A challenging chore to start?.................

[atlantabiolab]

Re: Re: Re: A challenging chore to start?.................

Many European countries have equal access to food. They are not equally obese. Moreover, the poorest people in the US are the fattest; it's not like in ancient Rome where the people starve as the rich pig out.

If you noticed in my post I mentioned the WORLD when I spoke of the problem of obesity, not European nations, which comprise a smaller portion of the total populace. In the majority of the world access to food is the limiting variable for obesity. Also, access to variety of food is a major contributor for food related diseases. Japanese women who immigrate to the US raise their level of breast cancer to that of US women, due mainly to eating the American diet. They have every right to eat their native foods, but choose to eat an American diet.

Diet is personal and cultural and the major principle I was aiming at was that the "epidemic" of obesity is only a problem in a socialized medical setting. If you eat yourself to death, you are not a problem to anyone save yourself, but in a public health care setting you then become the problem of the society. This is the logic government has used to force itself further into the lives of the citizens, with smoking, guns, diet, and drugs. If others pay for something that you use, then we can restrict your actions. This is why the socialized medical system perpetuates government growth and power. Soon we will have government intrusion into our food choices, as T-Boy was alluding to, to prevent this "epidemic" of obesity, then heart disease, then diabetes, ad nauseum. Since the group pays for your care, we must control the group's actions to lower costs.

LOL!
The prevalence of litigation is such a drain on our economy that if you stopped admitting lawyers to the bar for 10 years, things would get better. Our litigious society has added costs to every business transaction and insurance premium.

Agreed, but a large portion of this is from frivilous lawsuits which could be thrown out by judges, but they almost never throw out cases anymore.

I agree but you know that the war on Drugs is window dressing for a bigger problem between the citizenry and government.

The litigation and incarceration problems can be fixed TODAY by government action.

Agreed. I have no problem with considering litigation and incarceration as real problems of government, my dissent was of the idea that personal health is the responsibility of government.

 

[Norman Bates]

Re: Re: Re: Re: A challenging chore to start?.................

Agreed. I have no problem with considering litigation and incarceration as real problems of government, my dissent was of the idea that personal health is the responsibility of government.

Personal health should be personal responsibility, but one could argue that the government should do some courses about proper nutrition and the side effects of obesity in high school.
It is true that the government should not have the right to force you to diet, but they have the right to teach it in school to those that need that knowledge.

 

[atlantabiolab]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A challenging chore to start?.................

Personal health should be personal responsibility, but one could argue that the government should do some courses about proper nutrition and the side effects of obesity in high school.
It is true that the government should not have the right to force you to diet, but they have the right to teach it in school to those that need that knowledge.

Healthy diet is a controversial subject, not to mention barely understood. Take a look at the USDA Food Pyramid, which is ridiculous by scientific standards, but accepted and promulgated by high school and college textbooks alike. Would we have veganism promoted, since there are studies that show benefits of this diet style, or omnivorous ultra-low fat diets as many adhere too, or omnivorous medium fat diet, such as the Zone style diet, or low carb high protein diets, etc.

I can show you tons of studies on the health benefits of thousands of foods, but you would never think of eating them. By American standards they taste like shit, which will always be the limiting factor in diet, taste.

In college I had 2 nutrition professors, the more educated of the 2, who dealt with nutritional biochemistry was obese, while the less educated, and looking back at it, very uneducated, was lean and fit.

It is not government's role to promote the personal health of the populace.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Re: Re: Re: Re: A challenging chore to start?.................

If you noticed in my post I mentioned the WORLD when I spoke of the problem of obesity, not European nations, which comprise a smaller portion of the total populace. In the majority of the world access to food is the limiting variable for obesity. Also, access to variety of food is a major contributor for food related diseases. Japanese women who immigrate to the US raise their level of breast cancer to that of US women, due mainly to eating the American diet. They have every right to eat their native foods, but choose to eat an American diet.

Diet is personal and cultural and the major principle I was aiming at was that the "epidemic" of obesity is only a problem in a socialized medical setting. If you eat yourself to death, you are not a problem to anyone save yourself, but in a public health care setting you then become the problem of the society. This is the logic government has used to force itself further into the lives of the citizens, with smoking, guns, diet, and drugs. If others pay for something that you use, then we can restrict your actions. This is why the socialized medical system perpetuates government growth and power. Soon we will have government intrusion into our food choices, as T-Boy was alluding to, to prevent this "epidemic" of obesity, then heart disease, then diabetes, ad nauseum. Since the group pays for your care, we must control the group's actions to lower costs.

The tenor of your initial post was such that it sounded as though you were saying our unmatched obesity is due to our unmatched wealth.

You're absolutely right on this

If you eat yourself to death, you are not a problem to anyone save yourself, but in a public health care setting you then become the problem of the society. This is the logic government has used to force itself further into the lives of the citizens, with smoking, guns, diet, and drugs. If others pay for something that you use, then we can restrict your actions. This is why the socialized medical system perpetuates government growth and power.

