can't help being fat

trailtrash

I've just watched the top story on the BBC six o'clock news and apparently scientists have decided that it's not our fault if we get fat, it can't be helped because of our way of life. Because we no longer have to chase dinosaurs to eat (yeah, I know humans and dinosaurs never mixed) then getting fat is no-one's fault. Cut to 'busy working Mum' who says:

'We have lots of biscuits and chocolate in the house and because we are busy we have to eat ready meals.'

Now I'm not knocking busy working parents, oh dear me no, but how did the biscuits and chocolate get into the house?! Did Tesco break in and dump them in the cupboard? If so, how do I get on that mailing list? Now, I don't eat well, and usually cook out of the freezer but I do try and get my five portions of fruit and veg each week (that is right innit?!) and I then get off my lazy @rse (and I am lazy) and do something about the ensuing padding.

Still, suppose it panders to the 'it's not your fault' attitude that permeates our society these days. I'm waiting for the announcement of who you can sue.

Rant over. I now return you to your normal programming.

onehipwonder

I'm sorry but i really don't buy into the "I'm too busy to cook" argument. How long does it take to cook some pasta and rice? Even buying a fresh sauce from the supermarket is better than buying a ready meal full of salt and preservatives and probably cheaper.

I think the underlying problem is laziness and the fact that you can pass off your lard as a product of the society that we now live in, as being overweight is starting to become the norm.

What is wrong with cooking at the weekend a couple of large batches of easy meals,
chilli, casserole etc then putting them in the freezer for the following weeks meals?

The attitude to obesity has to change as today I heard that being obese takes more years off of your life than smoking :shock:

fossyant

Blooming madness - ride a bike to work, not only will you get there quicker, you'll get fit and fat free..... and not be a polluter, and save loads of cash on fuel to buy lots and lots of bike toys/gear......

I blame working conditions as well - too many employers want serious pound/flesh - if they do, then move on get another job - we all need quality of life to do things like exercise cos we don't have to chase food, and it's good to relieve WORK stress.........

chrisjsmith

Blame culture at work again... then again most seem to blame it on the cost of fruit and vegetables versus processed meals.

I am classified as obese, but I AM doing something about it very rapidly. It is easy - there is no excuse.

carlstone

Yeah

Why can't the poor fatties just stop stuffing their gob holes with cheap unhealthy easily available food (them lazy single mums especially).

While we are on the subject, why don't them pathetic anorexics just eat some more, alcoholics stop buying and drinking easily available booze, Heroin addicts stop risking their lives shooting up (it'll also give them more time to work as they won't have to spend time shop lifting and mugging grannies), etc. etc.

Use some self control you loosers and you could be Mr or Mrs perfect.

Jesus, it p1sses me off the different attitude society has to people with different addictions/compulsions. Personally I have spent all of my adult life (from the age of 10) on diets etc. battling weight issues. I cycle one average around 100 miles per week but I am still bordering on obese. What people don't seem to understand is that in 99% of cases if you bully and taunt someone who is overweight they won't think 'oh dear, I must loose weight', they will become more introveted, lock themselves away and stuff their faces with whatever food is close at hand.

If we are going to make it an individuals sole responsibility to loose weight then lets be fair and take the same stance on all of the above and lets see how society copes with increased crime from widespread drug abuse, violence from alcohol abuse etc. The thing is overweight people don't harm anyone else (other than the cost to the NHS) so they are easily overlooked and persecuted.

Oh, and you might be wondering what happens in the other 1% of cases when you taunt a fatty. Well the last time it happened to me when I was 15 the guy ended up with concussion.

You have been warned.

chrisjsmith

Some interesting and very valid points!

Eat My Dust

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS.

Anyhoo, the fatter people become the better looking it makes us cyclists look!!

BTW I take my hat off to anyone who is overweight and is trying to do something about it, it's not as simple as "riding a bike to work".

Pagem

Eat My Dust wrote:

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS. quote]

because, like many people whom abuse their health, they become a burdon on society.

Pagem

carlstone wrote:

Yeah

Why can't the poor fatties just stop stuffing their gob holes with cheap unhealthy easily available food (them lazy single mums especially).

While we are on the subject, why don't them pathetic anorexics just eat some more, alcoholics stop buying and drinking easily available booze, Heroin addicts stop risking their lives shooting up (it'll also give them more time to work as they won't have to spend time shop lifting and mugging grannies), etc. etc.

