BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying

Subject: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Peg
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 09:08 PM

Excellent documentary news special with Peter Jennings, tonight on ABC. Maybe in central and Pacific time zones it is yet to   air? Catch it. It poses some provocative questions regarding government complicity in food production and agricultural policy (for   example, subsidies of corn products that become the sweeteners and fats in the vast quantities of junk foods we consume) that may be a bigger part of the American obesity epidemic than people realize...

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 11:22 PM

My wife is allergic/sensitive to "High Fructose Corn Syrup"...guess how hard it is to buy food these days? At least she ends up eating a BETTER diet than most Americans..

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 11:30 PM

Yeah, eat, eat, eat an' don't come back here askin' why yer obese.... This ain't rocket science...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Mickey191
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 11:34 PM

In the papers & tv news-brears are getting obese because they are picking the garbage from our homes & fast food places. They no longer scrounge in the woods, if given the choice it's a Big Mac scrap in a dumpster. They'll soon be at the drive-up window.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: GUEST,MC Fat
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 07:48 AM

Never found a problem getting fat copious quantities of Moonshine, Brewers Gold and Hillsborough Pale Ale help plus some of Madge's favourite Tim Taylor's Landlord.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 08:53 AM

We have a new advertising campaign here for a soft drink - dunno what it is called cos I don't drink fizzy stuff. But the ad is for the new sugar-free version & there is a pile of sugar cubes beside the can - the caption is something witty about no sugar was hurt in making this drink. There are over 12 CUBES in the pile!! And the can is smaller than the regulation cola/beer can (more exclaimation marks)

I'm so pleased I don't drink sugared fizzy stuff. I don't like the sugar-free artifically sweetened ones, either.

I love reading ingredient lists on foodstuffs - the Energy Bars (so-called) are my favourite - one contained 6 kinds of sugar. I won't mention the kid-directed breakfast cereals.

One day a colleague commented on my thick wholegrain salad & chicken sandwich & said I should have what he had - 8 slices of white bread pap with margarine & something (hardly any nutrition there). Maybe if he ate decent food ...

But this is the bloke who invented the sausage roll roll (the sausage roll is placed inside a bread roll!!) Meat & pastry inside a bread roll, I still can't believe it.

This bloke was my supervisor at the time & introduced one of his younger male staff members to this treat. Maybe I should have reported him for harassment? or going against the Health & Safety guidelines by putting his staff in danger??

I wonder what his 14 year old son eats. Like father like son, I guess.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: GUEST,MC Fat
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 08:55 AM

There a box of chocolates called 'celebrations' which has a wonderfull notice on the bottom saying 'DO NOT READ THIS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE THE TOP OF THE BOX IS OPEN' Doh !

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Peg
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 09:16 AM

It's true, people do get fat from overeating and   underexercising...and I am not one to try and place blame for personal behavior on some instutution...but one of the interesting points made on this program is that government subsidies for farms do not go to growers of fruits and vegetables, but to growers of corn (not sweet corn as vegetable but corn which is made into sweeteners and oils) and soybeans (more hydrogenated oils for junk food) and producers of meat and dairy products; this is in complete opposition to the so-called "fopod pyramid" guidelines the government suposedly has been swearing by for years! These sugar and trans-fat filled non-foods FILL our supermarkets; all the aisles in the middle of the store are virtually made of nothing else. Cereals, cookies, candy, chips, crackers, "power bars" and the insidious boxed "meals" made with noodles or rice that are so full of chemicals it's hard to see why we'd eat them.

One theory as to why obese people continue to overeat is that the food they do eat is so lacking in nutrients that their bodies constantly crave more food. But instead of eating the fresh fruits and vegetables and lean fish and whole grains they need, these people gorge on McDonald's and Burger King and cookies and soda and chips, and wonder why they're fat when they only eat three "meals" a day...

The spokesman for the Health and Human Services dept.   Tommy Thompson would not agree that there was any connection between government subsdies and obesity in America. It certainly is not    *the* cause, but it seems clear to me that it is an important underlying factor and that the system did not get this way overnight.
Also indicted: advertising that targets kids and that causes kids to beg for food from parents who don't want to say no/argue.

The program was only an hour long and I suppose a multi-part program might go into why no one exercises anymore: kids get rides to school, phys ed classes have been cut from school budgets, kids are only interested in TV and video games, people live in sidewalkless neighborhoods, etc. But it was refershing to see the focus on the plague of junk food that dominates our culture, so much so that it has become a normal part of our routine. I watched the footage from a 1979 FTC hearing where lobbyists were trying to pass a law forbidding the commercial pitching of sweetened cereals to kids with cartoon characters during children's programing hours (practices, BTW, adopted in a number of European and Asian countries);   politicians against it were blathering about how this is   an infringement of free speech. But if people are so weak-willed they can't resist advertising, then do they desrve freedom of speech?

