Who is responsible for what we choose to eat?

TheVimFuego

You can eat fast food all day every day and not gain weight as long as you do it sensibly.

It ain't optimal but it can be done.

Check out the movie Fat Head, it debunks Super Size Me nicely.

nmb1983

It's your own fault , you are responsible nobody forces it down your throat , I have a tiny food budget but you won't see me eating junk food and sorry to tell you that 5 fruits and vegetables most likely won't change anything either .

Lol obese people get a lot of slack. Of course five a day want make you not obese if your eating loads of other junk. A lot of people on mfp are obviously overweight and on a weight loss journey. I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys thought.

I guess next question would be "So if we are ultimately responsible and we all know that. why is there such a problem with obesity?" *confused face*

I guess I could visit a few fast food places and ask some people to get a well rounded answer. Doubt they'd want to
Answer though. Lol.

Like I said, being healthy is not hard, just inconvenient... one might actually have to plan ahead and prepare a meal themselves... it's just easier to go through the drive-thru.

KamFit12

It's your own fault , you are responsible nobody forces it down your throat , I have a tiny food budget but you won't see me eating junk food and sorry to tell you that 5 fruits and vegetables most likely won't change anything either .

Lol obese people get a lot of slack. Of course five a day want make you not obese if your eating loads of other junk. A lot of people on mfp are obviously overweight and on a weight loss journey. I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys thought.

I guess next question would be "So if we are ultimately responsible and we all know that. why is there such a problem with obesity?" *confused face*

I guess I could visit a few fast food places and ask some people to get a well rounded answer. Doubt they'd want to
Answer though. Lol.

Like I said, being healthy is not hard, just inconvenient... one might actually have to plan ahead and prepare a meal themselves... it's just easier to go through the drive-thru.

It's not hard so there a lot of people struggling with there weight due to Convience?
Could it really be that simple!

Shannota

It's your own fault , you are responsible nobody forces it down your throat , I have a tiny food budget but you won't see me eating junk food and sorry to tell you that 5 fruits and vegetables most likely won't change anything either .

Lol obese people get a lot of slack. Of course five a day want make you not obese if your eating loads of other junk. A lot of people on mfp are obviously overweight and on a weight loss journey. I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys thought.

I guess next question would be "So if we are ultimately responsible and we all know that. why is there such a problem with obesity?" *confused face*

I guess I could visit a few fast food places and ask some people to get a well rounded answer. Doubt they'd want to
Answer though. Lol.

Like I said, being healthy is not hard, just inconvenient... one might actually have to plan ahead and prepare a meal themselves... it's just easier to go through the drive-thru.

It's not hard so there a lot of people struggling with there weight due to Convience?
Could it really be that simple!

Sounds like, if it really was that simple, the government could mandate that the foods they serve be healthier and the obesity epidemic is solved...hmmm

Acg67

You can eat fast food all day every day and not gain weight as long as you do it sensibly.

It ain't optimal but it can be done.

Check out the movie Fat Head, it debunks Super Size Me nicely.

Fat Head = eat in a deficit, lose weight

Supersize Me = eat in a surplus gain weight

hardly rocket science

ZugTheMegasaurus

I think people tend to grossly oversimplify on this topic, so I'll just throw in a few things that often seem to be lost.

As to healthy food actually being just as inexpensive as bad-for-you food, that's simply not true when you're looking at actual caloric content per dollar spent. Yes, most people could afford either when you just look at the total bills, but people living at or below the poverty line (or even a little above depending on location) really have to get the most bang for their buck. Say you've got three kids and a few bucks to feed them on for several days. You could afford fresh produce and all sorts of healthy things, but you aren't going to be buying nearly enough food for everyone in terms of calories consumed. You can choose to get four apples or ten boxes of macaroni and cheese for the same three dollars; which of those is going to feed your family for more than one meal and which is going to get people closer to the caloric intake they need?

