Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?
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@Catogrande said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Something that has become really prevalent in recent(wish) years and cannot help matters is the cheap supersizing of things. Small bottle of coke 80p, huge bottle of coke £1.05. Stuff like Maccy Ds. bigging up to nearly twice the stuff only costs a few pennies more. KFC the same. 6 pieces of that popcorn shit for £3. 12 pieces plus chips and a family size bottle of fizzy pop sugarade for £4.50.
Edit: I realise the actual prices quoted might be wrong but the underlying problem isn't.
I swear a quarter pounder is much smaller than it was a couple of decades ago...
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@Bones said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Catogrande said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Something that has become really prevalent in recent(wish) years and cannot help matters is the cheap supersizing of things. Small bottle of coke 80p, huge bottle of coke £1.05. Stuff like Maccy Ds. bigging up to nearly twice the stuff only costs a few pennies more. KFC the same. 6 pieces of that popcorn shit for £3. 12 pieces plus chips and a family size bottle of fizzy pop sugarade for £4.50.
Edit: I realise the actual prices quoted might be wrong but the underlying problem isn't.
I swear a quarter pounder is much smaller than it was a couple of decades ago...
Pringles definitely are. And Mars bars.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage Isn't this the defence the fast-food industry pumps out, that you need a balanced diet, their food is a treat etc.
Yet they spend millions on advertising, lure kids with toys, characters and are open 24 hours a day with a store in nearly every city in the world.
I highly doubt the execs of Maccas are thinking about how to stop people eating so much of their food.The system we currently have is clearly not working as there are more fat fluffybunnies now than ever before.
I noticed our local Maccas now have their own fleet of delivery vehicles to make it even easier for you to access that once in a while treat food.
Capitalism, is capitalism. In a free country, people have free choices, and companies have free choices to advertise. The same above (with exception of kids) applies to alcohol as well.
People are fat because of the choices they make (in almost all circumstances). If McD/KFC aren't there, then another avenue will be found.
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Excise tax on sugar and fat, spend the money susidising decent food and meals.
Related, families work and commute a lot more than 60 years ago, so have less time to prepare veges etc. That's a macroeconomic issue, but would be something I would personally work on (says the resident leftie).
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Get a dog, preferably a rescue.
A real dog that needs walking.
Walk said dog three times a day, every day, no matter the weather.
You'll clock up 5-10 miles a day and more importantly be walking when you could be on the couch motionless and most probably snacking.
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
My brother and I had one can of pop (soda) a week.
My mum bought milkshake powder and we could have as much milk as we liked.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
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@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
With all due respect mate I feel you're looking for excuses. At the end of the day nobody is forcing you to do anything. If you're unhappy about something then do something about it.
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
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I studied Biochemistry and Human Nutrition to PhD and the best book out there in my opinion is Michael Pollan's 'Food Rules'
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Article here
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@Rancid-Schnitzel Yep I agree with you, I am the only one to blame for being overweight. I am just trying to understand why myself and so many others are making poor choices when it was uncommon only generations ago. Am I simply a lazy fluffybunny or are there other factors at play and is there something that can be done to help people like me? Yes I know, exercise more and eat less
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Ahh yes, but he didn't mention wine now, did he...
So I'm all good, right?
Right???
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
To be fair breakfast comes from 'break fast' when people used to wake in the middle of the night to eat.
A solid breakfast is a sound start to the day
The old adage
'Breakfast like a King; lunch like a Prince; and dinner like a pauper' works
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@voodoo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Ahh yes, but he didn't mention wine now, did he...
So I'm all good, right?
Right???
Yep
Alcoholics are thin as fuck normally.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
Corn flakes were originally invented as an anaphrodesiac! I don't think there was anything nefarious about it, at least in the beginning. The founder of Kelloggs was a hardcore clean living vegetarian God botherer.
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
mostly plants
I was really interested and then....bang.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Rancid-Schnitzel Yep I agree with you, I am the only one to blame for being overweight. I am just trying to understand why myself and so many others are making poor choices when it was uncommon only generations ago. Am I simply a lazy fluffybunny or are there other factors at play and is there something that can be done to help people like me? Yes I know, exercise more and eat less
I don't know mate. It's certainly ridiculously easy to eat shit. It's everywhere and it's often very cheap. But I kind of feel it always has been? I'm not that old (almost 42) but I remember the fast food joints like Macca's being much cheaper. There were also one cent lollies.
I'm thinking it's just lifestyle and how once you're in deep it's very difficult to get out again. I used to drink ice cream milkshakes for breakfast and had nachos everyday. I ate shit that would make a Billy goat puke. I was allergic to any form of cardio. Then I got a big shock when I saw a picture of myself at the beach and wanted to change. But yeah, the hardest part is the start. That is farking hard and it hurts. But is totally worth it.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
You've just described the eventual rationale behind sore loyalty cards. At first they were a gimmick to make you spend more by offering "free" bonuses. It was only when Tescos ( I think) were alerted to the mining potential that they really took off. I refuse to use the bloody things and funnily enough I don't get bombarded with targeted special offers. Mrs Cato on the other hand...
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@Catogrande huh. I use them, go and do pretty much the same shop every week and get points/vouchers to spend. I don't really have a problem with that...
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I see the problem as being on several levels really. Firstly it should be considered that, in such a short timescale - ie 1-2 generations - our lifestyle habits have changed enormously. In the 50s/60s and even 70s there was a lot more day to day manual labour and exercise. Even the city workers used to do a hell of a lot of walking, plus of course everyone had to take the stairs. These days much less so. Secondly the availability and cost of food has altered dramatically. It is much more plentiful and also much cheaper in real terms. I remember as a kid always being just a little bit hungry - my kids were never in that position. Thirdly and probably the most important factor IMO is the proliferation of processed food. This requires a long shelf life and consequently will be packed with preservatives such as sugar, which in turn get countered by additional salt etc.
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@Bones said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Catogrande huh. I use them, go and do pretty much the same shop every week and get points/vouchers to spend. I don't really have a problem with that...
Sheeple...
Big grocery owns you.