“Well, technically you are obese.”
(This followed by a stunned silence…)

“But I’m just twelve pounds over my
ideal weight for a man my size!”

“Your Body Mass Index is more
than ideal: 26.4.”

(She is quite small, from India–
the size of a fasting Gandhi.)

“I just want you to be healthy.
How much exercise do you do?”

“I mow the lawn in the summer.”
(I don’t say on a nice tractor…)

“But now, you know, it is winter…”
(Her British accent is a winner.)

“Could you eat smaller meals? Less fats?
Much fewer carbs? And exercise?”

(I think of running up a hill…)
“Could you prescribe a better pill?”

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, Feb. 26, 2014