Healthy Weight

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to talk with a former critical care nurse (who oddly is now an electrician). Anyway, during the course of our conversation, she told me she had been a critical care nurse for 25+ years, but she had to change careers after she broke her back on the job.

She said about 15 years ago, the average weight of a critical care patient at the hospital she worked at was 170 pounds. When she left nursing a few years ago, the average weight of a critical care patient was 280 pounds. The patient she was handling when her back was broken was about 450 pounds.

Weight is a touchy subject in America. We critcize wafer thin models and celebrities. We critcize our increasing number of obese children. If an overweight person is exercising in public, people stare or snicker. If a thin person eats healthy and exercises, people tell them they are already thin and dont need to.

When I was in high school one of the most fit girls in my class was not one of the thinnest girls in my class. I was envious of her drive to exercise and her ability to play sports. She looked good in a swimsuit!

Being unhealthy and overweight and you are probably asking for medical issues. If you are eating right and excersicing regularly, chances are good that you will have a better quality of life, no matter your weight.