WHO: Governments should regulate fast food to slow obesity

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  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    don't put more money into useless regulations. Put the money back into the educational system. Start with the children in elementary school, and include education on nutrition, physical fitness, and finances, and have classes on all three in every grade, every year, until they graduate. Then you have educated, healthy people going out into the real world who know how to manage their money, stay fit, make good nutritional choices, and will still keep the fast food industry in business by going there only occasionallly.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Not waving your hands? OK.

    What's your actual plan to reduce obesity in America? Plans involve actions, not statements about what "people should do."

    I don't need a plan
    I have my own.....

    Just as you have yours....

    Why do we need to have plans???

    You want my plan???
    OK here it is

    Pay your own medical bills
    Live with the choices you make, no bailouts

    start in that arena, and things will change one way or the other

    If you get a plane ticket and you are fat, and spill into the seat next to you....then pay for two seats, not one


    I approve this message.

    So that's nice. You're sitting in your chair on your PC while obesity rates are skyrocketing. And the totality of your response is basically "whatever, I'm not fat."
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Well this is a thread about reducing obesity rates in large populations. Your only response appears to be that you don't want government regulation. Well, OK. But you have no alternatives.

    So you're effectively saying that you're either 100% fine with the increasing obesity problem, or that you don't care enough to spend 2 minutes thinking about it.

    strawman argument mate....

    I want people to make their own choices and live with the results.

    You seem to think that "we have to do something".......
    I don't.....
    And I sure as hell don't want the government to "do something"

    So don't tell me I haven't "thought" about it....
    Because I have, and I gave you my answer....

    And you are the example of that answer.
    You made a choice and set goals....and amazingly you are not obese. Congrats!!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    So that's nice. You're sitting in your chair on your PC while obesity rates are skyrocketing. And the totality of your response is basically "whatever, I'm not fat."

    For those who feel, life is a tragedy....
    For those who think, life is a comedy.....
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    don't put more money into useless regulations. Put the money back into the educational system. Start with the children in elementary school, and include education on nutrition, physical fitness, and finances, and have classes on all three in every grade, every year, until they graduate. Then you have educated, healthy people going out into the real world who know how to manage their money, stay fit, make good nutritional choices, and will still keep the fast food industry in business by going there only occasionallly.

    Now this I agree with. This is what an actual idea looks like. Implementing this sort of thing isn't easy, which is largely why it hasn't been done yet, but it's still an actual idea.

    Contrast this plan - which involves actual concrete actionable items - with "people should just lose weight." The latter is a great idea, but..... they're not doing that. They're doing the opposite of that. Sitting around waiting for them to change isn't exactly effective.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I think governments should use education, not regulation, to battle obesity.

    /thread
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Well this is a thread about reducing obesity rates in large populations. Your only response appears to be that you don't want government regulation. Well, OK. But you have no alternatives.

    So you're effectively saying that you're either 100% fine with the increasing obesity problem, or that you don't care enough to spend 2 minutes thinking about it.

    strawman argument mate....

    I want people to make their own choices and live with the results.

    You seem to think that "we have to do something".......
    I don't.....
    And I sure as hell don't want the government to "do something"

    So don't tell me I haven't "thought" about it....
    Because I have, and I gave you my answer....

    And you are the example of that answer.
    You made a choice and set goals....and amazingly you are not obese. Congrats!!

    So would you agree with the statement that you're sufficiently unconcerned with the trends in obesity rates to think that anything about public policy should change?
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    Not waving your hands? OK.

    What's your actual plan to reduce obesity in America? Plans involve actions, not statements about what "people should do."

    I don't need a plan
    I have my own.....

    Just as you have yours....

    Why do we need to have plans???

    You want my plan???
    OK here it is

    Pay your own medical bills
    Live with the choices you make, no bailouts

    start in that arena, and things will change one way or the other

    If you get a plane ticket and you are fat, and spill into the seat next to you....then pay for two seats, not one


    I approve this message.

