Title (as given to the record by the creator): Facts and Figures
Date(s) of creation: May 1997
Creator / author / publisher: Sondra Solo, FaT GiRL
Physical description: One page with centered sentences separated by decorative dots
Reference #: FG7-015-Facts
Links:  [ PDF ]

Facts and Figures

Compiled by Sondra

Difference in household income per year between the average fat woman and the average thin woman: -$6,710 

Cost of Dr. Mal Fobi’s digestive organ reconfiguration surgery to treat obesity: $20,000-$40,000 

Per year, approximate amount paid to Fobi’s center for that procedure alone: $9,000,000 

Approximate gross for Fobi’s center from that procedure alone: $4,687.50 per hour 

Average wage of a freelance writer who works more than 30 hours per week: $2.96 per hour 

Average wage received by a FaTGiRL collective member for putting out the zine: $0 per hour 

Dollars spent in 1996 on ab machines: 400 million 

Of Americans, percent who consume light foods and beverages: 92 

Revenue in dollars, per year, from Quaker rice cakes: 160 million 

Number of Americans who are hungry: 30 million 

Vitamins known to the FDA which will not be absorbed normally when eaten with Olestra: A, D, E, and K 

Incidence of digestive problems from Olestra-chips according to the study by manufacturer Procter & Gamble: 2% 

Incidence of digestive problems according to the study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest: 15% 

Of Americans, percent who believe people can’t be trusted: 63 

Per business day, number of jobs lost during the first seven months of 1996: 2,096 

In the U.S., number of locations specifically prohibiting job discrimination on basis of fat: 2 (MI & Santa Cruz) 

Of 2,500 top income earners in 1994, percent that were women: 1.2 

Of people having liposuction in 1994, percent that were women: 83 

Cost of liposuction procedure: $2,650-$9,100 

Major health risks of liposuction: infection, blood clots, skin loss, shock, organ perforation, bleeding, swelling, pain

Number of “vanity procedures” (cosmetic surgeries) performed in US in 1994: > 1.6 million 

Number of women, in US in 1993, who knew they had breast cancer: 1.6 million 

Number of women, in US in 1993, who did not know they had breast cancer: 1 million 

Number of Americans per year suffering hip fractures: 250,000 

Amount of hip fracture sufferers who will fully recover: less than half 

Percent of hip fracture sufferers who die within one year of the injury: 10-20 

Of those who survive, percent who remain disabled and dependent on nursing home or friend/family care: 50

Risk increase for a 5’4″ woman who weighs more than 149 pounds and who loses> 15 pounds: 1.8 times

Risk increase for a woman who weighs between 134-150 pounds and loses 13.4 – 15 pounds: 2.8 times 

Of the 3,683 women in the National Institute on Aging Study, amount who lost 10 percent or more of their weight since age 50 but did not also increase their risk of fracturing a hip: zero 

Star Tribune, news service, 9/30/93; SF Chronicle/NY Times, 1/3/97, by Carey Goldberg; Authors League Fund; 20/20 report; SF Chronicle & Examiner Parade Magazine, 11/17/96 by Diane Hales; Second Harvest; Calorie Control Council’s Commentary Fall, 1996; Montel Williams; Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, Inc.; Catalyst; US News and World Report 10/14/96; New York Times Magazine, August 1993; San Diego Tribune, Susan Gilbert article citing, in part, the National Institute on Aging study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.