The Nanny State: Feds propose monitoring how long you watch TV to control obesity

a reply to: artistpoet

It is a personal responsibility

Everything in life is a personal responsibility.

Anything outside of that is an added bonus.

The "school of hard knocks" seems to be the best education anyone could get in life.

a reply to: grandmakdw
Excellent. Something should be done. Americans are far too overweight and it is disgusting.

a reply to: grandmakdw
Excellent. Something should be done. Americans are far too overweight and it is disgusting.

a reply to: CranialSponge

Yep for sure ... as my friends old pop band (Chumbawamba) said

I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down

Do it for yourself because nobody's going to do it for you

a reply to: Gryphon66

I know this much: It's much more likely for kids to teach themselves about sex than it is for them to teach themselves to cook.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: ketsuko

Maybe I grew up in a backwards hick town, I don't know.

Given that I grew up in a town in the smack dab middle of Kansas that had maybe 10,000 people in it ... I'd say I had a comparable growing up situation?

I mean. That is how anything coming out of Kansas is viewed. Backwards hick ...

But the public school system there did take quite a bit of pride in being varied and broad based and getting the most and most efficient use of its dollars.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Gryphon66

I know this much: It's much more likely for kids to teach themselves about sex than it is for them to teach themselves to cook.

Perhaps a policy of cutting public funds to education isn't the best idea to economize after all?

There's a thought.

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: grandmakdw

Okay, so your first answer is to address what the solution is NOT.

Secondarily, your answer is to search for an as yet unknown bacteria or virus that causes diabetes and obesity.

My question assigned no blame to anyone for anything, least of all, an absence of self-control.

To summarize your solution, we should ignore the standard scientific understanding that over-consumption of calories and under-utilization of activity is the main cause of obesity, look for as yet unknown bacterial or viral agents that are causing the problem (who pays for that research, btw?), and stop suggesting that individuals have any real personal control or authority over their weight and lifestyle, and find something else to blame any adverse conditions on?

Thanks for your response!

What I am saying was we used to blame ulcers on the person who had them
saying they had a mental condition
that caused the ulcers

There is medical evidence that obesity too may have an
origin similar to ulcers and it should not be discounted

I totally agree with Beezer that the solution is not to micromanage the lives of "other" people.

We need to treat adults as adults and not as children of the state to be controlled and supervised by the state as you seem to advocate.

Just as whether or not someone chooses to engage in the sexually risky behaviors of the gay lifestyle
is MYOB, in case you don't know, that means MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
the same is true of people who are overweight
MYOB. Treat adults as adults, not as infantilized chattel of the state.

originally posted by: Gryphon66

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Gryphon66

I know this much: It's much more likely for kids to teach themselves about sex than it is for them to teach themselves to cook.

Perhaps a policy of cutting public funds to education isn't the best idea to economize after all?

There's a thought.

That's just so ironic. Here you are criticizing us for not having a plan, and yet rather than come up for an actual plan yourself, you just complain about cutting funds.

Money != Plan.

originally posted by: Gryphon66

originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

It is an addiction issue. You get addicted to the sugar highs and the processed food. You can even feel your body coming down like a drug when you stop eating sugar for a day or 2.

I have been giving this a great deal of thought.

When countries are no longer living for the most part at starvation levels,
the nearly immediate result after a few short years
is a "epidemic" of "obesity"

Could we be defining what is normal for the average human who is not living at near starvation levels as being overweight?

But according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, being thin might not be in your best interest in the long run. The report is drawing strong reaction in the medical community, among proponents who hail its findings and among critics, one of whom dismisses it as "rubbish."

The comprehensive study confirmed that obese people tend to die earlier than people of normal weight. But it also found that overweight people -- those with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 -- had a lower risk of dying than people of normal weight.

www.cnn.com...

Could the real problem lies with deciding that our cultural norm of normal weight is wrong
and normal weight for those not on a near starvation lifestyle
or for those not excessively exercising
actually be what our society considers overweight?

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

HOme economics was also destroyed by the feminist movement.

They saw teaching people how to do "things housewives do" as degrading.

So out of political correctness, we no longer teach children how to cook, how to sew, how to care for themselves. Nutrition was one of the hallmarks of home economics, which is not longer taught. Why? Political correctness, it is a un-liberal thing to do, very un-progresive - to teach the skills of the "homemaker".
Which in my opinion are the basic survival skills for all human beings.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: Gryphon66

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Gryphon66

I know this much: It's much more likely for kids to teach themselves about sex than it is for them to teach themselves to cook.

Perhaps a policy of cutting public funds to education isn't the best idea to economize after all?

There's a thought.

That's just so ironic. Here you are criticizing us for not having a plan, and yet rather than come up for an actual plan yourself, you just complain about cutting funds.

Money != Plan.

Even MORE ironic is that I haven't criticized you or anyone else in this discussion! This is the second time you've launched invective against me with no basis, instead of just discussing the topic?

What do you read when you read my posts? Are you completely blinded by what you think I'm going to say?

