Why the federal government spent $3 million to study lesbian obesity
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The federal government spent millions of dollars in recent years researching why lesbians have a higher obesity rate than heterosexual women and gay men, according to funding records.
The ongoing National Institutes of Health study, now in its fourth year and scheduled to last another two, has cost about $3 million to date, the Washington Free Beacon reported in a recent article.
A summary of the research project said that nearly three-quarters of lesbians are overweight or obese. The rate is 25 percent higher than heterosexual females and almost “double the obesity risk of gay men,” the summary said.
The researchers, led by an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, have already concluded that lower athletic self-esteem among lesbians may lead to higher rates of obesity and that lesbians are more likely to see themselves at a healthy weight when they are not, according to the Free Beacon report.
Researchers have also determined that gay and bisexual males had a “greater desire for toned muscles” than straight men. This apparently helps explain why gay men are generally more fit than lesbians.
By now, you’re probably wondering why the government is funding a study that, so far, has largely reinforced stereotypes of gays and lesbians. The project summary says that “racial and socioeconomic disparities are receiving increasing attention” and lesbian obesity is “of high public-health significance.”
The study of lesbian obesity has grabbed the attention of budget watchers, but it’s an easier sell than many of the federal government’s other science projects, since it directly involves a public health concern.
Every now and then, budget hawks highlight federally funded research projects that seem to have no clear benefit except to satisfy scientific curiosity.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) last year questioned the usefulness of a government-subsidized study of duck genitals in his annual “Wastebook.” Funding for the $385,000 research project came from the 2009 economic-stimulus bill.
One key finding from the duck study, titled “Conflict, Social Behavior and Evolution,” was that duck vaginas run clockwise in a corkscrew, while the penises run counterclockwise in a spiral pattern. That difference of anatomy prevents ducks from successfully mating until the females are ready, in which case their vaginas dilate and expand to negate the difference.
“The females are enormously, amazingly successful at preventing fertilization by forced copulation,” said Richard Prum, one of the Yale University researchers, who explained the study for a Politifact article.
Another researcher for the project, Patricia Brennan, argued in a Slate editorial that critics had misunderstood the purpose of the study, saying it was not intended to solve an immediate practical problem. “Basic science is an integral part of scientific progress, but individual projects may sound meaningless when taken out of context,” she said.
Brennan said federal funding is critical to advancing basic science, but she acknowledged that the question of whether the government should fund such research in times of economic crisis “deserves well-informed discourse comparing all governmental expenses.”
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This is one of my pet peeves, Government waste. Why do we need a government study to tell us why lesbians are fat, or duck dicks for Christ sakes. And i'm sure the person getting the funding will tell you how important the study is but the bottom line it is a waste of tax payer dollars that could sure the hell be better spent elsewhere.
Well, left wingers swear by 'science', especially pseudoscience like climate change. This funds could pay for several feet of wall.
KD,
Sounds like the study done some years back by Northwestern University. They spent a quarter of a million dollars to find out why people in the UP talk the way they do. The conclusion was that it was because of Scandinavian influences. Hell, I could have told them that and only charged them a hundred bucks.
Eh.
Got to love the UP
1. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
2. "Vacation" means going down south past Petosky or Green Bay for the weekend.
3. You measure distance in hours.
4. You know several people who have hit deer more than once!
5. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.
6. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
7. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
9. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
10. You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison.
11. You carry jumper cables in your car & your girlfriend knows how to use them.
12. There are seven empty cars running in the parking lot at Menard's at any given time.
13. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
15. You refer to the Wolverines as "we."
16. You know! All 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
17. You can identify an Ohio and Wisconsin accent.
18. You have no problem spelling Escanaba.
19. You consider the lower Peninsula exotic. ya hey!
20. You don't have a coughing fit from one sip of Stroh's.
21. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a cow next to your blue spruce.
22. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
23. Down south to you means south of Da bridge, the deep south is south of Detroit.
24. A brat is something you eat.
25. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new machine shed.
26. You go out to fish fry every Friday at the Elks, Moose or VFW.
27. You know how to polka.
28. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
29. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
30. Ya actch'lly understand dese jokes, & den you forward dem to all yer Michigander friends.
Dear Friend KDMichigan: In the 1960's the Federal Government funded a research study to see if parrots from South America would speak with an accent if taught English.