Use some self control you loosers and you could be Mr or Mrs perfect.

Jesus, it p1sses me off the different attitude society has to people with different addictions/compulsions. Personally I have spent all of my adult life (from the age of 10) on diets etc. battling weight issues. I cycle one average around 100 miles per week but I am still bordering on obese. What people don't seem to understand is that in 99% of cases if you bully and taunt someone who is overweight they won't think 'oh dear, I must loose weight', they will become more introveted, lock themselves away and stuff their faces with whatever food is close at hand.

If we are going to make it an individuals sole responsibility to loose weight then lets be fair and take the same stance on all of the above and lets see how society copes with increased crime from widespread drug abuse, violence from alcohol abuse etc. The thing is overweight people don't harm anyone else (other than the cost to the NHS) so they are easily overlooked and persecuted.

Oh, and you might be wondering what happens in the other 1% of cases when you taunt a fatty. Well the last time it happened to me when I was 15 the guy ended up with concussion.

You have been warned.

not everyone whom is obese is addicted to food. some are just fucking plain lazy.

heavymental

I love the way the government always goes about things in completely the wrong way. The first thing I heard on this is that they wanted to ban advertising of foods that are bad for you! Why not actually do something to make foods less bad for you. Put controls on what ingredients can be used for example. Fact is, as long as rubbish food exists people will eat it.

I also love the way Britain as a nation has always laughed at the US for being a nation of fatties and now we're going the same way we just mumble into our burger about it being the fault of the manufacturers.

Pagem

Heavymental wrote:

I love the way the government always goes about things in completely the wrong way. The first thing I heard on this is that they wanted to ban advertising of foods that are bad for you! Why not actually do something to make foods less bad for you. Put controls on what ingredients can be used for example. Fact is, as long as rubbish food exists people will eat it.
quote]

by doing this though you risk issues of civil liberty. people want to eat what they like. i think the government needs to do more but of course they make quite a tidy sum from tax on fatty foods and companies that maunfacture it both in the supermarkets and mcrestaurant-type places.

i think healthier foods and eating needs to be cheaper however as with many things in life much of our epidemic seats with a lack education. not enough people understadn the implcations of eating a shit diet and an alraming number of people don't even know how to cook. it's not all about the food either, alcohol adds a huge amount of weight to the average person when consumed regularly.

i believe it's about empowering people with the right knowledge regarding food and cooking. let people eat what they like but let it be coupled with key knowledge as it relates to the potential effects of what they are consuming. this approach though needs to bvegin in schools at a very young age. obviously it will take at least 2-3 generations for things to trun around.

Clever Pun

if I don't exercise I get fat... so I exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight...

The government didn't help me do this, me! I'm accountable for my own body (if I had kids, I'd be responsible for them too)

Don't give lazy people excuses while they eat their Mcshit with lies...

Your mouth is bigger than your @rsehole of course there's going to be a build up, put the fork down.

---

Carlstone, you cycle a fair distance keep it up do you coast in or race yourself? what's your diet like as a matter of interest? any other exercise?

HungryCol

trailtrash wrote:

I do try and get my five portions of fruit and veg each week (that is right innit?!)

Should this not be 5 a day?

McBain_v1

Your mouth is bigger than your @rsehole of course there's going to be a build up, put the fork down.

An absolutely priceless pearl of wisdom - I'm gonna print that our in very large type and stick it on the gym wall here at work

carlstone

Carlstone, you cycle a fair distance keep it up do you coast in or race yourself? what's your diet like as a matter of interest? any other exercise?

The only time I get to ride is in the mornings on the way to work. So I get up at 06:00 and go straight out. When I get into my stride after about 20 minutes I push as hard as I feel I am up to. Push too hard and I find any distance over say 18 miles necessitates taking food on board which is counterproductive. My diet is OK but I eat too much (1000 calories of healthy food provides the same weight gain as 1000 calories of bad food if you don't burn it off!). Over the years I have gained a deep knowledge of diet and nutrition, but even with all of this knowledge it does not overcome my gluttony. I am an intelligent person. I know the excess weight I carry around will mean I will die sooner, it has in part led to my hypertension and high cholesterol problems and will probably lead to type 2 diabetes but I still find it hard to stick to a calorie contolled diet.

