Alcohol currently only has social stigmas in terms of context in this country. For example, if I went home and drank a bottle of wine alone in my bedroom while playing Mario Kart, that's pretty weird, and my friends might think that I have a problem. But, instead, if I go out with these same friends to a club/bar setting and drink a bottle of wine, that's pretty normal. Same cognitive experience. Yet, only one of these is a cry for help. Why?

So, when I moved back to Chicago last Fall, I joined a LifeTime Fitness by my work in order to avoid rush-hour traffic in the morning. After 8 months of working out 5 days a week, I've gone down a belt size, I feel better, and am now officially, according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator... OVERWEIGHT. Because during this 8 months, I also GAINED over 10 pounds, elevating me into this higher category. So, my contention is that BMI is stupid. It's merely a ratio of height:weight, and it penalizes those for obtaining muscle mass. So, for a woman who joins a gym because her BMI is scaring her, she's not going to lower it by lifting weights, even though that may help her overall condition of health. Unfair. I want a better index to judge overall health. Does this exist?