Your opinion of me doesn't matter. My opinion of you doesn't matter. Let's play the ball.

I asked for ways that we could deal with a problem that faces all of us: American obesity in adults and children.

You snapped off "nothing," and then wanted to talk about what you think I believe.

YOU were the one complaining about what's missing in school, and as your point-of-departure, you chose to refer to the material that Don'tTreadOnMe posted, which stated clearly that traditional courses are being cut from schools because of funds being cut. The fact that you know and I know which political persuasion enjoys cutting funds to schools should not provide a launching pad to critique me, or the words you want to put in my mouth.

a reply to: grandmakdw

Do you have any examples for your developing country -----> obesity epidemic? I'd love to see what you're basing your thought on.

That's an interesting report you linked to one study. The authors of the study presented their findings, not to challenge per se the existing standards of healthy weight, but rather, as they said, "to provoke discussion."

And I think that's healthy. I think we should always return to the evidence.

That single report is a far cry from suggesting that what now is recognized as a more critical global health issue than hunger.

CNN - Obesity Bigger Heatlh Risk than Hunger

Nearly 500 researchers from 50 countries compared health data from 1990 through 2010 for the Global Burden of Disease report, revealing what they call a massive shift in global health trends.

"We discovered that there's been a huge shift in mortality. Kids who used to die from infectious disease are now doing extremely well with immunization," said Ali Mokdad, co-author of the study and professor of global health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which led the collaborative project.

"However, the world is now obese and we're seeing the impact of that."

The report revealed that every country, with the exception of those in sub-Saharan Africa, faces alarming obesity rates -- an increase of 82% globally in the past two decades. Middle Eastern countries are more obese than ever, seeing a 100% increase since 1990.

"The so-called 'Western lifestyle' is being adapted all around the world, and the impacts are all the same," Mokdad said.

SO ... data from one study as compared with 20 years of data from 500 researchers around the world.

Even though I hesitate to use the term "scientific consensus" ... it seems pretty clear that there's a problem not connected soley with how we think about our body images in the US.

And I think you'd agree that the issue is a matter of degree ... sure, people's individual metabolisms might vary within 10-20 lbs of a standard weight, but more than 50? 100?

There's a problem that will have to be addressed some way somehow.

originally posted by: grandmakdw
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

HOme economics was also destroyed by the feminist movement.

They saw teaching people how to do "things housewives do" as degrading.

So out of political correctness, we no longer teach children how to cook, how to sew, how to care for themselves. Nutrition was one of the hallmarks of home economics, which is not longer taught. Why? Political correctness, it is a un-liberal thing to do, very un-progresive - to teach the skills of the "homemaker".
Which in my opinion are the basic survival skills for all human beings.

You're very caught up in blaming everything on liberals and progressives, and of course, feminists as above. And that's fine, that's your opinion, and I don't want to debate that with you at all, here.

But honestly, do you have any actual information that demonstrates that any of that had anything to do with changes in the educational system? Isn't it possible that changing priorities (with more families having to have both parents working, etc.) in economic requirements had a bigger impact on home life (and therefore what was being taught in schools) than simple statements that challenged traditional gender roles and encouraged women to seek their own independence?

a reply to: Gryphon66

"Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt is an American freelance writer who served as the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, during the first term of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, ...."

"She is known for writing the book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America. The book reveals that changes gradually brought into the American public education system work to eliminate the influences of a child's parents (religion, morals, national patriotism), and mold the child into a member of the proletariat in preparation for a socialist-collectivist world of the future"

www.deliberatedumbingdown.com...

Free PDF download

Edit to add ... She is a whistleblower ... her Father was a member of Skull and Bones

a reply to: grandmakdw

I see it more as destroyed by the food industry.....in an attempt to win over a new generation to the joys of convenience foods.

You should also read the book Salt, Sugar, Fat mentioned here
www.abovetopsecret.com...
....it details how certain substances.....salt, sugar, fat......are added to foods to make them sell.

Obama lunches don't starve kids. If the kids ate the vegetables and fruit that came with the lunches, they'd have more than enough to eat.

Kids' choices starve kids, not the serving sizes.

a reply to: artistpoet

Thanks for the reference! Ms. Thomson seems very opinionated and somewhat pessimistic.

Are you trying to address the alleged feminist removal of Home Ec. as mentioned above?

I'm not sure that follows from your link ...

originally posted by: grandmakdw

I totally agree with Beezer that the solution is not to micromanage the lives of "other" people.

We need to treat adults as adults and not as children of the state to be controlled and supervised by the state as you seem to advocate.

Ah, we shouldn't micromanage the lives of other people, until we want to tell them what medical procedures they can perform on their own bodies, or whom they can marry, things like that?

I agree. There is a vast difference between managing and helping and between dictating and making sure that people have assistance when they need it.

a reply to: babybunnies

Didn't you know, Michelle Obama insists that the food be moldy! Personally.

Let's forget that the problems with the school lunch program are the direct result of letting local governance take priority over Federal oversight.

Never let facts bother a good rant!