This is my problem. Contrary to what people think, I believe it is an addiction and an addiction which you must carry on to keep alive. If you are addicted to nicotine, heroin, alcohol etc. you wean yourself off with a view to stopping altogether. How many drug addicts would conquer their addiction if you left drugs all round their house so in any moment of weakness they could use them. Thats what it is like with food.

It is my view that if the government is going to do anything they must do at least the following (it will take the above mentioned 2-3 generations to take effect):

1. Provide free healthy school meals (breakfast and dinner if necessary) to all school children up to the age of 16 with no access food outside the school (lock them in if necesary). This is because a lot of parents will not be re-educated into providing proper meals.

2. Provide proper exercise within school with a variety of sports accessible to all children. In my school there was football, cross country running and cricket. That was it. I'm sure I would have been more inclined to participate if there was access to gym equipment, field sports (javlin, shot put etc.).

3. Give tax breaks to healthy food and tax unhealthy foods (not easy to distiguish in some cases but I'm sure this can be done).

4. Provide help for people who really want to loose weight.

5. Perhaps most controvetially penalise people who after going through all stages of help still refuse to loose weight. Refusing medical help for weight related illnesses.

[/list]

ChrisLS

...there is a school of thought that says there is no such thing as bad food, a varied range of all kinds of food is what we need...

...like Clever Pun if I don't exercise I get fat...simple as that. As long as I cycle and walk I can eat more or less what I like...

...on another subject, alcohol, the goverment, because of the amount of wine I drink, has declared me a middle class drunk...the very idea...me middle class! :roll:

onehipwonder

carlstone wrote:

Yeah

Why can't the poor fatties just stop stuffing their gob holes with cheap unhealthy easily available food (them lazy single mums especially).

While we are on the subject, why don't them pathetic anorexics just eat some more, alcoholics stop buying and drinking easily available booze, Heroin addicts stop risking their lives shooting up (it'll also give them more time to work as they won't have to spend time shop lifting and mugging grannies), etc. etc.

Use some self control you loosers and you could be Mr or Mrs perfect.

Jesus, it p1sses me off the different attitude society has to people with different addictions/compulsions. Personally I have spent all of my adult life (from the age of 10) on diets etc. battling weight issues. I cycle one average around 100 miles per week but I am still bordering on obese. What people don't seem to understand is that in 99% of cases if you bully and taunt someone who is overweight they won't think 'oh dear, I must loose weight', they will become more introveted, lock themselves away and stuff their faces with whatever food is close at hand.

If we are going to make it an individuals sole responsibility to loose weight then lets be fair and take the same stance on all of the above and lets see how society copes with increased crime from widespread drug abuse, violence from alcohol abuse etc. The thing is overweight people don't harm anyone else (other than the cost to the NHS) so they are easily overlooked and persecuted.

Oh, and you might be wondering what happens in the other 1% of cases when you taunt a fatty. Well the last time it happened to me when I was 15 the guy ended up with concussion.

You have been warned.

A slight bit of contradiction there methinks.

I agree that there are some people who do have a genuine addiction to food but the vast majority of overweight people eat too much of the wrong food and don't exercise.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed at a young age which is why we had Jamie Oliver trying to change the menus for school dinners.

Eat My Dust

Pagem wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS.

because, like many people whom abuse their health, they become a burdon on society.

And you are perfect?

I'm sure there's plenty of fat people out there who are a benefit to society, or aren't there any fat successful people?

NFMC

I think if you read anything more than just the headlines in the tabloids you'll see that the report is saying that it is the individual's fault plus the fact that society makes it so easy for the individual to make the decision to eat and live unhealthily.

I'm at the ripe old age of 36 and even I can see the change in society from my youth.

People (in the majority) drive to work, park pretty close, take a lift to their floor and then sit there all day. Every food whim is catered for easily throughout the day. People then drive home, eat whatever they want or eat out a lot more than their parents ever did or get take-aways and then sit on their arses watching TV.

Even doing jobs around the house doesn't work up a sweat any more. Leaves on the lawn? Get the garden hoover out. Car needs washing? Take it to the garage to go through the machine.

Kids don't play out for the perceived fear of being abducted or run over. They eat the same crap that their parents eat because it's convenient and - let's face it - pretty tasty. They play on their x-box or whatever and then go on-line to be cyber-bullied.

