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UK government obesity strategy

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Replies

  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    I can't speak to UK culture but we're seeing a prime example of a "don't try to tell me what to do/how to live" attitude in the US right now as it pertains to COVID guidelines.

    Last I checked I'm free to eat what I want. Maybe you would prefer a Socialist Country

    Socialist countries do not tell you what to eat either.

    You really don't understand Socialism. People in Venezuela were being arrested for having beef. What would you call that?
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,420 Member
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    I can't speak to UK culture but we're seeing a prime example of a "don't try to tell me what to do/how to live" attitude in the US right now as it pertains to COVID guidelines.

    Last I checked I'm free to eat what I want. Maybe you would prefer a Socialist Country

    Socialist countries do not tell you what to eat either.

    But there is much higher potential for them to decree what is produced and/or imported so indirectly they do.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,420 Member
    edited August 2020
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    I can't speak to UK culture but we're seeing a prime example of a "don't try to tell me what to do/how to live" attitude in the US right now as it pertains to COVID guidelines.

    Last I checked I'm free to eat what I want. Maybe you would prefer a Socialist Country

    Socialist countries do not tell you what to eat either.

    But there is much higher potential for them to decree what is produced and/or imported so indirectly they do.

    In the US, we have all sorts of restrictions on what can be produced and imported. This is something all kinds of governments do, not a special feature of socialism.

    Have you tried to import something into the US without governmental approval? Even as a private citizen with no intent to resell or distribute, we don't have the freedom to bring whatever we want into the country.

    Of course in the US we have restrictions Note my original comment (especially the bolded on more socialistic countries vs the US.

    "But there is much higher potential for them to decree what is produced and/or imported so indirectly they do."
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    I can't speak to UK culture but we're seeing a prime example of a "don't try to tell me what to do/how to live" attitude in the US right now as it pertains to COVID guidelines.

    Last I checked I'm free to eat what I want. Maybe you would prefer a Socialist Country

    Socialist countries do not tell you what to eat either.

    But there is much higher potential for them to decree what is produced and/or imported so indirectly they do.

    Perhaps but it depends on the country as, for example, state support is pretty much outlawed in EU member states but many of those member state are never-the-less "socialist".

    But that is hardly the same as telling the people what to eat.

    And of course even the USA bans foods, Kinder eggs and haggis being examples of that. :D
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited August 2020
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    I can't speak to UK culture but we're seeing a prime example of a "don't try to tell me what to do/how to live" attitude in the US right now as it pertains to COVID guidelines.

    Last I checked I'm free to eat what I want. Maybe you would prefer a Socialist Country

    Socialist countries do not tell you what to eat either.

    You really don't understand Socialism. People in Venezuela were being arrested for having beef. What would you call that?

    I live in what many Americans would consider to be a "socialist country" what with the NHS and all that so, with respect, I probably have more of a clue than you seem to if that really is your best, go-to example. ;)

    Outside of silly partisan rhetoric (under which mainstream Dems are "socialist" too), I really don't think people here consider the UK or Canada "socialist."
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 973 Member
    Kinder eggs are in the US. Several years back, my grocery store had a promotion, giving one away to each customer. It was good (of course it was good; it had chocolate!), but I never purchased any later. Now haggis...I’m not too sure.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,610 Member
    Kinder eggs are in the US. Several years back, my grocery store had a promotion, giving one away to each customer. It was good (of course it was good; it had chocolate!), but I never purchased any later. Now haggis...I’m not too sure.

    Kinder eggs in the US are different from Kinder eggs elsewhere, I believe. I read that the US wouldn't let them be sold with the toy encased inside a shell of chocolate, the form I gather they are sold in abroad. US was concerned that kids would swallow the toy.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    No question the US regulates food (which I think is generally good) and subsidizes crops, but regulating toy presence in food is somewhat different.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    edited August 2020
    Calorie counts on restaurant menus would be great for me personally, although they would have to be accurate. I hope it applies to takeaway menus too (I haven't had a takeaway in years, but many do). If I can calorie count every meal, then I don't think its onerous for even small restaurants to do it.

    That said, I got fat on my own home cooking (mostly), so I don't think its all about processed and restaurant food.

    It's all very well to encourage cycling, but the UK desperately needs more and better cycle paths.

    I'm disappointed that there wasn't more about funding obesity research. I'm not 100% sure we have the full story of what has changed in the last 50 years to create this epidemic. And I would like to see more money for research into the microbiome, therapies that could mimic some of the apparent hormonal effects of bariatrics surgery without the surgery (or with less drastic surgery) etc.

    Let's be honest, living healthily can take a lot of time - exercise and meal prep especially. For that we need to work less. The sooner the robots come and take all of our jobs, the better. But I think all UK political parties are wedded to an ideology of "hard work".

