checkout my idea for improving America's health

D_squareG

Shame people who are fat, in a similar way that we do with people who smoke cigarettes.

You don't think fat people are already shamed enough? Poor self image doesn't help the problem.

What worked for smoking doesn't work for eating. You can't quit eating cold turkey. You can't make eating in public places illegal. You can't outlaw eating in bars and restaurants.

People need to feel empowered to change their eating habits, not feel shamed.

WendyTerry420

This however, is poor education on behalf of the parents too.

Indeed. So many seem to see this sort of thing as a problem of government.
Personally I think parenthood should be a privilege people should earn; unfortunately biology thinks differently.

No one should be made to feel inferior because of their appearance.

What about smoking?
Lazy behaviour?

Adults should be left to live their lives how they see fit, so long as they aren't harming others.

WendyTerry420

HFCS was not put in soda or other foods to make them affordable. Nor, in fact, is it actually less expensive.

Yes, HFCS is cheaper than sugar. It is exactly why many companies use it instead of sugar.

beachlover317

IN - to see how we will "make" meat and vegetables inexpensive.

jonnythan

HFCS was not put in soda or other foods to make them affordable. Nor, in fact, is it actually less expensive.

Derp.

HFCS is cheaper than sugar due to import tariffs and corn subsidies. It's not actually cheaper to produce, but in the US it costs less to buy (and add to food) than cane sugar.

HFCS is put into food because people like it. Manufacturers would use cane sugar if it were cheaper than HFCS. They taste more or less the same and are nutritionally identical.

eldamiano

Why don't you just move to France?

Because then you would have to put up with French people....

Charlottesometimes23

A massive project that’ll get Americans in shape, in all age groups. The project will tackle obesity like how groups tackled cigarettes back in the day, and will be the largest battle against unhealthy lifestyle choices since that.

Goals:

Federal ban on high fructose corn syrup/kill government's subsidies/Research Europe's relation with HFCS. Sames goes for the variety of other contributors. Get them to subsidize the fruit and vegetable industry instead

Make healthy vegetables and meat to be inexpensive

Promote how they're a burden to the country's economy

Research the difference between American and European food. Note what's packed in our food, and find a reason to end it.

Teach people how terrible obesity is to your body, liken overeating to cigarette smoking through a brilliant, massive marketing campaign. Campaign should include limiting portions

Try to get all schools to educate kids about nutrition and overeating in elementary school.

Promote more kids playing outside

Solve problems that's ensue of reducing influence on corn sugar hfcs (increased sugar cane prices etc)

Reform P.E.

Reform school lunches

Change the lame stigma on eating well, as well as being overweight. Shame people who are fat, in a similar way that we do with people who smoke cigarettes.

Research the correlation with low income and obesity. Drastically cut down on it, with acquired knowledge

Tax soda and energy drinks

Tie part of health insurance cost to healthy bodyfat percentage,

Tie part of health insurance cost to smoking



PLEASE offer any constructive criticism you can. You know, give me your guys' classic pessimistic, elitist input. But you know, something that's constructive .
Thanks!

I'm not in the USA but I believe that there are many interventions like you suggested already in place, particularly involving education and increased activity for children. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/stateprograms/fundedstates.html plus there are many privately funded ones. I don't know how successful they are.

Is HFCS so bad compared to the alternatives? I remember reading an article somewhere arguing that it wasn't such a problem....maybe it was in the AJCN.

Is the cost of vegetables so prohibitive? What meat would be considered healthy? How would the govt control this?

National obesity education is a good idea. I'm pretty certain there have been studies done on this, on a smaller scale.

I agree with health insurance incentives for non smokers. I don't agree with incentives based on body fat. Some people have disorders that cause increased risk of obesity. It wouldn't be equitable.

PS. Just curious, is this for an assessment piece for a public health course?

nomeejerome

:huh:

CompressedCarbon

Most of the things listed are already being done. Most of the others are completely pointless. No idea what a ban on HFCS will do, as manufacturers will just go back to using cane sugar instead (which is identical nutritionally).

Some of them are just horrendously naive. "Make healthy meat cheap"? Really? That's your answer? How do we do that? "Change the stigma on eating well"? What? There's a stigma on eating well? If there is, how do you change it?

