View Full Version : What do you think is the solution to Australia's obesity epidemic?
After catching a snippet of ACA tonight and their feature on the obesity epidemic in Australia and the thought of offering incentives through private health care, ie. reduction in premiums, gym vouchers, etc.... it got me thinking....
What measures do you think need to be put in place to overcome what has become such a huge health crisis and ensure the health of generations to come???
Personally, I think a lot of it comes down to education..... both for parents and children.....
I think their needs to be more of an emphasis on learning about nutrition in schools, in a manner that makes it interesting and enjoyable for children, whether it involves cooking classes etc I don't know..... schools need to have a great exercise/fitness program in place.... this would ensure access to this for all children, not just those whose parents are aware of the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle....
I think educating some parents would be the harder task.... teaching them to take responsibility for the food and activities they provide for their kids, and how to encourage healthy behaviours.... how to have fun as a family and increase their life expectancy and quality of life at the same time.....
So what ideas do you have??? I thought this might be a great melting pot of ideas, that can not only get us thinking, but just may help someone out there with ideas to get started.... :D
Stop eating so much.
No, honestly I think it has a lot to do with the hours we are expected to work (I'm speaking on behalf of some others because I'm nowhere near obese).
Some people have to work so many hours in a week that there is no longer time for the usual morning walk, cooked dinner, proper breakfast and to make lunch to take to work.
Not to mention a lot of people are just stuffed after work they feel they just want to come home and slump onto the couch.
It has got to do with education also, I think. There really has been a backlash against "skinny" and "stick thin" people and people are now talking about "booties" and "curves" being more "womanly" etc. I have no problem with a bum etc, but it is going a bit far for some people.
My ex best friend put on a huge amount of weight to please her husband :barf:
Not many people are actually taught how to cook either.
Some people say that it is cheaper to buy junk food as opposed to healthy food, too (I don't think so but I make and buy my fruit and veg in bulk).
Stop eating so much
:laughing:
Not many people are actually taught how to cook either.
:iagree: totally.... if we returned to the days of people making more from scratch that would abate the cost issue of junk versus healthy too.....
I agree too on the work issue.... I am lucky now, but used to work in a position where I worked probably 50-60 hrs a week in the office, then at least another 10 from home.... trying to find time for anything other than sleeping was near impossible....
I did however once work at an indoor sports centre that held corporate round robin competitions during the lunch hour.... I thought it was a great idea, not only healthy activity but building rapport and teamwork skills between colleagues... :thumbsup:
SorenLorensen
03-01-2008, 19:01
education !
I think it definitely comes down to education...
For both parents and children.
Although it is taught in schools, kinder etc. It still comes down to what is given to them in the home.
Luckily for me DD is very opinionated when it comes to 'sometimes foods' and 'all the time foods'.
I don't believe in denying a child a 'treat' completely, it's about moderation.
DD will have a treat of take a away, about once a week, sometimes more, but she is always the first to tell me that she had 'junk' the day before so needs something 'healthy' for her next few meals.
She learnt all of this at kinder, but by me enforcing it at home she is aware of what foods to eat, and also that eating too much of the 'wrong' foods will result in 'not nice things', ie, tummy pains etc.
She is also a very active child, and loves playing outside, which is very much encouraged, I hate seeing kids in front of the tv or computer ALL the time, especially when it is a perfect day to go out and play.
It all comes down to awareness and education.
throw out TV. And give every kid in the country a push bike for their 5th birthday. :yes:
(Did you know, in Yemen, the government supplies every male with a car when they get their licence!)
MissSookyLaLa
03-01-2008, 21:34
lifestyle...
we have such sedentary lifestyles- drive everywhere, use remotes, have tonnes of labour saving devices... and yet we eat as much as our grandparents did (or more) before these labour saving devices existed...
unfortunately i dont think this side of things is going to get much better (unless of course the world runs out of electricity and fuel to run all of these labour saving devices!)
I think there more than one contributing factore to Obesity.
1. Wrong foods given to kids
2. Not enough Sports or physical playtime for kids.
i find it really sad that we live in a world that a child is no longer safe to walk or ride to school as their may be a peadophile in the neighbourhood. or they can not kick a ball in a courtyard / street for fear of some elderly residents getting upset with the noise they make or for that matter even in their own backyard, yes it is true neighbours do complain when kids are playing in the backyard.
i feel that we have been stripped of freedom for our kids to play like we did, the society we live in has stripped that away from them because we have failed to keep our streets safe (paedophiles, drug pushers) due to light sentencing, and also by people being so stupid to blame every single thing on the goverment if they fall or trip in a public area that they start banning all things good for our kids. Very soon they will ban kids from riding on the footpath cause their will be one accident and there will be an over reaction.
