Australia's Obesity Epidemic (2 Viewers)

[flappinghippo]

I was talking to my dad about how fat people are responsible for their own weight. Half-agreeing, he said that it must be really hard to lose weight for most obese people, because of the nature of their circumstances (eg. stigmas, discrimination would lead to low self-esteem and depression eventually). That fighting obesity is just like fighting depression or the cigarette – just the first one is met with far more superficial, hostile social pressures, that goes further to discourage proper exercise and eating than not.

Could there be a possibility that the way fat people are treated and represented in present culture do more to discourage a better lifestyle than to encourage it?

 

[katie_tully]

I was talking to my dad about how fat people are responsible for their own weight. Half-agreeing, he said that it must be really hard to lose weight for most obese people, because of the nature of their circumstances (eg. stigmas, discrimination would lead to low self-esteem and depression eventually). That fighting obesity is just like fighting depression or the cigarette – just the first one is met with far more superficial, hostile social pressures, that goes further to discourage proper exercise and eating than not.

Could there be a possibility that the way fat people are treated and represented in present culture do more to discourage a better lifestyle than to encourage it?

You mean being ridiculed and having a fat stigma attached is forcing them to become fatter?
I don't really care about what happens when they meet the fat of no return, I'm interested in what has happened to make them become fat. I've heard every excuse under the sun and the only one I havent heard is 'I ate too much crap and didn't exercise'.

Obesity and weight related diseases are preventable, and I dont believe that people of a low socioeconomic status don't know that fatty foods + no exercise = fat/type II diabetes/cardiovascular disease/stroke.

I did my grocery shopping today and I also don't buy the excuse that it's cheaper to buy take out than it is to buy fresh produce and make your own food. You don't have to be a freakin culinary genius.

 

[katie_tully]

fastfood is NOT cheaper than cooking yourself. You can feed yourself on rice, pasta, fruit and vegetables for a few dollars a day.

Fricken hell, I had Maccas the other day with my BF and it came to $30. I was like, wtf man.

Buying groceries such as vegies and seasonal fruit is so much cheaper and so much more yummy.

What is the key here. Is it education? Do schools need to provide cooking classes for high school kids, so that if they're growing up in a house dependent on fast food, atleast theyll have the skills to cook something not saturated in fat?

 

[sXcGuRl69aU]

Fricken hell, I had Maccas the other day with my BF and it came to $30. I was like, wtf man.

jesus christ, what the hell maccas are you going to? :/

 

[katie_tully]

lol education. its not the issue imo. people know fast food is bad. the eat it anyway because they are fat pigs with no self control.

Well these fat pigs with no self control are driving me mad at work right now, so for the love of god I need a miracle.

 

[katie_tully]

jesus christ, what the hell maccas are you going to? :/

I dunno man. I had one of those chicken burgers with bacon meal thing and that alone was $8.95 x 2 plus he had a tripple cheese burger for some reason + a happy meal for the kid.

 

[sXcGuRl69aU]

aww, did he get one of those awesome looney tunes dudes?

 

[katie_tully]

aww, did he get one of those awesome looney tunes dudes?

Yeah he got a Buggs Bunny which he gave to the dog, so now it doesn't have a head. I must say though, Maccas chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce are delicious.

 

[sXcGuRl69aU]

he gave his little toy to the dog? aww how generous

 

[Student Mum]

There are more important things in the world to discuss than how much someone weighs. So many of you who are caught up in the weight thing must be speechless when you come up against a person who is overweight but doing better than you in your career and earns more money.

Who bloody frigging cares about weight? It is each person's problem and if they're paying tax themselves then it's not just the community's problem if they need medical care. What about all the idiots who get hurt skydiving from some remote area and someone has to rescue them? That's government money wasted, too. Maybe the rescue services should concentrate on helping someone with a genuine health problem rather than someone who decides to go swimming among the sharks to get some cheap thrill.

If you are shallow, you will judge someone according to their weight. The only way to prove there's more substance to you than concern for appearance, then let the subject go and let those who are overweight worry about their own health problems. If you are within a healthy weight range it only helps you, there is no benefit to the community in any way. You could have health issues in the future that are not related to your weight, would we all see you as a liability to the health system?

 

[inasero]

haha i know I'm terrible but I have little tolerance for people who are overweight- to a certain extent people need to be responsible for their health and make opportunities to lose weight rather than waiting for others to hand it to them on a silver platter (pardon the pun).

but on the other hand, we also need to change the way society works- i was thinking about this the other day i live in the eastern suburbs and to catch a bus to uni is actually more expensive than to drive, not to mention waiting up to 20 minutes sometimes for a bus. I wonder how much worse would it be in other parts of Sydney?

The government need to focus more on prevention rather than cure- I say take gastric banding surgery off medicare (except for the most dire cases), increase taxes for fast foods, promote public transportation, provide subsidies for fruit and veg consumption, educate our kids (yes, we need even more!), you know the possibilities are endless.

 

[katie_tully]

There are more important things in the world to discuss than how much someone weighs. So many of you who are caught up in the weight thing must be speechless when you come up against a person who is overweight but doing better than you in your career and earns more money.

Who bloody frigging cares about weight? It is each person's problem and if they're paying tax themselves then it's not just the community's problem if they need medical care. What about all the idiots who get hurt skydiving from some remote area and someone has to rescue them? That's government money wasted, too. Maybe the rescue services should concentrate on helping someone with a genuine health problem rather than someone who decides to go swimming among the sharks to get some cheap thrill.

If you are shallow, you will judge someone according to their weight. The only way to prove there's more substance to you than concern for appearance, then let the subject go and let those who are overweight worry about their own health problems. If you are within a healthy weight range it only helps you, there is no benefit to the community in any way. You could have health issues in the future that are not related to your weight, would we all see you as a liability to the health system?

