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Are the Aussies going to take responsibility for their own unhealthy lifestyle and do something about it or are they going to blame it on good ol' USA like everyone else does?
Are the Aussies going to take responsibility for their own unhealthy lifestyle and do something about it or are they going to blame it on good ol' USA like everyone else does?
Oh, from what I've been hearing the last couple of years, blame it on the good ol' USA. That's much easier, especially in this day and age of personal responsibility being so old-fashioned and all. You should hear the anger directed towards Maccas (MacDonalds) and the belief that Maccas started it all, as if they'd never come to our shores we'd all be slim and svelte! Meanwhile Aussie fast food is just as fattening and unhealthy - meat pies, sausage rolls, chicko rolls, etc. And Maccas has nothing to do with our lack of exercise, but hey, blaming others for our problems in life is the trendy thing these days. Teachers, cops, society, government, etc. Everyone but ourselves.
Oh, from what I've been hearing the last couple of years, blame it on the good ol' USA. That's much easier, especially in this day and age of personal responsibility being so old-fashioned and all. You should hear the anger directed towards Maccas (MacDonalds) and the belief that Maccas started it all, as if they'd never come to our shores we'd all be slim and svelte! Meanwhile Aussie fast food is just as fattening and unhealthy - meat pies, sausage rolls, chicko rolls, etc. And Maccas has nothing to do with our lack of exercise, but hey, blaming others for our problems in life is the trendy thing these days. Teachers, cops, society, government, etc. Everyone but ourselves.
Not too mention, How much Drinking is ingrained in our culture? Not that I'm a "Wowser" (As I love a few cold ones ) But Australians generally drink far too much alcohol. (Heck, The early Colony ran on Rum! )
As much as I hate hearing anything bad about this country, We do only have ourselves to blame.
Last edited by Kangaroofarmer; 06-30-2008 at 10:09 AM..
Not too mention, How much Drinking is ingrained in our culture? Not that I'm a "Wowser" (As I love a few cold ones ) But Australians generally drink far too much alcohol. (Heck, The early Colony ran on Rum! )
As much as I hate hearing anything bad about this country, We do only have ourselves to blame.
I'm with you all the way, Kangaroofarmer. Yes, we drink way too much and alcoholic drinks have lots of calories. I love a beer or two too, and our wines are amazing - such a variety, and great quality. But everything in moderation is the way to go - food and booze.
We need more of us - people who are not afraid of taking a good hard look at ourselves, willing to do some healthy self-criticism. Some here are way too sensitive about hearing anything bad about Oz, but it's not bad to criticise some things we do badly. Only way to improve and grow is to admit the not-so-great things and change them. Making excuses and blaming other countries/people/things is not the way to go.
I think both US and Australia have obesity problems because of 2 main reasons:
1. They are both 'rich' countries. There is too much money to buy too much food. Is it a coincidence there are rarely any fat people in poor countries?
2. Over-reliance on cars (which is not our fault since geography lends itself to building cities which are sprawled all over the show instead of being compact like in Asia or Europe).
Another thing is portion size. People who change their diet to a healthier one, and then wonder 'why aren't I losing weight?' Well, maybe because you are consuming too many calories still... AND you never do any exercise?
I'm not blaming maccas or any other fast food joint. But fast food is quite a bit cheaper in Australia and the US than it is Europe or Asia. Yes I know people have to take responsability for themselves. We Aussies do drink too much but no more than the Brits or a lot of places in Europe. In fact the Brits are much bigger drinkers I reckon.
The servings in both countries are much larger at restaurants than anywhere else. I had a medium pizza in San Diego a few months ago. Man I've seen tables smaller than that pizza in the UK.
But I actually think that you find a higher percentage of very athletic people in these 2countries as well. There is a far higher percentage of Americans and Aussies who regularly excersize too. You're more likely to meet extremes in both countries. England on the other hand is a country with a lot of slightly overweight people.
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) But Australians generally drink far too much alcohol. (Heck, The early Colony ran on Rum! 
)