Freedom for our kids to be kids is slowly dissappearing.
forbetoel
04-01-2008, 08:12
Education and Exersize.
It also doesn't help at the moment when the price of fresh healthy food is skyrocketing. I really feel for those on a low income trying to feed a couple of kids or more.
Mrs Potts
04-01-2008, 08:17
Personally I think it's time that people started taking responsibility for their own health and well-being, and stop expecting the Government to fix a problem that has been created by one's own self.
It's a no-brainer really as far as I'm concerned. Eat less, eat more healthy foods, exercise more. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!
Of course, yes, Education does play a big part. And as has been mentioned, it is more the parents who need educating, rather than the kids, as they are the ones that supply the food in the first place.
A little tale: last year in my grade, I had two brothers who at the tender age of 8 and 10, are quite obese. I did the usual healthy foods talks at lunch time and whatever.... well, one day I had a look at what these boys had in their lunch order- EACH had something along the lines of 1 pie, 1 sausage roll, 10 chicken munchies, and 2 hot jam doughnuts.... I said to them "you will end up sick and in hospital!" and they laughed. I said "No, not just sick, as in I think I am going to be sick :barf: , but sick as in people will say that Arnold is a very sick little boy, he has been in hospital for months" and they laughed again, and one of them said "Mum said we have to eat until we are full from our tips to our toes!" :eek: I will never forget that. Oh I should add, Mum, Dad, Gran and Pa are allllll HUGE.
So mandatory classes for parents? Or parents deemed to be putting their kids at risk? I mean really, it is almost a case for DOCS, they are killing their kids with food! What do you do about parents who have no idea of "nutrition?"
forbetoel
04-01-2008, 08:21
It is also education, some people just have no idea how fatty some food is for them.
I think its lifestyle too. Obesity wasn't an issue when I was a kid - very few children were overweight. Why? Simple - TV watching was limited, we were outside playing, junk food was a rare treat, like birthdays, not a weekly/daily event, computers weren't around so we weren't sitting on our backsides doing that either.
I think we need to stop wasting time trying to find other things to blame obesity on. Oh its genetics, oh its formula feeding etc. Obesity is caused by too many calories vs not enough physical activity. Pure and simple. Sure, individual needs vary according to genetics, however the basic principle applies to all human beings.
I agree with whoever said buy a kid a bike instead of a computer for their 5th birthday!
I also think it is the parents responsibility to manage the weight of their children, not the schools, or the government.
I think its lifestyle too. Obesity wasn't an issue when I was a kid - very few children were overweight. Why? Simple - TV watching was limited, we were outside playing, junk food was a rare treat, like birthdays, not a weekly/daily event, computers weren't around so we weren't sitting on our backsides doing that either.
I think we need to stop wasting time trying to find other things to blame obesity on. Oh its genetics, oh its formula feeding etc. Obesity is caused by too many calories vs not enough physical activity. Pure and simple. Sure, individual needs vary according to genetics, however the basic principle applies to all human beings.
I agree with whoever said buy a kid a bike instead of a computer for their 5th birthday!
I also think it is the parents responsibility to manage the weight of their children, not the schools, or the government.
:iagree: whole heartedly :yes:
aphrodeity
04-01-2008, 08:45
Ultimately I think it comes back to economics... despite the drought, Western countries have a proliferation of produce that needs to go somewhere before it spoils, so we produce more highly processed, calorie rich foods that just sits on our supermarket shelves waiting for us to get tempted by it (thanks, marketing!). I posted a link in the 'healthy foods getting more expensive' thread, and while I don't mean to brow-beat, I'll post it again here because it's relevant: http://www.kitchengardeners.org/cheapfood.html It's called the (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity and while it's from an American perspective, it gives an interesting rationale as to how we got ourselves in this situation in the first place! So I do think government policy has a huge part to play in finding a solution to obesity, but it would entail such a radical change to farming and industry that I doubt they would ever do what was needed to fix it.
That being said, we are all responsible for what goes into our mouths. I think education is key - you can't go into everybody's homes and dictate what they feed their children (but Nomsie :eek: your story makes me want to!), but if you educate the next generation well enough then hopefully the cycle can be broken.
