<p>I think when you look at health risks for potential presidents, you are really asking about the risk of death or incapacitation in the next four (or maybe eight) years. Christie is 49–so what is his elevated risk of, say, a fatal heart attack in the next four years due to his weight? I don’t know the number, but I know that it’s elevated. I mentioned Tsongas, for whom the risk was very high (and he did, indeed, die during those four years).</p>
<p>His weight is probably the least of what may disqualify him to run.</p>
<p>For those of you who would not vote for Christie because of his weight, assuming that you think that he would make an excellent president, would you vote for Herman Caine, who I believe had stage IV cancer of his colon and liver?</p>
<p>I’d like to see an expert risk analysis for any serious candidate. I’d want this for a key employee, so it’s even more important for somebody who wants this particular job.</p>
<p>Living in NJ, I have read several interviews where Christie candidly talks about his weight problem. I have seen pictures of his brother who is also a large guy, so he’s has an uphill battle against his genes. He has also had asthma since his teens, so I would hope that he would try to lose a bit for his family’s sake. You would think living in the Governor’s residence, he could get healthy, lo-cal meals and have a trainer come in every morning to help. </p>
<p>Interesting article in yesterday’s Newark Star-Ledger that he may be too liberal for most Republicans. (tried to find link, but couldn’t). It’s always been said that New Jersey Republicans don’t fare well on the national stage, as they are pro-choice, not ant-gay marriage, believe in some forms of gun control, etc. </p>
<p>IMO - He hasn’t had enough time as governor to evaluate his performance, however his early encounters he was a bully (firing Education comissioner) and I’m not sure that type of behavior will work on a national stage.</p>
<p>Well, Sarah Palin is in great shape for a fortysomething mother of 5, and I admire her discipline in running etc with a very busy schedule, but that doesn’t mean she deserves my vote.</p>
<p>I don’t work for a law firm and, in fact, I don’t work at the company with the fat paralegal anymore. She was a valued employee and I certainly did not judge her harshly. I was very supportive and we are good friends. I didn’t write anything here that she wouldn’t have said herself. SHE started a Weight Watchers at Work program for all of us. SHE asks for support for her exercise program (fits and starts). But guess who the most successful person was in our Weight Watchers program? ME!!! I only signed up to support her and some of my staff (in 2008) and got down to competitive running weight again! </p>
<p>I suspect a lot of you people who are jumping all over me either haven’t been in the workforce or have no good knowledge about exercise, health and fitness. I am not saying anything revolutionary here. I like Gov. Christie. This isn’t about hating or judging. It’s about the recognition that obesity is a serious risk factor to one’s health and I see no real evidence that he is addressing it in a meaningful way.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t vote for SP, either, runner or not, but how far do you think she would have gotten in her political hunt if she were Christie’s size? But I’m sure no one on THIS forum would be tacky enough to talk about her weight!</p>
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<p>Why is he at an ice cream place?</p>
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<p>Is there anything on the raw veggies?</p>
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<p>What’s he putting on the salad?</p>
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<p>A pound of fat is 3,500 calories. It take about 100 to 150 calories
to run a mile. So you can see that it can take an incredible amount
of exercise just to burn five or ten pounds of fat. On the other hand
if you don’t take in any calories for a day, a man Christie’s size
should use up a pound of fat in daily activity.</p>
<p>Perhaps Mr. Christie should go on a high-fat diet to lose weight.</p>
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<p>I was less productive and effective in business and family
responsibilities. One of the motivating factors for losing weight was
the economic downturn as your curb appeal goes down the tubes when you
walk in for the interview.</p>
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<p>The difference today is better science and technology. idad quit smoking
cold turkey and has lost about 90 pounds. He’s posted his before and
after pictures (as have many of us) and the change is unbelievable.
I was on the thread for about six months while he was talking about
how easy it was to lose weight on a lower-carb diet and the availability
of free, online nutrition analysis tools like LiveStrong.</p>
<p>The lower-carb diet decreases the hunger pangs and makes it easier to
eat fewer calories. My typical diet is 50% fat, and the rest split
between protein and fat. The USRDA is for 50%+ carbs which has fueled
the low-fat craze in supermarket foods. These foods may be low-fat or
no-fat but it’s often packed with calories from sugar. Many of us on
the other thread believe that sugar is addictive and that it has
effects on brain chemistry that pushes us to pack on the pounds.</p>
<p>The nutrition tracking allows you to do pro forma modeling of foods
and portions to look at the calories, fiber, sugars, sodium,
cholesterol, protein and fat content of what you’re eating and the
LiveStrong chart will give you an up-to-date pie chart of your
carbs/fat/protein consumption making it easy to keep your nutrition in
balance. It is also a reminder of your calorie budget for the rest of
the day.</p>
<p>There are a lot of online tools that allow you to estimate the number
of calories that you use in normal, daily activity based on how active
your lifestyle is and your weight. There are a lot of online tools to
estimate calories burned from particular exercises. So using these
tools, you can track and analyse how you are doing and how your body
responds to various combinations of nutrients and exercise.</p>
<p>Tracking has resulted in the incredible advances in quality control
in making products like computers, automobiles, electronics, etc.
