Global Obesity

[buckytom]

and chef jen, i think you should be taxed for serving crappy coffee! (j/k )

all kidding aside, it could happen when you begin to ask your government to protect you from yourself. they don't know when to stop.

your comparing alcohol to food arguement is weak. i've never seen anyone crash because they had too many greasy hot dogs.

 

[Chef_Jen]

your comparing alcohol to food arguement is weak. i've never seen anyone crash because they had too many greasy hot dogs.

Really??? Go see any cardiologist will tell you heart attacks clogged artries.. Sugar shocks etc all make you "crash"

and like i said i know food doesnt get you drunk.. but too much wrong food has the same effect as too much alchol (liver issues, kidney issues, blood pressure) The list goes on

 

[buckytom]

umm, i meant crash a car.

not a sugar rush/crash. never heard of anyone who was arrested for being cranky and tired. (otherwise, dw would be in sing sing... lol)

and too much of the right food will do the same.

 

[lulu]

Well. I have been thinking about this, and I agree with Kyles. The fact that we have an NHS in UK is relevant, in the extreme, to how we percieve the governments role in fighting obesity.
I am the last person to become nanny-stateish, but I can see why if someone is paying for my healthcare and they are really ghealthy and I abuse my body its going to annoy them. Where as, I might not like risks they take. It kind of makes sense that we have a compulsory insurance scheme, me paying a fat premium, another guy paying a skiing premiun etc. I suppose though, you run back to where you started with people who cannot afford it, and means tested health...its the same arguements again. While we are tackling the problem it seems fundamentally wrong we treat with surgery and humiliation what we should be tackling with support, lifestyle help and encouragment, AND before it gets so that people have such huge amounts to lose. The idea of losing, say 30 lbs, seems so much less daunting than losing a hundred pounds, if we had processes that encouraged people to seek help at that early stages, with out fear of humilation and degradation would it help? It would help me.

And agree, with Eurpeoan farming facing such economic pressure a tax on processed foods would seem like a good way to go economically, rather than a bizarre set of economic regimes based on production of certain products....I know our system for farming grants etc has recently changed, but I don't understand in which way.

when I was a student, when many of my contemporaries were feeding themselves for the first time, food choices were definitely made economically and one cn only hope this did not set patterns or life-eating plans. I know someone who used to buy cheap white bread, cheap margerine to fill up on and a supermarket brand multipack bag of crisps for each day of the week.....his weekly groceries cost under 10 quid, he was always very proud of that. I think if that has set his eating pattern for life then wow, is he missing out on some wonderful food, and wow, is he going to be unhealthy. Its hard for me as a food lover to understand that for some people food is sustanance and they will buy the cheapest fuel possible for their bodies. But I am sure it happens.

My views on this are all over the place, and certainly over influenced by personal situation....but then, thats the problem....more and more people find themselves in this uncomfortable situation.

Kyles: you are very, very inspirational.

 

[buckytom]

inspirationally agreed. i wish i could summon kyles' discipline of late.
you've taken personal responsibility for your health, which was my point in the first place. we need less government (for a myriad of reasons), more personal responsibility.
i guess it's a european thing, probably due to proximity and gnp, where you need to trust your government to lead you the right way. just a thought.
i don't think that'll ever work in the u.s..

 

[Chef_Jen]

well remember bucky im canadian.. and our govt in canada influence us the Canadian food guide.. is preached daily in dr offices...

its not about trusting but its nice to see the govt make positive steps to change our lifes

 

[bethzaring]

IThe approaches of doctors usually leave a lot to be desired, I wonder just how much time they get in medical school devoted to teaching people how to manage their weight?

I would love to hear that I am wrong on this point, because I do not have recent information on this, but there are four MD's in my extended family and they report they had NO required courses in nutrition in medical school. My BIL, who is a neurologist, has an intense interest in nutrition as well as all non-western approaches to medicine, tried very hard to take one of two elective classes offered in nutrition when he was in medical school in the late 1980's and was not able to schedule them.

 

[bethzaring]

Some things we can all do - we can change our habits -perhaps not all at the same time, but we can begin to eat the right things, drink the right amounts of water, do more exercise than we have been doing. Every day with a few changes makes the next days a bit better, maybe a little bit sore to start, but exercising those out feel great too. When we see a bit of progress it is so encouraging. When I was diagnosed with arthritis, I had gone thru a period not knowing if I would ever be able to do my own housework again, if I would ever feel like playing with my grandchildren like I wanted, or anything else. I was so tired and also my muscles were weak. I am only about 30 lbs overweight, but believe me that makes a difference. I started using the treadmill a bit at the time, then I decided to do the water class. I've only lost about 15 lbs, but my bp is down, cholesterol is down, sugar is down, my strength is so much better. I KNOW I didn't feel like exercising when I started, but I decided it would be my job to restore as much of my health as I could. It is important to remember that everything we do to improve our health is measureable in some way or another. We may not live longer, but we may have a healthier life. That makes a big difference to our family and friends, both as a role model and just feeling better while we are around them. We all need encouragement also.