This is a subject that is very close to my heart. I have been overweight or obese for most of my life. I was the fat kid in class (although looking back now I really wasn't that fat at all). Personally I think one of the reasons people don't eat enough fresh fruit and veggies is because grocery shopping has become a lot more centralised. We don't have many local shop anymore that sells a good quality fresh fruit, veggies, bread, fish etc that can compete with the likes of Coles and Woolies. Our lives are very busy so we only do the shopping once a week or fortnight (I hate grocery shopping, if I could i would never go) which isn't conducive to having fresh food in the house always.
Although I have often had a weight problem i grew up in a house where we had a dinner at th table every night which included 3 veggies. My parents were pretty good cooks and we had very little convenience food and virtually no junk food in the house. (They were bought up during rationing years.) We were encouraged to ride our bikes to and from school and were given pocket money once a week as "treat day" which allowed us to buy one choc bar. We went to maccas once as a child although we did get taken out to restaurants quite regularly. We never had softdrink or cordial in the house and juice was only ever 100% juice. We very rarely even had biscuits!
My problem was most likely a lack of confidence in sport and physical activity. It's a bit of a viscious circle - you get picked on because you're cr@p at sport so you avoid it if possible. This encourages weight gain, which in my case encourages comfort eating and you're off onto bad bad habbits.
I have successfully given up smoking which it has been argued is harder to give up than some of the hardest drugs. Giving up smoking is a walk in the park compared to changing eating habbits. Why? You don't have to smoke to live, you have to eat to live though. You have to have a little bit of your 'drug' every day. It's like telling an alcoholic to recover they have to keep booze at home but just have a little bit every day.
People do need to be more accountable for their health and wellbeing - I very much agree. Our whole infrastructure and lives are based around transport by cars. I lived for a few years in an inner city suberb and walked to and from work every day. It was so much more pleasant than sitting in traffic (except for the cars that tried to run me over at lights :mad: ) every morning and afternoon. I got so much fitter and healthier.
I could ramble about this all day - I'm sure I'll make another post in this thread later...
Oh - quick annecdote before I submit. I remember back in year 7 for maths we did a graph of the classes weight. I weighed 57kg. All the figures were rounded up (so I was classified as 60kg) and it turned out I was the heaviest in the class and all the class could see this. It was one of the worst moments of my life. :( I didn't mind when we graphed height - I have always been quite tall but I guess the not so tall people hated this too.
Seriously, its up to parents, not the govt to provide good wholesome food and exercise to children.
I personally think people eat too much, and eat when they are not hungry. Say a bikky with every cup of tea, the calories add up.
Perhaps the govt should highly tax junk food like tobacco and alcohol, price it out of the market.
It makes me cross to see someone with a trolly full of junk and soft drink, and you see the token Lean Cusine box sitting on top...
SixtiesChild
04-01-2008, 11:07
Parents need to lead by example of healthy habits. When this is modelled, kids copy it.:yes:
Now is a time when we have to teach our children about what food can do for our bodies.
The education must start at home and by example from those they look up to.
More basic fresh real foods and less packaged counterfeit rubbish.
Bring back the old veggie patch in the backyard and learn to grow fruit & veg that tastes like it should and has the correct nutrient content.:D
Back again :rolleyes:
I just want to say that a lot of the things mentioned in other posts I had as a child yet I still had/have weight issues as a child and as an adult. I don't think there is one or two things that can be done to solve this problem. I think it's so complex and so many facets of our lives contribute it's very difficult to say "we should do "x" to solve the obesity epidemic".
springbride
04-01-2008, 12:02
Along with educating parents/children, we also need to look at not only what foods we eat and feed our children but the portions as well. We consume way more than our bodies need, when I started my new diet and weighed my food etc I couldn't believe how much more I was eating before and I didn't need to be, as I'm not hungry with the smaller portions I just dont get that whole 'OMG i'm going to be sick or explode feeling':laughing::no:
Susan Mac
04-01-2008, 13:37
Hmmm.... It seems obvious that we need to eat less and excerise more, but when it's too easy to drive everywhere, eat convenience foods, and there are thousands of choices of chips, lollies and chocolates in the supermarket - what incentives do we have to eat less and exercise more? We as in the general population who doesn't care?