So...the report is saying that something should be done to reverse some of society's problems that we have slowly 'sleep-walked' into (to paraphrase the report); encourage more cycling to work/school; encourage people to park on the outskirts of town and walk to the office; encourage more kids to play outdoors and do sport; encourage healthy eating through education (although I cannot see what more eductaion even the thickest drongo still needs in this regard?)...all things that - to me - seem pretty uncontroversial.

I have two young kids and I worry how they will grow up. Both love playing football and riding their bikes. I worry though that they'll want computer games as soon as they get old enough.

carlstone

A slight bit of contradiction there methinks.

:oops: sorry, hold my hands up to that one. What I should have said is the vast majority of fat people don't harm anyone. Guess I'm just the exception that proves the rule.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed at a young age which is why we had Jamie Oliver trying to change the menus for school dinners.

I totally agree. Jamie Oliver looked like he was working his nuts off on this project with very little backup. I think he wished on several occaisions that he hadn't taken the project on. It's not easy. The government needs to turn round the last 40 years of growing problems in society in so many areas.

OffTheBackAdam

Jamie Oliver's attempts came to naught for two reasons. The Government (That's the same one that merrily taxes us on every pleasure & necessity) decided that "healthy" school meals cost too much, can't possibly spend more money there, no extra employees on the payroll, so no extra votes to be had. The little darlings for whom Jamie had slaved away to provide with this lovely, nutricious fare, decided that crap tasted better, pass the pizza & chips!
Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the individual, and that includes the 46 year old lard-arse here! Sat infront of my PC, tapping away, about 4 stone over my weight as a fit 20-something.
You can address the problem at as young an age as you like, are you going to force people to eat what "The Government" says, in the amounts laid down, individually tailored to each persons' requirements? Are we going to have an army of diet inspectors, with powers to enter our homes, seize any "fattening" foods?
"Ah, you have a two packets of choc-chip biscuits there, contrary to Section 23571 of the Dietary Intake Regulations, 2010, that, as you are well aware, limits each household to a single packet, not exceeding 100 grammes in weight, per week Here's your on the spot fine of £80.00, your booking for a health awareness course and we're taking your children into care and banning you from keeping pets too"
I see that the cries of "The Government must do something" are ringing out across these boards already. Bollocks, it's not their responsibilty. Same as this twaddle about excessive drinking, where some Professor has decided that we drink too much for our own good and to make us drink less, we should be taxed more upon each drink.
Pity I recycled those old demijohns my dad used to brew with "when I were a lad".
His crab apple wine was soooooooo potent!
Eat too much, don't excercise enough, you'll get fat.

onehipwonder

I know that you can't force anyone to eat the right foods but I feel that a bit of education at an early age may help people to make a more informed choice in the fullness of time.

As a comparison have you seen the amount of jaywalkers since Tufty and the Green Cross Man were mothballed :shock:

carlstone

crap tasted better, pass the pizza & chips!

This is because over thousands of years the human body has been programmed to enjoy calorie dense foods because as a cave man these foods would keep you alive. There has never been a time in history when great tasting (to the majority) calorie dense food has been so readily and cheaply available.

Eat too much, don't excercise enough, you'll get fat.

This has sentiment has cropped up a few times so far.

So whats the answer and as we know if individuals are left to their own devices they will get fat, so who is going to make the hard decisions if not the government?

that includes the 46 year old lard-ars* here! Sat infront of my PC, tapping away, about 4 stone over my weight as a fit 20-something.

That would put you in the perfect position to make suggestions on this issue, the weight having crept on in the period the report is talking about. I have never in my life been anything other than overweight and most times obese. I am fitter than average but as the average tends to be so low these days, I don't think this is anything to shout about.

Pagem

Eat My Dust wrote:

Pagem wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS.

because, like many people whom abuse their health, they become a burdon on society.

And you are perfect?

I'm sure there's plenty of fat people out there who are a benefit to society, or aren't there any fat successful people?

i'm not perfect (although many think i am) and i'm NOT a burdon on society in anyway.

obese people have a higher predisposition towards developing not just life threatening conditions but extremely costly ones. do you have any idea how much it costs for a heart bypass these days or the long term costs of managing diabetes?

fat people whom are successful may bring something to society but they'll still be more likely to end up on another nhs bed with some expensive condtion to treat.

why dont you think outside the box for a bit?

andyp

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Jamie Oliver's attempts came to naught for two reasons. The Government (That's the same one that merrily taxes us on every pleasure & necessity) decided that "healthy" school meals cost too much, can't possibly spend more money there, no extra employees on the payroll, so no extra votes to be had. The little darlings for whom Jamie had slaved away to provide with this lovely, nutricious fare, decided that crap tasted better, pass the pizza & chips!

