Fat

[possessedblanket]

Obesity is a pretty serious issue. The US is one of the "fattest" countries in the world if not the fattest. Many studies show that almost 25% of all teenagers and children in this country are overweight. This leads to serious health problems later in life and creates a heavy strain on the already ailing health care system.

If you were in charge of some anti-obesity task force in this country and your goal is to either solve or contain the obesity problem, what would be your plan?

[InterStella]

Well it's all about education... isn't it?

No. It's about RE-education.

Most people are already aware that they should be eating their 5-a-day fruit and veg portions, and doing some form of exercise on a regular basis - but how many actually achieve it? It's already been stated in another thread that the price of some fruits is soaring, and yet the price of a McMeal remains the same. Some people thrive on continuity (joke).

Now, I have a friend who is, shall we say, a 'larger lady'. She has been heavy since childhood and has struggled for years to contain her size to an 18/20 (UK). She DOES eat a healthy diet, she DOES exercise on a regulart basis, she DOES NOT pig-out on junk food. Therefore, she is big but healthy - although I doubt this will lengthen her life past the 65 mark. You just don't see fat pensioners, do you?

There is also the issue of eating the wrong foods during pregnancy: now, I have no idea of the extent of the research, but I heard recently that this is a major factor in obesity in primary school children. If this is the case, then it is truly 'nurture', and not 'nature', that is to blame for this epidemic. Because.... nuture begins in the womb.

So, to prevent this problem from escalating, I would re-educate all the teens and pregnant laydeez on the long-term effects of eating all-you-can-fat-bastard during pregnancy. There.

[Negativecool]

All true. Agreed.

[Amythist]

Oh here we go again about fat people. I think this issue has been covered time and time again. People choose to eat what they eat. Nothing you can do about it but educate your children and warn the of the dangers.

[Fishypancake]

Fat people intimidate me.

[possessedblanket]

There is also the issue of eating the wrong foods during pregnancy: now, I have no idea of the extent of the research, but I heard recently that this is a major factor in obesity in primary school children. If this is the case, then it is truly 'nurture', and not 'nature', that is to blame for this epidemic. Because.... nuture begins in the womb.


I don't know too much about prenatal care and its influences on childhood obesity, but that's a really interesting point.



Oh here we go again about fat people. I think this issue has been covered time and time again. People choose to eat what they eat. Nothing you can do about it but educate your children and warn the of the dangers.

True amythist, the issue is heavily discussed, but the reason for that is that the situation is getting worse and worse. The status quo isn't working and with the prevalence rate of chronic diseases at its highest, we need to rethink traditional, passive approaches and adopt a more aggressive strategy.

[InterStella]

Fat people intimidate me.

But.... but.... everyone's skinny on t'internet.

End of problem.

[InterStella]

Oh here we go again about fat people. I think this issue has been covered time and time again. People choose to eat what they eat. Nothing you can do about it but educate your children and warn the of the dangers.

Tell your friends!


No good educating your own kids if their friends are pigging out with mum and dad.

[Pinkslit]

Healthy eating and exercise works for me.
I can tolerate chubby but obesity is sad.

[stopwatch]

Obesity is a pretty serious issue. The US is one of the "fattest" countries in the world if not the fattest. Many studies show that almost 25% of all teenagers and children in this country are overweight. This leads to serious health problems later in life and creates a heavy strain on the already ailing health care system.

If you were in charge of some anti-obesity task force in this country and your goal is to either solve or contain the obesity problem, what would be your plan?

My senior year of high school, a new, experimental program was introduced to battle this problem. Each student was equipped with a heart monitor and their resting heart rate was calculated. The assignment was then that the students had to keep their heart rate 30 beats above the average for half of gym class (the fat burning zone or whatnot). The out of shape students just had to walk the track. The athletes had to do stairs. For 45 minutes.