In my area there is NO fruit and veg shop - unless I make it to the markets on Sunday morning, I have little option but to buy my fruit and veg at the supermarket (and be tempted by the thousands of highly processed food choices), or drive half way across town to the only fruit and veg shop.
Susan Mac
04-01-2008, 16:09
was just thinking some more about it. I have been thinking lately that it would be great for our health and the environment if we were encouraged to grow our own vegies. I wonder if it would help if councils gave out a number of packets of seeds a year, like they do trees in some councils? And free seminars and workshops on growing vegies to local conditions? How about new developments being required to have designated 'fruit tree blocks'?
And I would love to see more money go into public transport than upgrading roads. When you have to walk two blocks to the train rather than two metres to your car, that has to be better for our health.
Mrs Potts
04-01-2008, 16:20
what incentives do we have to eat less and exercise more?
IMO, one's own health and well being should be incentive enough.
Not having access to true fresh food isn't necessarily relevant as frozen veg contain just as many nutrients as fresh (and are often much better quality). True, this doesn't work as well where fruit is concerned, but tinned fruit in natural juice (no added sugar) is still much better than a bowl of ice cream, for example.
I do agree with whoever said that portion size is a huge issue with regard to obesity (this is never more obvious than in the US). Kids are constantly told they must clean their plates, but parents need to be far more conservative with the portion sizes if they continue this age-old habit.
Susan Mac
04-01-2008, 16:31
IMO, one's own health and well being should be incentive enough.
i agree totally, but my *guess* would be that for a lot of people for whom obesity IS a problem, apathy is a big factor. Along with a lack of education into the health risks of being overweight.
WorkingClassMum
04-01-2008, 17:45
This is one of those multi-faceted problems.
When we where kids:
Kids who where overweight where always told -"It's just Puppy Fat" well this old b!tch is still overweight.
We were taught to finish all of our dinner (hungry or not) - most of our parents grew up post WW2 and the depression, and our parents subconsciously taught us to eat eat eat.
Food was a lot less processed, and there was less processed food available. Nearly everyone had a vegie patch, and proudly swapped our extra beans for someones plums.
There was no Macca's. Red maybe every fortnight or Chinese once a month (and we took our own saucepans/bowls to fill up and bring home:laughing:!)
Portions were smaller. Ice Cream was a real treat. Home made icypoles with lemon juice and sugar.
Walking was safe and easier. You could walk everywhere. Most families only had one car anyhow - so there wasn't much choice.
Bikes were treasured. You used your older brother's/cousins until you finally got your own. Bikes are a dime a dozen now.
There was less available on tv- usually 9-10 (Humphrey) and 3.30 - 5 (Looney Tunes, Batman & Robin), and 9-12 Saturdays. There was no 24 Nikleodeon/whatever.
There were no computer games - we didn't even have a computer! We only had 1 TV, and no remote. We where agog when Dad bought a Video Player? - We just couldn't afford to rent many videos:laughing:
I am sometimes glad that my kids have a restricted diet - it means that the Grandparents cannot fill them up with junk.
Houses were smaller - so you had to go outside - there wasn't room inside to play - much less a "games/rumpus/tv" room.
Backyards were bigger and empty - just the rotary clotheline, the chookshed/vegie patch, sometimes a garage, maybe a lemon tree and a kennel. There was room in backyards to play cricket or football etc.
School yards were bigger and empty - sometimes schools had a soccer pitch and a football/cricket oval - now that land is full of two storey houses.
I pick up any food now, even Milk Arrowroot biscuits - they are full of chemical ****e, they taste different and make me hungrier for more.
Very little food is simple any more. I'm always encouraged to "upsize". When Macca's first became popular, I still had to get out of my car and walk to the counter. Now I don't even have to get out of my car - and they seem to be on every corner!!!
Also - once you are overweight - it's not apathy that stops you losing it. Losing weight is not just eating less, sometimes it is also eating more and eating better. If you give up the ciggies or the booze - you can go cold turkey. When you are trying to lose weight, you must still eat. If an alcoholic had to just have one small glass three times a day - how long would they stay sober? You try giving up ciggies, but still having one puff, morning noon and night.
BTW - to lose 10kgs is my aim this year. 9.5 to go!
Personally I think it's time that people started taking responsibility for their own health and well-being, and stop expecting the Government to fix a problem that has been created by one's own self.
It's a no-brainer really as far as I'm concerned. Eat less, eat more healthy foods, exercise more. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!