This isn't a plan. It's a smattering of nonsense based on no evidence and no data.

Unfortunately, the people who deal with these problems in the real world have to deal with the burden of coming up with actual methods and then producing results.

What he said.

Life will be much better when you are king of the world. I'm super excited about the inexpensive meat that you'll be providing. I haven't had a decent prime rib in forever and that's what I'm hungry for today.

chezjuan

They already do promote more physical activity for kids... in 2002 - 2006, there was the CDC VERB campaign, and now there is the "Let's Move" campaign: http://www.letsmove.gov/

Fit2Strip

Federal ban on high fructose corn syrup/kill government's subsidies/Research Europe's relation with HFCS. Sames goes for the variety of other contributors. Get them to subsidize the fruit and vegetable industry instead

-raise cost of sugar and all things made with sugar
-increase use of questionable sugar substitutes

Make healthy vegetables and meat to be inexpensive

-increase subsidies and therefore increase taxes to pay for it, despite the country being trillions of dollars in debt
-further increase costs of meat due to increased demand and therefore even more taxes to maintain subsidies

Promote how they're a burden to the country's economy

-create greater burden on economy and possibly produce more greenhouse gasses by modified consumption

Research the difference between American and European food. Note what's packed in our food, and find a reason to end it.

-waste money on facts already known and understood
-end current practices by force (as opposed to choice by consumers) and raise cost of food

Teach people how terrible obesity is to your body, liken overeating to cigarette smoking through a brilliant, massive marketing campaign. Campaign should include limiting portions

-teach what everyone already knows. At this point, people know the effects of obesity. They either care or they don't. These things have existed for years and years. 2 decades ago I was taught these things in school. Why keep wasting money on the obvious?

Try to get all schools to educate kids about nutrition and overeating in elementary school.

-most schools already do this. I learned this literally every year in health class.

Promote more kids playing outside

-already do this. At the end of the day, this falls on parents and all of the promotion won't mean crap if the parents don't do their part.

Solve problems that's ensue of reducing influence on corn sugar hfcs (increased sugar cane prices etc)

-magically make sugar cheap despite the limited regions we have to produce it. Magically make consumers choose to not consume HFCS when most don't honestly care and would choose HFCS if they knew it was cheaper. You can't just magically make sugar cheap without subsidies and therefore taxes. Don't tax people to force a change. Let consumers vote by how they eat.

Reform P.E.
Reform school lunches

-reform parents and the lunches they make. This all falls back on parents in my opinion. These two things are reformed in respect to their school's budget. Wealthier regions have reformed these. Basically, you have two options. 1) Make parents more responsible for their own kids or 2) Tax more so the school can do it.

Change the lame stigma on eating well, as well as being overweight. Shame people who are fat, in a similar way that we do with people who smoke cigarettes.

-we shouldn't shame people for smoking as long as they do it in a manner that only impacts their own health. It's their life and their choice. I'm sorry, but chocolate fudge brownies taste better than skinny. If I have to choose between living to 70 and eating copious amounts of chocolate vs hitting 75 and eating cucumbers, I'll take the chocolate. There's something to be said about quality of life. Living longer doesn't instantly mean that one's life is better. If someone shames another based on personal choices, then that person is an a-hole. I'll defend someone's right to smoke as I would their right to eat chocolate as I would their right to believe in whatever religion they choose. If it harms no one else, do what makes you happy.

Research the correlation with low income and obesity. Drastically cut down on it, with acquired knowledge

-already researched. Already heavily documented. If I had a few grand more to spend a year, I'd eat organic. Basically, you're saying fix poor people. The only solution is socialism. Sorry, but I'm not scrapping my government so more people can eat organic carrots.

Tax soda and energy drinks

-the same low income people consuming these that you want to help, will still consume these. They will just be poorer because of it. The higher income people consuming these will still consume these. The only difference is the poor people will be poorer and the government will profit regardless of who consumes it and use that to pay for more subsidies. Basically, you want socialism.

