Death by Calories

By Harvey Tobkes

Some ‘bleeding hearts” are sure to say we are torturing the prisoners at Guantonomo Bay by overfeeding. They will allege that our plan is to make the detainees grossly obese. These screaming whacko critics may go so far as to say we are deviously attempting to blow the prisoners up until they explode in captivity, rather than allow them to set off explosives in Iraq. For a clearer understanding please read a short excerpt from an article in USA Today.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Fueled by a high-calorie diet, detainees at Guantanamo Bay are becoming fat.

One detainee’s weight has almost doubled to 410 pounds.

The detainees’ meals total a whopping 4,200 calories per day. U.S. government dietary guidelines for weight maintenance recommend 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day.

Inmates at U.S. federal prisons receive about 2,900 calories a day, said Michael Truman, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, who added that weight gain is studied only where it poses a health risk, though it does not appear widespread.

“The detainees are advised that they are offered more food than necessary to provide choice and variety, and that consuming all the food they are offered will result in weight gain,” he said.

Guantanamo’s heaviest detainee, at 410 pounds, arrived in 2002 weighing 215 pounds, Durand said. His identity was not disclosed.

Full article: USATODAY.com – High-calorie diet fattens prisoners at Guantanamo Bay