:iagree:. Why should the government help? At the end of the day we control what goes in our mouths so we should accept the consequences.
Quite simply, it is time to put the fork down and exercise. There are no quick solutions.
MountainGirl
05-01-2008, 11:19
Personally I think it's time that people started taking responsibility for their own health and well-being, and stop expecting the Government to fix a problem that has been created by one's own self.
It's a no-brainer really as far as I'm concerned. Eat less, eat more healthy foods, exercise more. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!
:iagree: but also don't think it is coincidental that the people who think like this on the whole are not the ones struggling with weight.
Susan Mac
05-01-2008, 11:22
Not having access to true fresh food isn't necessarily relevant as frozen veg contain just as many nutrients as fresh (and are often much better quality). True, this doesn't work as well where fruit is concerned, but tinned fruit in natural juice (no added sugar) is still much better than a bowl of ice cream, for example.
thought about this again when i had to go to the supermarket to get my vegies...
If I go to buy frozen vegies I have to walk past the frozen chips and ice cream and other frozen desserts. If I can go to a shop that just sells fruit and vegies then I don't even need to see the things that I don't need to be eating and have no temptation to buy them.
Ulitmately it is personal responsbility to eat less and exercise more, but I don't think it is as easy as it sounds when we are bombarded every day with a plethora of food choices.
Speaking as an overweight (but not obese) adult who was thin as a child. I know myself that I still 'think thin'. I call it reverse anorexia ( you know where you look in the mirror and see a really thin person!) Because of this mental thin self image I never really care what my actual size is!
I know my weight is a result of a too sedentary lifestyle. My diet is good with just a few too many added snacks and beers! I don't eat a lot of takeaway, and try to keep my meals healthy with limited added fat.
15 yrs behind an office desk had left me unfit and flabby-arsed. I knew I was gaining weight but was too mentally exhausted to even contemplate going to the gym or for a walk after work! I knew I should, but it was easier to relax on the lounge, also I was working until 7pm. Who wants to go to the gym only to fall into bed immediately afterward!
Even now my lifestyle has changed dramatically (I married a farmer) but I still don't lose weight. I'm fitter than I was before, but my body wants to hang onto all that extra flesh for some reason.
Ironically, being pregnant I have lost some weight. I'm only eating half serves, as I just don't want to eat much.
LilShenanigans
05-01-2008, 12:41
Incentive 1: Government subsidy on fresh fruit and vegetables.
Frozen fruit/vegies are fine, but when half the packet of selected items aren't eaten/liked, it's a waste of money.
Incentive 2: Reduced fees on weight loss programs/exercise equipment for people who are in excess of 30kg+ to lose.
Incentive 3: More parks with access for ALL the public, including dogs. Free "Work out in the park" days/weekends for general public to attend.
Special days on a weekly basis aimed at children and parents of children to "Get active".
Incentive 4: Taking classrooms outdoors. Not only to educate the next generation better, but also to keep minds active (along with bodies). It's not hard to adjust school curriculum into a more hands on approach and having the kids involved.
Incentive 5: Maybe a last approach is having a nationwide Biggest loser. None of that TV cr@p, but an entire nation vying for the biggest weight lose to either win a jackpot, maybe score a holiday or even become the nations spokesmodel on eating well and living a healthy life - a la miss pageant style where a new one is welcomed in each year.
Just a couple of ideas I've plucked.. sure I could think of more if I sat down and worked it out.
WorkingClassMum
05-01-2008, 13:22
Why the Government should help;
Because all our tax dollars and health funds will be quickly swallowed up by the big ugly monster that obesity is.
$billions goes towards smokers - self inflicted?
$billions goes towards druggies - self inflicted?
$billions goes to alchol.'s - self inflicted?
and so on....
Prevention is better than cure.
Obesity is just as much as a disease or illness that many other things are. Obesity for some IS genetic, is a Mental Health Issue and sometimes is self inflicted.
If you break an ankle walking - arguably self inflicted and if you are not obese does that give you more rights than someone who is?
One day you all may need the Health System - or your kids might. Wouldn't it be great that such an avoidable (with a little assistance) problem wasn't choking the Emergency Services so that other unavoidable problems can be dealth with.
I agree with education and excercise. It has to start somewhere.