As to consumers having to just say no and make the right choices, that's all well and good, but it's ludicrous to claim that food companies and advertisers have absolutely no power over those choices. Billions upon billions of dollars are spent annually on ads, and the reason is that they work. Even though they're not shoving that food in someone's mouth, they are making it very difficult for consumers to sort out what's true and what isn't. Take a look around this very site and you'll have no difficulty finding people who are honestly unaware of what a proper diet or these seemingly easy choices look like. And these are people who are focused on figuring that stuff out. Most people simply do not have the ability or inclination to really delve into whether what they're being told is true; they trust that they are being given accurate information. And yet somehow it's their fault that they believe what a large and well-known company told them; and still, some people (for whatever reason) see it as unfair to tell the companies that they have to at least be open and honest about their products. It's ridiculous.

I've got nothing against personal responsibility, but I do see something wrong with blaming someone who is set up to fail for failing. There are so many factors working against people making healthful choices or even having the ability to follow through on those decisions. It's easy to get all high and mighty about people "refusing to take responsibility" but it is not nearly that simple an issue and it does not do anything positive for anyone to pretend that it is.

Apathy. If it's a priority in your life, you'll take responsibility.

Yes, that's true, but it's not going to be particularly effective if you have no clue what you're doing. The increasingly-massive diet industry is wholly supported by people who think they're taking responsibility and doing the right thing and failing miserably as a result. But they don't know that they are doing anything wrong. I can think of a number of people who have been both obese and dieting for the entirety of the many years I've known them. They really do care; it really does crush them that they feel fat and disgusting and worthless. They really do live and breathe weight loss and dieting, voraciously reading every book and magazine, watching every show, throwing money at every new guru on the scene. And they reason that they're the ones at fault because "well, those people couldn't say it if it wasn't true."

So it's not apathy, it's poor education. But it's not necessarily all on the individual because there is a ton of deliberate and focused effort and lots and lots of money put into creating that education.

Ah, since they are gullible it must not be all their fault?

Essentially, yes. I wouldn't view it as gullibility though because that's trust to the point of absurdity and I don't believe that's what's happening here. People, by and large, do not have the resources (whether it's time, education, or technical ability) to fact-check every single thing they hear in the course of a day. Everyone takes something at face value, including the most skeptical.

When it comes to dieting and weight loss, I think one reason that people tend to buy into all the bunk is that it's repeated ad nauseam by many different people. It gains the appearance of legitimacy through repetition and promotion and flat-out lies. Unless you are capable of sifting through the crap and finding the bits of truth (and people might be incapable for a variety of reasons), you simply will not have the foundation to sort it out yourself. I do not see why people dealing with that are wholly at fault while those who intentionally deceive them deserve none of the blame.

emnk5308

I agree with your point but it is a lot deeper than that. For example Fatty foods being cheaper than healthier options. False marketing on food which aren't really healthy especially on food targeted towards children.

I disagree here.. Commercials can tell kids how delicious and yummy and good the food is..but children don't work to buy their own groceries. Parents need to put their foot down and say NO to the junk. 'Fatty' foods aren't exactly cheaper..you just have to learn how to shop. Portion control is also important here. As far as 'false marketing' that is only if you look at the front of the package. You have to turn it around and read the label and serving size.

Acg67

I think people tend to grossly oversimplify on this topic, so I'll just throw in a few things that often seem to be lost.

As to healthy food actually being just as inexpensive as bad-for-you food, that's simply not true when you're looking at actual caloric content per dollar spent. Yes, most people could afford either when you just look at the total bills, but people living at or below the poverty line (or even a little above depending on location) really have to get the most bang for their buck. Say you've got three kids and a few bucks to feed them on for several days. You could afford fresh produce and all sorts of healthy things, but you aren't going to be buying nearly enough food for everyone in terms of calories consumed. You can choose to get four apples or ten boxes of macaroni and cheese for the same three dollars; which of those is going to feed your family for more than one meal and which is going to get people closer to the caloric intake they need?