Twelve year olds dropping from coronary occlusion; ten-year-olds with type 2 diabetes; is this what it takes for us to change our habits and get healthy again?

Jennings compared the public health crisis of obesity to that of    smoking, saying it took many years before the governent would step in and implement laws. Is junk food the new tobacco?

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Kim C
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 11:12 AM

Twinkies & Soda + GameBoy & Sofa = Fat.

That's a little oversimplified, though... I believe we have discussed here before that there are some who have certain medical conditions that make it difficult to lose weight. Weight gain is also a side effect of some necessary medications. So not everyone who is overweight is that way because they're lazy.

It used to be, McDonalds was a treat, maybe once a week. And that's no big deal. A healthy person can eat a Big Mac & fries once in awhile without any detriment to the diet. Part of the problem is that we all seem to be in a hurry now and fast food is so accessible. We don't take time to eat, or pay attention to what we're eating. We just wolf it down.

Food is good. It is to be enjoyed, savored, shared with friends and family - not merely inhaled.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: mike the knife
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 11:45 AM

Another factor (my Pet Theory actually) about obesity, especially in Americans and others in warmer climes is Air Condidtioning. If your body thinks it's perpetually October, it will signal for more food/fuel. In the South, there was once a thing called the "cold supper"- tomatoes, other veggies & some leftover chicken perhaps. Who wants to tuck into a 1/2 lb slab of meatloaf & a pile of spuds when it's 95 (farenheit) degrees? The body will tell you what it wants if you listen to it. Ignoring natural rhythms & cycles and dumping pure crap into yourself is a sure bet for obesity & worse.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:22 PM

As an overweight person I am very happy to see that someone else has posted that some folks are overweight due to medical conditions or as a side effect of medications, etc.

Further more, I find it interesting that someone posted about junk food, television and the game boy.....I am curious as to how many people think that is what most fat people do? Do you not have friends or know of people who are thin and maintain that kind of lifestyle? Do you wonder why it is that they don't gain the weight? It is my opinion that all bodies are different and are meant to look different....who cares about the number, it's the HEALTH factor that is truly important. Sure, I'd love to be a thin person for probably all the vanity reasons there are....HOWEVER....I would rather remain an obese woman in good health...can the two go together? ABSOLUTELY.

Ok...I'm off on a tangent...I'm really curious to how many people REALLY think that most fat/obese/overweight people are indulging themselves daily with hours of time on the couch with a game boy in hand.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:34 PM

Wait...while I'm ranting and raving and thinking about this....someone had also posted about the advertising slant. Hmmm....I think this is a very two sided coin. As a matter of being, advertising is specifically trying to talk consumers into buying their product. So.....food commercials often run at late night (ever notice that?), cereal commercials and toys run in the mornings, after school and during Saturday morning cartoons...diaper ads run all afternoon...as well as diet and cleaning supply ads, beer ads during whatever sport is on, etc. ad nauseum...all aimed at a very direct audience. Ok...so here we have the food issue and concerns about children overeating and becoming unhealthy...a very legitimate concern IMHO. HOWEVER.....let's not forget all the young girls who are ashamed of their bodies at 8 and 9 years old....the teens who aren't pencil thin but are starving themselves in every way imaginable to look like what they see on television and in the magazines. Does this concern anyone? I have an 11 year old at home who believes herself to be fat. She is not fat, the fact is, she is HEALTHY (took her to the Dr and everything!). I attend Weight Watchers and she wants to go with me.....I feel badly for her because already, at this young age, she feels that her body is not what it should be due to media images that surround her. Her television time is limited to about an hour a day..if that...but I can't stop her from seeing signs in store windows of sickly thin women, or on magazine covers at the grocery store, etc. My girlfriend's daughter is the same way!!!!!

So is there a happy medium to any of it? I think as far as the advertising world goes, it's FAR too late.....in ALL directions. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if people would be content to deal with themselves in aiming for and mangaging a HEALTHY body?

I dunno..and I'm ranting still..LOL!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Peg
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:39 PM

Speaking only for my own remarks, I made the comment about video games as their overuse relates to obesity in CHILDREN and I think that was pretty clear.

Of course it's true that some people are overweight or obese due to medical conditions, but that's not who most people are talking    about when they're talking about an obesity epidemic in America.   That's what we have, and there are reasons for it that are fairly    obvious.

And of course some people are overweight and healthy...but we are talking about the obese, those whose weight is well above what is considered healthy. I should think it would be very difficult to be carrying around more than 300 pounds if you are under 6 feet tall, and be healthy...If you get winded climbing a flight of stairs or walking for more than ten minutes, you are not a healthy person. (Unless of course you are in a wheelchair and cannot walk or climb stairs)

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Kim C
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:53 PM

Lily, I was illustrating that a sedentary lifestyle paired with unhealthy eating can lead to obesity. Granted, it doesn't always lead to obesity, and isn't the cause of ALL obesity. But junk food and no exercise, as a habit, doesn't help.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 01:59 PM

Hey Kim,

I understand what you were pairing but there are SO many exceptions that it is mystifying to me. I am 110% agreement that junk food and lack of movement is bad for ANY body and certainly can lead to obesity. Do you know any obese people who do not fall into the lazy, junk food category? I sure do!


