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The flabbiest place on Earth?

2006-02-09

By Robert Niles: The L.A. Times has an interesting story today examining the expanding waistlines among Disneyland cast members, and the steps the costuming department has taken over the past years to accomodate them.

Of course, this isn't just Disney's problem. Americans, in general, are getting fatter. Blame the economics of wages and food costs, I suppose. I know that it is much cheaper to buy a fatty fast food meal than it is to buy raw ingredients at the grocery store for a healthier, homemade meal. And that doesn't factor in the time costs for shopping and cooking, either.

But the Disneyland example provides a stark illustration of the problem. And that this example is all the more compelling when one considers that some jobs at theme parks like Disneyland are great weight-loss programs by themselves. When I drove the rafts at Tom Sawyer's Island at Walt Disney World, I couldn't keep weight *on*. Huge piles of nachos for lunch and three-course dinners only kept my weight steady. The physical labor, coupled with the steamy heat, melted pounds. Others walking the belt at the Haunted Mansion, rolling out the parade route or jockeying cars on the Grand Prix raceway faced similar issues.

Readers' Opinions

From Anthony Murphy on February 9, 2006 at 10:33 AM
Interesting thoughts!

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