The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance? I had no idea such things existed. Acceptance? For what? People who eat unhealthy foods and choose to not exercise? Aside from a few exceptions (medical reasons) it's just a failure of the person to lead a healthy normal life. The Centers for Disease Control report that in 1998, health problems from obesity came out to cost around $78 billion, with half paid by medicare/medicaid.

I know many who have lost weight, and I used to be a "chubby" kid when I was in grade school. In junior high and high school, I worked hard to get back to body mass index of 19, and have been regularly exercising to better my life. It's not unreachable.

In Japan, with the introduction of Western fast food restaurants, with meals that have more than double the calories than traditional meals, programs have been created where companies are fined if a certain percentage of their workforce is overweight. I'm not saying we should take such a drastic route, but we must realize our food intake does matter.

Honestly, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance makes me feel that I should be accepting the laziness of individuals. No thanks.

Jai Cheon

junior-information sciences and technology