WHO: Governments should regulate fast food to slow obesity

DeadliftAddict

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?

Everyone who has done something about their weight has everything to do with this. I'm pretty sure any success story on here or yahoo or anywhere is because a person did something for themselves. Not because they set around and waited for the government or someone to do it for them. Anytime you do something for yourself it will last and you will appreciate the hard work it took to get to that goal. When lazy people are given things it doesn't last. It will get wasted or not used. If the government starts a program the people its for will not use it or use it incorrectly. Why? Because they aren't ready to do something for themselves.

mank32

Let the sheep follow themselves to oblivion.
Let the gluttonous eat themselves to an early grave.
Let the humorless butthurt themselves to unhappiness.
That's called natural selection, natural consequences.
And we are running out of space/water/clean air/resources/time...
F'em. i will advocate no abdication of personal responsibility. thinking and choosing are the most important personal responsibilities we have.

Wade406

There's more to it than just "eating too many calories". Do yourself a favor and watch The Pleasure Trap by Doug Lisle at Tedx.

http://youtu.be/jX2btaDOBK8

The processed foods that have become the staple of the Western Diet have lots of calories but do not satisfy our need for satiety. They are not nutrient dense and they do not have enough volume to fill our stomachs.

Someone made a comment about gaining weight on bananas (and other plant foods). You would have to work really hard to eat a whole foods plant based diet and gain weight. That's been my diet for over a year now, and I do not have to worry about portion control for the first time in my life. If I want to eat, I can, as much as I want to.

My two rules: 1) if it doesn't have fiber in it, I don't eat it. 2) if it has cholesterol in it, I don't eat it.

stumblinthrulife

If anything needs to be regulated it's the weight-loss industry. This is by far the biggest and most vocal source of 'weight-loss' information available to the average person, and it's 99% BS. It specifically glosses over the basic concept of eat less and move more, drowning out any government funded education attempts by promising easy, 'buy yourself skinny' fixes that are attractive to people who are already under-active and over-consuming.

And if you try to tell someone matter of fact 'you are overweight because you eat too much, and move too little', they get offended and say you are 'shaming' them. Sorry, that's not an insult - it's just a simple statement of scientific fact.

Not that I agree with true fat-shaming, of course. I'd never support 'point and laugh' type behavior. But hiding the truth doesn't help anyone.

People need to become aware that you can choose your size.

No one is forcing you to buy their product.....

We don't need regulations....
People need to learn to regulate themselves.

I think that was pretty much my point.

The weight loss industry actually obfuscates the point that personal responsibility is all that is really required, and does so specifically to drive sales of their product. Products which, when all is said and done, do absolutely nothing. Their claims are often little short of fraud, plain and simple.

MityMax96

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".

You gonna pay my grocery bill:laugh: :laugh:

MityMax96

There's more to it than just "eating too many calories". Do yourself a favor and watch The Pleasure Trap by Doug Lisle at Tedx.

http://youtu.be/jX2btaDOBK8

The processed foods that have become the staple of the Western Diet have lots of calories but do not satisfy our need for satiety. They are not nutrient dense and they do not have enough volume to fill our stomachs.

Someone made a comment about gaining weight on bananas (and other plant foods). You would have to work really hard to eat a whole foods plant based diet and gain weight. That's been my diet for over a year now, and I do not have to worry about portion control for the first time in my life. If I want to eat, I can, as much as I want to.

My two rules: 1) if it doesn't have fiber in it, I don't eat it. 2) if it has cholesterol in it, I don't eat it.

Again, you have choices.....
but let's be honest....all food is processed in some nature....

I eat whole foods
both plant and meat......

kfuog

I think people need to just be more accountable and stop making excuses.

Very true, but see my post above.

The problem is that all of society bears the cost and burden of people who refuse to take care of their health. I think that's important--I think we should all take care of each other regardless of whether any given individual is good at being responsible for his or her health. I look at my friends and family and there are so many people I love who do not take care of their health, and many of them it is obesity that is one of the things that consistently plagues them. Yes, I feel they should be accountable and stop making excuses. But I also want the healthcare network to be there to support them, regardless of the choices they make.

