BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

[ttdriver]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

One of the biggest contributors to the obesity EPIDEMIC is convenience foods. Why cook when there's a McD on the corner offering $1 double cheeseburgers? UNTIL PEOPLE STOP LOOKING FOR THE EASY WAY OUT, THIS EPIDEMIC IS SURE TO CONTINUE. Yeah, cooking takes effort. Shopping for quality foods that provide GOOD nutrition takes time. We're all busy, and who wants to spend what little time they have in the kitchen? Exercise? Who has time? Our TO DO lists are ever growing, so we compromise our health in the process. It comes down to this: CHOOSING HEALTH OVER CONVENIENCE. I don't know about you, but my health AND my family's health is worth way more than a $1 double cheeseburger.


Betty

[LuckyD]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

So every fat parent of a fat kid is a bad parent. They must be lazy, have no will power, and cant control their lives. All they have to do is put the crap down. Wow, why dont they just do it then? I have never been obese, In fact all of my life up until I hit 40 I was a size 4/6. I weigh more than I want to right now. That is why I am here. Weght has never been an issue for my family because we always make the right choices. But life happens to people, have some empathy. I understand your point of view. The only way to make a life change is to be that strict. I get it. We are all responsible for ourselves. Yes DUH. I am not talking about me or you and anyone else specifically. I am talking about how America has become a very hard place to stay thin and healthy. You cannot simply lump everyone together. Obesity is an epidemic. And if I read the title of this thread correctly it wasnt about the individual.

[ttdriver]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

I never said fat parents are bad parents. That's insane. What I am saying is its time to step up to the plate (pardon the pun) and accept responsibility instead of constantly looking for someone or something to blame. That's what will get you where you want to go...blaming doesn't accomplish a thing.


Betty

[mystic]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Wow, great dialog you guys. I'm definitely of the mindset that no one but me created my weight problem. I'm a victim of no one and no thing - end of that story.

I'm actually an IT geek, but I have worked horribly closely with the marketing people and I was shocked at what they do and what they're capable of achieving in that area of the business world. I was stunned at how simple it is to lure people into things. Therefore I don't disagree that our culture exists in a vulture's nest of others looking to take advantage of the lack of awareness they work to maintain. It's the same reason we have people running around claiming absurd things about Atkins - lies work.

People are sheep. Marketing knows this. They're counting on the fact that you're too tired to care. They have every tactic known to man at their disposal and there's at least one that will work on you.

How does that go?

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

On a total side note, I just watched a show on obesity last night which talked about Cushings Syndrome... tumors on a gland at the base of the brain will cause a sudden, significant weight gain despite a healthy lifestyle. There are cases where obesity is caused by a malfunction of the body, but the show stated that that was rare.

[kit11764]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Actually I developed Cushings while on the high doses of predisone ( a steroid) for my RA and all I had to do was look at food of any kind and gain weight. It added 60 lbs to me over the 4 straight years i had to take it. So yes sometimes things from the body and med's do in fact cause wt gain when you didn't eat a thing. And it makes you gain the weight where most men gain the upper belly and arms..strange huh..
I also developed a hump right below my neck called the predhump. i hope to lose it..wish me luck..lol..Not sure if it will go away or not. I also gained a lot of weight from quiting smoking but that was my fault cuz I shouldn't of smoked at all let alone for 15 yrs. But see that is the difference...I am taking the credit for what i did I am not blaming it on anything except my own stupidness!!! Where today you have a lot, LOT of people who will not own up to it being their fault and they play the blame game and that helps NO ONE!!! When I quit smoking i heard a lot of people telling me that it's a disease like drinking.. I said well noooooooooo cuz you choose to drink and smoke, its a choice not a DIEASE!! My RA, my Fibro, my asthma, my Raynaurds, those are dieases' that you can not help if you get them. It's not a chose I made to have them all, I just do..but the smoking I made that choose and it was wrong big time...i got smart and quit. But it was MY fault .... do you see the differce here?? Cheryl~

[mystic]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Indeed - I see the difference. Wow you actually got the cushings hump too huh? I was glad I caught that show. It was enlightening in terms of the science of obesity. I learned interesting things about sumo wrestlers too! LOL

[kit11764]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Yep i got the hump and i HATE it!! It's seeming to get a little smaller so i am hoping it will go away.. we will see i guess. The predisone is great for the joints cuz then i could move without too much excrusating pain. But I paid a big price with the wt gain and the Osteoporosis.. My dentist said i have it really bad and if i don't get on Fozamax <sp??> soon then i would have no bone left for dentures. so I am waiting on the bone densisty test to get scheduled. and I had to be weined off it, cuz it can kill you if you just stop taking it. I was not able to get off it til i got on remicade. thank you LORD!! And now I am drug studies for my RA doc and the med i am getting is working great right now!! So i am taking advantage of feeling better to get the weight off. See i can not exercise like normal ppl do. And if I am flarring i can not exercise at all not even in the arthirits pool. But I love the pool, its very warm water and I can move in there soooooooooooooooooo much easier and even walk without my cane!! At any rate sorry got off subject there for a minute...lol......there are some things that can not be helped that cause's the wt gain and then there's just the eating the wrong foods. but we have to be accountable for our own actions or we will never learn the lesson about not putting junk in our mouth.. And YES we all screw up and have to start over again but that's because we are condiotioned to eating wrong. But we ALSO control that as well. So we have to say hey my bad and learn our lesson and move on.. Or we will continue the bad eating habits and end up with even more weight to lose next time. Just my view!!! hugs Cheryl~

[ttdriver]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Thank you Mystic!! Well said! I too watched that show about obesity. That was the first time I had ever heard of Cushings, and Cheryl, I am so sorry that you are dealing with that and your other health issues. You are such an inspiration, that even with dealing with everything, you are fighting this weight battle with such courage!!!