Excellent advice, thanks for posting!

 

[GB]

Just a quick reminder that we should not be discussing politics on the board. Thanks.

 

[kyles]

Oops I hold my hands up on that one.

I think though, that this debate has been a productive one.

As keen cooks we are in a unique position to let our loved ones, friends, and community members aware of just how easy it is to produce a healthy, cost-effective meal.

Perhaps that should be an October challenge, cook a meal for one family or person who could eat better, then give them the recipe!

 

[Chef_Jen]

Oops sorry GB!

Ya ithink thats a great challenge!

 

[GB]

I think though, that this debate has been a productive one.

I agree Kyles. So far it has been a good discussion for the most part. I just do not want to see that change (not that I expect it would have)

 

[lulu]

Yep...I trangressed too...apologies to all.

Thanks for pulling us back in line, GB.

Um, I'd like your healthy recipes. It would be a good thread...like the what did you eat today thread, but kind of more focused and proactive....good healthy and low fat meals we enjoyed and would recommend.

 

[MarionW]

Guys & gals, I won't even begin to pretend I know the answer to "Global Obesity". I would like to reinterate some points already made and possibly add another or two:

Providing for the family, (eating) can be, and is, an economic issue for most. But, that does not neccessarily mean that, low to moderate income, families must eat un-healthy. There are healthy, modest priced foods. These foods may not be as inticing as the "Chef-boy-R-dee's" though. But I can attest to being raised healthy in a low-income home. My mom spooned beans, taters and soups on my plate more times than I care to remember. God love her!

Secondly, I'm 47 yrs old. I remember vividly studying the REQUIRED courses in health & nutrition in the public school system. No excuses there.

Thirdly, there are persons that, due to their personal health issues, whatever they be, have problems with "overweight". Some of you have told us about your own issues. This type thing is REAL. Make no mistake. Some sweet people have REAL problems with weight.

Lastly:

I've done this. Take a stroll back in time. Do a search on vintage photographs. Whatever subject suits your fancy, be it farming, swimming, whatever. You don't have to go back very many years. Actually, just one generation will show the difference. The genral populace was thinner, only one generation ago.

Our obesity is not a product of evolution. Our obesity is not due to lack of education. Our obesity is due to general change in lifestyle. One major change is less manual labor. Our housewifes have dishwashers, clothes driers, and many other things to make life better. (This is just an example, use your imagination to come up with others. I love housewives! God bless them!) We have conditioned climate wherever we go. (Automobiles, homes, work-place, etc... all conditioned. We don't even sweat anymore)

We are compulsive about satisfying ourselves, beyond healthy. Food is one area that we do this. "ALL-U-Can-Eat" buffet? Good gosh!

Human's have always had a natural desire to make life better. From the stone-age till now, there has been a tremendous amount of progress made to better the human life. The sad thing is, the scales started tipping the other way in the last century. In the natural human quest to make life better, we have reached a point that we are now un-healthy people.

Marion

 

[joy2006V2]

Oooh...we had a burning converstaion in our house last night about whether the govt were really doing anything worthwhile tkaing away sweets and salt and pepper from schools. I said yes, but then I got accused of being naive and that skinny people have just as many problems and that just because someone is fat doens't mean it's because they eat too much sugar. Discuss...

 

[GB]

Oooh...we had a burning converstaion in our house last night about whether the govt were really doing anything worthwhile tkaing away sweets and salt and pepper from schools. I said yes, but then I got accused of being naive and that skinny people have just as many problems and that just because someone is fat doens't mean it's because they eat too much sugar. Discuss...

As mentioned above, please no political discussions. Thank you.

 

[Mylegsbig]

See i read these thread and im almost embarassed by the amount of people who are ignorant.

Kyles i applaud you for your weight loss I too suffer from bad PCOS and im a cancer survivor. My weight came on with those 2 things combined

i dont smell bad
im probably fitter aka can run walk climb swim etc then most "skinny people" Remember being skinny doesnt mean your in shape!
I dont go out and "pig out" infact i can eat salads and gain 10 lbs its just my genetic make up"



This just baffles me.. So im overweight.. but what about the skinny person whos addictited to drugs should she pay more as well?

Not all overweight ppl eat "40lbs of junkfood".

I think your comments are very out of line and lord hopes that you never gain a pound!!

My problem with BMI is it isnt very accurate. they say that a woman who is 5'5 who weights over 150 is overweight.. they dont take into consideration Frame if they play rugby or anything like that.. I think BMI is just not advanced enough to use to judge things.

In the uk this week they released an article about IVF saying woman who are overweight cannot have this treatment.. meanwhile they dont take into consideration people like Kyles and i who have PCOS and all though our BMI might not be the best we are still very healthy people

society as a whole needs a lesson IMHO

5'5" 150? I'm 6' 220

im no string bean myself.

im taling about these people who are completely round, like 400-500 lbs and all they do all day is sit around and eat and they can barely move and clean their bodies.

lol @ you being 150 lbs and being offended by my post.

 

[Alix]

This thread is closed. No more "passionate" comments from anyone.