health

Rising obesity projected to hamper developing economies: report

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Living in the same city Montreal I had a friend who was overweight and had the shape of a full grown 'pear'. He moved away to live in Calgary a city as far away from Montreal as London in the U.K. Two years later I visited him in Calgary and, was more than surprised to be greeted by a slim, young man. I asked him how he managed to half his weight in two years? His answer was, "I was very depressed by my elephant size, And decided to become a race horse. I bought an expensive new scale for my bathroom. And checked my weight every day. I gave up all food containing carbohydrates (rice, bread, biscuits, cakes, etc.etc.) My diet is otherwise normal. I chew every mouthful of food slowly, twenty times, before swallowing. I used to eat very fast. I cut the amount of food I eat by eating slow. I drink a lot of piping hot Japanese green tea with every meal. I do not eat between meals. And I check my weight on my new scale every morning."

"Änd after six months you became a race horse? "

"Yes," he replies, smiling happily.

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I gave up all food containing carbohydrates (rice, bread, biscuits, cakes, etc.etc.)

Yes, that's the way to go!

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"NEW YORK --- Rising levels of obesity"...rising in Japan?

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"Having policies that, for example, shape the pricing of food -- so the foods which are contributing most to obesity, such as drinks or foods high in fat and sugars need to be priced higher," he said.

What a foolish idea, make cake more expensive so the obese will buy less expensive apples....

Not going to happen, they will still buy the foods they have been brought up on. A better solution would be a penalty tax linked to their obesity. Make them pay for obesity linked healthcare, charge them extra to use the bus to encourage them to walk..etc

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Mr KiplingSep. 26  10:24 pm JST

"Having policies that, for example, shape the pricing of food -- so the foods which are contributing most to obesity, such as drinks or foods high in fat and sugars need to be priced higher," he said.

What a foolish idea, make cake more expensive so the obese will buy less expensive apples....

Not going to happen, they will still buy the foods they have been brought up on. A better solution would be a penalty tax linked to their obesity. Make them pay for obesity linked healthcare, charge them extra to use the bus to encourage them to walk..etc

Seriously? Who's going to decide who has to pay more to take the bus? Do you expect the driver to ask for a person's weight or measurements and then check them if he or she disagrees?

Making people pay more for healthcare related to obesity is not a bad idea in theory but, first, for many of those issues it's not so easy to prove that they are directly related to obesity and second, will the same penalties apply to people who are not obese but also have bad diets and poor exercise habits or people who smoke or drink excessively? Add to that, anorexia/bullimia have some of the highest death rates of all mental illnesses. How will they be penalized?

Penalty/Incentive programs aren't the worst thing to consider but can get awfully complicated. For many the issues start in childhood and become extremly difficult to overcome in adutlhood, when habits are firmly entrenched. You've also got non-stop advertising of foods and drinks that are about as far from healthy as can be. I've often heard that it's harder to lose and keep off large amounts of weight than to overcome alcohol and drug addictions because you don't need either drugs or alcohol to survive but you need food so, essentially, you're asking people to limit a necessity to life. Early childhood education, programs to encourage movement and school food programs that are actually healthy and not just aimed at saving schools money, would be a great start but parents have to be included because home is where many of the bad habits begin.

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quote: As such, responsibility for tackling the issues lies with those in power.

No, it doesn't. People should take responsibility for their own diet and that of their kids. The state is not your Mum and Dad and should not control all aspects of our lives down to what we eat. Politicians should be well aware after the last few years that people do not respond well to the state manipulating aspects of their day to day lives at the behest of scientists. We are not mice in their lab. Scientists have the right to advise and encourage society, not manipulate or control it.

If you increase the price of higher fat food, people will simply have less to spend on fruit and vegetables. Artificially increasing the price of any food product at a time of rampant inflation is not an option. And why should people who eat responsibly have to pay more for their treats? Most people don't even look at food labelling.

You will get more benefit from improving education, syndicating Dr. Nowzaradan's TV series and promoting exercise vtubers. And maybe offer courses to improve parenting skills.

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