WHO: Governments should regulate fast food to slow obesity

not when I worked there.

Not what?
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lol sorry johnnythan.... early in the am... we didn't put salt on them when we cooked them!
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Oh really? Maybe it's added before they're frozen and shipped though. I thought it was added at cooking time, but I've never worked there :laugh:

Either way, there are no crazy mystery killer chemicals added to the burger patties.
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No, just low-quality beef, really, kind fatty, but everyone knows that. Like buying the 70/20 at the store. No mystery additives. Just like the Big Mac Dressing. No secret ingredients there either.

No, just low-quality beef, really, kind fatty, but everyone knows that. Like buying the 70/20 at the store. No mystery additives. Just like the Big Mac Dressing. No secret ingredients there either.

Yeah, it works out to about 80/20. There's a reason it tastes good :laugh:

I've heard quite specifically that lean beef (90/10 or leaner) doesn't make the ideal burger patty for a number of reasons--dryness, flavor, texture, etc. Most of the cooking websites that I frequent typically recommend 80/20 to 85/15.

Awesome thread...there is so much I want to comment on and don't think I can "quote" all the particular posts.

Government should not intervene except to ensure the safety of the initial product. A Whopper and Fries as lunch is not going to make you gain 10 pounds. Every day, every meal, maybe. Government should ensure that there is not arsenic, etc, in said Whopper. Our government is batting for both teams in this fight considering the heavy subsidies that corn (i.e. high fructose corn syrup) gets in the Farm Bills of the past decades and then to consider legislating against certain types of foods/drinks.

I think the argument that "my healthcare costs are going up" is futile. Healthcare costs will go up because the insurance companies are getting away with it. They have been for years. Hey, government, if you want to regulate something try that first. People are placing the blame on obesity (or fat people=me) because it's easy. I doubt that too many people would say, "well $%&^ you cancer patient, you made my rate go up". Even if people weren't obese, or there wasn't an "obesity epidemic", they would blame it on something else. It's easy money being made for them.

On education and the food in schools, I could go on for a while. I found, when I was teaching (that adventure could be a whole other post), that the biggest problem was not the "crap, unhealthy food" that everyone endlessly goes on about, but was hunger. The kids that I taught were hungry. Plain and simple. How many of you are in good moods when you are hungry? Can you get a lot done? I know when I am hungry, really hungry, I cannot think of much else except when I am going to eat next. Instead of all this snobbish rhetoric about how many fruits and vegetables should be on your plate or kids are too fat, we need to ensure that these children are more to eat then just the school lunch. This is a real problem.

Trying to ensure health or morality through legislation does not work. Anyone hear of prohibition? That was a success. We've made every "bad" drug illegal. There is a huge drug problem.

Someone posted something along the lines of "meh...wth....I like Taco Bell". YES. You do not want to limit my accessibility to crunchy tacos. REVOLUTION.

It's a little creepy to me that government wants to tell what to eat. I've always found the guidelines a little "Fahrenheit 451" - ish. What next? As far as my tax dollars going to "fight" the obesity epidemic, then give us a checklist of things to approve when I pay taxes. I'd check the obesity box before the current decade plus war box, or the ridiculous education/testing box, or the let's do a study on how paint dries box.

OK, I'm stepping off my soap box now. Thanks.

I agree that obesity, while it is something to be concerned over, is just the most currently thing people can blame things on. The government should be looking at the source, not the outcome. insurance premiums went up, along with a lot of other expenses, my income did not. I have to make cuts somewhere and food is one bill i can play with. Less moeny for food means I am more apt to buy less healthy foods..

School lunches.. yes kids being hungry is a problem.. There's a variety of reasons this could be.. that being said.. my son was/is not allowed snacks in the classroom and he has late lunches. My son never buys lunch, always a lot of healthy foods from home. So he is eating well, but not frequently enough to qwell the "i'm hungry" beast.

For example the USA's cost of health care take up half of the world costs for healthcare, half.

That seems unlikely. Citation?

Okay. I have to chime in here. I can't take it anymore!!!!

It drives me crazy that people want to vilify fast food restaurants and soda pop makers as "THESE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE ARE OBESE!!!"

Um - NO. That's not the reason people are obese. There are a VARIETY of reasons that cause people to be obese. Yes, there are medical conditions that can make it more difficult to lose weight - there are medications that make it difficult to lose weight - there's just a whole slew of things that can adversely affect someone's weight. It is NOT the people who make the food who are to blame!!!

Don't just say to someone, "Base your food intake on the food triangle" and say "go forth and conquer." You have to actively explain to people that:

**Protein takes longer to digest than carbs.
**Drinking water will help.
**Just because it's fat free or sugar free doesn't mean it's okay to have all you want.
**If you make a salad with a mountain of cheese, croutons, walnuts, almonds, diced turkey and a bottle of dressing, you might as well as have just had a triple whopper - the thing you were trying to avoid getting in the first place.
**having a salad at lunch by itself will not help you. You have to have protein too.
**If you end the day and your as hungry as you were when you woke up, you're not eating right.
**Make sure you're eating enough fiber.
**move more, sit less. Doesn't matter how much more, just MORE.
PLUS a SLEW of other things.

