Fat People

[flip_flop]

The following Amanda Platell article makes for interesting reading.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1205 112/My-visit-Fat-Central-mission-whos-really-b lame-obesity-crisis.html

The thing that amazed me most though is that many fat people seem to think the Government is to blame for their fatness.

This Government can be blamed for many things, but I fail to see how they can be blamed for making fat people eat rubbish and take no exercise.

So, are the Government to blame, or are fat people lazy overeaters?

[LoftyLottie]

Agree with Vic on this.

[naomi24]

Vic, if you read my post again you'll see that I didn't compare poverty in this country to poverty elsewhere, which is why I said In the western world, poverty and deprivation is a sorry excuse for obesity.

I've travelled far and wide Vic, and all I can say is that if anyone in the west blames obesity on poverty, then they've never seen poverty.

[flip_flop]

But what can the government do?

Surely this is solely the responsibility of the individual isn't it?

The Government may say obesity is a crisis, they may enocurange people to eat healthilly, they may run workshops, classes, lessons, but even if they started giving away free gym memberships and bicycles to fat people, will this really help them shift their weight?

I strongly suspect not.

A fat person given the choice of a salad or a bucket of fried chicken will always take the latter - unless they are committed to losing weight, which I don't think they are.

Losing weight is pretty easy if you have the willpower - ignore all those fad diets, they're pointless, the only real way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.

AOG - can you find me a single link where I've criticised people who post links from The Daily Mail. If you can I will humbly apologise. If you can't, I will expect the same from you.

I've criticised The Daily Mail before granted (amongst other papers), but I'm pretty certain I've never criticised an individual for posting a link to The Daily Mail.

[LoftyLottie]

It's a very complex issue which needs sorting out. It's not as simple as saying that people are 'lazy' or 'overeat'.

I agree that a lot rich people are obese (too much rich food and good wine) but many rich people are also ultra slim. It's not as simple as saying that poverty is the problem. People who eat turkey twizzlers and drink gallons of coke probably spend as much as people who eat wisely. Vegetables and fruit are the simplest fast food.

It's a whole culture issue and is more prevalent, I hate to admit, amongst a certain group of society - the same group that will have children that will carry on in the same way.

[Oneeyedvic]

In a similar way to smoking, certain fatty foods will kill you. It will not be today, or even tomorrow, but the cumulative effect of both fatty foods and smoking is premature death.

The government have managed to make smoking less desirable than ever - by a combination of educating people, by putting product warnings on, by giving them access to areas to help the stop smoking and by making it anti social.

A similar thing needs to be done with fatty foods. Big warning labels should be put on fatty foods. People should be encouraged to attend free classes to show people how to cook etc etc.

It is not an overnight solution, but will take many years - but it needs to be tackled.

[anotheoldgit]

flip_flop

I will indeed apologise to you most humbly, I had you mixed up with LazyGun, just how I do not know, but once again I apologise.

LazyGun had earlier accused the Daily Mail and myself for putting a racist slant on a story. To LazyGun's credit he/she did later apologise to me, but still accused the DM.

[flip_flop]

Fair enough AOG - humble apology accepted.

[ummmm]

They are greedy...they become fat.

I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for fat people. They tend to be in denial.

[pinktwink1]

well I am a fattest too and think most fat people lack self control. Yes there should be intervention given the cost on healthcare. If a person chose to starve themselves we woulnt sit idly by so why do so if someone eats themselves to death

[Oneeyedvic]

ummmmm They are greedy...they become fat.

I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for fat people. They tend to be in denial.

So what makes someone greedy?

Is it in their genes? - I presume that you don't think that, as this is something that can't be altered

Is it a psychological problem? Presume that you don't think this, as if someone has a psychological problem, it would be pretty inhuman to have no sympathy for them.

Is it lack of education? Again, having no sympathy for someone who doesn't have an education is pretty harsh - and incidentally, whilst there are plenty of course on literacy, computers, bookkeeping etc, there are no course on basic home cookery that I am aware of locally.

Is it laziness? Since you wouldn't know what sort of hours or lifestyle every fat person has, that would be a pretty big assertion.