Just for grins, compare the latest statistics on the world’s happiest countries and the most obese countries. Recently, writer Frank Jacobs noted,
As usual, the country ranking in the annual World Happiness Report is topped by Nordic countries.
According to the Gallup World Poll, they are Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark. How do those felicitous lands stack up against the most obese countries? There are different ways to compare the statistics, mainly by “mean BMI of both sexes.” But BMI has been discredited and while most places still go by it, the more advanced have switched to other metrics, like the combined male and female obesity rate.
Still, according to the currently accepted standard of measurement, in the four happiest countries, the percentage of obese adults looks pretty good with these figures: Finland 22.2%, Iceland 21.9%, Sweden 20.6%, Denmark 19.7%.
In contrast: When measured by the combined obesity rates of both sexes, the “percentage of obese adults,” in the world’s direly affected countries is as high as 61% (Nauru), 55.0% (Cook Islands), 55.3% (Palau) and 52.9% (Marshall Islands).
Big picture, little picture
So, on a global scale, and for many reasons, the happiest humans and the most overweight humans constitute very different populations. However, narrowing the assessment down to a certain population, the professional comedians of the world look pretty darn euphoric. Of course, laughter is not always synonymous with happiness, as they will be the first to attest.
An entire sub-genre of professional comedians have suffered from the belief that if they give up their addictions — whether to alcohol, downers, uppers, food, or whatever — they will no longer be able to either mentally generate material, or perform in front of crowds. One way they handle this almost ubiquitous problem is by organizing for mutual help toward the practice of self-help.
In Atlanta, for instance, an outfit called Stand Up 4 Recovery was founded by comic Ricky Satori who, now more than 10 years sober, told reporter Kenny Murry about the early stage of his recovery process:
I could be onstage, I could say something confessional about my drug use … and I could follow it up with a punchline and experience the therapeutic value of not being suffocated with secrecy. Also, if it came up in court, I could say, “I was just kidding!”
This innovator is registered as a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist, and is qualified to train people to use naloxone (which saves users who overdose on opiates). He runs a mobile comedy club that honors individuals celebrating their Soberversaries by giving them support, encouragement, and even gifts. He also created a special array of “mocktails” for customers to enjoy. Collaborators include comedian/actor Taylor Neely, who also hosts the podcast “Sober Boyz.”
Father of them all
Another example of this type of service organization is the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, founded by the legendary comedian’s daughter Kitty Bruce. It provides scholarships for sober living programs aligned with the foundation’s core values, which include education on how to survive daily life without using substances; focus on positivity and spirituality; self-esteem building; volunteer work; and enjoyable sober experiences.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Mapped: The highs and lows of the world’s happiness landscape,” BigThink.com, 05/07/24
Source: “Most Obese Countries 2024,” WorldPopulationReview.com, undated
Source: “Atlanta comedians ‘Stand Up’ for addiction and mental health recovery awareness,” WABE.org, 01/23/24
Source: “The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation,” LennyBruce.org, undated
Image by Stand Up 4 Recovery
FAQs and Media Requests: 