I don't think those kinds of programs are fair or productive. Truthfully, I feel that a lot of the obesity problems in this country come from the cheap prices of unhealthy foods (fast food, mostly) and the expensive prices of everything else (especially fresh produce). Studies have shown that the lower your socioeconomic status, the more obesity-related health problems you probably have. Also the portion sizes, the eating-out culture, and the drift away from eating dinner as a family all effect our outrageous obesity levels.

In my opinion, there is no quick fix. We need serious overhaul.

[possessedblanket]

Truthfully, I feel that a lot of the obesity problems in this country come from the cheap prices of unhealthy foods (fast food, mostly) and the expensive prices of everything else (especially fresh produce). Studies have shown that the lower your socioeconomic status, the more obesity-related health problems you probably have.



Your point is a key part of the issue. Unfortunately, money can be a significant determining factor of your health especially if you're of the low SES. With healthy produce and other items costing more than whoppers and big macs, a poor person may be forced into an unhealthy diet (lets not forget the effort it takes to prepare a meal compared to hitting the drive-through).

With the problem getting more and more serious, will there be a time when the government can step in and regulate the fast food industry? We do live in a free country, but if the issue turns into a crisis (it's well on its way) is the government justified in stepping in and saying: "look fast food chains, all your chicken sandwiches need to be grilled; you need to cook everything in olive oil, etc. "

[stopwatch]

Your point is a key part of the issue. Unfortunately, money can be a significant determining factor of your health especially if you're of the low SES. With healthy produce and other items costing more than whoppers and big macs, a poor person may be forced into an unhealthy diet (lets not forget the effort it takes to prepare a meal compared to hitting the drive-through).

With the problem getting more and more serious, will there be a time when the government can step in and regulate the fast food industry? We do live in a free country, but if the issue turns into a crisis (it's well on its way) is the government justified in stepping in and saying: "look fast food chains, all your chicken sandwiches need to be grilled; you need to cook everything in olive oil, etc. "

The trend it starting. With documentaries like "Supersize Me," awareness of how harmful these food are is being spread. Also, some have started filing lawsuits against these organizations (it's another issue all together if they are justified in those lawsuits). Also fast food companies must make nuitrition and content information available.

As an avocate of democracy, I'm not sure I can ask for any more government interference. I was going was in a different direction - something is wrong with the way the agriculture industry is handled when a bag of apples is three times as expensive as a burger. I think that government reform is more necessary in that area. Did you know the government pays farmers every year NOT to farm? Otherwise the supply would flood the market, prices would hit rock bottom and we'd have an economic crisis. Really, this needs to be explored.

[KommieKat]

Obesity is due to many factors, some mentioned in here, for example, educating children with proper nutrition and exercising.

Finding the answers to this problem maybe we need to find the cause. I feel one probable cause are the new wealth systems we have presently created and invented. In our own culture, obesity clearly outnumbers the undernourished.

As new wealth systems are invented and as we move from one age, say, the agrarian age to the IT age, certain sectors are lagging way behind and are not making the smooth transition over. As you can see, some countries are moving faster than others, with America being the fastest and others playing the 'catching up' game.
One of the slowest sectors in America is the U.S. public education with the law hitting rock bottom.

In my personal experience, it was the Okurasho known as Japans Ministry of Finance that helped create the Bubble during the early 1990's.
Here in Hong Kong, I witness everyday on the subway and trains the mannerism of Mainlanders (Chinese from Mainland, of course). Mainland China is a country with all ages (agrarian, industrial and IT) going at the same time with not a chance in hell pacing out or synchronizing. People with cell phones on the trains here have no manner nor common sense whats-so-ever and I have thought this out clearly with that being the age that those people still live in.

You throw something that is from the IT age (cell phone) to someone who is still in the agrarian age, then you're going to have lack of something (manners).
In America, we had a smooth transition with the cell phone, being the inventors and creators of the device, developed codes of conduct to go with it (though I'm sure there are still assholes out there).

Same could be with obesity, combined with certain sectors of our country all moving along at different speeds.
Finding the hidden rhythm may be the key to solving the problem.

