Pseudonym Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 You've probably heard of Robyn Toomath. She's been President of the NZ Society for the Study of Diabetes and a founder of FOE (Fight the Obesity Epidemic). She's often the media's go-to spokesperson on obesity issues, and has campaigned for laws regulating junk food to create "an environment that favours slimness over obesity". Now, she's calling it quits... http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/28/i-quit-after-14-years-pushing-slimness-over-obesity-nothings-changed There's a number of things to agree/disagree with in that article. Here's a few that stuck out for me... Quote The Labour government at the time identified childhood obesity as a major issue and determined to fix it [through regulation]... Labour lost the election to a conservative party that campaigned against the “nanny state”. ... Choices are made in context. If the context is a community with no fruit and vegetable shops, but a string of fast-food outlets along the high street, then people choose between one form of unhealthy food and another. ... The New Zealand child obesity program launched last month – which labels children as overweight at an early age and incentivises weight loss – will do more harm than good. ... I want people to understand it’s a myth that we can choose our body size. The difference between the fat and thin people is their genes. The reason more people in the room are fat now compared with 30 years ago is our obesity-promoting environment. Have a read of the full article (it's not that long) and let's discuss. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GyzzBrah Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Well if the fight against obesity has failed for the past 14 years, do you think our liberal government will: a) Finally realise that its not their fking job to decide peoples lifestyle choices and what they can / cant eat? or b) Say "its not enough" and further increase their regulations and shit. We are a country of individuals who can think for themselves, and obesity is a lifestyle choice that is nobodys business, least of all the government. Also, food is cheap, especially fruits and vegetables. Would be cheaper still if they removed council restrictions, safety regulations, waitangi tribunal, and carbon taxes etc. Liberal Crazies. Mike250 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike250 Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 It is a feature, not a bug, of the political system that it doesn't budge much on single - issue campaigners' whims. She should go get a hobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryB Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Perhaps the political correctness of accepting laziness and fatness contributes. The idea you can't berate someone for being fat and/or lazy and the forced acceptance of it adds to the problem. Fat people don't look to change themselves they look for society to change its attitude about it... and lucky for them there's enough useless cocks out there that it's happened. Remember when certain jobs had physical criteria.. cops had to be a certain height and weight and physical ability.. hell I did a physical for an emergency response team for the prisons a few weeks ago and one of the tests was a 500 meter run with a face mask and shield. Plus some push up tests and beep tests and shit. Hardly anyone put any effort in and one of the guys even said... "they can't refuse us based on this!" .. 90% percent of the guys were dragging their asses just walking the 500 meters let alone trying to do push ups lol Its a pc and societal created nightmare. There's always been junk food but people used to keep themselves in check to a degree. Now... no chance GyzzBrah, Skeletor, Bigken1985 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike250 Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 A nice related article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/opinion/sunday/could-your-healthy-diet-make-me-fat.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0 Pseudonym 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz69 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 On 30/11/2015, 14:21:21, HarryB said: Perhaps the political correctness of accepting laziness and fatness contributes. The idea you can't berate someone for being fat and/or lazy and the forced acceptance of it adds to the problem. Fat people don't look to change themselves they look for society to change its attitude about it... and lucky for them there's enough useless cocks out there that it's happened. Remember when certain jobs had physical criteria.. cops had to be a certain height and weight and physical ability.. Its a pc and societal created nightmare. There's always been junk food but people used to keep themselves in check to a degree. Now... no chance THIS ^^^ I cannot believe how much society has changed in my lifetime.. We were brought up to respect and value hard work and discipline, only to find everything has changed.. If you have a skill, physical attribute, or knowledge that's slightly better than anyone else you are seen as a freak, that has to be legislated against, so that everyone is at the same level of pathetic nothingness... If you don't stand out, you don't show up the under-performing majority for what they really are.... The Police still have their PCT (physical competency test) once every 2 years, which they have to pass or they are removed from frontline duties... The fatties are given a desk job that contributes the them getting even fatter.. The volunteer emergency services now have lifting criteria whereas some office jobsworth has decided 25kg+ is now a 2 man lift... It doesn't matter if you have spent the last 37 years lifting weights, if you are seen to breach lifting weight guidelines you are reported by the Health and Safety officer... It kinda gets me cross... Bigken1985 and HarryB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I completely agree with you guys - ultimately it's a matter of personal responsibility. But at the same time, do you not think there's a problem if (as Robyn Toomath says) a community has more access to junk food than to fruit and veges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigken1985 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I certainly see both sides of it myself, on one hand you have cheap shit food, ie fish and chips, $5 pizzas, etc etc. Which for the average low income person, would be a cheaper way to go, and then you go into a supermarket or fruit and veg shop, everything is expensive as f*ck. I went in a bought a whole pumpkin from pak n save the other day, was like $6.80- its not event that far out of season. Proper meat is expensive, I have 3 kids so I do know what it is like. I think its easy for people to sit back and say whatever but to eat properly is expensive. That's why ive got a vege garden and mini orchard on the go in my backyard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike250 Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 In a JAMA opinion piece last year, Ludwig included a graphic that deftly laid out the two currently competing models of obesity. It struck me right away that it's a mistake to see them as competing (and certainly not as mutually exclusive) but rather as two models that are applicable and descriptive of obesity (or weight gain) in different sets of people to greater and lesser degrees. A lot of cognitive dissonance evaporates when you accept that different people become overweight and obese for different metabolic reasons. Pseudonym 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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