Obesity "not individuals' fault"

[Bozza]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7047244.stm

Individuals can no longer be held responsible for obesity so government must act to stop Britain "sleepwalking" into a crisis, a report has concluded.

The largest ever UK study into obesity, backed by government and compiled by 250 experts, said excess weight was now the norm in our "obesogenic" society.

Obesity, the authors concluded, was an inevitable consequence of a society in which energy-dense, cheap foods, labour-saving devices, motorised transport and sedentary work were rife.

In this environment it was surprising that anyone was able to remain thin, Dr Susan Jebb of the Medical Research Council said, and so the notion of obesity simply being a product of personal over-indulgence had to be abandoned for good.

I'm sorry but I really do think this is utter bollocks. If you eat too much, particularly of the 'bad things' and do not do enough exercise you really have yourself to blame.

 

[BigGully]

Thank f*** it aint my fault....

I honestly thought it was my boozing, eating and general lack of excersise

 

[Les Biehn]

Sweet, off to Maccy D's it is then. Can I get some sort of government grant towards stuffing myself?

 

[Bozza]

Thank f*** it aint my fault....

There's going to be people everywhere now genuinely exclaiming relief at this story. After that they'll sit back on the sofa, put the TV on and eat another pack of chocolate biscuits.

 

[Nibble]

I think fat people are fat for a reason they eat too much. However, if you are poorly educated and not well informed you can be very susceptable to the Billions of ponds spent on advertising cheap, fatty, salty, sugary products. Advertising companies target this sector of society vigorously (one reason advertising and marketing executives are satans black jism)

I also think the food industry has a lot to answer for in its targeting of children at a very young age.

The problem is Advertisers and food manafacturers target vulnerable people in society and I think that in the future their actions will be viewed as one of the greatest dis-services to society in history.

 

[beorhthelm]

oh ffs, thats all we need, another thing people can absolve themselves of responsibility for.

its called cakeinhand disease and the cure is to not pick up the cake. its really, really f***ing simple, just dont pick up the cake.

 

[Les Biehn]

oh ffs, thats all we need, another thing people can absolve themselves of responsibility for.

its called cakeinhand disease and the cure is to not pick up the cake. its really, really f***ing simple, just dont pick up the cake.

So can I lean forward and just eat it like a dog?

 

[shingle]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7047244.stm





I'm sorry but I really do think this is utter bollocks. If you eat too much, particularly of the 'bad things' and do not do enough exercise you really have yourself to blame.

Things are never that simple Bozza

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I think fat people are fat for a reason they eat too much. However, if you are poorly educated and not well informed you can be very susceptable to the Billions of ponds spent on advertising cheap, fatty, salty, sugary products. Advertising companies target this sector of society vigorously (one reason advertising and marketing executives are satans black jism)

I also think the food industry has a lot to answer for in its targeting of children at a very young age.

The problem is Advertisers and food manafacturers target vulnerable people in society and I think that in the future their actions will be viewed as one of the greatest dis-services to society in history.

While I pretty much agree with all of that, you can't really blame companies for trying to operate profitably unless they're are doing so illegally. It's the laws that should be tightened ( but then people complain about a "nanny state")

 

[beorhthelm]

I also think the food industry has a lot to answer for in its targeting of children at a very young age.

The problem is Advertisers and food manafacturers target vulnerable people in society and I think that in the future their actions will be viewed as one of the greatest dis-services to society in history.

Thats a bullshit excuse too really. this implies they are selectivly influenced by adverts for bad food, while ignoring adds for good food and exercise etc. do couch potatoes never watch you are what you eat or celebrity fat camp? do they not watch anything that ever say they should exercise? no they watch it all and decide they want another cake. we dont want legislation for f*** sake we just need people to take responsibility for their own lives.

and yes, Les, you may eat it like a dog if that gives you pleasure. just dont cry about it when you are a fat slob.

 

[Bozza]

Things are never that simple Bozza

Sometimes they are, and I think this is a prime example.

I actually don't like the term 'bad food' really because the implication is that things so labelled should not be consumed. The fact is, of course, that anything can be eaten but one should just exercise moderation. And exercise too.

The thing is we all know what things we should not be stuffing our faces with. If we choose to ignore it then the chances are we'll pile on the pounds.

After 2 weeks of all-inclusive gluttony in Cuba, I was not shocked to find I'd put on some weight. But I've not carried on those levels of consumption since I know I'd end up in Fatsville.

 

[Les Biehn]

You should, it won't be your fault.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Lazy.

Greedy.

Fat.

Bastards.

That is all.

 

[Simon Morgan]

People should take responsibility. A bit of self-discipline is not that hard and this includes parents, who's responsibility it is not to feed their kids rubbish. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Actually that is not all, as it gives the perfect opportunity to trot out the Jimmy Carr quote, yet again.

Jimmy Carr is up on stage, doing his thing, and he starts laying into fatties, when a 'larger gentleman' starts heckling him; "Shut up. You can't say that. What about people with hormone imbalance?"

JC "Have you got an imbalance mate?"

Fatty "Yes".

JC "What are you taking for it? Pies?"

 

[Mendoza]

what i hate is that the REALLY fat people get disability allowances to buy more food - HELLO!!!!!!!!!!

also the REALLY REALLY fat people get those mini mobile things - SURELY they need to walk and get exercise, NOT get carted around on some crappy motorised trolley knocking people over on the pavement

 

[Nibble]

Thats a bullshit excuse too really. this implies they are selectivly influenced by adverts for bad food, while ignoring adds for good food and exercise etc. do couch potatoes never watch you are what you eat or celebrity fat camp? do they not watch anything that ever say they should exercise? no they watch it all and decide they want another cake. we dont want legislation for f*** sake we just need people to take responsibility for their own lives.

and yes, Les, you may eat it like a dog if that gives you pleasure. just dont cry about it when you are a fat slob.

Well that is a way to look at it but I think you are forgetting that the people that eat this crap and ignore excercise are vulnerable just because of the fact that these are the choices they make. These are who the manafactureres and advertisers target and if people continue to just blame it on laziness then I am afraid nothing will improve.

And I do believe that advertisers, although they want to turn a profit, do have a moral obligation to consumers. Like cigarette advertisers and manafacturers.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Nibble.

Would a tobacco-style health warning on the packet [TOO MANY CAKES MAKE YOU FAT] help?

 

[Curious Orange]

As a former tubby person, I can say without fear of contradiction that that report is possibly one of the most unhelpful things I have ever heard. An individual's health is unequivocally their own responsibility - and it is amazing how much better I felt once I realised that I needed to stop smoking, cut back on the pizza and fry-ups and get off my lazy arse and get some exercise and eat some vegetables. If someone had told me that the fact that I was overweight wasn't my fault would I have bothered?

 

[Nibble]

Nibble.

Would a tobacco-style health warning on the packet [TOO MANY CAKES MAKE YOU FAT] help?

Over an extended period of time, yes I believe it would. The message this gives to manafacturers of crap food is that an awareness is growing of the health problems associated with their foodstuffs.

You see it is not also the obvious things like cakes and chocolates that carry health risks. Hidden salt in things like pasta and sugar in products like baked beans or the so called "Healthy Diet choices".

One supermarket has a brand of gateaux that it sells as half fat. What they have actually done is cut the cake into twice as many slices in the box thus making each reccomended portion "half fat". Until companies are banned from misleading the public in this way, obesity will increase.