[stopwatch]

Obesity is due to many factors, some mentioned in here, for example, educating children with proper nutrition and exercising.

Finding the answers to this problem maybe we need to find the cause. I feel one probable cause are the new wealth systems we have presently created and invented. In our own culture, obesity clearly outnumbers the undernourished.

As new wealth systems are invented and as we move from one age, say, the agrarian age to the IT age, certain sectors are lagging way behind and are not making the smooth transition over. As you can see, some countries are moving faster than others, with America being the fastest and others playing the 'catching up' game.
One of the slowest sectors in America is the U.S. public education with the law hitting rock bottom.

In my personal experience, it was the Okurasho known as Japans Ministry of Finance that helped create the Bubble during the early 1990's.
Here in Hong Kong, I witness everyday on the subway and trains the mannerism of Mainlanders (Chinese from Mainland, of course). Mainland China is a country with all ages (agrarian, industrial and IT) going at the same time with not a chance in hell pacing out or synchronizing. People with cell phones on the trains here have no manner nor common sense whats-so-ever and I have thought this out clearly with that being the age that those people still live in.

You throw something that is from the IT age (cell phone) to someone who is still in the agrarian age, then you're going to have lack of something (manners).
In America, we had a smooth transition with the cell phone, being the inventors and creators of the device, developed codes of conduct to go with it (though I'm sure there are still assholes out there).

Same could be with obesity, combined with certain sectors of our country all moving along at different speeds.
Finding the hidden rhythm may be the key to solving the problem.

Buddha, I'm not trying to offend you, but I seriously have no idea what you're trying to say.

Find the cause? How about overeating unhealthy food.

I'm sort of getting a catch up train theoryish thing, but how does that relate to obesity?

What?!

So you're saying education is the cause? Which is poor because we're technologically booming? Huh?

[KommieKat]

Simply put, obese folks are obese due to reasons that are beyond the mere obvious. Of course stuffing your face with Big Macs will do it, but the question to ask is......"why are you stuffing your face with Big Macs?"

Need to go to deep rooted fundamentals and the underlying causes which are related to wealth creating systems and the rhythmic speeds that systems in certain sectors change. Some are slow while others are fast. These people got themselves caught in the fast lane without proper drivers-ed.

[possessedblanket]

Simply put, obese folks are obese due to reasons that are beyond the mere obvious. Of course stuffing your face with Big Macs will do it, but the question to ask is......"why are you stuffing your face with Big Macs?"

Need to go to deep rooted fundamentals and the underlying causes which are related to wealth creating systems and the rhythmic speeds that systems in certain sectors change. Some are slow while others are fast. These people got themselves caught in the fast lane without proper drivers-ed.

Buddhaboy, to be perfectly honest, what you're saying is extremely vague. It seems as if you took random metaphors and buzz words such as "deep-rooted fundamentals" "wealth-creating systems" and "rhythmic speeds" and threw them all together in a manner that would make you sound the most intelligent. That's pretty obnoxious.

Now if somehow, you are simply operating at a much more advanced cognitive level than I am and the only reason I can't understand your point is because of my sheer stupidity, then a thousand apologies to you.
I am not worthy.

[KommieKat]

Buddhaboy, to be perfectly honest, what you're saying is extremely vague. It seems as if you took random metaphors and buzz words such as "deep-rooted fundamentals" "wealth-creating systems" and "rhythmic speeds" and threw them all together in a manner that would make you sound the most intelligent. That's pretty obnoxious.

Now if somehow, you are simply operating at a much more advanced cognitive level than I am and the only reason I can't understand your point is because of my sheer stupidity, then a thousand apologies to you.
I am not worthy.

I'm not here to "sound the most intelligent". I gave my opinion, twice at that.

