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This is true, but it works similarly to any addiction. Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol & so on.
Lots of people are addicted to food & most of it being pure junk & even more people struggle with breaking that addiction.
Willpower in this country is hard to come by anymore.
So, I agree with taking these killer item off of the shelves, out of the machines. The majority of people aren't going to help themselves, that's just the way that it is. Just because no one is forcing an obese lady to eat another french fry does not mean that she isn't sick & needs help putting them down.
Take it ALL away.
Perhaps it is an addiction, however, if folks really have it, then they need to address it, or their families need to help them address it. Again, personal responsibility. Instead, folks want to blame everyone else. Rather like poking a stick into the farmer's beehive, and then get mad at the farmer, when they get stung! If I occasionally like a cheeseburger and fries, why should I be denied that right, simply because an obese person cannot control their own eating habits? Because that obese lady is purportedly sick, and needs help putting that bag of fries down, doesn't mean that I need help, or interference, (from the government, no less), about my eating habits. So, the government can leave me and my habits alone. If I want to eat junk food, that should be my choice, not someone else's. If I gain too much weight from eating that food, then it is also my choice to take the responsibility to lose it, as well. When will we, as a nation, finally get tired of the government saving us from ourselves? They constantly poke their nose into our affairs. That is not the role of the government, or at least, it should not be. It's one thing to run the military and the post office, to secure our borders, and to make roads, etc. All of which are in the Constitution. I don't recall there being anything in the Constitution about regulating our eating and exercise habits!
Maybe the government should put warning labels on the soda instead... "Warning: Drinking this product may contribute to obesity which has been shown to increase the risk of... diabetes, heart disease, cancer, pot belly, big thighs... and possible social discrimination...". Hmmmmm...
Well, I don't think attacking the obese is going to solve the problem, just as attacking smoker's isn't going to solve the problem. However, if you implement standards on companies like McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and create higher standards for the soda companies than maybe we can start getting somewhere.
lol Momma
GCS, that's a good thought, and hasn't McDonald's already tried to provide some more nutritious food? I think that movie Supersize Me poked them more than a little bit. All the fast food places now offer salad; this was unthinkable not so very long ago.
As a child of smokers, and the mother of one, I deplore the habit, but agree on the personal responsibility.
The thing is, as Jammie noted, rising health costs affect all of us.
I know we're all in this together, but it's pretty bad to see how many overweight kids there are out there. When I was kid, an overweight child was such a rarity. Not anymore. "We expected to see differences between disease prevalence in the United States and Europe, but the extent of the differences is surprising," said Ken Thorpe, professor of public health at Emory University and a study co-author. "It is possible that we spend more on health care because we are, indeed, less healthy." Obesity may push U.S. health costs above Europe
The comments under Jammie's do Overweight People Call In Sick More Often article mention women calling in sick to stay home with the kids--that sure happened to me a lot when mine were little, and my co-workers all understood because we *all* were young moms, not overweight people.
Perhaps the overweight, along with the old, are indeed the last group left that it's okay to shun. A little nutrition education wouldn't hurt, but who reads those warnings, anyway? Maybe a picture of a lancet would provoke more interest.
We are such a nation of extremes, though. On one hand we have obese people cruising to Mickey D's on scooters.
On the other, we have neurotic food fetishists who agonize over every gram of sugar or fat, and women being hospitalized with severe eating disorders.
Too bad our nation of plenty cannot find a happy medium.
We are such a nation of extremes, though. On one hand we have obese people cruising to Mickey D's on scooters.
On the other, we have neurotic food fetishists who agonize over every gram of sugar or fat, and women being hospitalized with severe eating disorders.
Too bad our nation of plenty cannot find a happy medium.
I believe much of that boils down to good old-fashioned common sense, which seems to be in short supply, nowadays.
Now that we don't let people smoke where they want, we can take sodas away from people and next we can tell them where to worship and who will be the dictator they must bow to.
Well, I don't think attacking the obese is going to solve the problem, just as attacking smoker's isn't going to solve the problem. However, if you implement standards on companies like McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and create higher standards for the soda companies than maybe we can start getting somewhere.
First, let me say that I am not anti-smoking at all. But it seems that ever since society started viewing smokers with contempt, smoking rates have decreased in our country. Another reason is that it's become more and more expensive to smoke. Kids are told regularly how bad it is to smoke and often lecture their parents about it. Smokers have become the lepers of society and have been for awhile. And it seems that this has curtailed smoking quite a bit. I don't think it's right, but it's seemed to work.
Now that we don't let people smoke where they want, we can take sodas away from people and next we can tell them where to worship and who will be the dictator they must bow to.
Yes, it will continue and who knows who they will hit on next. It's just like the brat in high school who always had to have someone to pick on, isn't it?
Cil, that was a very nice post considering that you have smokers in your family and hate the addiction. At least it was respectful. The thing is just like you said~we all share in the healthcare costs. The four people that I know who have had the surgery are with the same group insurance that I'm on. There were so many people statewide who were hurrying to have the surgery because they knew the insurance would not continue paying for it anymore. Of course everyone's rates went up a bit, but I don't care. It changed the lives of those people for the better. Just because I don't have the problem of obesity or overeating doesn't mean I can think I'm a better or stronger person then they are.
Throughout time there have been so many medical myths where something is blamed on smoking and I'm guessing the same is true with obesity or with being overweight. Just as one example~several years ago we had a friend who at 40 years old suffered from a heart attack. As soon as he was in the Drs. office in Sx. Falls, the Dr. walked in and said, "AHUH~Another smoker!" Well, this guys had NEVER smoked at all. He could never stand the smell or taste of it. After the Dr. learned he was mistaken, he was more compassionate and ready to help. Like I said~it's just one example and I'm not promoting something as unhealthy as smoking. There are many more stories like that and eventually there will be some that will be coming out about overweight medical problems.
Yea, and I like the comment about the elderly~wonder where we started going wrong in feeling we could push the oldsters into nursing homes and ignore the abuses they suffer. Pretty sick on our part.
Whereas smoking in the US is on the decline, obesity is on the rise. There are many factors. Fast food is plentiful, fast, everywhere and cheap. Kids are not as active as they used to be. Many women work and turn to processed and packaged foods. Suburban sprawl has caused a decrease in walking. I'm honestly torn on this topic. Part of me feels that society should leave people alone and let them live their lives as they wish. BUT then I see so many overweight children nowdays and think that their parents need to combat the situation so that their children don't get diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, etc. In my opinion, overall, it's better to not be overweight. It's healthier, looks better and much easier to and cheaper to buy clothing. I think that some social pressure by "society" and the medical profession for people to be a healthy weight is probably a good thing. I just hope that overweight people are not put into the same position as smokers are. Because at the end of the day, both overeating and smoking are legal. But parents should not encourage either for their children.
If you read the paragraph that talks about staying in shape, you'll see who the target is after the obese. I just love the way they worded the part about not charging certain people more who are in the same group policy, BUT that they'd charge others less.
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