 

[rsnoble]

Actually I was thinking of running for president. I would be the "average american" and could use that premise to basically sidestep every question I didnt have an answer for. I could just say, sorry but im just your average joe I will have to find out about that. And then go onto say that im being honest about it instead of rambling on about a bunch of bullshit and having a speech writer jam notes up my ass all day long. I think a lot of people would find it refreshing. Of course id probably get killed off because I would be the biggest enemy of corporate america ever. I'd be like heh, you fuck ass bitches hiding out in Bermuda get your bitch asses back over here and pay your taxes or instead of bombing Iran im going to bomb your fucking headquarters!

 

[muscle_geek]

Actually I was thinking of running for president. I would be the "average american" and could use that premise to basically sidestep every question I didnt have an answer for. I could just say, sorry but im just your average joe I will have to find out about that. And then go onto say that im being honest about it instead of rambling on about a bunch of bullshit and having a speech writer jam notes up my ass all day long. I think a lot of people would find it refreshing. Of course id probably get killed off because I would be the biggest enemy of corporate america ever. I'd be like heh, you fuck ass bitches hiding out in Bermuda get your bitch asses back over here and pay your taxes or instead of bombing Iran im going to bomb your fucking headquarters!

I'm with you RS. Corky for President!

 

[Testosterone boy]

I'm sure there are small steps to be taken to encourage a leaner, healthier lifestyle.

How healthy is school cafeteria food these days? I have no idea.

Do they encourage or even offer courses in nutrition in high school? They could use PE courses to encourage an interest in nutritution, otherwise most kids would never have an interest in nutrition. Why are PE courses an elective while history is not?

Good bike and running paths would be a nice start.

I know that our problems can not be solved through legislation but small steps can be taken for maintenance. Without maintenance, everything falls apart.

 

[atlantabiolab]

I'm sure there are small steps to be taken to encourage a leaner, healthier lifestyle.

How healthy is school cafeteria food these days? I have no idea.

Do they encourage or even offer courses in nutrition in high school? They could use PE courses to encourage an interest in nutritution, otherwise most kids would never have an interest in nutrition. Why are PE courses an elective while history is not?

Good bike and running paths would be a nice start.

I know that our problems can not be solved through legislation but small steps can be taken for maintenance. Without maintenance, everything falls apart.

This is personal responsibility that you are trying to legislate. Why is it my responsibility to pay for bike and running paths? In no time flat, one neighborhood will be complaining that their bike and running paths are not as good as another's, and then government will step in to fix another dreamt-up problem.

How healthy is the average home-cooked meal? Who gives a shit? This is not the responsibility of government to monitor every little iota of human action. We argue that government should not enter into the home to monitor sexual activity, yet it is OK to have them monitor our food intake?!?!?! Both can have ramifications on health, why the hypocrisy?

 

[Testosterone boy]

This is personal responsibility that you are trying to legislate. Why is it my responsibility to pay for bike and running paths? In no time flat, one neighborhood will be complaining that their bike and running paths are not as good as another's, and then government will step in to fix another dreamt-up problem.

How healthy is the average home-cooked meal? Who gives a shit? This is not the responsibility of government to monitor every little iota of human action. We argue that government should not enter into the home to monitor sexual activity, yet it is OK to have them monitor our food intake?!?!?! Both can have ramifications on health, why the hypocrisy?

You seem to advocate a very streamlined government. What I was saying is that we have internal problems that are more pressing than those in the Middle East.

You are changing the subject to insinuate that I advocate government interdiction into home cooked meals while I was not. I'm simply searching for small, meaningful ways to bring up public health.

We pay for the damned food in the school cafeteria, we have every right to wonder what is in it. We also have a responsibility to care about the health of our children.

If we can force the public to buy new stadiums for pro team owners through advocating economic stimulus......then it would seem that more outdoor exercise paths would be appropriate. All it takes is a gravel path.

Taking PE courses, encouraging an understanding of nutrition, serving healthier cafeteria food, and providing gravel paths is hardly legislating personal responsibility.

What is of more relevance? Iraq living under a dictator or the health of our own citizenry?


We are militarily Americanizing the rest of the world from what I can see. We justify it by saying that we employ a superior economic model and enjoy a better way of life.

You know, I have superior technology and strenght to several of our board members. Perhaps I should route them out of their domocile and have my way with their possessions? Yes....I should liberate their dependants. Ok....I'm wandering here.

 

[staw]

Though I am uncertain of the food served in elementary schools and have no knowledge of cafeteria food outside my own state, I do know that MacDonald's is served in the majority of the high schools here. The entire menu is not available, just the basic cheeseburgers and hamburgers. That service began approximately 3-4 years ago. I also believe MacDonald's was not the only fast food chain to make that move.

Are Alaskan teenagers fluffier now than say 10 years ago? Yes. The number of girls wandering around the gym displaying their pouch is, for lack of a better way to put it, amazing. Since our winters are relatively long, I suppose most feel no need to ever be in bikini shape. Sphere is a shape!


I thought I was living in a state for outdoor enthusiasts.