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Cancer Research UK Controversial Ads - Thoughts?

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Replies

  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,902 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    The extremely long post (tl;dr) seems to be suggesting that a lot of people don't know that obesity is a health risk.

    Seriously?

    It's not.
  • kevinflemming1982
    kevinflemming1982 Posts: 158 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    The extremely long...
    ...cake around them.
    Firstly, you completely misunderstood my original post, overlooking what I actually said, tried to twist my words in the second post, then proceeded to ignore almost everything I said to try and not only explain myself, but engage in conversation about a subject you clearly have strong views on (as do we all, hence coming to forums and posting about such things). But if you only want to assume, then our own little debate is over, I guess. I hope you have a pleasant day. :)

    Just going to...
    ...relationships and children.
    This is why I went for the smoking thing. Not as an absolute 100% direct comparison, because we all know they are not exactly the same. I do have common sense, thankfully. But because they both hold some similar properties in how you deal with them. Especially in how the NHS is now trying to deal with them too. Campaigns, posters, warnings. That was the main comparison. It was never about "giving up food completely" lol.

    That's definitely more hazardous to your health, than overeating. :D

    But you are right there. That is how I quit everything bad for me. Finding replacements that were healthier alternatives. Drugs, alcohol, smoking, binge/overeating, gaming (very bad if that's all you do). All gone through trying other things, being more active, occupying the mind with other tasks, such as exercise. Over the past few years, I quit them all.

    How, you might ask? Well, education. Learning about what makes the body tick. Why do we crave these things? Why does this happen? What are the side-effects of that? Not just in food, in everything. Curiosity got the better of me and the more I learned, the more I understood. Not only about the body, mind and foods in general, but about myself too. I'm no expert (and never claim to be) but everything I've experienced is there in a story to tell, with pieces of information that might one day help somebody or at least provoke some thought. Because that's essentially why I'm here. Not for my own amusement, but to engage, share and learn.

    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    I think it's...
    ...habits is hard.
    You really nailed it.

    Health food shops were all the rage a while back, and by the looks of it, that has died down again (although some still operate). And I do distinctively remember them being overpriced. Everyone complained about it in my hometown, from what I can remember. So there is a certain stigma regarding healthy foods, that still lingers to this day with those either out of the loop, or uneducated about certain changes. As I mentioned, I was under the assumption that certain foods cost more. They really don't.

    And now, with online shopping and deliveries, there really is no excuse not to buy better foods. Most supermarkets sell low fat products, various fruits from around the world, plenty of veg, and so on. And if you were so inclined, you can pop on Amazon and get something a little more specialised sent directly to your door.

    Convenience shops are the worst. Aside from some skimmed milk, I've stopped using my local. My issue was that I live behind it, so the temptation to nip in and grab some crisps was just too high. I'm talking two large bags while in bed watching TV before sleeping, on a regular basis. Now I fill my freezer with decent food, cupboards stocked and take a wander to a proper shop for anything fridge-related. Change really does start at home. :)

    Yeah, you really can eat better without breaking into your savings. With portion control and not buying so much crap, my monthly food cost has gone down a fair amount. Enough to either put a little away in savings, or buy something that I needed before when I couldn't afford it. So not only does it benefit your health, it also helps your finances.

    An example. My housemate and I used to have takeaway quite often, sometimes 3-4 times per month, at roughly £40-50 each time (unless there were pizza deals or something). So anything from £100-200, per month. Let alone snacks from the shop. That is over what a whole month's worth of food costs for myself these days. I probably spend about £75-100 now and not every month, because sometimes certain foods last longer.

    I think a lot of it comes down to lack of knowledge. All of the points you mentioned at the end, are more understood once you learn something about the subject of food and the body. Which brings me neatly back to the point of the poster. It's education. Granted, in it's simplest of forms. But it's a start.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member

    Certain foods release chemicals that make you feel good and most of them are unhealthy in large quantities. Chocolate, for instance, contains tryptophan. A chemical that helps the release of serotonin (the same chemical you can get from exercise) which in turn makes you feel better. Look at how much advertising for chocolate there is. It's bloody everywhere. Whether or not you have a mental health issue, you are being bombarded with "Buy and eat this and you'll feel satisfied with your life!" adverts for certain foods.

    I feel that most countries actually need to tackle this even harder than just a friendly poster. It's already become an epidemic. Obesity rates are still far too high and without some form of control, it will spiral even further. Obviously, there are moral issues with restricting and banning such things, but seeing as there are still a large amount of the world's population who are struggling (for whatever reason), I think it's the logical step. It will lower costs for not only healthcare but life insurance as well. It might cause companies to focus more on better foods and provide an overall healthier lifestyle for everyone. People might live better lives, potentially longer lives.

    Look at it this way: There is enough food in the world to solve all of the hunger problems in every country world-wide, yet we throw away millions of tons of food waste every year and eat far more than our fair (and required) share. It's about time we did something more than just posters.

    Tryptophan is an amino acid. There's an greater amount of it in meat than there is chocolate. It is the chemical backbone to produce 5-HT / serotonin, but taking up tryptophan in the diet won't increase serotonin because it comes with other amino acids as part of protein and all of them compete for transport across the limited openings of the blood-brain barrier.
    Serotonin also isn't generally recognized as a chemical released during exercise. Typically, the chemicals associated with exercise or runner's high are the endorphins, a different class of hormones.

    The idea that there is enough food to feed the world is a bit of a back envelope accounting. It doesn't consider that this relies on assuming animal feed could just be shuttled to feeding other humans, even though animal feed is often crops that would not meet human standards. It also ignores the vast logistics. It is very far from the simple as the well-off countries could just ships their unfinished foods off to other countries and end world hunger it is portrayed as by some.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member

    Weird nitpick about a literal interpretation. I don't care for a lot of HAES advocates with what they do misrepresent or misclaim, but a charitable understanding of the informed versions of it are that it is Health or Healthier At Every Size. The idea being that there are interventions that can improve health without having to make certain weight oriented goals.