Fat wizards

[Grey Wolf <greywolf1@jazzfree.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51111

Torsten wrote:
> I'd like to adress two points:
> 
> 1. Shouldn't wizards on average be overweight compared to muggles? 
> They don't play any sports which actually requires the work of 
> muscles (and as for the Quidditch players, only the Beaters truly 
> exercize). They have no P.E. classes in school. They also don't do 
> much housework (or any other kind of physically stressing work) 
> themselves, it all requites just a little wand waving (or a 
> houseelf). Some even spare themselves the stairs and just apparate to > the kitchen for breakfast ...
> There might be spells to get rid of fat, but I doubt it, or why 
> didn't anyone tell Bagman about them?
>
> What do you think?
> 
> Torsten

First, I want to point out that most muggles don't practice sports 
either, what little PE they had at school is long since forgotten by 
the time they are 30 and many don't do much housework either. Besides, 
there is one big evil in the overweight department that wizards seem to 
not have (yet): fast food. The main reason why most (1st world) 
societies are steaddily gaining weight is, as far as I know, due to the 
expansion of unhealthy eating habits. I myself don't do sports, or any 
other form of excercise (I sit in front of computers all day long for 
work and pleasure) and yet I am not fat by any measure - basically 
because I know I *could* get fat and I fight it by eating well.

Besides, there are a few things that we don't know about magic. It is a 
well known fact of science that energy cannot be created from nowhere 
(although I accept some of the -right now- more outlandish theories 
state that enrgy can be stored in vacuum), so where does the energy for 
all that "foolish wandwaving" effects come from? Well, it could be that 
any time a wizard performs magic a little of his mass is converted into 
energy (a little mass will go a long way, as Einstein said: E=mc^2 i.e. 
Energy can be obtained from mass at a rate of c^2 times the mass used - 
c being the speed of light, which is a powerfull multiplier, especially 
when squared). So, that's the ultimate diet: go about your life 
normally, and because of it you'll loose weight.

Finally, I want to point out that I've always pictured Bagman as the 
sort of fat person that people that once were very fit turn into when 
they suddenly stop practicing sports - although I also picture part of 
his belly to be what in my country is called "beer belly". In a 
nutshell, he is not fat because he ate too much, bu because most of the 
muscles he once had have changed into fat.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf