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The number of overweight/obese people in Britain - what should be done?
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I was walking around town with a friend earlier and she pointed out how many large people were surrounding us. I hadn't honestly noticed until she mentioned it, but after that I started to take note of all the other people I was passing by and I was absolutely gobsmacked at the percentage of people who were either overweight or obese. I would say that more than half the people I saw whilst we were out were an unhealthy weight. Men seem to be even worse than women, with a large percentage of men showing huge stomachs on display. But there was no shortage of very large women either.
Like I said, this isn't something I've ever taken much notice of in the past, but today has really opened my eyes to what the media are referring to when they talk about the 'obesity crisis in Britain'. It occurred to me that with so many people overweight this must cost the NHS a fortune!
I have two questions which I would be interested in discussing in this topic:
1) Do you think the government could and should be doing more to greatly reduce the number of overweight/obese people in the country? If so, what are the solutions?
2) Why do you think so many people seem willing to let themselves get so out of shape? Is it because of mental illnesses like depression and low esteem, or are people just too greedy or too lazy to eat healthily? I'm really interested in answers to this question, since I've never been overweight myself and would never allow myself to become so, but I would like to know why some people are able to put on huge amounts of weight but not seem to care.
One other interesting thing I have observed in the past; have you ever noticed that the people who buy 'Diet Coke' are usually fat whereas the people who buy 'Coca-Cola' are more often a healthier size? How does that work???
Like I said, this isn't something I've ever taken much notice of in the past, but today has really opened my eyes to what the media are referring to when they talk about the 'obesity crisis in Britain'. It occurred to me that with so many people overweight this must cost the NHS a fortune!
I have two questions which I would be interested in discussing in this topic:
1) Do you think the government could and should be doing more to greatly reduce the number of overweight/obese people in the country? If so, what are the solutions?
2) Why do you think so many people seem willing to let themselves get so out of shape? Is it because of mental illnesses like depression and low esteem, or are people just too greedy or too lazy to eat healthily? I'm really interested in answers to this question, since I've never been overweight myself and would never allow myself to become so, but I would like to know why some people are able to put on huge amounts of weight but not seem to care.
One other interesting thing I have observed in the past; have you ever noticed that the people who buy 'Diet Coke' are usually fat whereas the people who buy 'Coca-Cola' are more often a healthier size? How does that work???
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If you really are interested (which I doubt) Diet Coke tastes better as it's not so syrupy
Yes they could and yes they should. To a degree they try but not hard enough.
Solutions are to make more outdoor gyms in parks. More nature walks. Encourage country work such has wall, path and hedge restoration. Even schemes to help poor aged farmers.
Their are countless more things of course.
It's modern living.
Endless TV programs and channels.
Unsafe or unnatural products in food to keep prices down and preserve stocks that don't sell there and then.
Again their are countless reasons why this is happening but a lot is under the general bracket of modern living.
Well if they were so slim they wouldn't need the diet coke though the word 'diet' is pretty misleading.
well regular coke has about 800calories for a 2litre bottle, and diet has less than 10 for the same amount. Can you see why an overweight person might choose diet, now??
I'm overweight myself, and diet coke does taste better to me anyway.
Maybe some sort of rationing might have to be imposed one day, like in the war....it is a serious problem, so I think it might have to be done.
Many low fat and diet products confuse the body and make it less able to control food intake and also many low fat products actually have more sugar in them than the original item for instance a Kraft fat free dressing has 3 grams of sugar in it each serving whereas the full fat has none. Fat free / diet peanut butter often has three times the amount of sugar than a normal one.
I say stick to old values, a bit of exercise both for kids and adults and the old saying of " a little of what you fancy does you good "
Solutions would help by starting in school and going back to emphasis on cooking and making your own food. Importantly I would teach about how to make bland food tastier and more interesting.
And of course I would put tax on anything that contained over a certain amount of suga/salt in it. This would either A. encourage those making food items to reduce salt/sugar they use or B. increase pricing on those unhealthy foods and get more people to buy fresh.
Also I would put more emphasis on home grown products and markets and encourage people to ignore use by dates on fresh food and being picky about how their fruit and veg look. So much fruit and veg and eggs are thrown away because they are not "aesthetically pleasing" to look at, yet perfectly edible.
My work is done here.
...not at all..we do purportedly live in a " democracy " after all.
1) I dont see what the government can do. I think they are promoting eating better in general but I do agree more needs to be done in school. I was lucky enough that our school did teach basic cooking. Education has to be the only thing they can do sort of focing people.
2) the honest answer is that we are driven to over eat it is in our nature. The animal kningdom is based on eating when food is around because you never know when it will stop. We are also crave sugar because it would provide massive amounts of energy.
The problem is food is no longer in short supply but it is also cheaper that it has been in any point in history.
Their are other factors as you get older you become less active but in most cases carry on eating the same amount.
For people that are very overweight you do find a lot of them have serious mental issues. Their was a TV show from an overweight department and they all had issues that left them eating as a form of self abuse as some people cut to feel pain they eat to inflict pain.
So more needs to be done to tactical their mental issues to look at the cause.
The workout should help people loose weight and those who are too fat will never reach the food.
Good point.
I also think work/life balance needs to be redressed in many cases. After a 13 plus hour day I'm just too bloody knackered to look after myself more. I need to pay my mortgage so I need to work and the demands are just getting ridiculous. I used to go for a walk at lunchtime but not anymore as, even though it is technically my time, meetings are called at least 3 times a week. This seems to be the case in many jobs now and it is wrong. Senior managers are taking advantage of the fear people have, that they could lose their job if they don't take on more and more.
There is a healthy workplace award that can be applied for. My boss threw it out when I have it to her because she knew we didn't have a hope in hell of achieving it, mainly down to her.
I'd love to grow my own veg but I simply don't have the time and energy required to do it.😞
PS I actually prefer the taste of Diet Coke and the fact it doesn't leave fur on my teeth like 'real' Coke does!
..to expand on that hypothesis..the choice of musical instrument could be rotated,thus saving on orchestral funding..and filling the air with musical delight..
What a silly comment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KgFzxwoGAM
We might also want tele screens with cameras in everyone's house, not sure why but if we are going to take such extreme measures in people's lives, the tele screens just feel "right".
Without chocolate? Hmm...impossible IMO!
Yonks ago men went to work women stayed at home, men hard working labour was the exercise, women doing the housework was exercise and the women had to make all meals which wouldn't be so rich and you couldn't be picky. Children played outside on the streets and where not.
Now think how people live today, both parents work, desk jobs, supermarket processed foods, fast food, chain restaurants, children play indoors with gadgets. Social pressures for everyone.
Wrong.
http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/faq/products/which-is-your-bestselling-brand-coca-cola-or-diet-coke.html
That simply is not true.
If you are willing to cook, eating a healthy diet is cheaper than an unhealthy one. I guarantee that if you told me how much you spend a week I could make a healthy option for less.
Problem is these days food is packed with fat and added sugar. This results in people eating more as they don't fill you up. This is good for manufacturers and supermarkets but not the public.
One thing I won't argue with is that it can be tough to make a healthy diet interesting.
Nothing unless the obese/overweight person wants something to be done
Exactly.