It’s nice that information technology is available to improve our
metrics in the health department.</p>
<p>A lot of us here are in 50s and 60s. This is just about the last chance
to get fit and trim and maintain it. At some age or stage, the joints
aren’t strong enough to support a decent level of exercise and it’s
hard to get out of the vicious cycle of weight gain.</p>
<p>Losing weight is about changing your life. Permanently. That’s often
hard to do. We have support groups in two threads that make it a little
easier. We’re all pretty busy people and we all have times when we slip
up. It’s hard to get good nutrition on the road or at a big family event
or when under a lot of stress and pressure. But we all know that and
are there to provide support when someone is having a hard time.</p>
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<p>What kind of example is this to set in an age where healthcare costs
are crippling our nation?</p>
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<p>I have a friend that had this done and he put the weight back on in
a year. This guy is a pretty good athlete - he is very fast and can
hit a tennis ball very hard - but it kills his joints.</p>
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<p>I think that many of us find that we have to do our own meal
preparation to get the nutrition mix on our programs. For guys, that
can mean a steep learning curve.</p>
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<p>I have to agree with BCeagle’s comments. I have been able to lose over 10 lbs easily, by making some changes in my food choices, without a minute of hunger. For me, sugar is poison. Reducing intake of “bad” carbs as much as possible, and limiting intake of “good” carbs, eating more vegetables and more low-fat protein, is enough for me to lose weight, at least so far. LiveStrong has been a huge help, and when I track my eating, I lose about 1 lb a week, the goal I entered that established my daily calorie goal. When I do not track, as in the last six weeks or so as I coped with a number of serious problems, I still lost weight, although much more slowly, because some of the changes in diet have become permanent.</p>
<p>In the past, trying to cut down on food always led to weight gain. I’ve learned a lot from the two threads BC mentioned, and he is right that the science and technology have evolved.</p>
<p>Christie is morbidly obese. That is quite different from the extra twenty pounds that so many people carry around. Being morbidly obese is a very big deal health-wise and his fifties are when the across the board effects of carrying around all that extra weight are really going to kick in…if they haven’t already. I am not judging him as a human being for being fat but as POTUS his girth could well affect his job performance. I believe it should be on the table for discussion. That being said - my vote for is ultimately determined by the platform the candidate supports. </p>
<p>How Christie handles his weight and any attempt he makes to eat differently and exercise a bit more would set quite an example to the American public. Christie isn’t my guy politically but I would respect him a great if he made a visible effort. He may have been destined to be a big guy but I would think it is the very rare person who is genetically predisposed to be morbidly obese. </p>
<p>Gastric bypass is becoming a popular road for morbidly obese people of means who (for whatever reason) need to lose weight quickly or just can’ t get the job done the old fashioned way. If he has any intention of running for POTUS I am guessing that he will not run this cycle and that some form of lap-band surgery will be in his future. If he does this there will, of course, be plenty of discussion down the road about the whole slew of possible nutritional health issues that come into play post-surgery.</p>
<p>I should add for the record that I watched my brother-in-law struggle for twenty years with losing and gaining weight. In his mid-forties he finally found an approach that worked for him, lost 150 pounds and has kept it off. He has become a serious athlete as well. He did all of this while being in a demanding job that requires constant travel. It was an incredible effort and showed great character.</p>
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<p>Taft was elected in 1908. If you have to look back more than a century to find an exception I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that obesity is a real handicap in presidential politics.</p>
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Yes, that would be my whole point.</p>
<p>Is it better to be slender and fit than fat. Of course. Does obesity present serious health problems. Yes. Is it tough to imagine that a morbidly obese candidate would have the stamina to campaign for and serve as president. Sure, I suppose it is a case by case situation, but sure.</p>
<p>However, at the risk of another false accusation of battling a straw mam, there are posts on here where people state they would * never * vote for an obese candidate, or that obesity is a “Deal Breaker” for them. I can find the posts, it isn’t that difficult.</p>
