Everybody do the MySpace spread!

No, its not a new dance or a hip hop dairy product - what I call the MySpace spread is what is commonly referred to as muffin top, its that roll of fat that curls out over the tops of your waistline when you're wearing pants, most notably, jeans. Why I call it the MySpace spread is because I don't remember this type of fat being around years ago - is it new and improved? I remember secretary spread all too well, which seemed to refer to an expanding butt and hips so that you appeared to be sitting down even when you were standing. And of course there's the regular hip and belly fat that's a little more uniform in its structure, you can successfully camoflauge all over that expansive area and nobody knows the wiser - they just think you like big clothes! But what is with all of these otherwise slim and shapely young women with that roll of flesh sticking out from under their tops, sitting above their pants? It seems to mostly afflict young girls between 13 and 22, and what's weird is that they will be mostly slim, flat stomachs, no visible body fat - except for this protruding roll. My daughter had it, and if I had to really guess, I'd say it started around the time she got her first computer, and I mean HERS, the one that went in her room so she didn't have to share and she could just sit there all day - which she pretty much did. Right after school, sometimes right before school, with snacks all around the desk.

I started noticing this fat start to form around her waist, and she noticed it too, but she would come into my room and turn sideways in front of the full length mirror and point out how flat her belly was - and it was oddly very flat, so this roll around her waist was just bizarre. From the side, she was in perfect shape, but from the back, she was...well, a muffin. One of those big ones with the glorious crowns. And nearly all of her friends had it too. That, coupled with the newest fashion trend of low rise jeans and short baby tees, was a disaster to behold. Then you go out in public and you see young women everywhere with the same roll peeking out from the same type of clothing, like it was some college initiation thing and you were walking around on this never ending campus.

I tried to reason that maybe it WAS the clothing that had become popular that just made the "muffin top" stand out more, whereas before, it was more cleverly concealed, but even as the styles relax a little and they return their waistbands to their actual waists - you can still see how the extra fat is causing a squarish look in the waist area.

The only thing I could figure was that with the popularity of MySpace, YouTube and LiveJournal and other such social sites, millions of young girls are spending upwards of six or more hours per day, sitting in their chair, typing furiously on the keyboard - and snacking. Unlike most adults who have to get up frequently and tend to the household, they have no such responsibilities, so they can sit there for hours and hours, and instead of spreading out the way "we" did in our day, for some reason, their body fat is stopping at the waist line and then forming. Could it be the ergonomic chairs that is keeping the fat from going below? The lack of trans fats in their snacks (which makes them taste like crap but gives the impression that you can eat more of them because suddenly they're healthy!) I can't figure that part out yet, because I think the snacks are probably still very much the same as they used to be, but I'll crack that code eventually.

This year is my daughter's Sophomore year in high school so she's suddenly discovered that she's beautiful and that boys are pretty hot! So even though she still spends way too much time on the computer, she started running and cutting back on sugar and snacks, and every night I hear her in her room doing Turbo Jam or Pilates, and her MySpace spread is almost completely gone now. A lot of her friends have also lost theirs as they've joined cheerleading and various other sports, which all lead to less time sitting in those chairs.

I wonder if any of this is connected to the affordability of the unlimited text messaging packages? Because I've witnessed my daughter texting while on the treadmill, believe it or not, and a year ago, text messages were still like too expensive to do so frivolously but now almost everyone can text all day and all night - and they do. But at least they're not sitting down all day. And we got the Wii system which turned video gaming into a virtual workout session.

Hmmmm, I wonder what the next phase will be and how it will shape us?

low carb diet