Your tax dollars at rest.
P&AB.
Enoch.
Well not at rest.
American Tax dollars being spent frivolously.
Thank for understanding the point of the article.
I don't give two shits why lesbians are fat, or why duck dicks are a corkscrew shape.
Are you serious? Trump blows 80 million taxpayer dollars on GOLF, but this upsets you? Really? LMFAO!!!
Could not be any worse than, when several years ago, the DOD allegedly spent millions on a study regarding the mating habits of a certain variety of frogs.
Such blatant wastes of money should piss every taxpaying American off.
Dear Comrade in Arms Ed-NavyDoc: Agreed.
Good example.
The easy thing is to find taxpayer money either wasted or spent on other than what the nation most needs.
It is somewhat harder to find what works that most needs to do so.
Even when they do get things right (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid for examples) there are some who want to destroy things because they work.
When good programs are unfunded debt, there also needs to be improvement in making sure there is money to pay for them.
This is to guarantee that what works can continue to do so.
Excellent work Ed.
You are the best!
Peace and Abundant Blessing (Even when the ponds of our lives are invaded by hoards of horny frogs).
Enoch.
Actually, I live in the middle of the Sonora Desert. Here we have horny toads...
Dear Brother Ed: A business partner of mine in the 2000's lived in Scottsdale, AZ.
We used to camp out in the Sonoran Desert during February.
Great experience.
Thanks for bringing back pleasant memories.
P&AB.
Enoch.
The study certainly is a waste considering roughly one in three Americans, gay or straight, are obese.
I agree. Why would the government deem it necessary To spend that much money researching why lesbians are fat?
Good question.
The study started under the last Presidents watch, Not that the same abuse of tax payer money doesn't happen under Republicans.
“racial and socioeconomic disparities are receiving increasing attention” and lesbian obesity is “of high public-health significance.”
I have no disparities in my life, racial or otherwise, and I'm a tad
over weight. A few marital things, kid things, job things, but nothing to "Dispare" about. Study that....oooops …. don't study that .... nothing to see here ....my bad. 
I just like food !
Don't we all.
It cracks me up that these pro government folks like to have studies of why lesbians are fat. It's quite hillaryious.
This story is from 2014. Tom Coburn retired from the Senate many many ago...
So.
So.
WTF does that have to do with government waste?
Do you really think the Government needs to do a study of why lesbians are fat?
This is a news site not a drag shit up from five years ago not news site...
Well this is not your site. If you don't like it start your own news site.
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[deleted]
Note to mod. Is that better? [no]
IMO the problem isn't the research study. The problem is the conclusion of "low-athletic self esteem" as cause of obesity which really doesn't say anything. Basically the research didn't provide any real insight or a useful conclusion that contributes to addressing the problem being studied.
So, this particular research really was a waste of money. The public didn't get anything for the money that was spent; this was just science welfare.
Exactly.
These are crazy...
You are wrong...
Caloric surplus. Same reason anyone is obese. You're welcome.
Thats not 100% true but pretty much factual.
My caloric surplus comes from micro brews and eating like a coyote.
You eat live rabbits and house cats ?
Just dead ones.
FYI Domestic rabbit is delicious, far better than chicken.
FYI most of the rabbits that coyotes eat are wild.
Is this really what you want to do is turn this in to a discussion of what coyotes eat?
Grow up.
You could have been a adult and asked what I meant by eating like a Coyote but instead we get little liberal games.
So what do you think about the government waste to Study why lesbians are Fat?
Never eat Jack Rabbit. They are full of parasites.
They are full of democrats? That's odd.
Well, I would say it's their diet but eating fish all the time isn't all that fattening.
Why the federal government spent $3 million to study lesbian obesity
Because lesbian fat cells are genetically different from non-lesbian fat cells? (s/ just in case)
Fat is fat, send me the $3,000,000 check via FedEx if you would please:)
Fat lesbians and Duck dicks, Just typing it out sounds stupid as hell
Meh, why the fuck not. We have spent tens of billions paying farmers for losses intentionally incurred by the government. Who give a fuck about $3 million?
Instead of wasting money studying why lesbians are fat they could have used that money building the wall...