<p>To me that means that even between two candidates, one whose accomplishments and policies you appreciate, and another you abhor, you would either vote for the candidate whose point of view you detest or not vote at all, which also benefits the candidate you disagree with. It’s your right, but I consider that ridiculous.</p>
<p>Unless of course I’m overparsing words, and the people making those posts didn’t really mean that, and were just using hyperbole to makle a point. In that case, never mind.</p>
<p>Holy C***! I just saw where Christie’s BMI is estimated to be over 40.</p>
<p>Elleneast is correct. This is what used to be called morbid obesity (I see where some medical journals no longer use that term because it can be viewed as pejorative.) This is serious stuff.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>I have two friends, morbidly obese, who have lost huge amounts of weight–several times–and regained it all. During these weight-loss periods they are on a high of enthusiasm, and want to talk to everyone about their methods of dieting. It’s all they can think about. Invariably one of the topics is hunger control. When they are at their lowest weight periods, they look great. Then the weight goes back on. From what I have read this yo-yo phenomena is not a good idea. Both of these guys are well-liked and good at their jobs, funny. They hate being fat.</p>
<p>I used to work for a woman who was small and slender. High energy gal, good at her job. She was attractive and I know she was proud of her weight because she mentioned it. I would hear her say, “Let’s go to lunch. I am absolutely starving.” Then I would watch her eat a small portion of food and say she was full. This was impressive to me, because for her, a very small portion of food did the complete job for her with no feeling of remaining hunger.</p>
<p>After a lifetime of watching fat people, skinny people, and everyone in between, I have to believe there is a serious hormonal difference between my two morbidly obese friends, and people like my boss. I knew these people very well, and it was not just will power, character, desire, sloth, addiction, gluttony, or whatever. Their body chemistries were DIFFERENT.</p>
<p>“Is anyone bothered by the bias against heavy people? That’s ok to say things about them that couldn’t be said against another group?”</p>
<p>Yes, it bothers me terribly, as there are people I love that are heavy and have struggled with endlessly. But I do fear having a president who is not extremely healthy…unless, of course, I really like the VP.</p>
<p>“After a lifetime of watching fat people, skinny people, and everyone in between, I have to believe there is a serious hormonal difference between my two morbidly obese friends, and people like my boss. I knew these people very well, and it was not just will power, character, desire, sloth, addiction, gluttony, or whatever. Their body chemistries were DIFFERENT”</p>
<p>And the answer to that is bioidentical hormones. And targeted supplements like chromium and alpha-lipoic acid, which take away sugar cravings. Additional exercise and healthy eating will make the weight loss faster. In only two months, it has changed my sister’s life. Weight loss, doctor taking her off of blood pressure and cholesterol meds, actually wanting to go out of the house and exercise, feeling great instead of depressed. It is a huge cheat to the weight loss struggle. You don’t like your body chemistry? Then go change it!</p>
<p>" Christie is 49–so what is his elevated risk of, say, a fatal heart attack in the next four years due to his weight? "</p>
<p>His chances are pretty high: male, over 40 and morbidly obese. My dearest uncle who looked exactly like Christie (with curly hair) dropped dead at the age of 50 - massive MI, could not be resuscitated.</p>
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<p>I have a coworker that was morbidly obese in his 20s. He’s in his forties now. I saw him a few years ago and didn’t recognize him. He’s lost at least 100 pounds. I found out that he runs and uses the elliptical stepper regularly and that he also teaches aerobics classes in the office. He also runs half-marathons. I believe that he works out every day of the business week and I assume that he’s doing a good job managing his nutrition as I don’t really know anyone that has lost weight and kept it off without managing their nutrition.</p>
<p>Yes, there are differences. I lost 45 pounds and then bounced around for a while to -30. Adding lower-carb and LiveStrong took off another 30 pounds with less effort than losing the 45 pounds. This in an environment where a lot of free food and drink is available.</p>
<p>Losing weight is hard for most so you have to use anything that you have available - low carb, calorie tracking, stapling, exercise, drugs, support groups, etc. Everyone has to find what works for them and then stay on the program. One of the problems that I had when I changed my nutritional approach was that my wife made what she made in the past not understanding what I was trying to do. I just stopped eating stuff that wasn’t in my plan and started preparing my own stuff. I sent her articles but she paid little attention to them. She did notice the huge weight loss though and is now supportive of my nutritional approach.</p>
<p>She’s never had weight issues as she gets a lot of exercise and grew up in a third-world country where she probably developed different eating habits than what we have in the US.</p>