You're obviously overweight.

And you're ignorant to think that obesity is not a communities problem. I cannot believe that you think the health problems associated with being overweight or obese are negligible because they pay tax too.

Problems associated with being over weight are preventable, that is what makes their impact on the health system all the more draining. It's a lifestyle disease, and you just want to sit back and allow a generation to die younger than their parents because you don't think it's a problem.

Also your analogy sucks. 50% of Australians are not sky divers. 50% of Australians are obese/overweight. Try another one.

 

[inasero]

Maybe the rescue services should concentrate on helping someone with a genuine health problem rather than someone who decides to go swimming among the sharks to get some cheap thrill.

Look I understand your sentiment and that's an entirely valid point, but you see the risk of skydiving and swimming with sharks is much, MUCH lower than obesity. Not to mention that people don't have any control over getting bitten by a shark or their parachute failing, whereas overweight people are at least in part responsible for their predicament. It's the immutable law of nature, as we eat more energy dense foods and lead sedentary lifestyles, we're bound to put on more weight.

 

[katie_tully]

haha i know I'm terrible but I have little tolerance for people who are overweight- to a certain extent people need to be responsible for their health and make opportunities to lose weight rather than waiting for others to hand it to them on a silver platter (pardon the pun).

but on the other hand, we also need to change the way society works- i was thinking about this the other day i live in the eastern suburbs and to catch a bus to uni is actually more expensive than to drive, not to mention waiting up to 20 minutes sometimes for a bus. I wonder how much worse would it be in other parts of Sydney?

The government need to focus more on prevention rather than cure- I say take gastric banding surgery off medicare (except for the most dire cases), increase taxes for fast foods, promote public transportation, provide subsidies for fruit and veg consumption, educate our kids (yes, we need even more!), you know the possibilities are endless.

Shock tactics. There needs to be more education, but that said you can only educate people so much and they still don't listen (smokers!)

I think there needs to be a different approach. I think kids need to be educated on how to cook healthy meals. A lot of kids learn their habits from their parents, so if they're not learning to eat healthily at a young age, they're not going to break the cycle.

It's depressing seeing obese children. They're so tormented, they have horrible health and to a large extent it's their parents fault.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

yes the public transport in that area is mostly shithouse, NO you can't blame your weight on it. i don't even see how you can make that argument. apart from having to *gasp* walk to the bus stop or the train station, are you exercising when you sit on a bus? no. just like you're not exercising when you drive a car. the effects on your weight are essentially the same. this is the worst excuse i've heard anyone make for obesity. OH MY GOD I CANT CATCH TEH BUS IMMA GONNA GET FAT ... i mean, really? ffs.

 

[katie_tully]

Look I understand your sentiment and that's an entirely valid point, but you see the risk of skydiving and swimming with sharks is much, MUCH lower than obesity. Not to mention that people don't have any control over getting bitten by a shark or their parachute failing, whereas overweight people are at least in part responsible for their predicament. It's the immutable law of nature, as we eat more energy dense foods and lead sedentary lifestyles, we're bound to put on more weight.

I think it's a stupid point to be honest.
The impact of weight related diseases won't be fully seen for a few more years and when it happens what the hell is going to happen to an already under staffed/under funded health system.

One idiot sky diving or swimming with the sharks doesn't translate into 1000 people with diet/weight related diabetes or heart disease.

 

[inasero]

katie good of you to bring up the true impact these lifestyle diseases have on our community- i mean you look at the top causes of death we're talking about heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, cancers- see the common thread?

 

[katie_tully]

katie good of you to bring up the true impact these lifestyle diseases have on our community- i mean you look at the top causes of death we're talking about heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, cancers- see the common thread?

I never gave it any thought until I started working for the health department.
When you sit back and evaluate it, it's nothing like cancer or autoimmune diseases, etc in that it's preventable and we know the cure.

I don't think the wider public see things like cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes as serious predicaments, which is unfortunate.

 

[Student Mum]

To Katie Tully (who has posted about twenty times on this particular forum subject) and all those who obsessively write about weight problems in the community: I'm not overweight, and I don't have issues with people who are. I'm not that shallow. I really don't care how much a person weighs, I judge them on other things, like what they have to say and what kinds of people they are. Their weight is the thing I notice the least.

The hospital system is not necessarily clogged up with people who are overweight, it would be simplistic to put it all down to weight. Most of you who write on these sites are more than likely to be at school or going to uni, are you all working full-time paying the level of taxes that worry you so much about paying for the health problems of overweight people?

Your intense loathing of people larger than yourselves is a character fault that prevents you seeing people for their true selves. I can't see that any of you have any real concern for the community or the health of anyone who is overweight. You just want to vent your spleen at someone. Maybe an overweight person beat you in your exams and you want to get back at all of them.

 

[jb_nc]

To Katie Tully (who has posted about twenty times on this particular forum subject) and all those who obsessively write about weight problems in the community: I'm not overweight, and I don't have issues with people who are. I'm not that shallow. I really don't care how much a person weighs, I judge them on other things, like what they have to say and what kinds of people they are. Their weight is the thing I notice the least.

The hospital system is not necessarily clogged up with people who are overweight, it would be simplistic to put it all down to weight. Most of you who write on these sites are more than likely to be at school or going to uni, are you all working full-time paying the level of taxes that worry you so much about paying for the health problems of overweight people?

Your intense loathing of people larger than yourselves is a character fault that prevents you seeing people for their true selves. I can't see that any of you have any real concern for the community or the health of anyone who is overweight. You just want to vent your spleen at someone. Maybe an overweight person beat you in your exams and you want to get back at all of them.

You are so gay.

And fat.

Most definitely fat.