{"id":9197,"date":"2008-04-27T13:56:12","date_gmt":"2008-04-27T18:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2008\/04\/27\/at-least-theyre-upscale-nudists\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:53:28","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:53:28","slug":"at-least-theyre-upscale-nudists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2008\/04\/27\/at-least-theyre-upscale-nudists\/","title":{"rendered":"at least they’re upscale nudists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nakations<\/strong><\/em>?<\/strong> The New York Times<\/em> tells us today that there’s a big trend of Americans heading to nudist resorts for their vacations — dubbed “nakations”. See “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Worries<\/a>” (by Michelle Higgins, April 27, 2008). The article came just a couple days after I wrote to a friend that, “American obesity has taken a lot of the fun out of watching the change from winter to spring wardrobes.” So, I’ve got to confess that the general notion of Americans wearing no clothes is not a big draw (much less a turn-on) for me.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

nude beach
\na man and a woman
\ncollect shells<\/font><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

nude beach <\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n the jet ski instructress
\ntells me to \u201cconcentrate\u201d<\/font><\/font>
\n\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.. . . . by <\/font> ed markowski<\/font><\/a> <\/font><\/font>[“shells” from <\/font><\/font>The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em><\/font><\/a>.]<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, our cranky contrarian Prof. Yabut<\/a> pointed to the NYT<\/em> statement that:<\/p>\n

\n

“the real boom in nude vacations is coming at the high end of the business, as upscale hotels and resorts, and even some luxury cruise lines, have begun to see the economic potential in the no-clothes crowd \u2014 particularly those who want to shed their clothes but not their pampered lifestyles.”<\/p>\n

keep your shirt on, buddy <\/em>… <\/a> …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As a lifelong (and long-lived) practitioner of lookism<\/a>, Yabut added, “at least they’re upscale nudists.” That got me thinking about the widespread assumption that the rich are not as fat as the poor in America. I turned to Mr. Google for help, and went first to the Wikipedia<\/em> entry on obesity<\/a>, where a relevant section states:<\/p>\n

Social determinants<\/a><\/p>\n

“. . . In particular, a class co-factor consistently appears across many studies. Comparing net worth with BMI scores, a 2004 study found obese American subjects approximately half as wealthy as thin ones. When income differentials were factored out, the inequity persisted\u2014thin subjects were inheriting more wealth than fat ones.<\/p>\n

<\/a> A higher rate of a lower level of education and tendencies to rely on cheaper fast foods is seen as a reason why these results are so dissimilar. Another study finds women who married into higher status are predictably thinner than women who married into lower status. [Ed. note<\/em>: my empirical evidence definitely jibes with that last statement.]<\/p>\n

“A 2007 study of more than 32,500 children . . . indicated that BMI change in friends, siblings or spouse predicted BMI change in subjects irrespective of geographical distance. The authors concluded from the results that acceptance of body mass plays an important role in changes in body size .”<\/p>\n

family picnic
\nthe new wife\u2019s rump
\nbigger than mine<\/p>\n

\u2026 by Roberta Beary<\/a> – The Unworn Necklace<\/a><\/em> (Snapshot Press<\/a> 2007)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That sounded about right. See also: “Lower-income Neighborhoods Associated With Higher Obesity Rates<\/a>” (Science Daily<\/em>, Feb. 10, 2008) (“A new study appearing in the journal Nutrition Reviews reveals that characteristics of neighborhoods, including the area\u2019s income level, the built environment [e.g.<\/em>, “barriers to physical activity”], and access to healthy food, contribute to the continuing obesity epidemic.”); “DIETING LINKED TO INCREASED WEALTH, STUDY FINDS<\/a>” (Research News<\/em>, July 2005) (“Overweight Americans who lose a lot of weight also tend to build more wealth as they drop the pounds, according to new research.”); and “Obesity Often Linked to Income<\/a>” (npr, Aug. 18, 2004) (“Americans spend a good deal of money eating out, a habit tied to the nation’s obesity epidemic. Researchers say the less people can pay for food, the more calories they consume.”)<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

dia de los muertos \u2014 <\/em> <\/em><\/font>
\nthe anorexic looks
\nenvious<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u2026…. dagosan<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nonetheless, the f\/k\/a<\/em> Gang doesn’t [usually] just stop its research as soon as we find materials confirming our own assumptions. And, when we looked at a few additional Google results for the search “obesity [income OR wealth]”, we quickly saw that — like just about everything we talk about at this site — things are not as simple or clearcut as we first thought.<\/p>\n

<\/a> For example:<\/p>\n