Since LifeNuts involves many aspects of lifestyle, today’s blog will
give three vignettes: obesity on an airplane, luminating the brain, and credit
card temptations.
When Laura and I visited Florida a few weeks ago, a happy respite from
winter doldrums, we flew on a small US Airways jet to Charlotte. The plane had two seats on each side of the aisle.
After we were seated, I noticed an extremely obese young man sit in the
row in front of us – on the opposite side. I had a good view of him. Every part of him was gigantic and he barely fit in the seat next to the window. Wow, I wondered, Who would be stuck sitting next to him? And there she came, waddling down the aisle, at the least a
three-hundred pounder. Lord, she was massive.
The only way she could fit into the seat, next to her husband or boyfriend, was if he put his large arm around her, allowing her side to be tight against his. Even with that, half of her right thigh extended into the aisle, which didn’t seem to surprise or upset her. Then the seat belt, that compulsory part of flying. About 20 percent of people in cars don’t use seatbelts, but airplanes don’t give you a choice. Buckle up.
How could she? No way, I thought. The flight attendant, seeing the problem, left and came back with the solution: a seat belt extension, an extra belt that fastened into to hers. And it worked. No expression on her face. No thank-you to the flight attendant. You've got to take care of me. It's not my fault I'm so obese.
Now, these two were young, probably in their late 20s. Their total weight had to be 600 pounds, twice as much as most other twosomes on the plane. Yet they paid the same fare for the airlines to haul them. What medical problems would come their way? How did they get so big, so quickly in their young lives? Did they have high blood pressure. Diabetes? So many questions. But don’t ask. They are the new America: we’re fat and we don’t care.
My solution: charge them more for medical insurance premiums. Many health care insurers are doing this. Airlines: charge them extra for their obesity. After all, it costs the airlines more in gas to carry their weight. There are few penalties for obesity today … except for the many diseases that will
eventually come.
Luminosity is a company, located in silicon valley, that offers brain-training games online. http://www.lumosity.com/about
Over the years they’ve accumulated data from 50 million users in 160 different countries and they collaborate with 36 universities in data analysis. Yes, memory can be improved with mental exercises but Scottish researchers found that those who exercise vigorously several times a week had less brain shrinkage than those more sedentary people who pursued intellectual avenues. Remember that blog?
Another factor is diet. Dr. Barnard’s book, Power Foods for the Brain, documents studies that show the relationship with meat and dairy intake and Alzheimer’s disease. It would be helpful if both the Scottish researchers and those working with Lumos Labs would look at diet’s role in mental
sharpness.
The third part of today comes from a recent article in Barron’s, one focusing on the economic recovery or lack of it. When the crisis hit in 2008-2009, American pocketbooks were taken to task, revealing massive debt and minimal net worth. Immediately we began to pay off our debts, to curtail
mindless spending. Guess what, household debt decreased – almost overnight. But that was five years ago. How quickly we forget what got us in trouble.
Now, Americans are slowing sinking into the quicksand of debt – borrowing – to finance their lifestyle. To keep up with the Joneses. Or whomever. Credit cards, auto loans, mortgages. Will next year see more of this? Probably. Even divorces, which fell to a 40-year low in 2009, are increasing.
It costs money for a divorce, you know.
No one wants to see a repeat of that financial crisis. So, do your part. Spend less, save more. Invest wisely. Ron Baron and Tom Barrack, two self-made billionaires, a generation removed from poor immigrants, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box this week. Learn the investing game. Watch Buffet next Monday on SB. I’ll comment more about this in the next blog.
give three vignettes: obesity on an airplane, luminating the brain, and credit
card temptations.
When Laura and I visited Florida a few weeks ago, a happy respite from
winter doldrums, we flew on a small US Airways jet to Charlotte. The plane had two seats on each side of the aisle.
After we were seated, I noticed an extremely obese young man sit in the
row in front of us – on the opposite side. I had a good view of him. Every part of him was gigantic and he barely fit in the seat next to the window. Wow, I wondered, Who would be stuck sitting next to him? And there she came, waddling down the aisle, at the least a
three-hundred pounder. Lord, she was massive.
The only way she could fit into the seat, next to her husband or boyfriend, was if he put his large arm around her, allowing her side to be tight against his. Even with that, half of her right thigh extended into the aisle, which didn’t seem to surprise or upset her. Then the seat belt, that compulsory part of flying. About 20 percent of people in cars don’t use seatbelts, but airplanes don’t give you a choice. Buckle up.
How could she? No way, I thought. The flight attendant, seeing the problem, left and came back with the solution: a seat belt extension, an extra belt that fastened into to hers. And it worked. No expression on her face. No thank-you to the flight attendant. You've got to take care of me. It's not my fault I'm so obese.
Now, these two were young, probably in their late 20s. Their total weight had to be 600 pounds, twice as much as most other twosomes on the plane. Yet they paid the same fare for the airlines to haul them. What medical problems would come their way? How did they get so big, so quickly in their young lives? Did they have high blood pressure. Diabetes? So many questions. But don’t ask. They are the new America: we’re fat and we don’t care.
My solution: charge them more for medical insurance premiums. Many health care insurers are doing this. Airlines: charge them extra for their obesity. After all, it costs the airlines more in gas to carry their weight. There are few penalties for obesity today … except for the many diseases that will
eventually come.
Luminosity is a company, located in silicon valley, that offers brain-training games online. http://www.lumosity.com/about
Over the years they’ve accumulated data from 50 million users in 160 different countries and they collaborate with 36 universities in data analysis. Yes, memory can be improved with mental exercises but Scottish researchers found that those who exercise vigorously several times a week had less brain shrinkage than those more sedentary people who pursued intellectual avenues. Remember that blog?
Another factor is diet. Dr. Barnard’s book, Power Foods for the Brain, documents studies that show the relationship with meat and dairy intake and Alzheimer’s disease. It would be helpful if both the Scottish researchers and those working with Lumos Labs would look at diet’s role in mental
sharpness.
The third part of today comes from a recent article in Barron’s, one focusing on the economic recovery or lack of it. When the crisis hit in 2008-2009, American pocketbooks were taken to task, revealing massive debt and minimal net worth. Immediately we began to pay off our debts, to curtail
mindless spending. Guess what, household debt decreased – almost overnight. But that was five years ago. How quickly we forget what got us in trouble.
Now, Americans are slowing sinking into the quicksand of debt – borrowing – to finance their lifestyle. To keep up with the Joneses. Or whomever. Credit cards, auto loans, mortgages. Will next year see more of this? Probably. Even divorces, which fell to a 40-year low in 2009, are increasing.
It costs money for a divorce, you know.
No one wants to see a repeat of that financial crisis. So, do your part. Spend less, save more. Invest wisely. Ron Baron and Tom Barrack, two self-made billionaires, a generation removed from poor immigrants, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box this week. Learn the investing game. Watch Buffet next Monday on SB. I’ll comment more about this in the next blog.
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