Tie part of health insurance cost to healthy bodyfat percentage,

-the healthy body fat range is around 14% higher for women than men. Are you saying women should therefore pay more? What about a guy with 1% BF? Is his insurance free? It shouldn't be since I bet he's going to have more injuries than a 18% person who doesn't exercise heavily. How often do you take it? Do you test once a month? BF can change quickly. What if someone is sick and bedridden or wheelchair bound? Should we charge them even more for their BF as well?

Tie part of health insurance cost to smoking

-they already charge people more for smoking. The problem is that a lot of smokers check "Don't Smoke" on their app to avoid the higher costs.



Long story short... you want free sugar production, massive subsidies, superior governmental control over the lives of everyone and unlimited wealth for you to distribute as you see fit. The next best thing to this is socialism. No thanks. If people want to live healthier, they can do that through their choices.

When someone buys HFCS vs sugar, they are voting for that product. If every consumer stopped buying HFCS tomorrow and only bought sugar and stevia products, then companies would react and only offer those products. Companies do what makes them money. People pick which companies thrive every single day when they choose what they buy and from where. Right now, people are voting for HFCS. You can't force a country to do what you want. If you want to eat only organic sugar, then do that for yourself.

sjohnny

like how groups tackled cigarettes back in the day

Back in the day?


But other than that. YAAAAAAY!!! The US Federal Government!!! The answer to ALL THE WORLD'S problems!!!!!!

Mr_Bad_Example

Research the difference between American and European food. Note what's packed in our food, and find a reason to end it.

You do realize that European obesity rates are rising, right?

devilwhiterose

Less government intervention, more education.

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

The average ADULT can't read a nutrition label properly. The average adult doesn't know that if you eat some chicken opposed to the equivalent calories in Cheetos, you'll stay full longer on the chicken. If you revamp your diet just a bit, you can feel more full, on less... which would impact your grocery bill too. The good way.

Nutrition in high school (I graduated in 04) was a week or two in a single health class. Everything else was learned on my own. Which, while that's ok...I think you need to reach out to the younger generation early on.

Kick the kids outside and tell them to play. Play with them. Give them apples with yogurt instead of a chocolate bar. Most importantly, quit being lazy and make your food.

RECowgill

As everyone else already pointed out these no-detail plans of the OP are completely unrealistic, already being done or just bad ideas. But one thing that hasn't been mentioned is how completely unrealistic a ban on HFCS would be in America. I'm all for reducing HFCS and sugar in ones diet, but it's a corn product. You have as much chance of legislating a ban on corn product in the US as snow turning hot. The corn lobby is very powerful and wouldn't even stand for a legislated reduction let alone a ban.

And yes any food you somehow eliminate needs to be replaced with something. You can't just get rid of a thing and leave a vacuum, you would need a specific plan to replace it with something better, or provide a massive incentive to the corn industry that would give them reason to do it. It doesn't exist, hence the lack of plan in this plan.

It's less of a set of ideas and more like a list of things you'd do if you were a dictator able to create decrees by fiat.

jonnythan

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

Pink slime is ground beef. Nutritionally identical. The only problem with it is that it looks gross before it's cooked.

devilwhiterose

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

Pink slime is ground beef. Nutritionally identical. The only problem with it is that it looks gross before it's cooked.

Yes but it's like 70% lean isn't it? The rest is filler-crap.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

A massive project that’ll get Americans in shape, in all age groups. The project will tackle obesity like how groups tackled cigarettes back in the day, and will be the largest battle against unhealthy lifestyle choices since that.

Goals:

Federal ban on high fructose corn syrup/kill government's subsidies/Research Europe's relation with HFCS. Sames goes for the variety of other contributors. Get them to subsidize the fruit and vegetable industry instead

Make healthy vegetables and meat to be inexpensive

Promote how they're a burden to the country's economy

Research the difference between American and European food. Note what's packed in our food, and find a reason to end it.

Teach people how terrible obesity is to your body, liken overeating to cigarette smoking through a brilliant, massive marketing campaign. Campaign should include limiting portions

Try to get all schools to educate kids about nutrition and overeating in elementary school.

Promote more kids playing outside

Solve problems that's ensue of reducing influence on corn sugar hfcs (increased sugar cane prices etc)

Reform P.E.

