How Do We Solve a Problem Like Obesity?

[craigkillie]

22 minutes ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said:

We would go a long way to solving this by bining all these fast food and casual dining places and dodging Carbonated soft drinks.

This is a ridiculously simplistic approach which falls in line with the sort of stuff governments do just so they can be seen to be doing something (eg the introduction of a "sugar tax"). I am a fairly healthy, fit adult, but I still enjoy fast food and/or a takeaway every now and again. I also drink "carbonated soft drinks" regularly - mainly the diet versions which I am well aware are not good for me in certain ways, but which are very unlikely to contribute to obesity given that they don't actually contain anything of any calorific value. Banning things that plenty of people enjoy sensibly just because some people overuse them is a terrible idea.

Like @HibsFan, I think being more active is a massive part of things. I love walking - if I'm not in a rush (eg going to work) or dressed up (eg going out for a meal) I pretty much walk everywhere I want to go as long as it's within about 90 minutes. I also run quite a lot. That keeps me in good shape even though I eat a fair amount of shite. Getting people out and about more is cheaper and easier to do than trying to overhaul attitudes to food. Obviously you'd try to do both, but one has an instant impact. Of course, both the UK and Scottish governments have done the absolute opposite over the last year by putting the fear of god into folk about going out for a simple bit of exercise.

[The Moonster]

6 minutes ago, Aufc said:

 

Well it sounds like its a mental health issue which has led to it so i would say no

 

If it wasn't a mental health issue, mocking my appearance would be fine?

I'm sure you realise where I'm going here. There is no problem in society that is solved or even assisted by bullying. 

[D.A.F.C]

6 minutes ago, velo army said:

I think this speaks to the question I had in my head as I began to write. I grew up in the 80's and 90's and the diet wasn't especially healthy. Dinner was some meat thing, some tattie thing and some overcooked veg. My mum was, and still is, the worst cook in East Kilbride, so there was nothing from scratch. I don't remember my pals ever having much cooked from scratch either (I'm sure everyone else had a post dinner de-brief with their pals to find out what they all had) but there was maybe 2 "fat" children in our year at school. So it couldn't just be diet.

Going back to visit now any time I go out for a kickabout with my brother (no weans, just two men in their late 30's and early 40's perfecting Cruyff turns) we have to walk for a good 25mins to get to a pitch. Growing up we just went round the corner, to the park next to the houses or to the Ballerup pitches (right next to our estate) for bigger games/golf/rounders etc. I grew up in a street of feral children who were all launched out of their houses between mealtimes to play and be active.

In EK, what was initially a planned town with plenty of green spaces and places to play, there are only housing estates and shops, with absolutely nowhere for children to play. While this is obviously only one end of the elephant, it's surely a vital one.

I'm also wondering about the changing family structure these days too. To wit, both parents working and communities being atomised to the extent that people don't know who their neighbours are. But I don't want to write a huge essay.*

 

*I do, I really do.

Kids seem to only be able to exercise now if it's in organised and coached sessions. I usually go for a walk round the park at weekends and never see the same amount playing when I was wee in the 80s 90s

20-50 of all the youngsters from local streets all wanting a game of football.

Now 0 

[Jambomo]

1 hour ago, Aufc said:

What i dont understand is people saying “oh its because we are uneducated”. Whilst this may be true, there is a plethora of information on the internet for free. The majority of people have access to the internet but would probably rather spend time attached to it looking at facebook or some pish.

As i have said before, for some, it is a mental illness and, as such, they should get help. However, it is too easy for a lot of people to hide behind this and use it as an excuse.

The internet is awash with terrible and contradictory information on pretty much any subject you like and in weight loss it is additionally bad. You have to know where to look for advice that is accurate and worth taking.

Interestingly I read an article that spoke of OFCOM complaints about This Morning (who as a mainstream broadcast people would consider reliable) that had a doctor on who recommended an 800 calorie a day diet. Thats far below what you need and he was basically pushing crash dieting. 

There are a huge number of obese people and the reasons for it are all complex and interlinked. There is no one right answer and it will take work in a number of areas (as mentioned by a few posters) of our general society and well as our own personal responsibility to fix it.

[Gaz]

2 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

The internet is awash with terrible and contradictory information on pretty much any subject you like and in weight loss it is additionally bad. You have to know where to look for advice that is accurate and worth taking.

