Items

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  2022-04-05

  US obesity rates increased during COVID pandemic, doctors weigh in

  This is a text story from WITN by Justin Lundy. This is a news story on the increase in obesity rates since COVID started. In a study published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, the average BMI in US adults increased by 0.6% between March 2020 and March 2021. This increase happened even as exercise participation rates increased by 4.4%.
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  2022-01-18

  Is ‘fat positivity’ healthy or dangerous? COVID puts the question in stark relief

  This is a news story from New York Daily News by Cathy Young. This is an opinion piece questioning what body positive activists have been claiming about obesity and COVID, with many claiming weight has little to no effect on recovering from COVID. Quoting the CDC, Young says that obesity puts people at greater risk of dying from COVID than those of normal weight. Other parts of this opinion piece deal with the language surrounding the body positive movement, and how there is no distinction made between listening to medical advice and getting harassed. The author says that this is a major issue because it makes it so people reject sound medical advice at the expense of their own health. She says that while outright harassment is cruel, genuine concern and wanting people to improve their well-being is not. There is also criticism towards feminist writers in this article, such as Kate Manne, a philosophy professor from Cornell University, that claims all dieting is "morally bad." Young acknowledges that dieting can be unhealthy, but it is not unhealthy in and of itself. She thinks that if you have realistic goals, maintaining a healthy weight is not impossible. At the end, Young explains that this body positivity movement is destructive towards people, and that those struggling with weight issues should be met with compassion, but not "acceptance." This essay shows some of the social impacts of COVID. With some people reporting weight gain during lockdowns, it is easy to see why body positivity would be encouraged as a result. Though, since obesity puts one at higher risk for more complications with COVID, or any other disease for that matter, it should not be encouraged, in my own opinion. It is one thing to be shaped differently, it is quite another to accept being obese when it poses many health risks.
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  2020

  Humorous Memes about Coronavirus

  During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes.
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  2020

  Humorous Corona Memes

  During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes.
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  2020

  Humorous Memes

  During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes.
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  2020

  Humorous Memes About Quarantine and Covid

  During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes.
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  2020

  Memes About Quarantine and Life With Covid

  During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, people hoarding toilet paper, boredome, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes.
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  2021-06-20

  Comfort Food Redefined

  I spent the first few weeks of the pandemic and subsequent banishment to my home by my workplace eating bag after bag of potato chips. Something about crunching down on food was calming to me. I didn’t eat a lot of other food; when I am stressed, my digestive system is the first body part to put up a fuss, so besides the therapeutic potato chips, I didn’t feel much like eating. I don’t own a scale and didn’t feel that I was putting on weight, but one day I looked at my dog, who was the recipient of the chips I had dropped on the floor, and thought to myself that he if had gained weight. I made the leap in thought that if he had gained weight, perhaps I had too. I had to redefine my notion of comfort food from fatty food that crunched to food that truly comforted both my digestive system and my nervous system. This food was comprised of roasted veggies (to get that crunch!); veggie, protein powder, and fruit smoothies to give me the nutrients to deal with pandemic stress; and nuts and fish such as salmon for omega-3 fatty acids to counteract inflammation, fight depression, and nourish those brain cells so necessary to deal with all the changes required by the pandemic. All these changes in my daily food menu have had a massive and positive effect on me. I’m calmer, my intestines aren’t complaining, and I have more energy. And, I've maintained a health weight. I haven’t gained weight. Before the pandemic, I hated to cook and mostly just ate to survive without paying much attention to what I was putting in my body. The pandemic and its accompanying stress forced me to realize that the quality of one’s life is truly related to the quality of one’s food choices. Healthy food is truly comfort food.
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  2020-10-21

  Taking a break from the fridge

  A restaurant in Texas changed their sign to reflect what many Americans are thinking eight months into social distancing.
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  2020-06-12

  Fear of the 'quarantine 15'

  This article discusses the emergence of the phrase “quarantine 15” and the impact of anti-fatness on our society even as it is being ravaged by a global pandemic. Author Virgie Tovar ties the phrase to people's need to connect and the ease of doing so through self-deprecation. Dr. Lindo Bacon attributes the trend to the anxieties of dealing with isolation and other factors directly connected to the coronavirus pandemic and our social stigma against mental health issues. Which reason is more accurate is tough to say and may differ from individual to individual. What is certain is that while people are dealing with changes to their food habits and environmental stressors they are also being pressured to lose weight.