Mystic, I learned alot about Sumo wrestlers too while watching that show. Very interesting indeed.

IMO, once we accept the fact that the majority of us ARE HERE BECAUSE WE'VE MADE BAD CHOICES REGARDING FOOD IN THE PAST, that WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHERE WE ARE IN THIS LIFE, we can truly move toward changing our lives once and for all. Is it easy? Of course not. Is it worth it? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT.

Eat/exercise as if your life depends on it, because in all reality, IT DOES.

Betty

[LishJustLish]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

First of all, I must say that I do NOT want the government stepping in and taxing or prohibiting certain types of foods, because that takes away freedoms for all of us. Besides, if they tax the eggs and sausage because they are high in fat, and DON'T tax the sugar-laden "low-fat" junk that is on the grocery store shelves, then my food budget is blown, and all of us Atkins followers are screwed.

However, I do believe that there are foods out there that trigger physiological cravings that have nothing to do with willpower, and they are marketed with a vengeance. Anything with high fructose corn syrup in it, for example. Or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, for another. I call those two the deadly duo. Notice how, after all the reports came out on how bad trans fats are, companies immediately removed the phvo from their products and now claim to be "trans fat free". Like potato chips are now healthy for you! But nothing, I mean nothing has been done about high fructose corn syrup. It is the lifeblood of every junky garbage food out there.

Ultimately, however, I believe it all comes down to individual choice. No one ties us up and forces food into our mouths. We are intelligent enough to read labels and decide for ourselves what we eat, and we are responsible for what we do to our own bodies, no matter how strong the temptations are out there. We have the means to change our lifestyles, and we are smart enough to use these means to achieve our goals.

[kate58]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

While I am well aware that what I put in my mouth, voluntarily, is what made me fat, I just can't agree that what governments and other influential organisations say and do is not relevant, or that they are not in some way culpable.

I was never a junk food eater - I've been inside a fast food restaurant maybe 3 or 4 times in the last five years and I don't remember ever buying a ready meal - didn't eat much in the way of sweets, rarely ate dessert and always ate my veggies. I cooked what I believed to be healthy and nutritious meals for my family every day, using good ingredients, or so I believed.

And I was always hungry and I kept getting fatter.

I bought into the standard food pyramid lock stock and barrel. I even had a picture of the stupid thing stuck on the front of the fridge. I cut the fat off meat, removed the skin from chicken and scoured food labels in search of fat, determined to avoid it.

And I was always hungry and I kept getting fatter.

So I ate low-fat everything, lots of pasta, rice and starchy veg, bread (generally but not always wholemeal). I went easy on meat, cheese, eggs and never touched cream or butter.

And I was always hungry and I kept getting fatter.

I read avidly any articles about diet and nutrition that appeared in the newspaper and it always seemed that I was eating the right things, if too much of them. Whenever I saw references to Atkins or Low Carb generally, it always came with dire warnings from nutritionists etc, so I didn't look closely at that way of eating at all. It seemed like heresy to me - eat so much fat? And saturated fat? No way!! Not Me!!!

And I was always hungry and I kept getting fatter.

Now I know better - but I do not believe you can absolve the authorities from blame when ALL the guidelines they give are wrong, if not for everyone then at least for large sections of the population who cannot deal with large amounts of carbs without becoming overweight.

It's wrong that it is so hard to buy anything but low-fat or sweetened yogurt, wrong that so many products that don't need it are filled with added sugar, wrong that it is so hard to avoid the low-fat dogma. It's even taught to kids in school.

I've now read not only Atkins book but a lot of the original scientific literature relating to dietary fat and carbohydrate and am half way through Gary Taubes book. I am lucky, I came accross this information before I became diabetic, though I would not say there was a lot of time to spare.

But the reality is not everyone has the opportunity, the inclination or the ability to look at what is a given, a diktat, words written in stone from the people we are repeatedly told are experts, and not only challange it, but educate themselves sufficiently in order to take the decision to go against it. It's hard to believe that the 'experts', many of whom are good and decent if misguided people, are wrong, and that what they tell you to do will harm you.

I'm lucky, I know it and am thankful for it. Lots of people are still getting fat while obediently doing what the experts tell them to do.

And I'm never hungry and I keep getting thinner.

[LuckyD]

Re: BBC: Obesity not our fault ???

Kate and Lish great posts. It is up to the individual to make the right choices. No one forces us to do what we do. But there is a lot of misinformation out there and merchandisers of junk and fast food are the first to exploit it. Its a virtual food land mine. I just wanted to open up the dialogue to the many factors of the modern lifestyle and how they contribute to America's eating habits.