Hey Peg,

    Do you assume then that every person who is obese is unhealthy? I'm talking in the 50+ pounds overweight category. What makes a body healthy in your opinion (besides 10 minutes on the stairs)?

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 02:43 PM

I am at work right now, have been here for two hours. That entire time has been spent sitting in a chair working at a computer--not a lot of aerobic exercise involved. I am at least fortunate in that my office is upstairs in a mezzanine area only accessible by stairs, and the xerox machine, restroom and my boss's office are downstairs, so I get to go up and down all day long. After work I will attend a Sea Scout meeting which will probably be indoors sitting at a table. I will then drive for an hour (more or less) to pick up my son, and get home for dinner at about 9 p.m., unless I eat in my office before the meeting. I go to bed about 10. That doesn't really leave any time in the schedule for major exercise. I never watch TV and don't own a Gameboy, but the effect of my usual routine is the same, and probably is for most people nowadays.

If I want to include exercise in my daily life, I will have to start getting up at 5 a.m. instead of 6, or give up other recreational activities which I enjoy. I could use my bike to commute to work, but only if I can convince my husband to pick up our son--he doesn't like to do this, because he gets his exercise by biking to work. The net result is that he has lost fifteen pounds and has buns of steel, while I have put on a few. Or I could give up housework--at least until the Board of Health condemns my house.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Kim C
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 03:14 PM

Lily ---- I never said that all obese people are lazy. Quite the opposite. And I agree with Peg, that it's mostly children who suffer from the television/video game/crap food combination, because overworked parents are too busy to pay attention to what their kids are doing/eating.

A couple of my friends are overweight, not due to laziness, but overwork. They are journalists who work long hours (sitting) and rarely have time to stop and have a healthy meal. There's fast food, there's free food at press functions, there's a 24-hour grocery up the street.

I was talking with a friend this weekend, who believes that the Desk Job has been a huge factor in the fattening up of America.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 04:14 PM

Melani, perhaps you and your husband could each bicycle to work sometimes and pick up your son sometimes? I think exercise is believed to be effective even if you only get to do it three times a week. If I were your husband and you expressed your complaint to me as logically as you just did here, I'd certainly be willing to compromise, understanding that it's important to improve your health as well as my own.

I had almost exactly the same problem. But last week, it occurred to me that on the 1-hour drive to pick up MY son, there's a park with a walking track. Now I stop for a 20 minutes and get a brisk walk in. It gets me home later, but on the other hand it's glorious to have 20 minutes entirely for myself (and nobody even knows where I am!).

Claire

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 08:33 PM

You'd think so, wouldn't you? He agreed to let me bike on Thursdays, but only if it's convenient for him. Stopping along the way to get my kid is not an option, because I have to get there by a certain time, or they start charging me $10 for every 15 minutes. I leave work two hours before the deadline to make sure I'm not caught in traffic. If I'm late three times in six months, they kick him out of the program and I lose my job for want of after-school care. There is no other program that will accept him--it's a special one for developmentally disabled kids. My husband also has to leave work two hours early to pick him up, and he gets paid more than I do, so I'm the logical choice to give up work time.

So I'm left with losing an hour of sleep or giving up housework--the latter is more attractive until the house gets too scummy. I did manage to do some work-errands on foot today, in between rainstorms.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Peg
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 10:53 PM

Michelle;
everyone is different. On one person, an extra 50 lbs might barely be noticeable to look at, and that person may be active and feel good all the time; while on another, that extra fifty is enough to destroy their health and make them look very obese. So one can't really answer that without allowing for all the variables. As for what makes someone "healthy"; this too varies. a person confined to a wheelchair will have a different standard of health than someone   who is ambulatory. But in general, most doctors would agree that having your blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol within the normal range for your height and weight is a start, and most obese people do not have this. To me personally, a healthy person is one without chronic pain or illness, emotionally stable, who feels they have a purpose in life and who looks forward to each day.

And I did not say ten minutes on the stairs; I said one flight of stairs, or ten minutes of walking: big difference there. If you are going to challenge my words, at least try to quote them correctly.

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: LilyFestre
Date: 10 Dec 03 - 11:35 AM

My apologies.

Must be you don't ever make mistakes. I, however, do. Frequently. I was not presenting a challenge to anyone..merely asking questions. *Shrug*

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: How to Get Fat Without Really Trying
From: Peg
Date: 10 Dec 03 - 01:39 PM

Of course I make mistakes. Every day. You did appear to be challenging my statements though, including assuming that I must assume *all obese people are unhealthy* when nothing in my post stated that. When you paraphrase someone's words it's good to try and be aware of the tone you're projecting.
I tried to answer your questions as best I could.