Ana Gram
05-01-2008, 16:40
I discovered something strange today. According to the BMI, I am overweight. But I am fitting into size 10 clothing.
missie_mack
05-01-2008, 16:43
Size 8 today is far bigger than size 8 30 years ago or even 60 years ago. People are taller, broader shouldered and in general bigger no matter their size. I just have to go to the shops to see that kids today are far bigger than they were when I was a child. This doesnt excuse the obesity epedemic in anyway but does need to be taken into consideration.
The media is partly to blame. We are constantly being told not to eat simple basic foods. No BBQ foods, no salt no this no that.... it can cause cancer or dimensia or heart disease :ecomcity: Our lifestyles are (like others have said) more hectic, more solitary and less active.
For me I have never been the ideal thin but have always grown up healthily, played plenty of sports, never been one to regularly snack on crappy foods. We never had anything beyond the basics in the cupboard our snacks was cereal in a cup (and back then they tutted it saying it caused weight issues now they recommend it lol) In comparison my DH always had chocolate and chips everyday. Was never forced to eat fruit and vegies and everything for dinner was basically courtesy of Mr Maggi and a lot of their meat even came in cans. They ate LOTS of takeaway and never had salad on the side. We both played active sports yet life has granted him a much thinner physique than I could ever get despite gym sessions and strict diets. Infact my own brother who grew up in the same house and lived the similar lifestyle was always a whippet of a child.
:iagree: but also don't think it is coincidental that the people who think like this on the whole are not the ones struggling with weight.
Usually because they physically and genetically less likely to be in this situation.
Sadly you cannot tar everyone with the same brush. There is no simple answer to fix everyones issues. Its complex hence why so many people make so much money in the weight loss industry with different plans working for different people.
Making healthy food quick and easily acceptable would help to make people healthier and really that is far more important than deciding an ideal weight range.
MissSookyLaLa
06-01-2008, 00:13
i think its easy to blame the availabilty of fast food, fatty food etc these days as the reason for the epidemic...but I think a lot of us have rose coloured glasses on when it comes to the recent past...
I'm sure most of our grandmothers used a lot more lard and fat in their cooking then most of us do today, and fruit and vegies have never been cheap (compared to staples) unless you have your own garden.
So while food is partly to blame, im sure that the bigger issue is lifestyle and exercise.
after all, there are many people out there who live on maccas, sausage rolls etc etc but who are a lot skinnier than me because they exercise every day.
its sad that people need education on how to not get fat- what has happened in the last 30 years that has made everyone so stupid- when it comes down to it, its a very simple equation- burn off more calories than you eat, or keep the two balanced and you wont put on weight!
its sad that people need education on how to not get fat- what has happened in the last 30 years that has made everyone so stupid-
I'm not sure that everyone has become "stupid", there is certainly a plethora of information out there that is made widely and very obviously available....
I think it comes down moreso to the fact that people are so willing to shirk responsibility these days.... its always someone elses fault or someone elses problem.... you just have to look at the rise in liability cases over the last 30 yrs to see evidence of that....
It's about time people started taking responsibility for their own actions, their own lives..... Imagine that! :laughing:
mamma0f3
06-01-2008, 11:51
parents are the solution im a little pudgy myself i weigh 72 kilos and im only 5 foot 2 i need to weight 55 to 60 kilos but im doing something about it! i think parents need to take responsabilty for what goes into their child and themselves (not saying all parents dont) but alot of children are obese and growing up on junk food diets and maccas for dinner
teach children to make a healthy snack and when they are old enough tech how to make healthy food and not all of it is boring teach them how to substitute the bad for the good like frozen yoghurt instead of ice cream or healthy home made oven baked potato chips instead of a bag of crisps muslie bars and there are great recipies for cakes and things that taste like they are bad for you but they arent! thats what my kids get cut out some fat add some salad there are great things that can be done with chicken!
(if this post offended someone im sorry i didnt mean it to)
WorkingClassMum
06-01-2008, 11:59
I don't think rose colored glasses about the past is quiet the problem - though we certainley do have rose colored glasses - we all choose to good memories if we can
I think the message about the link b/w weight and health hasn't quite yet been made in some peoples minds
I also think that some of us look at ourselves or our children and cannot see the weight......
Maybe we need to somehow instigate a bit more "National Pride" - and this would need to be done through an advert campaign and an education campaign.
Like most problems in this world, the people who do not suffer the problem think the answer is easy - and often it's not, and omg - the reformed "whatever" "If I can do it so can you" etc
*sigh* I'll put down my shortbread and put on my sneakers......
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