Body Image Vs. Health

I am amazed at the weird relationship America has with body image and health. The rest of the world (rightly so) views America as fat and unhealthy. We use such unhealthy ingredients in our food like trans fat, corn syrup, etc., and are the only ones that do so! On the other hand, we are also obsessed with "healthy" options in our food. Maybe if we used real ingredients in our food, we wouldn't need these "alternatives." Italians eat tons of food that have natural fats, but are nowhere near as obese as we are on average.
Unfortunately, this has affected everyone, regardless of their weight and health. We wrongly associate how thin somebody is with their health. Many times, extremely thin people are just as unhealthy, or more, as someone who is obese. We try to come up with fad diets to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time. The reason these work is because they force us to starve ourselves and cause us to lose water weight. The weight (and more) is lost as soon as the diet is over. Why don't we just completely overhaul the way we eat in general so we don't have to worry about these fad diets at all?
We take advice about health from people that have absolutely no scientific credibility, and are surprised when it doesn't work. We need to listen to doctors and scientists who have studied the science of our body and what we need to survive. Don't give people with "miracle drugs" and "miracle diets" equal time as a scientist and doctor who has a solution that is proven by science and evidence. Treat them like they are, con men. Instead, let's turn our attention to changing our health care system where everyone can get equal chance at health care.

Politics

The reason I tend to not read the news or pay attention to politics as much as I probably should is the stupidity in most of politics. Things like Tucson Unified School District banning Mexican-American Studies from being taught in schools because they are afraid that it will inspire Latinos from forming a revolution against the white population. Why would we want to do something like that? Maybe because of things like this. The best part, though, is that African-American Studies are perfectly fine. What would cause a culture to hate Anglo-Americans than learning that your ancestors were enslaved by them; being considered 3/5 of a person (although that is a generous number, as they were treated like less); and once freed, being completely separated from the rest of the population, and having to use sub-par facilities.
What group is being attacked more by the government currently than women? Last time I checked, I wasn't a woman, but unlike other people who only care about demographic groups of which they are a part, I am concerned about some politicians' attempts to deny women their basic rights. Why do we need to revisit Roe v. Wade when there are bigger problems facing our country than some women wanting to have an abortion for whatever reason? Overpopulation is going to be a major problem soon (and it already is), so if a woman makes a choice to undergo an abortion (which I'm sure they wouldn't want to unless they absolutely had to), let her. Maybe we should look even earlier into a woman's life to see what the problem is. First, many people are still taught that abstinence is the only answer to sex. We all know that teens are going to have sex (just look at shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom), so we need to stop acting like teaching them to not have sex will work. We are exposed to sex on so many fronts that this is a terrible tactic. Instead, we should teach teens that they should only have sex when they are ready, and if they decide to have sex, that they should protect themselves in some way.
I thought this was the worst of the attacks on 50% of our population, but sadly Wisconsin has proved me wrong. Almost all 50 states have some kind of law enacted that allows women (or any person) who feels they have been discriminated against in the work place to sue their employer. However, Wisconsin has decided to appeal their version of this law. I usually have problems determining the thought process of politicians, but no matter how long I think, I can't understand why anyone would sign off on this bill. Especially the FOUR WOMEN that voted in favor of this repeal.
Of course, most of this misogynistic attitude is kept under the rug for the most part. However, so many of the people in this country display an open dislike, distrust, and even hatred for another group: atheists. Of course, I could go on forever quoting Fox News viewers on their desire to kill all atheists, but that would be too easy. This is more brought on by the Gallup poll that says that only 49% of Americans would vote for an atheist. To this, the daughter of Billy Graham has said that wisdom comes from the belief and fear of a higher power. This doesn't factor in that almost all major scientists do not believe in some higher power. Who has more wisdom than a person that does not allow a religious institution to interfere with their morals and logic. In reality, these people are just afraid of an atheist becoming president and preaching (for lack of a better word) true equality.