People who are obese (myself included) have to WANT to lose weight. You can't force them to lose it or to not go to certain restaurants that may not be the best place to eat. Trust me - if we want crappy food, it's like an addiction - it is an addiction - we will find it! If we can't find it, we'll make it. If we can't find it or make it, we know who our enablers are well enough to con them into getting us whatever we want.

It's insane for government to think that they can do anything about obesity by addressing the food industry. It isn't up to the government to tell people in a FREE COUNTRY what to have, when to have it, and how much they can have.

If you really want to help, offer opportunities for obese people to learn how to do it in a supportive environment. Different organizations (American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association) put on five-mile walks/runs, festivals, and other events to raise awareness for their cause(s) all the time. Create or sponsor an event that would showcase:
•different fitness clubs in the area
•nutritionists/dieticians who can explain how to read labels and why a bowl of pasta fagioli soup is better than a salad at Olive Garden, and the importance of incorporating healthy/lean protein and quality sources of fiber into the diet
•physiologists who can explain ways to get in exercise for people with limited mobility due to their obesity
•weight loss centers (Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, etc.)
•bariatric services (Doctors who perform lap-band or other bariatric services)
•psychologist's who deal with eating disorders/emotional eating who can help get to the root of the problem
•blood screening to test for hormone imbalances, cholesterol, glucouse, blood pressure
•doctors who can give direction on how to proceed after you get the results of the blood screening
•make the primary goal be to help obese people understand the psychology behind why they eat, and have licensed/trained people who have legitimate experience in the weight loss realm help direct them to a healthier path.


EDUCATION is the key!

For example the USA's cost of health care take up half of the world costs for healthcare, half.

That seems unlikely. Citation?

I was wrong. The WHO have it at 40%, my mistake. I heard 50% from a US Dr on health care.

http://www.emergogroup.com/resources/worldwide-health-expenditures

That is surprising, thanks for the info. I guess it's not too surprising, since the USA has a far larger population than any other country that has a similar amount of wealth per capita. But still.

Personally I believe that overall health of a nation should be a grass root ideology that begins at birth, not in old age. For example the USA's cost of health care take up half of the world costs for healthcare, half. And half of that cost is taken up in the last few years of life. If we spend money in the beginning for healthier youth, we have a healthier society and health care cost and administering exponentially is reduced.

Yes I agree with this :drinker:

Simply, No. Next thing you know, they will be handing out Solyent Green ration cards. The problem is when and where does it stop.

You cannot have drinks larger than 12oz, because 13oz+ leads to obesity.

Are they going to ration cooking oil because I might be frying chicken at my house?

You know 80/20 beef is 20% fat, no one should have 20% fat in their food. You should only use 90/10 or better.

There is going to be a potato chip burning at the local grocer around 7 PM tonight. Fried foods are the devil!!!

All milk above 1% is not fit for human consumption because it contains to much fat.

The list goes on and on and on. When are PEOPLE going to suck it up and be responsible for their own actions. If I keel over and die at 45 because my arteries look like something a plumber should unclog then that is my own fault.

Sucks to be cynical, but people who are walking dead people, whose bodies are almost literally rotting inside, or are barely functional, could care less about making a change to their diets. Similarly, people dying of lung cancer continue to smoke. People who know that these behaviors lead to these ends still don't care. I have nothing against more education, but I doubt people truly don't understand the consequences of not exercising for years on end and still chugging that purple soda to finish off their grilled cheese w/ mayo.

And yet there is a bucket-load of people on MFP who are shocked by the amount of calories in their favorite foods, and by how small an actual portion size is. Seems a simple place to begin to educate. And these are people who are looking to make a change.

I'd bet there are a lot more out there like this who are not on MFP ...

Against the LGBT marriage, against drunk driving, against civil rights, against women's choice.

LOL one of those things aren't like the others...

Govt. intervention is part of the problem to begin with and far from a solution.

There's a guy who did an experiment, it's on Netflix, and he ate only fast food for a month, and lost weight.

This isn't the guy, this is a Science Teacher who did this recently & lost 37# just by eating McD's for 3 months
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/06/mcdonalds-nutrition-fast-food-mcdonalds-menu/4339395/

That would be a correlation. It's like saying that in murder investigation blood is found at the scene most often, therefore blood is the cause of death. Restricting fast food is not the answer, not even close, imo.

Personally I believe that overall health of a nation should be a grass root ideology that begins at birth, not in old age. For example the USA's cost of health care take up half of the world costs for healthcare, half. And half of that cost is taken up in the last few years of life. If we spend money in the beginning for healthier youth, we have a healthier society and health care cost and administering exponentially is reduced.

Yes I agree with this :drinker:

Easier said that done unfortunately. It would be like terraforming. Basically we need a shake and bake colony to get the ball rolling.....it'll take decades. lol

Sadly, I also agree with this :frown:

What happened to individual responsibility and self control?

Bingo.

They're apparently gone. Now what?

We should just get ration cards commie style