I can understand feeling helpless when your loved ones make choices that you feel are detrimental to their health but I disagree with the bolded. This type of thinking can be a slippery slope - who gets to decide what choices are "responsible"? you mention being "accountable," who should we be accountable to? will consequences be imposed on those who don't make "responsible" decisions? who gets decide what those consequences are? what about personal freedoms, should they be taken away because a select few deem your choices irresponsible?

I think you missed the point of what you bolded. Regardless of whether *I* think their choices are good or bad, I want everyone to have access to healthcare.

There are objective, scientific, measurable ways to determine whether nutrition and exercise choices are good or bad. Yes, of course it's fine to eat "junk" food from time to time. Yes, of course anyone can overeat and become overweight on "healthy" food. Of course there are extremes of exercise at either end that are unhealthy. None of that negates the fact that we have scientific evidence of behaviors that lead to healthier lives and behaviors that lead to unhealthy lives.

And yes, I personally judge people about their choices. BUT, I still strong feel that everyone should have access to good healthcare, regardless of the choices they have made and continue to make.

People are ultimately accountable to themselves. That's what I mean by accountable. It bothers me when people who eat too much and don't work out complain that they can't lose weight. That's lying to themselves and that's where the accountability needs to lie. If you choose to overeat and not work out, so be it. But don't pretend not to know why you can't lose weight.

I think I answered the rest of your questions.

jonnythan

You and I have lost weight.

However we're also paying out of our own pickets to take care of all those obese people.

I'm not content with that.

Commander_Keen

Its crap..
when ever you ask Big Brother to watch over you. its not a good thing.
People need to protect themselfs...

DavidSTC

I know there are a lot of people who don't want "government intrusion." But, I think it's left unsaid in this thread that government already does regulate business, and has more regulations for fast food.

We have health codes to protect the public. When you walk into a U.S. restaurant, you can be assured that it's subject to inspection by the local authority. We want that, because we don't want to eat something that will make us sick. And, while no inspection process is fool-proof, can you imagine the corners that would be cut if a restaurant weren't worried about an unannounced visit from the health inspector?

So, where does health end? Does it end at how the food is prepared physically? How it's stored? Or, does it include what is actually in the food? To help people make healthy choices, I personally think that every menu item include with it a label on the packaging of everything in the food and all of the nutritional information. We do it in the grocery store. Why not at chain restaurants?

Anyway, that's one possible solution to helping educate the public. It's a long process. We've been eating poorly as a society for decades, as obesity rates show. There are a number of reasons. "Super sizing" food and beverages, using corn and other grains as fillers, our busy lifestyle and reliance on easy-to-eat high-calorie foods -- those are some of the reasons that come to my mind right away.

I think as we eat bigger portions, we get used to it, and we get bigger. To just say fast food plays no meaningful part in that is not true. McDonald's was a pioneer in the Super Size theory of increasing profit margins by selling people more food than they need. As a corporation, their goal is to grow profits. How do you do that? Sell MORE. How do you do that if the population levels off? Sell MORE to the same customer base. I think as a society you have to work hard to educate people about the dangers of eating too much fast food, and, yes, that means having to counter the huge marketing campaigns from fast food companies with an equally effective education campaign to encourage making healthier choices.

MityMax96

You and I have lost weight.

However we're also paying out of our own pickets to take care of all those obese people.

I'm not content with that.

Then get government out of healthcare....
The more they get involved, the more costly it will get.

And then if do get government regulating fast food, or whatever....
That will increase costs there as well.....

So the more you get government involved, the more it will cost, one way or the other

Wade406

The problem with not doing anything and letting people decide for themselves is that its costing all of us a lot of money. Healthcare has become very expensive. The lost productivity has a collective toll on the wellbeing of our society. Healthcare is a huge burden that doesn't have to be.