Reform school lunches

Change the lame stigma on eating well, as well as being overweight. Shame people who are fat, in a similar way that we do with people who smoke cigarettes.

Research the correlation with low income and obesity. Drastically cut down on it, with acquired knowledge

Tax soda and energy drinks

Tie part of health insurance cost to healthy bodyfat percentage,

Tie part of health insurance cost to smoking



PLEASE offer any constructive criticism you can. You know, give me your guys' classic pessimistic, elitist input. But you know, something that's constructive .
Thanks!

You ask for costructive criticism, but I don't see any details for your plan. How do you propose we do these things? What do you mean by reform? What do we teach when you say reform physical education? It's hard to criticize a bunch of lofty ideals with no solid idea of what you are asking to do.

Headingforhealthier

....

PLEASE offer any constructive criticism you can. You know, give me your guys' classic pessimistic, elitist input. But you know, something that's constructive .
Thanks!

I love how someone who "joined in Jan 2014" has all the answers to solving all of America's problems through government legislation, and expects our "classic pessimistic, elitist input."

Slrajr

Most of the things listed are already being done. Most of the others are completely pointless. No idea what a ban on HFCS will do, as manufacturers will just go back to using cane sugar instead (which is identical nutritionally).

Some of them are just horrendously naive. "Make healthy meat cheap"? Really? That's your answer? How do we do that? "Change the stigma on eating well"? What? There's a stigma on eating well? If there is, how do you change it?

This isn't a plan. It's a smattering of nonsense based on no evidence and no data.

Unfortunately, the people who deal with these problems in the real world have to deal with the burden of coming up with actual methods and then producing results.

I agree. But ^ he says it better than I.

geebusuk

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

As above.
'Pink Slime' is typically leaner than normal ground beef and contains similar miconutrients to lean versions.
The fact that it's been removed from so many things for more expensive and fattier alternatives - wasting food and promoting high calorie eating is a much better example of the problems with society to my mind - people don't want to KNOW about what they are eating, just looking for someone to blame.

kgeyser

The best way to get people to get healthy is to make the resources they need to do so readily available. The problem is finding the money to do it.

MiloBloom83

A massive project that’ll get Americans in shape, in all age groups. The project will tackle obesity like how groups tackled cigarettes back in the day, and will be the largest battle against unhealthy lifestyle choices since that.

Goals:

Federal ban on high fructose corn syrup/kill government's subsidies/Research Europe's relation with HFCS. Sames goes for the variety of other contributors. Get them to subsidize the fruit and vegetable industry instead

Make healthy vegetables and meat to be inexpensive

Promote how they're a burden to the country's economy

Research the difference between American and European food. Note what's packed in our food, and find a reason to end it.

Teach people how terrible obesity is to your body, liken overeating to cigarette smoking through a brilliant, massive marketing campaign. Campaign should include limiting portions
I
Try to get all schools to educate kids about nutrition and overeating in elementary school.

Promote more kids playing outsider

Solve problems that's ensue of reducing influence on corn sugar hfcs (increased sugar cane prices etc)

Reform P.E.

Reform school lunches

Change the lame stigma on eating well, as well as being overweight. Shame people who are fat, in a similar way that we do with people who smoke cigarettes.

Research the correlation with low income and obesity. Drastically cut down on it, with acquired knowledge

Tax soda and energy drinks

Tie part of health insurance cost to healthy bodyfat percentage,

Tie part of health insurance cost to smoking



PLEASE offer any constructive criticism you can. You know, give me your guys' classic pessimistic, elitist input. But you know, something that's constructive .
Thanks!

Strong first post OP.

I don't know how you could possibly accomplish all of this, other than to do what is best for you, as I do what is best FOR ME. I don't like my government making desicions regarding my diet or health care choices. Personal responsibility is the key, something a lot of people are incapable of exercising.

Good luck on your crusade! :flowerforyou:

ItsCasey

A massive project that’ll get Americans in shape, in all age groups.

I have to come back to this thread because I find this particular sentence to be very Hitler Youth-ish. I know, I know. I've officially invoked Godwin's Law.

jonnythan

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

Pink slime is ground beef. Nutritionally identical. The only problem with it is that it looks gross before it's cooked.

