People still stupid when it comes to obesity...

[tibor75]

Most Americans Want Public Policies to Prevent Obesity By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Thu Dec 28, 12:01 PM ET



THURSDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A large majority of Americans say they support changes in public policy to stem the rising tide of obesity among adults, a new survey shows.

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"There is a lot of support for employer and health policies aimed at preventing obesity," said lead researcher Bernard Fuemmeler, an assistant professor in the department of community and family medicine at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, N.C.


"This study provides tangible evidence that people support wide-scale policy changes that can affect obesity in the U.S.," Fuemmeler added.


The findings appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.


Approximately 60 million American adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1998, Americans spent about 9 percent of all medical expenses on problems linked to being overweight or obese, the CDC reports.


The new telephone survey of 1,139 adults found that 85 percent supported tax breaks for employers who made exercise space available to employees.


In addition, 73 percent said they'd support government incentives for companies that reduced the cost of health insurance for employees who had healthy lifestyles and shed extra pounds. Seventy-two percent said they would support government policies requiring insurance companies to cover obesity treatment and prevention programs.


"There is growing public advocacy for these kinds of policy changes," Fuemmeler said. "There is also advocacy in the research community for large-scale policy changes. With some push, we might be able to get some changes that would help us better address the obesity epidemic in the country."


But one expert said it will take more than policy changes to get Americans to eat better and exercise more.


"The problem is not necessarily that employers need tax incentives," said Kathryn M. Kolasa, a professor in the department of nutrition services and patient education at East Carolina University. "The employer can expect to realize health-care cost savings and can be motivated by that."


However, "It's not clear what will motivate the employees," Kolasa said.


One problem is misinformation about weight loss. "Most individuals that present for nutrition counseling have significant amounts of misinformation about food and beverages that prevent them from being successful in weight loss or weight management," Kolasa said.


"Also, people continue to say that it costs more money to eat healthy, when it has been demonstrated time and again you can eat healthy at no greater cost," Kolasa added.


She does believe that changes in policy might make it easier for people to take advantage of health-promotion programs.


"Just because an insurance company provides a wellness benefit doesn't mean people will use it," Kolasa said. "I have one patient who was excited to receive the wellness benefit -- six visits with a certified dietitian during the year. Her employer let her take time from work for the first visit, but said subsequent visits would have to be on her time. This same employer allows employees to take time for doctor visits without penalty," she said.


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[Buckin' A]

Bottom line...if you care at all about your health, and your employer gives you the means to exercise, you have no reason not to. If you don't and you become fat...you are a lazy piece of shit who deserves it.

 

[PrincetonBuckeye]

If people would quit ordering everything off of the dollar menu at McDonalds and go for a walk at night after work instead of sucking down a pint of ice cream we wouldn't have to worry about this crap...I am flabbergasted at the diet habits of people and they say they can't help it and that they need other peoples help....you need to help yourself first...

 

[daddyphatsacs]

Face it.........the sad reality of America is that a growing number of folks are lazy, overeat........and makes excuses for why they are so fucking fat. Hopefully someday companies will go the route for the morbidly obese that they have with people who smoke (from an insurance standpoint). I understand that some try to lose weight, but the truth of it all is that most are just fat and lazy.

It's painful to make those statements, but EVERYONE has control over their weight. Stop eating so much........take a walk, drink water.

 

[craigblitz]

I agree in general with this

they say they can't help it and that they need other peoples help....you need to help yourself first...

but in some cases I think food can be an addiction for some people. Like alcohol, or drugs, etc some might need help.

But the majority of the people just do not have any will power and have no desire to change. If that is the case be fat and don't complain.

 

[PrincetonBuckeye]

I agree in general with this

but in some cases I think food can be an addiction for some people. Like alcohol, or drugs, etc some might need help.

But the majority of the people just do not have any will power and have no desire to change. If that is the case be fat and don't complain.

your right but in the case of addiction you have to realize you have a problem. That is the first step and that is helping yourself before others..

 

[BB73]

A procedural question for this forum.

Shouldn't the first post in this thread include a link to the article, per the recent policy change regarding posting articles?

EDIT - For reference, the policy change is included in a sticky thread on the main football board.

 

[WyoBuck]

Okay. First of all, food is addictive inasmuch as air is addictive. I cannot fathom the mindset that people cannot turn it down, but more, that it its easier not to. Yeah, you need it, but do you spend the day guzzling water or sucking for O2 like a fish out of water? No. I think that chemical dependency needs be established before it gets to that.

 

[msj2487]

I think something that needs to be pointed out here is also the fact that society has sped up so much in recent years. People are on the go more often than not, trying to be at work on time, attending various meetings, going to their kid's pee-wee football games, dance recitals, and other extra-curricular activities, etc. This then gives us our reasons to eat fast food more than we should.

