Society really doesn't look very highly on overweight people. We are discriminated against all the time. It's no wonder that overweight people are always looking for that one thing that will help us shed the weight so that we can wear the smaller sizes, the more glamorous clothing.

Whenever I hear about the dangers of excess weight on the news, one of the first things said is that doctors say it is difficult to perform surgical procedures on people carrying excess weight. To tell you the truth, this kind of make sense to me. After all, cutting through an extra layer of fat is more difficult than just cutting through skin. But then, suddenly, I started hearing about stomach stapling. Stomach stapling? Yep, you heard right. From what I can figure out, a doctor opens you up and staples a portion of your stomach closed so you can only eat a few ounces of food at a time. Once this is done, you get sick if you eat too much. You are forced to eat less because your stomach is too small to accept anything more. And after that dangerous operation, it is still recommended that you exercise to lose weight.

So there it is. You pay thousands of dollars and go through a dangerous surgery, and then what are you told to do? Go on a sensible eating plan, eat less, and exercise. Isn't that what you were told to do before the surgery?

While we're on the subject of dangerous weight loss plans, let's talk about those weight loss wonder drugs.

When the latest miracle fat reducing pill came out, I wanted a part of it. I went to my doctor and asked him for a prescription. He laughed. "No," he said, "they're dangerous. Find another way to lose weight." Easy enough for him to talk. The man keeps a box of 24 Snickers in his office and never gains weight. Yet, he was right. Pretty soon reports started to filter into the airwaves about women dying while taking this pill. Other women needed lung transplants. Pretty scary stuff. Dying to lose weight.

It does look as though people will do anything to lose weight, even if it's going to kill them. I knew someone who was getting sick from one of the "health programs" she was on. When it was suggested that she should try something new, she replied that she was afraid that she would put back on all the weight she had lost. When she was told that she might die, her response was, "So I die. At least I'll be thin and look good."

Society tells us that it is better to be dead than fat. Why do so many of us take this sort of idea to heart? Why don't we stand up and disagree with such a ridiculous statement?

I'm not saying don't have elective surgery to lose weight if that's what you want. I'm not saying don't take pills to lose weight if that's what you want. All I'm saying is to do a little research. Don't go out of your way to do harm to yourself just because society tells you that you should. Know the facts first.