The leading cause of death, worse than all cancers combined, is due to any entirely preventable illness caused by the Western Diet. The cost to our society and economy is huge. There are many societies where heart disease is virtually unheard of.

doctorsookie

My suggestion is make a required course in school titled "Common Sense" 101 :drinker:

katnaz75

Exactly!! People need to take responsibility for their choices. It is no one's fault but their own.

jonnythan

You and I have lost weight.

However we're also paying out of our own pickets to take care of all those obese people.

I'm not content with that.

Then get government out of healthcare....
The more they get involved, the more costly it will get.

And then if do get government regulating fast food, or whatever....
That will increase costs there as well.....

So the more you get government involved, the more it will cost, one way or the other

What will that do? You'll still be paying insurance premiums.

Mickeyinfinite

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.

Have you looked at what is in our food supply lately, or in our other products like shampoos, detergents etc. You as a male should be very concerned with what the government is allowing to be added to these products. Yes, something called Phthalates, which effects your endocrine system, yes your very male hormones that help with muscle gain etc. Phthalates mimic estrogen (just like soy does that is in most processed foods) and I doubt a man interested in keeping fit would willingly consume estrogen?

Our government has been nothing but criminal in what they allow to be part of our foods. I suspect they know full well how dangerous the hidden chemicals/crap is and it's their way of thinning the herd. Also what better way to keep population down by making sure men are exposed to estrogen like compounds that make them infertile? Something to think about.

I hate governments, they are irresponsible, some are a bit better than others, but bottom line they don't give a crap about us.

We have to educate ourselves and change our lives to avoid all the harmful additives etc. etc.

I know even if you try very very hard to avoid the harmful stuff, there will always be things like gas emissions, radiation and all other sorts of things that are counter productive to a healthy life, but at least if you know what to avoid you can lower the risks.

Mr_Excitement

Its crap..
when ever you ask Big Brother to watch over you. its not a good thing.
People need to protect themselfs...

Should we get rid of the stop signs? Let Smirnoff market a "Vodka for Kids" brand?

We've got a million little rules designed to make the system run more smoothly, and most of them are pretty sensible. I'm not saying we need to outlaw the cheeseburger, but surely there are some practical things that could be done to reverse obesity rates.

MityMax96

The problem with not doing anything and letting people decide for themselves is that its costing all of us a lot of money. Healthcare has become very expensive. The lost productivity has a collective toll on the wellbeing of our society. Healthcare is a huge burden that doesn't have to be.

The leading cause of death, worse than all cancers combined, is due to any entirely preventable illness caused by the Western Diet. The cost to our society and economy is huge. There are many societies where heart disease is virtually unheard of.

*sigh*

So we need to take away from the people, more decision making??

Governments should not be allowed to do that.....you are asking for tyranny.....

We don't need more government in this arena....
Let people bear the costs of their choices.....so get government out of healthcare.
Let people choose to live healthy and save money or live poorly and pay to keep themselves alive.

lifegoals

You and I have lost weight.

However we're also paying out of our own pockets to take care of all those obese people.

I'm not content with that.

Agree.
And when it comes to eating fast food vs healthy food...

it just depends on how you would like to pay... with money or your health.

Mickeyinfinite

There's more to it than just "eating too many calories". Do yourself a favor and watch The Pleasure Trap by Doug Lisle at Tedx.

http://youtu.be/jX2btaDOBK8

The processed foods that have become the staple of the Western Diet have lots of calories but do not satisfy our need for satiety. They are not nutrient dense and they do not have enough volume to fill our stomachs.

Someone made a comment about gaining weight on bananas (and other plant foods). You would have to work really hard to eat a whole foods plant based diet and gain weight. That's been my diet for over a year now, and I do not have to worry about portion control for the first time in my life. If I want to eat, I can, as much as I want to.

great post! also I love your avatar

My two rules: 1) if it doesn't have fiber in it, I don't eat it. 2) if it has cholesterol in it, I don't eat it.