The Weight of the Nation

[abide]

http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com

I watched this video a couple weeks ago. This showed me the serious problem of obesity. I believe this is a worldwide medical problem.

This video is an eye opener.

We have a serious problem here with obesity in Barbados. Sometimes when I see what some of my co-workers eat, I have to say to myself that these people are digging their graves with their teeth.

I hope we all can begin to see this serious medical issue and begin to do something about it.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Well, Abide, like I keep saying on these health forums, it goes a little beyond our diets. it's a philosophical thing. Besides the junk, processed foods we eat, and the quick pre-packaged meals because everyone is "on the run", I swear that the farmers, the food industry, the medical, the pharmaceutical, and the government as well seem to be in league together to harvest a bunch of bad crops for us so-to-speak and then put then into our foods. Then, food ingredients that our ancestors had in abundance is deemed unhealthy.

So, it goes beyond just eating poorly. The core dietary advice that they give to people is fundamentally lethal. And to top it off, if the government could, they would "mandate" we eat a these foods and bar all other foods our ancestors had.

Over in Europe I believe they charge (tax) extra for natural foods because they are high in "artery-clogging saturated fats". One scientist if he had his way would ban butter. Look at NYC. They took the salt out of foods. So what do they give instead? Processed food substitutes. Whenever we limit one's diet and replace it with a man-made substitute, severe deficiencies can result which is why there is rampant heart disease, cancer, allergies, depressions, and you-name-it. Then, when we all follow the advice, which people have been doing and are sicker and fatter than ever, it's still somehow "our fault".

The truth is, Mr. Butterton in that margarine commercial is alive and well today (in his 90's) even though he did very little exercise and buttered and salted his corn on the cob and ate juicy steaks. People in the 50's ate that way and they weren't as fat and unhealthy as today, but then they did not have the Cheetos and such, either.

On the other hand, here comes all the advice and they rip the Cheetos out of one's hand and replaces them with other "healthy" processed foods that people want to lose weight on. The margarine-eating, fat-free yogurt eating joggerholic lady who smirks so self-assuringly on those commercials as if she's one healthy cut above the rest we just prayed for when she got cancer. She ended up dying at age 45 anyway.

(Characters of course are for illustrative purposes --- this is oftentimes how it happens)

 

[Fembot]

http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com

I watched this video a couple weeks ago. This showed me the serious problem of obesity. I believe this is a worldwide medical problem.

This video is an eye opener.

We have a serious problem here with obesity in Barbados. Sometimes when I see what some of my co-workers eat, I have to say to myself that these people are digging their graves with their teeth.

I hope we all can begin to see this serious medical issue and begin to do something about it.

What do your co workers eat?

 

[WIP]

I agree that we are an over-weight nation. However, I can't help but wonder about the statistics as I do sometimes question the criteria we use to determine when someone is over-weight or obese. If I recall my history correctly, my guess is that if we were to go back in time to the renaissance period in human history and ask what was ideal we’d get a much different answer than today. When I hear the word “obese” it would seem that I draw a completely different picture in my mind. I’ll use myself as an example.

I am 6’-1” tall and weigh about 195 pounds. To look at me, one would describe me as slender however, according to medical height to weight ratio charts, I fall in the obese category. In fact, in order for me to no longer be considered obese, I must drop another 10 pounds but I would still be considered over-weight. According to the charts, my ideal weight is somewhere around 171 pounds.

I weighed approximately 170 pounds when I graduated high school 35 years ago. At that weight I felt miserable. I was skinny as a rail, weak, had poor endurance, and lacked energy. I actually wanted to gain weight but I was unable to no matter what I did. I was one of those kids that could eat my parents out of house and home and not gain a pound. Eventually, as I got older, I did begin to add pounds and quite honestly, I felt my best when I weighed about 190 pounds. But, according to medical charts, that means I was obese. Go figure.

In recent months I dropped from my highest ever of 230 pounds. Even at that weight I never would have been looked at as obese by my definition. I was certainly carrying more than I needed to but I never really thought I was that heavy. I definitely like where I'm at now.

 

[abide]

What do your co workers eat?

They love fry chicken, eaten with the skin, drink cola and they love chips.
I think they can do better, but it seems it is just something they love.

 

[tim-from-pa]

They love fry chicken, eaten with the skin, drink cola and they love chips.
I think they can do better, but it seems it is just something they love.

I know this was not addressed to me, but I do want to comment on it.

These food choices are bad ones, I'll admit, but I'll tell you why and read very carefully and then I will compare it to why "they" say it's bad:

Fried chicken is fried in Lord-knows-what and probably a lot of rancid, oxidized oils (trans-fats). In addition, the breading on there is no good, and a lot of additives and even more oils. The cola is probably laden with sugar, i.e the bad "corn sweetener" type, and in addition, and carbonation takes away minerals in the body. And lastly, the chips are bad because of the excessive carbohydrates (raises blood sugar), and more rancid, frying oils.

Now to compare --- "they" think the chicken is bad because of the saturated fat in the skin. If it was "lean" boneless chicken with "low fat" breading with the same chemicals, they would probably give it Michelle Obamama's seal of approval. Likewise, diet soda (with the same carbonation and sugar substitute) would likewise be given a blanket blessing. As a matter of fact, there may be even more cancer-causing chemicals added in the "low fat" and "low sugar" varieties, but hey, at least we cut the fat. And lastly, they probably think the chips are bad for the same reason I do, the oils, but then they worry about the salt as well.

We both came to the same conclusions, but for different reasons. So, what's the problem you may be asking? Plenty. They would put plain grilled chicken with the skin, and grilled garden-picked vegetables on the same "junk food" category as the fast food just because I ate the chicken skin and buttered and salted my vegetables. They rather you eat the processed substitutes instead of natural foods. But in fact, what I just mentioned is NOT a problem at all.

To put it another way, all that fast food has some good and bad in it. But they are attacking the good aspects of the junk food so that natural foods with the same attributes are deemed unhealthy. And the bad things about them (such as the additives) are not even brought up or considered. The result is that people give up one kind of junk food only to be switched to another type of junk food, and IMO far more nefarious. See my point?

 

[Fembot]

They love fry chicken, eaten with the skin, drink cola and they love chips.
I think they can do better, but it seems it is just something they love.

Definitely digging their grave with their own teeth. The irony is that they live on an island with fresh fruit & vegetables with tropical weather meant for fresh garden eating. Yet they lean towards empty calories and fat. Salt and fatty food can be addictive after a while. This is why parents have an important role in what their kids are introduced to.