Yes but it's like 70% lean isn't it? The rest is filler-crap.

Filler-crap?

As far as I know, they don't put fillers into pink slime. It's just bone trimmings. It's actually leaner than most ground beef. There's a slightly higher portion of connective tissue like tendons, but there's nothing wrong with that (other than it may be slightly less digestible).

Pink slime is completely fine, and the fact that it was demonized and is being taken out of school lunches serves no purpose other than to give your kids less protein that costs more money.

vjohn04

no.

WendyTerry420

Less government intervention, more education.

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

The average ADULT can't read a nutrition label properly. The average adult doesn't know that if you eat some chicken opposed to the equivalent calories in Cheetos, you'll stay full longer on the chicken. If you revamp your diet just a bit, you can feel more full, on less... which would impact your grocery bill too. The good way.

Nutrition in high school (I graduated in 04) was a week or two in a single health class. Everything else was learned on my own. Which, while that's ok...I think you need to reach out to the younger generation early on.

Kick the kids outside and tell them to play. Play with them. Give them apples with yogurt instead of a chocolate bar. Most importantly, quit being lazy and make your food.

I do agree with you about nutrition in high school. I've said the same about personal finance and other life skills that are virtually ignored in American high schools. I likely might never have become obese if I had learned way back then about calories. However, I disagree that there is anything wrong with giving a kid a chocolate bar before sending them out to go play. They will run off that energy really quickly.

Also, I have my doubts that school boards are capable of telling kids the truth about nutrition. And I'm certain the US Dept of Ed. (that should even exist) shouldn't have any role to play in it.

Barbonica

{From an American.... cannot speak for other countries}

1. Most of this is already being done. School lunch programs exist. Marketing exists (60 minutes of play, anyone). You cannot buy large size soda's in NYC. They changed the recipe of Oreos to eliminate something or other (trans fat?). Many places require nutritional information be printed on menus. Fast food no longer fries potatoes in lard. Are they any healthier?

2. When you legislate something, you also have to create a way to police it, creating more government programs looking into our homes and lives (what happened to free choice and privacy?). This is bad for our economy, as is most regulation, not to mention in violation of our constitutional rights.

3. Who are you to decide what anyone should eat, how much they should exercise, etc.?

4. Has any government really given you the confidence that they have the skills to pull this off?

I changed my eating and exercising habits close to 3 years ago. I am sure I fit into what you consider to be healthy in my choices. But, it is MY choice, not yours or the government. Sorry - I pass on your idea; you cannot police people's thoughts.

Signed,
a proud Libertarian!

Phoenix_Warrior

The best way to get people to get healthy is to make the resources they need to do so readily available. The problem is finding the money to do it.

what? Gimme moar excuses. I'm considered low-income and I manage just fine getting myself back in shape and eating mindfully for me and my kids. What resources? Legs and the ability to filter what we eat and how much?

devilwhiterose

Less government intervention, more education.

The only place I would like to see better regulations is in public school lunches. Pink slime? Really?

The average ADULT can't read a nutrition label properly. The average adult doesn't know that if you eat some chicken opposed to the equivalent calories in Cheetos, you'll stay full longer on the chicken. If you revamp your diet just a bit, you can feel more full, on less... which would impact your grocery bill too. The good way.

Nutrition in high school (I graduated in 04) was a week or two in a single health class. Everything else was learned on my own. Which, while that's ok...I think you need to reach out to the younger generation early on.

Kick the kids outside and tell them to play. Play with them. Give them apples with yogurt instead of a chocolate bar. Most importantly, quit being lazy and make your food.

I do agree with you about nutrition in high school. I've said the same about personal finance and other life skills that are virtually ignored in American high schools. I likely might never have become obese if I had learned way back then about calories. However, I disagree that there is anything wrong with giving a kid a chocolate bar before sending them out to go play. They will run off that energy really quickly.

Also, I have my doubts that school boards are capable of telling kids the truth about nutrition. And I'm certain the US Dept of Ed. (that should even exist) shouldn't have any role to play in it.

Oh I know. I'm not the food nazi in my house. My kids eat junk food in moderation, we all do.