    Overall, I don't know what it will take for a country to really turn back the obesity epidemic. No country has done it yet, as far as I know. I suspect that we need to re-evaluate our libertarianism to create an environment that is conducive to weight stability - either that or accept that the problem is going to get worse and worse at a population level. Liberty is important, but some liberties (voting, free speech, etc.) are more important than others, and the fundamental truth is that our brains did not evolve for an environment of abundant, calorie dense, hyper-palatable processed foods that can be obtained without physical effort.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,420 Member
    edited August 2020
    sofrances wrote: »

    Let's be honest, living healthily can take a lot of time - exercise and meal prep especially. For that we need to work less. The sooner the robots come and take all of our jobs, the better. But I think all UK political parties are wedded to an ideology of "hard work".

    To be honest for most the idea that living health takes a lot of time is not as issue. Take a look at how much non-work time the average person spends in front of a screen (shows, games, etc). It's how many people CHOOSE to use their time.

    Also IMO, nothing wrong with "hard work". It tends to build resiliency and other good personality traits. The "robots taking over our jobs" isn't going to fix the obesity issue. Just look what has happened since most work became more automated.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    edited August 2020
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    sofrances wrote: »

    Let's be honest, living healthily can take a lot of time - exercise and meal prep especially. For that we need to work less. The sooner the robots come and take all of our jobs, the better. But I think all UK political parties are wedded to an ideology of "hard work".

    To be honest for most the idea that living health takes a lot of time is not as issue. Take a look at how much non-work time the average person spends in front of a screen (shows, games, etc). It's how many people CHOOSE to use their time.

    Also IMO, nothing wrong with "hard work". It tends to build resiliency and other good personality traits. The "robots taking over our jobs" isn't going to fix the obesity issue. Just look what has happened since most work became more automated.

    I can only speak from my own personal experience. Time certainly is an issue, and I watch very little TV etc. (basically zero during the week, a little bit at weekends.). Being macho and expecting people to have no downtime is part of the problem. It might work for some people, but it's not going to help us solve obesity on a populations level.

    I don't have a problem with hard work. Exercise is hard work, and I'd like to have more time for it, rather than being stuck on my *kitten* in front of a desk. In the 1930s Keynes thought we would all be working 15 hour weeks by now. What the hell happened?
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,420 Member
    edited August 2020
    sofrances wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    sofrances wrote: »

    Let's be honest, living healthily can take a lot of time - exercise and meal prep especially. For that we need to work less. The sooner the robots come and take all of our jobs, the better. But I think all UK political parties are wedded to an ideology of "hard work".

    To be honest for most the idea that living health takes a lot of time is not as issue. Take a look at how much non-work time the average person spends in front of a screen (shows, games, etc). It's how many people CHOOSE to use their time.

    Also IMO, nothing wrong with "hard work". It tends to build resiliency and other good personality traits. The "robots taking over our jobs" isn't going to fix the obesity issue. Just look what has happened since most work became more automated.

    I can only speak from my own personal experience. Time certainly is an issue, and I watch very little TV etc. (basically zero during the week, a little bit at weekends.). Being macho and expecting people to have no downtime is part of the problem. It might work for some people, but it's not going to help us solve obesity on a populations level.

    I don't have a problem with hard work. Exercise is hard work, and I'd like to have more time for it, rather than being stuck on my *kitten* in front of a desk. In the 1930s Keynes thought we would all be working 15 hour weeks by now. What the hell happened?

    I was was speaking about most. Per the site below the average hours worked in the US is 41.5, the UK 41.8.

    https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-work-week-by-country

    The average adult in the US (I'd guess the UK is similar ) spends 4.5 hours watching shows and movies. This doesn't count looking at social media, electronic games, etc.

    https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/index.html

    Again it's a matter of priorities.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    Ok, but berating people for watching too much Netflix isn't a government policy. The only thing governments can do is find ways to make it easier to get/stay thin, or harder to get/stay fat. (If you're opposed to that, the basically you're ideologically opposed to governments having obesity policies.)

    I guess you could argue that more free time would just lead to more Netflix. You might be right. I do wonder though if all that veg out is to do with people being exhausted from work.

    All I can say is that for me, if I could work a bit less it would make a massive difference . I'm working on it.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,420 Member
    sofrances wrote: »
    Ok, but berating people for watching too much Netflix isn't a government policy. The only thing governments can do is find ways to make it easier to get/stay thin, or harder to get/stay fat. (If you're opposed to that, the basically you're ideologically opposed to governments having obesity policies.)

    I guess you could argue that more free time would just lead to more Netflix. You might be right. I do wonder though if all that veg out is to do with people being exhausted from work.

    All I can say is that for me, if I could work a bit less it would make a massive difference . I'm working on it.

    My point it that for many the excuse of no time for exercise/meal prep is more how they prioritize their lives as opposed to a lack of time