Families now-a-days are all on different schedules from each other. Most families today have two career parents and 2-3 kids all trying to hang out with their friends as much as possible, and play all kinds of sports/participate in band/choir/drama clubs/dance, etc., that everyone then comes to the dinner table at different hours, making it a much easier option to just eat out for the day. This then turns into a bad habit that is not easy to break, because everyone has such demanding schedules, that families don't keep track of what they're eating each day, so they don't see the fact that they ate McDonalds on Monday, Burger King on Wednesday, KFC on Thursday, Wendy's on Saturday, etc.

Originally Posted by WyoBuck
Okay. First of all, food is addictive inasmuch as air is addictive. I cannot fathom the mindset that people cannot turn it down, but more, that it its easier not to.

I don't understand your point here, I mean obviously everyone needs to eat just like they need to breathe, but air isn't really an addiction, more-over its just a natural process our body does so we can live to eat and do other things. Addictions are bad habits, breathing is not a bad habit. Not to mention that your focusing on eating and not the addictive side of eating which is OVEReating, it's just as bad as smoking is for some people and drinking is for others. Again think about the lives we all live today, its go go go, do this, do that, we don't have time for good wholesome family meals every day anymore. Instead, we go out all the time where meal proportions are ridiculous and waaay more than what we need, and because of an early childhood teaching we tend to try to eat it all so we don't waste the food and starve the people of Africa, the children of Tibet and Bhutan, and all others who are less fortunate. Also, add on the fact that the world is getting smaller by the second, and companies begin to broaden their advertising... commercialization is probably setting new records each year; I'm not so sure its people just begin fat, stupid, and lazy, ALL THE TIME, as its the way the world has changed so dramatically.

Now of course there are still those who don't move at all during the day, mooch off of family members and sit around watching TV all day, but without knowing any statistics off the top of my head, I would imagine these people to be shrinking in terms of the amount that are doing it. Building off of my previous points as well, you have to add in that after completing such a hectic and go go go day, people get lazy and tired and with 800,000 TV channels offered to us now, who isn't going to turn down a chance to just sit around and relax... who really wants/has the time to put in an 8 hour work day (which can easily translate to 10-13 hours with added meetings and extra paperwork at the end of the day), 2-3 hours of focusing on the kids and dinner, then go to a gym to work out for 1-2 hours and still make it back for a healthy 8 hours of sleep? We're losing time in our day that could be spent working out, trying to relax from all of the other crap we did during the day.

Finally, I'm really not trying to make excuses for obese people here, but just trying to offer the other side of it all, I think their needs to be blame on those that just gorge themselves every day, but I think that most Americans are in fact overweight because of the lifestyles we live so we can enjoy the freedoms we do.

Originally Posted by PrincetonBuckeye
your right but in the case of addiction you have to realize you have a problem. That is the first step and that is helping yourself before others..

I think your also right in people needing to look out for themselves more often, however, sometimes people become blind to the fact that they're even addicted to sweets, alcohol, cigarettes, etc., and need the interventions that peers, family members, and co-workers can provide for them to help them get on the road(s) to recovery.

Like my great grandmother used to tell me, "everything in moderation." This, in my opinion, is the key ingredient to living a healthy, full, and long life, but it seems to have either been forgotten over the changing times or has been substituted for "live life to the fullest, right away, right now, or else lose out on the coolest of opportunities!"

Just my two cents...

 

[PrincetonBuckeye]

I think something that needs to be pointed out here is also the fact that society has sped up so much in recent years. People are on the go more often than not, trying to be at work on time, attending various meetings, going to their kid's pee-wee football games, dance recitals, and other extra-curricular activities, etc. This then gives us our reasons to eat fast food more than we should.

Families now-a-days are all on different schedules from each other. Most families today have two career parents and 2-3 kids all trying to hang out with their friends as much as possible, and play all kinds of sports/participate in band/choir/drama clubs/dance, etc., that everyone then comes to the dinner table at different hours, making it a much easier option to just eat out for the day. This then turns into a bad habit that is not easy to break, because everyone has such demanding schedules. Families don't keep track of what they're eating each day anymore either, so they don't see the fact that they ate McDonalds on Monday, Burger King on Wednesday, KFC on Thursday, Wendy's on Saturday, etc.

I don't understand your point here, I mean obviously everyone needs to eat just like they need to breathe, but air isn't really an addiction, more-over its just a natural process our body does so we can live to eat and do other things. Addictions are bad habits, breathing is not a bad habit. Not to mention that your focusing on eating and not the addictive side of eating which is OVEReating, it's just as bad as smoking is for some people and drinking is for others. Again think about the lives we all live today, its go go go, do this, do that, we don't have time for good wholesome family meals every day anymore. Instead, we go out all the time where meal proportions are ridiculous and waaay more than what we need, and because of an early childhood teaching we tend to try to eat it all so we don't waste the food and starve the people of Africa and the children of Tibet and Bhutan. Also, add on the fact that the world is getting smaller by the second, and companies begin to broaden their advertising... commercialization is probably setting new records each year; I'm not so sure its people just begin fat, stupid, and lazy, ALL THE TIME, as its the way the world has changed so dramatically.