    So that's nice. You're sitting in your chair on your PC while obesity rates are skyrocketing. And the totality of your response is basically "whatever, I'm not fat."

    Hey person. Look at the other picture on my account. I was fat. I didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do something for me. I got up and went to the gym. Started doing some reading on nutrition and educated myself. I learned my own body and now I'm not fat. I don't feel sorry if a person doesn't decide to do something for themselves.
  • Mickeyinfinite
    Mickeyinfinite Posts: 22 Member
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    So here is an interesting article.

    http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/2/who-tighter-economicregulationneededtoreverseobesityepidemic.html
    "Unless governments take steps to regulate their economies, the invisible hand of the market will continue to promote obesity worldwide with disastrous consequences for future public health and economic productivity," said Roberto De Vogli of the University of California, Davis, who led the study.
    The researchers compared the number of fast food transactions with body mass index (BMI) in 25 high-income countries between 1999 and 2008.

    They found that, as the average number of annual fast food transactions increased from 26.61 to 32.76 per person, average BMI increased from 25.8 to 26.4.

    Thoughts??

    Oh for goodness sake, I dont know where to start here. What are they supposed to do exactly?

    During childhood, it is up to the parents to control what kids eat. After that, it is down to the individual. It is not the fault of fast food chains that people are obese. They have not been misleading. People know what it is in their food, but they continue to eat it. The results of eating excess food are plain to see.

    It is down to people - lifestyle choices, portion sizes, exercising, self-motivation - not the responsibility of fast food companies who are making a living just like anybody else.

    As far as parents control over obese children:

    Yes you can control to a certain extent (making their lunches, cooking their meals at home etc.), but once they are in a school cafeteria, even though you've made them a healthy lunch, kids will toss out their lunches and go buy the crap that is being called "lunch" in our schools.

    I've worked in schools and you have no idea how many kids ditch their lunches and opt out for fries/chips pizza etc.

    Oh and if you think not giving them money to buy the crap works, think again. Kids can be very resourceful in sourcing out ways to get their friends to contribute to obtaining junk foods.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Hey person. Look at the other picture on my account. I was fat. I didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do something for me. I got up and went to the gym. Started doing some reading on nutrition and educated myself. I learned my own body and now I'm not fat. I don't feel sorry if a person doesn't decide to do something for themselves.

    Amen.

    Congrats!!!!
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Hey person. Look at the other picture on my account. I was fat. I didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do something for me. I got up and went to the gym. Started doing some reading on nutrition and educated myself. I learned my own body and now I'm not fat. I don't feel sorry if a person doesn't decide to do something for themselves.

    Your personal experience has nothing to do with this. It's great that you lost weight, but most people are not doing that. The population is getting fatter. That's a fact. Do you have any interest in anyone doing anything about that, or are you content to let it continue to happen indefinitely?
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    So would you agree with the statement that you're sufficiently unconcerned with the trends in obesity rates to think that anything about public policy should change?

    I am concerned with my life, and my family's lives......

    Outside my four walls, is outta of my control.

    ANd it should be out of the governments control

    Our government wasn't set up to protect us from ourselves....
    They have a hard enough time protecting us from other countries, and bad people
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Hey person. Look at the other picture on my account. I was fat. I didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do something for me. I got up and went to the gym. Started doing some reading on nutrition and educated myself. I learned my own body and now I'm not fat. I don't feel sorry if a person doesn't decide to do something for themselves.

    Your personal experience has nothing to do with this. It's great that you lost weight, but most people are not doing that. The population is getting fatter. That's a fact. Do you have any interest in anyone doing anything about that, or are you content to let it continue to happen indefinitely?

    Then start stroking checks mate and get something started.....
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
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    LOL, being Canadian makes me worry LOL, have you checked out who's at the helm lately?

