It’s funny that you spend so much in gaining calories and even more trying to reduce them. Increasing healthcare funds, strategies to streamline health insurance etc is a complete waste if people are not self aware about their health.

Need of the hour is to educate people about these issues.

And yet there are still smokers. I see folks paying $10 a pack for cigarettes every day. The cost hasn’t stopped them, and probably never will. They won’t stop until they have no choice, or decide it is in their best interest.

The same is true with fast food, junk food, etc. – folks won’t stop eating poorly and flat out overeating until they have no choice, or decide it’s in their best interest.

The “Costco” mentality really started with fast food, in my opinion. As fast food chains started “super-sizing”, they often posed the additional portion size as a “value”. This trains the brain to think along different lines; it’s ok to buy more because you’re saving. When warehouse stores first opened, they had significant discounts if you bought in bulk. But like many do with their income, I believe people started consuming to fill the gap. They buy more, so they start consuming more. I see families of four pushing out flat carts overloaded with foodstuffs week after week. And most of it is pre-processed, pre-packaged convenience food that is simply going to add sodium and fat to their diet. But hey – it was cheap!

Until there is something that really puts a scare into people, really drives home that the excess weight is slicing years off their lives and killing the quality of their lives in the process, there won’t be a change.

The problem is I don’t know if they would get it right because of the lobbyists skewing the laws, but my hope is that maybe some day we can have foods closer to nature with all the ingredients in them that help our bodies rather then the completely refined and processed foods.

Thanks for the laugh…

“… some progressive public officials have used public funds to equip public parks with outdoor fitness equipment.”

This kind of thing annoys me for two reasons. First, when we lived in Raleigh the park had outdoor fitness equipment (hanging rings, chin-up bars, decline sit-up benches, etc.). Problem was, in one year of walking that park almost every morning and some afternoons 5 days a week I NEVER saw a single person using even one piece of the equipment.

Second, you don’t need a single piece of equipment to do any one of the 100+ variations of push-ups, or a dozen versions of the squats (I am especially thinking of start squat jumps and regular plyometric squat jumps), or hand stand push-ups (all you need is a wall), or even a dozen core exercises. Throw a few from each of those groups together and you’ve got a great workout for most people.

People don’t need equipment, they need motivation and commitment. How is the government going to do that? Aside from a ridiculous high tax on those designated as overweight or obese, a the threat of losing medical care, or even a sin tax on unhealthy foods, (btw, I don’t think either of these is a good idea) just what can the government do?

Also, as an aside, the idea that does seem to have some traction is a sin tax for unhealthy foods comparable to the taxes on cigarettes. My problem with such is that I don’t trust the government to accurately designate which foods are healthy/unhealthy. Also, in the public mind any food left untaxed as “unhealthy” would naturally be assumed by the public at large to be healthy. Leading to over consumption of marginally healthy foods. This kind of government action is incapable of embracing the truth that it is the quantity of the item you consume, not the item itself, that leads to obesity.

What might work (aside from government action)?
How about if people understood how little time is necessary to raise metabolism and get a good workout. I think many people think they need to spend anywhere from 45 – 90 minutes in the gym just to get a “good” workout. However, I was reading recently that as little as 11 minutes of strength training (basic exercises like push-ups and such) has a significant impact on metabolism for up to 36 hours after. Combine the perception of a “good” workout taking over an hour with the ridiculous idea that you need a gym to workout, and you probably get at the main reason (or at least excuse) for folks who don’t workout. While many would still choose a sedentary lifestyle b/c it is easier (at least in the short term), I think there are a significant number who would embrace a simple training program of 15-20 min. of strength training three days a week using little or no equipment at home. So what I’m saying is that we need a deliberate public health campaign that gets doctors, T.V. stations, etc. on board to promote basic exercises, bust the myth of the hour long workout, and start putting holes in the defenses of “I don’t have enough time/I can’t afford a gym membership.”

Now I’ve ranted too…

I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment –

People who care about their health are already doing something about it

Most of the necessary anti-obesity resources already exist. People just don’t make use of them.

Why???- laziness, lack of understanding, stress, conditioning???