For the last time:

Look for "deep rooted fundamental" causes. Things are usually found below the surface.
Lets minus the inherited traits because those can be forgiven.
Forget the other factors like gluttony, avarice of the stomach, inactive lifestyles and just plain laziness.
Forget stress related factors like divorce, loss of job and so forth.
What do you have left? You have a society that has an over abundance of consumable products (food) from a wealth system that was created from the information age. Who created this? America, for good or bad.

Sure, you've got obesity everywhere, but the information age was created by America and this is where you see record high levels of diabetes and obesity. Was there record high levels of obesity during the Agrarian age? No, but there were more people being fed.
Same with the Industrial age. More people in the developed nations being fed.

You've also got diet and cultural factors forming the diet. Most Asian people are quite slim (yes, yes, there are obese folks there as well) but look at the age they live in. Most of those nations are still in the Industrial age. Just because the Japanese invent, copy, out right steal, produce and export some cool gadgets does not lead one to believe those same people are enjoying those products themselves. Quite the contrary. And if they are, they are not ready for them yet because the 'speed' or 'rhythm' of the age they reside in is not fast enough as the one above.

I hope this is a bit clearer. If not, to heck with it. I'm too tired and in need of a good doo doo.

[funeeman]

The reason people gain weight is different for everyone so its really a case by case basis. Its almost impossible to so say this 1 thing caused obesity and reverse it. I know for me personally it had more to do with eliminating preservatives and consuming more whole foods than it did inactivity or exercise. I can say this with certain because I've lost the weight now and for the first 1/2 of my weight loss I did absolutely zero exercise and only changed what I was putting into my body and how often.

In order to lose weight a persons metabolism needs to work correctly and for a person to do that it could be different for each one of us. For some its medically related, others exercise, others food additive, others food allergy. For example, Wheat is a huge cause for people being over weight. Its considered a new grain and most peoples bodies don't process it correctly. They are in fact allergic to it in some varying degree. This cause the metabolism to slow and in some extreme cases people to become very sick.

I think if we are to fight it. . it has to be up to the individual.

[possessedblanket]

The reason people gain weight is different for everyone so its really a case by case basis. Its almost impossible to so say this 1 thing caused obesity and reverse it. I know for me personally it had more to do with eliminating preservatives and consuming more whole foods than it did inactivity or exercise. I can say this with certain because I've lost the weight now and for the first 1/2 of my weight loss I did absolutely zero exercise and only changed what I was putting into my body and how often.

In order to lose weight a persons metabolism needs to work correctly and for a person to do that it could be different for each one of us. For some its medically related, others exercise, others food additive, others food allergy. For example, Wheat is a huge cause for people being over weight. Its considered a new grain and most peoples bodies don't process it correctly. They are in fact allergic to it in some varying degree. This cause the metabolism to slow and in some extreme cases people to become very sick.

I think if we are to fight it. . it has to be up to the individual.

True funeeman, when it is all said and done, it is up to the individual. With obesity on the rise, that means more and more individuals are losing the fight, which means they simply need help. The question is, as a policymaker in a position of power, how would you help the situation?

[stopwatch]

The reason people gain weight is different for everyone so its really a case by case basis. Its almost impossible to so say this 1 thing caused obesity and reverse it. I know for me personally it had more to do with eliminating preservatives and consuming more whole foods than it did inactivity or exercise. I can say this with certain because I've lost the weight now and for the first 1/2 of my weight loss I did absolutely zero exercise and only changed what I was putting into my body and how often.

In order to lose weight a persons metabolism needs to work correctly and for a person to do that it could be different for each one of us. For some its medically related, others exercise, others food additive, others food allergy. For example, Wheat is a huge cause for people being over weight. Its considered a new grain and most peoples bodies don't process it correctly. They are in fact allergic to it in some varying degree. This cause the metabolism to slow and in some extreme cases people to become very sick.

I think if we are to fight it. . it has to be up to the individual.

I've heard of this problem with grains. Not only does it contribute to obesity, but also to skin conditions and a whole host of other negative physical problems. And people buy whole wheat bread thinking they're being health conscious.

Also, for the record, Atkins is tanking. Thank God.