Read this great article about obesity
I have often thought that when you check in for a flight you should be weighed with your bags. They should have a total limit that includes your body weight and your luggage.
I have lost 5 kilos this year and am trying to lose 8 more, for some reason I am feeling 87 kilos would be a good weight for me.
Some futurologists predict that in the future it will be as socially unacceptable to be fat as it is to smoke.
9 comments:
I agree. Why is it that someone three times the weight of me can take the same amount of luggage on a flight? Imagine how quickly people would lose weight if the airlines started to charge for body weight AND luggage weight. Maybe that could be the incentive needed.
I have a hunch that people who have lost control of their eating habits also buy more rubbish. It's all to do with excess. If you eat to excess you probably go shopping to excess. More shopping means more rubbish brought over from China, more precious resources used up, more pollution and more waste.
Rationing...that's what we need! People were a lot healthier during the war and I bet land fill sites weren't overflowing with unwanted gadgets, clothing and toys.
It's sad really as all this excess is an indication of the low level of self esteem and happiness in our once great nation (Great Britain I mean). People eat, drink and shop to excess because they need to fill a void.
I could go on about the demise of the family, destruction of communities and general feeling of hopelessness in British society but that's another subject ;)
Hey Brian (and Hannah), I am obese and have lost 13kgs since January. I eat healthy and go to the gym 5 times a week, But hannah - bet you have never had to think about your weight! Anyway, I save on heating in the winter - have built in heating and forget landfills - that helps the ozone!
Sorry Brian, I love it when the thinner people of the world get on their high horse!!
Keep going mate from someone planning to lose 25kgs in total
Hi Brian,
It's been a while since I read your blog- sounds like things are going well for this summer season. It's funny you mention this obesity thing- i was just reading an article the other day for my course which suggested taxing fattening food or even fat people (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16512957) as a solution. Obviously that is very extreme, but it is environmentally unsustainable to feed the growing world population if people carry on eating the kind of diets we have in the West. At least you are one step ahead with the mediterranean diet in ibiza!
Estelle, As a Compulsive Overeater I understand how difficult it can be! Every day the same challenge. Presently I am winning and long may it continue. Eating is an emotional act, and I would overeat just to feel better about myself. Rationing only addresses the symptom, not the cause. Self examination leading to lifestyle change is the only way - no finishing line to cross and the consequent reverting to old ways. Remember that we can't expect those who have never struggled with overeating (food is simple, isn't it?) to get what we're talking about- "Just eat less!", right? If only it was that simple!
And taxing won't do it either, Fiona!! :-)
Hannah I think you make some good points, we are bombarded with images and suggestions about what to eat, people do eat, drink and shop in order to fill a void. It's a pretty temporary high.
Estelle 13 kilos since January thats fantastic, it shames my piddly 5! I think taxing people would be a little extreme but taxing the food could work nice to hear from you Fiona.
I would say the problem is predominantly western I have noticed on various visits to Africa that people aren't as fat, which leads me to think it is cultural, western excess.
Mark you make sense and it's working for you defo a lifestyle change, diets are another temporary fix.
Over 2 million american are over 40 stone. I doubt they are the rich end of society. Nowadays, when there is a problem in society, taxing always seems to come up, food, fuel, alcohol, tobacco, eco taxes. All it does is make the poor poorer. The people who can afford, can afford more. Idiocy.
These issues are a global problem and the billion people plus living below the poverty line cannot afford fatty foods, meat, to drive a car or go on long haul flights and they are probably not things high on their priority list. If they are, relatively they are not poor. A little global redistribution could go a long way.
Estelle...well done on losing so much weight and good luck in your future efforts. I may be relatively thin but that doesn't mean I don't worry about my weight. I could say that obese people are the ones to not worry about their weight and their weight is proof of that.
There are several issues involved with obesity and it's not just about looks. So far obsese people have considered the extra cost and waist size when deciding between eating too much and eating just enough. Pointing out the obvious fact that over eating causing excess pollution, waste packaging and used up finite resources is a good thing. Obese people need every reason they can get to lose weight and informing them of moral reasons shouldn't be attacked.
Think about what's happened to make that cake. Fuel (are we not running out of oil?), food materials (aren't there starving people in the world?), packaging (finite resources/fuel/waste into landfill sites), distribution (fuel). And then add some more fuel if the cake is par-baked!
No-one's perfect and I don't mean to sound harsh but the West has serious problems and they needs to be tackled with maturity and not too much sensitivity on either side.
It shouldn't be taken personally. There are vast numbers of obese people now which is an indication it is something to do with society in general. Fattening food is cheap and more often advertised on the telly. How often do you see caviar advertised?
This is something we've adopted from the US. Massive supermarkets, massive bags of crisps and massive turnover. Has the US ever managed to resolve the issue? Of course not. If the same rubbish is on the shelves and being advertised on the telly, people will buy it. If we can't stop the manufacturers making it or the supermarkets selling it, the only thing we can do is try to persuade the people to stop buying it and pampering to sensitivities is not going to allow that.
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