As to consumers having to just say no and make the right choices, that's all well and good, but it's ludicrous to claim that food companies and advertisers have absolutely no power over those choices. Billions upon billions of dollars are spent annually on ads, and the reason is that they work. Even though they're not shoving that food in someone's mouth, they are making it very difficult for consumers to sort out what's true and what isn't. Take a look around this very site and you'll have no difficulty finding people who are honestly unaware of what a proper diet or these seemingly easy choices look like. And these are people who are focused on figuring that stuff out. Most people simply do not have the ability or inclination to really delve into whether what they're being told is true; they trust that they are being given accurate information. And yet somehow it's their fault that they believe what a large and well-known company told them; and still, some people (for whatever reason) see it as unfair to tell the companies that they have to at least be open and honest about their products. It's ridiculous.

I've got nothing against personal responsibility, but I do see something wrong with blaming someone who is set up to fail for failing. There are so many factors working against people making healthful choices or even having the ability to follow through on those decisions. It's easy to get all high and mighty about people "refusing to take responsibility" but it is not nearly that simple an issue and it does not do anything positive for anyone to pretend that it is.

Apathy. If it's a priority in your life, you'll take responsibility.

Yes, that's true, but it's not going to be particularly effective if you have no clue what you're doing. The increasingly-massive diet industry is wholly supported by people who think they're taking responsibility and doing the right thing and failing miserably as a result. But they don't know that they are doing anything wrong. I can think of a number of people who have been both obese and dieting for the entirety of the many years I've known them. They really do care; it really does crush them that they feel fat and disgusting and worthless. They really do live and breathe weight loss and dieting, voraciously reading every book and magazine, watching every show, throwing money at every new guru on the scene. And they reason that they're the ones at fault because "well, those people couldn't say it if it wasn't true."

So it's not apathy, it's poor education. But it's not necessarily all on the individual because there is a ton of deliberate and focused effort and lots and lots of money put into creating that education.

Ah, since they are gullible it must not be all their fault?

Essentially, yes. I wouldn't view it as gullibility though because that's trust to the point of absurdity and I don't believe that's what's happening here. People, by and large, do not have the resources (whether it's time, education, or technical ability) to fact-check every single thing they hear in the course of a day. Everyone takes something at face value, including the most skeptical.

When it comes to dieting and weight loss, I think one reason that people tend to buy into all the bunk is that it's repeated ad nauseam by many different people. It gains the appearance of legitimacy through repetition and promotion and flat-out lies. Unless you are capable of sifting through the crap and finding the bits of truth (and people might be incapable for a variety of reasons), you simply will not have the foundation to sort it out yourself. I do not see why people dealing with that are wholly at fault while those who intentionally deceive them deserve none of the blame.

So laziness to not do their own research, makes it partially someone else's fault? Maybe that laziness extends to other parts of their lives to, hence why they are overweight

BVannillie

There is more to it then just saying 'well don't eat junk'. I don't drink or smoke, but the majority of people do, even though alcohol and cigarettes are huge killers in our society the government doesn't ban them. Why? Because money is more important to them then health. It's the same with food. I don't eat McDonalds, but lots of people do. And yea sure, they should know better, but when you have obesity at the rate it is that clearly isn't working then politicians, who are meant to be here for our benefit, should do something. I'm not saying they should tell us what to eat, but maybe putting more money and thought into educating people on food. Some people eat junk just because they want to, some people eat junk because they genuinely do not know better. I say take control of your own eating, but that doesn't mean I don't think the government or food agencies shouldn't be doing something to improve the situation. If I have to take responsibility for my eating habits, then why can't the government take responsibility for the welfare of its people?

porcelain_doll

We have 100% of the power over what we eat - as adults. Children, however, are more limited in their choices and this is where parents need to step up.

FrugalMomsRock75

I made myself fat from my own choices. I'm choosing to correct my mistakes.

saraann4

People are responsible for themselves. I will also say that good eating habits start early, and if you are fed only junk from the time you are a year old, it can be very, very hard to start eating better as an adult. So, parents are definitely to blame as well.

Agreed.

Shannota

We have 100% of the power over what we eat - as adults. Children, however, are more limited in their choices and this is where parents need to step up.

Interestingly, when I was a child, I went to a place every day where I had NO food choices and they fed us greasy junk. It was a public school. Guess what guys, our government is teaching our children to eat poorly by setting this example. I had much better options at home, but I wanted burgers and fries and pizza because I got them at school. If it wouldn't have been for that, I wouldn't even have known they existed for quite some time.