Interestingly I read an article that spoke of OFCOM complaints about This Morning (who as a mainstream broadcast people would consider reliable) that had a doctor on who recommended an 800 calorie a day diet. Thats far below what you need and he was basically pushing crash dieting. 

There are a huge number of obese people and the reasons for it are all complex and interlinked. There is no one right answer and it will take work in a number of areas (as mentioned by a few posters) of our general society and well as our own personal responsibility to fix it.

One of the problems is that weight loss on its own is an incredibly simple concept. Your body burns energy. If you eat less energy than your body needs, you lose weight. If you eat more energy than your body needs, you will gain weight.

That's it. That's all there is to it. But as you say it's massively overcomplicated whenever you try to look for a bit of information on it.

[NemsadzDEE]

Gervais solved this problem about a decade a go!

[Todd_is_God]

14 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

If it wasn't a mental health issue, mocking my appearance would be fine?

I'm sure you realise where I'm going here. There is no problem in society that is solved or even assisted by bullying. 

Wee gimps doing Tik Tok dances should be an exception to this.

[HibsFan]

8 minutes ago, D.A.F.C said:

Kids seem to only be able to exercise now if it's in organised and coached sessions. I usually go for a walk round the park at weekends and never see the same amount playing when I was wee in the 80s 90s

20-50 of all the youngsters from local streets all wanting a game of football.

Now 0 

And they invariably tend to cost, so that can potentially price out many of the families we especially need to be encouraging to get active.

They also tend to work some of the worst hours (for the worst wages), minimising their time to get their kids along to these courses even if they're free.

Magic eh.

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Do those who bully the overweight also bully the under weight?

 

If I can catch them.

[The Moonster]

4 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Wee gimps doing Tik Tok dances should be an exception to this.

Fair point. 

[Sweet Pete]

2 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

If I can catch them.

Sounds like the punchline to an old peado joke.

[Sergeant Wilson]

5 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Sounds like the punchline to an old peado joke.

Dear God, where and how have you been?

[Sweet Pete]

1 minute ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

Dear God, where and how have you been?

Never heard that peado joke punchline before. How dies the set up go?

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 minute ago, Sweet Pete said:

Never heard that peado joke punchline before. How dies the set up go?

I'm trying to be sociable.

[HibsFan]

 

[Sweet Pete]

1 minute ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

I'm trying to be sociable.

Bless your heart.

[Sergeant Wilson]

Just now, Sweet Pete said:

Bless your heart.

Like many others on this thread, it's under a bit of pressure.

[Aufc]

If it wasn't a mental health issue, mocking my appearance would be fine?
I'm sure you realise where I'm going here. There is no problem in society that is solved or even assisted by bullying. 

Dont think i mocked anyone? I suspect the likes of VT are just at the wind up with the comments.

I agree. On the other side, there needs to be a certain degree of truths told in a fairly harsh way. Failing that then something needs to be done to force them to change

[Aufc]

The internet is awash with terrible and contradictory information on pretty much any subject you like and in weight loss it is additionally bad. You have to know where to look for advice that is accurate and worth taking.
Interestingly I read an article that spoke of OFCOM complaints about This Morning (who as a mainstream broadcast people would consider reliable) that had a doctor on who recommended an 800 calorie a day diet. Thats far below what you need and he was basically pushing crash dieting. 
There are a huge number of obese people and the reasons for it are all complex and interlinked. There is no one right answer and it will take work in a number of areas (as mentioned by a few posters) of our general society and well as our own personal responsibility to fix it.

As already said, weight loss itself is very simple especially if obese. I was more meaning the ability to look up healthy recipes

[The Moonster]

2 minutes ago, Aufc said:

 

Dont think i mocked anyone? I suspect the likes of VT are just at the wind up with the comments.

I agree. On the other side, there needs to be a certain degree of truths told in a fairly harsh way. Failing that then something needs to be done to force them to change

 

My post was asking people who felt fat people were sound to be bullied if they felt under weight people were also fair game for bullying. You replied saying "it depends", which suggests to me you do find some forms of bullying acceptable.

"Harsh truths" do not equal ridiculing someone for their weight. Explaining to someone you know that you're concerned and would like to help is fine, laughing at them in the hope it forces them to change is not.