Now of course there are still those who don't move at all during the day, mooch off of family members and sit around watching TV all day, but without knowing any statistics off the top of my head, I would imagine these people to be shrinking in terms of the amount that are doing it. Building off of my previous points as well, you have to add in that after completing such a hectic and go go go day, people get lazy and tired and with 800,000 TV channels offered to us now, who isn't going to turn down a chance to just sit around and relax... who really wants/has the time to put in an 8 hour work day (which can easily translate to 10-13 hours with added meetings and extra paperwork at the end of the day), 2-3 hours of focusing on the kids and dinner, then go to a gym to work out for 1-2 hours and still make it back for a healthy 8 hours of sleep? We're losing time in our day that could be spent working out, trying to relax from all of the other crap we did during the day.

Finally, I'm really not trying to make excuses for obese people here, but just trying to offer the other side of it all, I think their needs to be blame on those that just gorge themselves every day, but I think that most Americans are in fact overweight because of the lifestyles we live so we can enjoy the freedoms we do.

I think your also right in people needing to look out for themselves more often, however, sometimes people become blind to the fact that they're even addicted to sweets, alcohol, cigarettes, etc., and need the interventions that peers, family members, and co-workers can provide for them to help them get on the road(s) to recovery.

Like my great grandmother used to tell me, "everything in moderation." This, in my opinion, is the key ingredient to living a healthy, full, and long life, but it seems to have either been forgotten over the changing times or has been substituted for "live life to the fullest, right away, right now, or else lose out on the coolest of opportunities!"

Just my two cents...

excellent point...but with an addiction you can all your loved ones tell you that you have a problem. It takes you to admit it to yourself first. That way you can start your road to recovery, with the help from from your loved ones....you can have all the interventions in the world but until you can admit to yourself that something is wrong the problem will not go away....:) my 2 cents :)

 

[msj2487]

excellent point...but with an addiction you can all your loved ones tell you that you have a problem. It takes you to admit it to yourself first. That way you can start your road to recovery, with the help from from your loved ones....you can have all the interventions in the world but until you can admit to yourself that something is wrong the problem will not go away....

And I agree with the part of admitting it to yourself, but again my argument was more that people can be blinded by the non-stop action of their days and not really see that they've gained 20+ pounds in the last two months or so. Having others let you know, "hey have you really taken a look at yourself lately?" is what will get those blinded people to then admit that they have a problem.

 

[PrincetonBuckeye]

And I agree with the part of admitting it to yourself, but again my argument was more that people can be blinded by the non-stop action of their days and not really see that they've gained 20+ pounds in the last two months or so. Having others let you know, "hey have you really taken a look at yourself lately?" is what will get those blinded people to then admit that they have a problem.

Yes I understand that...maybe I didn't explain myself correctly...I have told some of my patients many, many times of different aliments that are addictive or health threatening. And they act like it goes in one ear and out the other. Friends and family can tell individuals until they are "blue in the face" that a loved one has a problem (ie, alcohol, eating, smoking) but until the individual accepts it, nothing can really be done.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

my argument was more that people can be blinded by the non-stop action of their days and not really see that they've gained 20+ pounds in the last two months or so.

those that wouldn't notice are probably already morbidly obese. even the morbidly obese would likely notice twenty pounds gained over a few months.

 

[WyoBuck]

I don't understand your point here, I mean obviously everyone needs to eat just like they need to breathe, but air isn't really an addiction, more-over its just a natural process our body does so we can live to eat and do other things. Addictions are bad habits, breathing is not a bad habit. Not to mention that your focusing on eating and not the addictive side of eating which is OVEReating, it's just as bad as smoking is for some people and drinking is for others.

What I mean is, how can you be addicted to something that you need to survive. You can over eat, and you can do it habitually, but addictive? C'mon. When you Lump it in with smoking, alcoholism, drug use, all of these have a chemical element to the addiction, and the addict has to stop using to "beat" their respective addiction. Using the criteria to classify food as an addictive substance, you could potentially be addicted to, well, anything. You can't quit eating any more than you could stop breathing, drinking water, or sleeping. It seems to me that being addicted to food is a cop out that is convenient to use for people who lack the resolve get off their fat asses and do the work that is required to not be overweight. You cant use the "busy society" scenario to justify your argument either because there are as many people that do maintain a healthy lifestyle despite having to work the bullshit hours that we do in this country. It all boils down to what is easy. It is easier to go to McD's than to go home and prepare a 10 -20 minute meal. It is also lazy. Laziness does not constitute addiction.

This is just another example of "I'm the victim not the cause." It seems that everybody has a medical problem which justifies their plight in life. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their own actions. They want to pass the buck and make up excuses. Let's take the easy way out and not hurt anyone's feelings along the way. "I'm not too lazy to go do something active for 30 min a day, I have an eating disorder." Please.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Scientists found out that when you eat cheese, a chemical reaction happens that is very similar to the reaction to opiates. That's one way of becoming addicted.

Cheddar = Heroin