Interestingly, my son's preschool pushes slightly healthier foods and he actually requested broccoli last night. So I know that the school setting can have a big impact.

BVannillie

We have 100% of the power over what we eat - as adults. Children, however, are more limited in their choices and this is where parents need to step up.

Their parents probably don't know better because they were brought up on bad foods too. This is where education should come in.

kmm7309

Yes, most people could afford either when you just look at the total bills, but people living at or below the poverty line (or even a little above depending on location) really have to get the most bang for their buck. Say you've got three kids and a few bucks to feed them on for several days. You could afford fresh produce and all sorts of healthy things, but you aren't going to be buying nearly enough food for everyone in terms of calories consumed. You can choose to get four apples or ten boxes of macaroni and cheese for the same three dollars; which of those is going to feed your family for more than one meal and which is going to get people closer to the caloric intake they need?


I've got nothing against personal responsibility, but I do see something wrong with blaming someone who is set up to fail for failing. There are so many factors working against people making healthful choices or even having the ability to follow through on those decisions. It's easy to get all high and mighty about people "refusing to take responsibility" but it is not nearly that simple an issue and it does not do anything positive for anyone to pretend that it is.

THANK YOU! This is what I was trying to say!!!! I guess I take some of the responsibility off of the consumer because I fall into the very poor category, and my parents did, and their parents did. Growing up, we had HAMBURGER HELPER 6 NIGHTS A WEEK! My parents didn't know they were hurting us. And when I got married and inherited step sons, I fed them HAMBURGER HELPER 6 NIGHTS A WEEK. I couldn't afford anything else. It really is that simple. I have to be extremely creative and get help from family members to feed them (or myself) anything nutritious. I have the knowledge, but I don't have the resources. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the blame only falls onto the consumer if you have BOTH!

to_the_surface

To question anyone beyond yourself upon the choices either to eat or not eat is futile. No one but yourself if putting the food in your mouth.

Overly simplistic. Who is to blame for making a poor choice when knowing before hand that the options are "bad, terrible or worse"?
Single mom, working two jobs and two kids, has 2-3 hours to get kids, feed them, get some rest and be ready for the second shift.
Option 1: take trip to grocery store, buy chicken/veggies, go home, cook chicken/veggies, struggle to force kids to eat knowing that all their school friends talk about the Mcmeal and the little toy they got with it. $$, 1.5 hrs time.
Option 2: drive through MC donalds, go home, eat Mcmeal. $$, 30 mins time, no struggle to get kids fed, plus an extra 45 mins of quality time with the kids.

I know, no one is pointing a gun at her head but i can get a good idea that 2-3 out of five days a week she'll take option 2.

I do not want the government to make choices for me, however i would hope that a little common sense from government regulation and food industry corporations would help create/provide a level playing field in which both the healthy and the unhealthy options are offered somewhat equally (cost/availability/etc).
Even if the capitalistic nature of the industry would prevent that from happening, i at least would hope that they would stop preying on the lack of education of people and spreading misleading statements regarding nutrition.

Now we're blaming working mothers? Research on families in which both parents work refutes such stereotypes of so called latchkey kids and their negligent parents. Studies document that children get at least as much time and care from those working moms today as earlier generations got from stay at home moms. Why do women keep getting blamed by obesity theorists? and no, bottle-fed babies do not become obese adults more often than those that are breast-fed.

Really? You come across defensive. Don't know where you read the "blame" in my post. It is just an example of the cost (time/money) associated between the so called "healthy" and "unhealthy" options. The example i used would fit many people. Replace "single mother" with "single father" in my post....the essence of the argument is still there.

Simone_King

I feel that mostly, the goverment should stay out of peoples lives when it regards what they eat. (That's just me.) If a person wants to be unhealthy, then so be it.

As to the other topic. I beleive industry is somewhat to blame. God, over my life time, who knows how much Dr. Pepper I drink. I watched Weight of a Nation and...i do agree with some of the points they give out.

YET! There comes a point in time when it;'s the person who must rise above whats on the tv and thrown in their face! Just because Taco bell has fourth meal DOESN'T mean you need to eat it!