    Harper our illustrious robotic leader LOL

    he would only ban fast food if the bible told him too :laugh:
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    Well this is a thread about reducing obesity rates in large populations. Your only response appears to be that you don't want government regulation. Well, OK. But you have no alternatives.

    So you're effectively saying that you're either 100% fine with the increasing obesity problem, or that you don't care enough to spend 2 minutes thinking about it.

    strawman argument mate....

    I want people to make their own choices and live with the results.

    You seem to think that "we have to do something".......
    I don't.....
    And I sure as hell don't want the government to "do something"

    So don't tell me I haven't "thought" about it....
    Because I have, and I gave you my answer....

    And you are the example of that answer.
    You made a choice and set goals....and amazingly you are not obese. Congrats!!

    We don't each live in a little autonomous bubble. Health care costs impact us all, and whether that care is delivered though a government program or private industry doesn't make much of a difference. You're going to be paying for the health of your countrymen either way. So '**** 'em', isn't really an answer.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Outside my four walls, is outta of my control.

    I see. That's a very enlightened view. Enjoy your increased health care costs, lowered worker productivity, increased morbidity, etc., due to diseases of lifestyle.

    Throwing your hands up in the air and looking around as your own society gets fatter, more unhealthy, more useless, and more expensive isn't really a plan I can get on board with. I'm not very excited about paying more and more of my own money to take care of a population that is getting fatter and fatter.

    If you're OK with that, so be it.
  • Mickeyinfinite
    Mickeyinfinite Posts: 22 Member
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    So would you agree with the statement that you're sufficiently unconcerned with the trends in obesity rates to think that anything about public policy should change?

    I am concerned with my life, and my family's lives......

    Outside my four walls, is outta of my control.

    I would rethink your way of living. If you limit your concern to only your immediate family then God help you when all the "other" people out there that you don't worry about cause your taxes to go up (their health problems are part of your costs, like it or not).

    Also if and when you have children, good luck on them not being influenced by outside stimuli (i.e. other people) You don't live on an island you're part of this world and there are lots and lots of people in it that DO effect your life whether you are aware of it or not.

    ANd it should be out of the governments control

    Our government wasn't set up to protect us from ourselves....
    They have a hard enough time protecting us from other countries, and bad people
  • RebelliousRibbons
    RebelliousRibbons Posts: 391 Member
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    I don't think we should tell people what to eat, however. I think the FDA should do a much better job regulating the chemicals/ hormones in what we eat. Also stricter standards on the treatment of animals.

    Even if that makes it "more expensive".
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Outside my four walls, is outta of my control.

    I see. That's a very enlightened view. Enjoy your increased health care costs, lowered worker productivity, increased morbidity, etc., due to diseases of lifestyle.

    Throwing your hands up in the air and looking around as your own society gets fatter, more unhealthy, more useless, and more expensive isn't really a plan I can get on board with. I'm not very excited about paying more and more of my own money to take care of a population that is getting fatter and fatter.

    If you're OK with that, so be it.

    Again you throw up straw men arguments....

    I am sorry, but did someone force you to eat right and lose weight, or did you decide that on your own???

    I mean what you want is for somehow, people will be forced to eat right and live healthy....
    Just like they are told, say no to drugs.....and drugs are illegal....yet people still get them.

    Health care costs will continue to rise due to more government intrusion into that arena....

    You want your little diet utopia, Bloomberg tried that in NYC, didn't work out to well.....

    Something of this nature is very personal.....no one can force you to eat right....
    And my God how many info mercials are out there promoting exercise and "health" foods.....
    If that ain't working, I don't know how you think government is gonna make it happen.
  • Mickeyinfinite
    Mickeyinfinite Posts: 22 Member
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    I don't think we should tell people what to eat, however. I think the FDA should do a much better job regulating the chemicals/ hormones in what we eat. Also stricter standards on the treatment of animals.

    Even if that makes it "more expensive".

    great post. oh and maybe if they start caring about all the chemicals they allow in our foods not only will obesity decline but maybe even diseases like cancer etc.