline. Show me someone middle age who is really fit, and I think “wow, self-disciplined” as it doesn’t come naturally to most of us. </p>
<p>And it turns out, however shallow and completely stupid this is, the general voting population wants a leader that comes across as stereotypically ‘leader-like’ (even though we should know these traits don’t necessarily correlate with effective decision making, policies, ethics, or other things that should matter more). So one has an edge to the extent they are physically attractive, tall, poised, dress well, have strong emotion control, possess a commanding voice and exude presence. It shouldn’t be that way but it is.</p>
<p>Some fun late night reading:</p>
<p>[A</a> neural basis for the effect of candidate appearance on election outcomes](<a href=“A neural basis for the effect of candidate appearance on election outcomes - PubMed”>A neural basis for the effect of candidate appearance on election outcomes - PubMed)</p>
<p>First, CC is my governor, and I did not vote for him, and will not vote for him for issue related reasons.</p>
<p>Second, I have been thin all my life, and do feel that though not everybody who is overweight is so solely because of the lack of will power, will powder does play a role. After menopause, I realized that I had to be really disciplined to maintain the same weight, and I managed to do so by being very mindful about choices I make. Your biology may never allow you to be size 2, but, you may still have have enough control so that you can be size 14, not 28. CC is a male version of size 28. </p>
<p>Third, even if we establish that will power is all that it takes to be normal weight, I believe the will power to exercise and not to eat much is different from the kind of will power to run the country well. </p>
<p>In short, I won’t dismiss a candidate based on the weight problem.</p>
<p>However, if that candidate runs a great deal of risk of dying while in office or not being up to conducting a grueling negotiation session with domestic or foreign counterparts due to the weight related health complications, this is a REAL issue. </p>
<p>So, here is a compromise. Based on everything I read, running for the POTUS office is an extremely grueling exercise - a long marathon with not a respite. Hey, if CC runs for the office and his weight related health issues did not pop up to render him an ineffective candidate, well - that proves his fitness, overweight or not. Isn’t it so? If he is healthy enough to survive the grueling process, and disciplined enough to run a highly effective campaign, why should we worry how he “looks” with extra doodles of fat - only he and his wife should have a final say over this matter.</p>
<p>Well, OK. as a USA citizen, it will be kinda embarrassing to see him photographed next to good looking, fit heads of other nations: I would feel like a teenager who has to introduce a really overweight date to my friends… We all wish our mates to be “ultra presentable”, but in the end, I would go for a character and charm. (my husband is shorter than I).</p>