If people want to be blind to the health hazords with food industry then let them be. For the rest of us, we woke up to the dark truth of the matter.

I beleive parents should teact their children the right way to eat..School isn't going to.

KamFit12

I would have to add I feel it's disgusting that by my house there is a fast food shop that sell a burger, chips and a drink for £1.50 and yes majority of their customers are teenage school children. As there is a school a couple yards away surely this doesn't help the problem. Fair enough little children cant make choices. I wasn't fat as a teen but I can imagine this is where it can stem from. Additionally when I worked for McDonalds (yeah I know) the amount of parents that came in at the after school rush was :0 oh and the school kids buying double cheeseburgers and mcflurrys. This was in 09 but I still see it when I used to go in that place. Could this not be part of the problem and the food industry should take some responsibility. Not for the parents but my be adolescents.

BVannillie

I beleive parents should teact their children the right way to eat..School isn't going to.

Yes, but there's the problem. Imagine there is a child who, through no fault of their own, is raised on bad junk food. They grow up eating it because they have no proper knowledge of nutrition. There is no educational facility in place to educate that person who is now an adult, so they just continue to eat the same. Then they have kids, and raise them with what they know - junk bad food. And so the cycle continues. Yes, most of us have educated ourselves to know that if we eat junk we are knowingly putting it into our bodies and know how to balance that in our diets. But some people don't, and never will, because nobody will educate them. Is it fair to say, 'oh well let them just die of heart disease, it's their own fault'. No, what you should say is 'wow, why isn't there something in place to educate these people to help them live better lives?' Aren't these 'uneducated' 'lazy' 'gullible' people entitled to that?

Look at it from a different perspective. Education in general, is down to schools and the government and the educational system. You wouldn't say 'oh well that child is an idiot because they don't know maths and it's all their parents fault for not teaching them and it's not up to schools to teach them'. You get an education to live a better more productive life. You eat healthily to live a better more productive life. So why the hell isn't nutrition being taught to people at a basic level? Of all the stupid pointless stuff that I learnt at school that I will never use in my day-to-day life, and my health and nutrition isn't one of them? Yea, there is a problem there.

KamFit12

I beleive parents should teact their children the right way to eat..School isn't going to.

Yes, but there's the problem. Imagine there is a child who, through no fault of their own, is raised on bad junk food. They grow up eating it because they have no proper knowledge of nutrition. There is no educational facility in place to educate that person who is now an adult, so they just continue to eat the same. Then they have kids, and raise them with what they know - junk bad food. And so the cycle continues. Yes, most of us have educated ourselves to know that if we eat junk we are knowingly putting it into our bodies and know how to balance that in our diets. But some people don't, and never will, because nobody will educate them. Is it fair to say, 'oh well let them just die of heart disease, it's their own fault'. No, what you should say is 'wow, why isn't there something in place to educate these people to help them live better lives?' Aren't these 'uneducated' 'lazy' 'gullible' people entitled to that?

Look at it from a different perspective. Education in general, is down to schools and the government and the educational system. You wouldn't say 'oh well that child is an idiot because they don't know maths and it's all their parents fault for not teaching them and it's not up to schools to teach them'. You get an education to live a better more productive life. You eat healthily to live a better more productive life. So why the hell isn't nutrition being taught to people at a basic level? Of all the stupid pointless stuff that I learnt at school that I will never use in my day-to-day life, and my health and nutrition isn't one of them? Yea, there is a problem there.

Totally agree with you. I want more people to make the choices we have. I feel by understanding the problem more critically we can help people or understand why they are making bad choices. I do also feel its so simple just to blame fat people. But I do think they should take responsibility and change their diet for the better. As a person on this journey to a healthy weight something triggered me to change it and the only was via education reading on diet. Maybe legislation wouldn't be the right way but better education.

I swapped greasy chips and kebab for subway when I was at college thinking it was healthier. I thought I was making a good informed choice but I was clouded by the idea that subway is healthier. You might call that stupid but I'm being honest. Without the motivation and drive to change and education I wouldn't have known everyday I learn something new on here and it's amazing.