Is there any solution to trimming ourselves down and beating the obesity epidemic that's gripped our nation?

Question

When I heard about someone landing a record channel catfish in North Carolina, I *had* to take a look at the following picture:

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/channel-catfish-David-Hayes/photo//080821/480/0b0720edf2904657a82f4ce51694da44//s:/ap/20080821/ap_on_fe_st/odd_barbie_fishing_record_1;_ylt=As85NVVnX0GwcRrijl4agNcuQE4F

But what bothered me the *most* was just how F-A-T our kids are getting in this new generation of rabid over eaters and porkers.

I'm no prized pig myself, but at LEAST I've been trying to stay active for the last 5 years running along with some necessary (and ongoing) diet changes.

I got tired of looking like the Good Year Blimp. I *wanted* to change the way I look. And while I can't fit into pants or jeans that are 18 years out of date--at least I'm staying on a good exercise regimen.

But I'm still worried about our kids. My nieces and nephews...? They are so overweight by a mile and a half. They shouldn't look like they way they do--but they *do*.

My next-to-oldest weighs close to 290 pounds now and my youngest brother weighs a whopping 410 pounds!

I'm about 215-225--round about.

But I get the feeling that this nation is slowly eating itself to DEATH--and exercise and keeping active has become a burden for the majority of us.

How do we combat this problem effectively as a country? As a government? As a people?

Answer 1

FIRST IT WAS SMOKING,  THEN TRANS FATS NOW IT IS OBESITY.  WHAT I WONDER IS WHAT OR WHICH TYPE OF PEOPLE ARE NEXT?   THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM  THE RIGHT TO LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.    MY OPINION IS FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO GET OUT OF MY LIFE.   IF I CHOOSE NOT TO WEAR A SEAT BELT OR IF I CHOOSE TO SMOKE OR IF I CHOOSE TO BE OVER WEIGHT IT IS MY BUSINESS AND NOT YOURS OR THE GOVERNMENT.   WE HAVE BECOME A NATION OF WHINERS AND WHIMPS.     GET OUT OF MY LIFE  LIVE YOURS HOW EVER YOU WANT WITH NO OBJECTION FROM ME

MR DOODLES

Answer 2

sure.....just start using meth....that ought to do it in no time.

Answer 3

3 meals a day only in SAUCERS (no big plates) and only 1 helping that can fit on it.  Snacks limited to something like 2 fat-free jello pudding snacks, etc. per day.  Lots of water and walk at least 30 minutes a day and if you must eat out, pick grilled chicken salads with low fat or fat free dressings or the Subway Fresh Fit menu items, no cheese.  If you must have a midnight snack pick something like lean turkey or veggies with low fat dip. It's hard at first, but your stomach shrinks and it gets easier and by the sixth week you are used to eating that way.  Your pants will fit looser too.

Answer 4

Look on the positive side. This could be a solution to the Social Security crisis. Since obesity is a largely voluntary condition, these people will kill themselves off at an early age, leaving that much more of the Social Security funds available for those who wish to survive.

Answer 5

I think this is the first time I have ever agreed with you 100%, Sky!     In fact, I can't agree with you enough on this one.

I would only add that obesity among KIDS today is a particularly worrisome thing.   It's in childhood that a lot of our good habits -- and our bad habits -- are formed.

When my brothers and I were children, we had no video games.  We had a computer, but our parents strictly limited our time on it.  

Same for TV -- we got to watch it two hours a day, if we were lucky!  

All three of us ate like horses, but we never got fat.  

Maybe part of it is the fact that we are Korean, and Koreans tend to have smaller, more slender bodies.  

But it was mostly because we did a lot of outdoor play -- sports, children's games that involved running, climbing on jungle gyms, and so on.

We burned calories like Michael Phelps!    

Today, kids use computers and play video games a lot more than they do physical exercise -- and to make it worse, they often chow down on potato chips, cookies, etc. while they're doing it!

Another factor is that a lot of kids today are in families where both parents work, or where there's a single parent.  

This means that kids are often home alone for a few hours each afternoon ... and they spend a lot of it watching TV or playing video games while eating junk food at the same time.

So ... childhood is where it has to start.

Parents need to insist on kids getting more physical exercise.   They need to set clear time limits on the TV and the PlayStation.    

They also need to set limits on how much junk food kids eat.   I don't think it's necessary to eliminate junk food altogether -- because if the kids are getting enough exercise, it won't matter.

But at the same time, parents need to get the kids eating more healthy food too.  

All of this may require parents to actually say "no" to their kids, and to punish them when they don't adhere to the limits.  

Many parents seem to think these days that saying "no" and doling out punishment are BAD things -- and then we wonder why we have so many obese (not to mention spoiled) kids.

Parents need to understand that having their kids get exercise, and having them eat healthier, is just as much a parental responsibility as taking them to the doctor when they're sick, or making sure they go to school.

.

Answer 6

Not one that'll work. Eating is too easy & getting fit, too hard. People are lazy.

Answer 7

Everyone else being over weight is not my problem.  I cannot make people put done the junk food.  If they have no will or determination to care for themselves, how can anyone else care for them?

Answer 8

How?

Decode this lyrics " Money, money,money"

With the mess created in own backyards with self lack of knowledge being expose in time?

Messing up with science and mathematics?

Just "All for the money" ?

Luke 9.25,55-56,60

Luke 8.5-8,10-17

Leviticus 19.19

Luke 6.39-40,41-45,46-49

What do you think?