This is heading into Soapbox territory - but on the one hand you resent paying tax and on the other you're bemoaning the lack of funding for school meals. Where do you think the money comes from to pay for school meals - a magic fairy money box at the bottom of the garden of 10 Downing Street?

:roll:

Eat My Dust

why dont you think outside the box for a bit?

lol, do people actually say that anymore?!?!

If someone wants to do something to themselves that is detrimental to their health, who are you (or me) to judge them? and I know, blah blah blah, it takes up tax payers money. But guess what, they would only spend/waste/lose the money anyway. I would rather they spent the money on new supersize hospital beds, than spending billions on another bunch of nuclear submarines that will never be used!

If you were knocked off of your bike and paralized, becoming a "burdon" on society, would it be OK for fat people to say it was your own fault for being on a bike?

SteveR_100Milers

Eat My Dust wrote:

Pagem wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS.

because, like many people whom abuse their health, they become a burdon on society.

And you are perfect?

I'm sure there's plenty of fat people out there who are a benefit to society, or aren't there any fat successful people?

Get real! By the nature of the fact that we alll eventually die of something, then we are all potential burdens on society, so this is the biggest boll*x excuse to come up with. If its not obesity, then how long before we come up with another "problem killer" on the pareto chart??those who don't regularly exercise, but are otherwise healthy? People that wear glasses, now they are a burden, all those free eye tests and glasses, not to mention the accidents whilst driving without them!
If people want to consume imitation food, inhale poisons etc etc then let them get on with it, so long as it does not directly affect anyone else. What you lose in NHS costs you win in pension funds.

Pagem

Eat My Dust wrote:

why dont you think outside the box for a bit?

lol, do people actually say that anymore?!?!

If someone wants to do something to themselves that is detrimental to their health, who are you (or me) to judge them? and I know, blah blah blah, it takes up tax payers money. But guess what, they would only spend/waste/lose the money anyway. I would rather they spent the money on new supersize hospital beds, than spending billions on another bunch of nuclear submarines that will never be used!

If you were knocked off of your bike and paralized, becoming a "burdon" on society, would it be OK for fat people to say it was your own fault for being on a bike?

i thought i'd put it in a phrase you might understand.

i think i've every right to judge someone whom causes themselves to become so ill that have to foot the bill.

you might want to read this bit closely: i could get knocked off my bike and become a burdon on society. however, the risks are well calculated and i make every effort to avoid this possible outcome every time i get on a bike. do you really think the average fatty whom stuffs booze and chips down his/her gob every two seconds thinks in such a self preserving way? i don't think so.

the point is ridning my bike does not predispose me to ending up paralysed. it's true this could happen but the chances are low and even if i were knocked off my bike its not written in stone that i would become paralyzed. however, the chances of developng a pathological health conditin is almost guaranteed if you eat unhealthily for many years.

perhpas if the fatties reined in their eating and took up exercise there'd be less people driving and therefore less chance of me being knocked off me bike?

Pagem

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

Pagem wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

I don't understand why people get so upset by other people's fat! They're allowed to be fat FFS.

because, like many people whom abuse their health, they become a burdon on society.

And you are perfect?

I'm sure there's plenty of fat people out there who are a benefit to society, or aren't there any fat successful people?

Get real! By the nature of the fact that we alll eventually die of something, then we are all potential burdens on society, so this is the biggest boll*x excuse to come up with. quote]

some things are avoidable or at least the chances of development can be significantly reduced.

chrisjsmith

I think the issue of burden is about the NHS' funding pooling more than anything.

I think there should be a health liability scale with a yearly medical which determines your national insurance payments every year.

Eat My Dust

Pagem wrote:

i think i've every right to judge someone whom causes themselves to become so ill that have to foot the bill.

lol, I knew you were one of those "i pay my taxes" folks. You'll personally foot the bill for all of the fat people will you. My "what a fanny" radar is doing overtime. My brother weighs in at around 30 stone, owns his own business that employs over 30 people, hasn't been to the doctor in probably over 15 years. Yes, he'll probably drop dead of a heart attack, but what does that cost you? nothing. I'd imagine that over his lifetime he'll pay a lot more tax than a lot of people, and I'd imagine there's a lot of fat people in his situation.