Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?
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@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
But it will still be a $1 a litre at the supermarket despite the increase
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@Kirwan said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
A tax on sugar is just going to make people poorer, it won't change behaviour. IMO, the better approach is to remove GST on the foods you want to promote (eg Fruit and Vegetables) and educate kids in school (which has been happening in my kid's school)
This is a really hard topic, as it brings out the balance between personal responsibility and the difficulty of that in an obesogenic environment. The balance of where that line of responsibility lies, and what you can do to oppose it varies massively.
In that context, I'm supportive of public health encouragement to reduce population obesity. It's just really really hard to do it in a way that doesn't trample over existing freedoms.
I'm opposed in principle to removing GST from fruit/veg. It complicates what is currently a simple and very effective tax. The issue is how you move a population towards healthier living, and eating better. It's damn hard, particularly when people exercise personal choice to eat what tastes good (fried!) rather than what's good for them.
I am cautious about how you restrict business operations too, both selling fatty foods and/or alcohol. Who gets the advantage of being established and getting to keep operating?
Taxing sugar is also unlikely to change the price of the drinks. Coke is 10g/100ml, so a massive sugar tax won't do much. And where do you stop -- what about butter? Tastes great, but full of saturated fats.
I'm grappling with this as I really don't know what the answer is. Encouragement only gets so far, and we know live in a wealthy society with unlimited calorie access. I know if I drank less beer I'd lose weight ... but there's a question there about whether the tradeoff is worth it
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
I notice the majority of us think exercise plays a large part in losing weight and no doubt it helps. But recently I read some info put out by Dr Jason Fung and his quote "“If I had to guess, diet is 95% of the battle, and exercise is 5% of the battle. The problem is we over-emphasize exercise."
I think he has a point. A lot of people think a long walk or workout allows them to then indulge at the bakery. You have to exercise a ton to offset a shitty diet. Thing is that you can also eat alot if it's clean food. This isn't exactly starving myself:
Breakfast: Cup of oats mixed with shake (2 eggs, 2 egg whites, protein powder) + berries.
Morning tea: 2 rice cakes with peanut butter.
Lunch: 1.5 chicken breasts, rice, mustard and almonds.
Afternoon: spinach/kale shake with protein powder
Dinner: Repeat lunch but with salmon, turkey or steak.
Before bed: Protein shake.On Saturdays I eat whatever I want.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
I notice the majority of us think exercise plays a large part in losing weight and no doubt it helps. But recently I read some info put out by Dr Jason Fung and his quote "“If I had to guess, diet is 95% of the battle, and exercise is 5% of the battle. The problem is we over-emphasize exercise."
That's definitely true. One just needs to contrast their energy expended during exercise with the kJ in the diet.
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@MajorRage said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
do you walk 365 days?
Pretty much. I did get obsessive at one stage and went four years without less than 10KM/day even if I was sick but I deliberately broke the cycle. Still only had two weeks in last 2.5 years when I've done less than 65.
However as @Rancid-Schnitzel says it doesn't seem to have much impact - except I am noticeably a shit load fitter.
I have noticed age starting to creep up on me though. A few years ago only runners overtook me. Now I'm often overtaken by other walkers. I used to put in a spurt to retake the lead but now I think fuck it they're 40 years younger than me.
I think my subconscious "rewards" me with the beers. Still its a lot better than getting home and just sitting on the couch. I'm the opposite to you. Winter is a struggle - wet, cold, dark. Have to force myself out. I listen to podcasts and try and unwind.
I do read the TV series thread though and think when do these fluffybunnies find the time
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@Hooroo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
But it will still be a $1 a litre at the supermarket despite the increase
Yep, loss leaders are a thing.
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@dogmeat said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
do you walk 365 days?
Pretty much. I did get obsessive at one stage and went four years without less than 10KM/day even if I was sick but I deliberately broke the cycle. Still only had two weeks in last 2.5 years when I've done less than 65.
However as @Rancid-Schnitzel says it doesn't seem to have much impact - except I am noticeably a shit load fitter.
I have noticed age starting to creep up on me though. A few years ago only runners overtook me. Now I'm often overtaken by other walkers. I used to put in a spurt to retake the lead but now I think fuck it they're 40 years younger than me.
I think my subconscious "rewards" me with the beers. Still its a lot better than getting home and just sitting on the couch. I'm the opposite to you. Winter is a struggle - wet, cold, dark. Have to force myself out. I listen to podcasts and try and unwind.
I do read the TV series thread though and think when do these fluffybunnies find the time
I'm less concerned with your walking, I walk every day (usually about 8km a day during week, an minimum of 10 a day on my 3 day weekend) ... but more with how long you work for. You start work before I get up, and I've done my afternoon walk, showered, played PS4, cooked and began eating dinner by the time you get home from work!
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@Kirwan said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Hooroo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
But it will still be a $1 a litre at the supermarket despite the increase
Yep, loss leaders are a thing.
100g sugar + 1 L water + flavouring = a few cents for a litre. Tax ain't going to change it, and there ain't a loss leader.
That, and they brand the hell out of it and sell that shit for $2-$10/litre depending on location and volume. It's a great business to be in; output value >>>> input costs
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similar to important stuff like financial literacy this stuff needs to be talked about in schools, and not just when you take PE as an actual subject in 4th form onward (or whatever). I know there is a lot of healthy living and body science stuff in primary and even ECE education, but it's not having much of an impact at individual level as far as I can see - or it gets overwhelmed by other decision making like cost/time/addiction.
There was a series about folks on the path to gastro surgery in the last year or so that was fascinating. Had some of the candidates talking about their challenges with food and all the variables that came into it. Some big pressures around mental health, body image etc as you'd expect. Some folks managed to make (and hopefully maintain) some big changes to their approach to food, but for others they couldn't cut sufficient weight to be able to get the surgery.
One bit that resonated with me was a woman talking about the sensation of eating and how the physical feeling of it brought her joy/satisfaction. I kind of got that - nothing to do with the chip butty I may have been eating - and how changing your eating can feel like living a lesser life. There was poverty involved in that scenario so it was kind of like food was the main thing that was good in her life, even though it (the volume) was killing her.
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@taniwharugby said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@voodoo think is with a chocolate bar, lets say it costs $0.50c add GST and you are at $0.575c, and is sold for $1, add 50% tax on it and it is $0.75c cost, they can still sell at $1.50 and I bet sales wouldnt drop much at that cost, but make more and still sell plenty cos they are at the check out.
@gt12 I had a body scan thingee last week, my BMI is 32.2...
I hope you're taller than I am!
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@nzzp said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Hooroo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
But it will still be a $1 a litre at the supermarket despite the increase
Yep, loss leaders are a thing.
100g sugar + 1 L water + flavouring = a few cents for a litre. Tax ain't going to change it, and there ain't a loss leader.
That, and they brand the hell out of it and sell that shit for $2-$10/litre depending on location and volume. It's a great business to be in; output value >>>> input costs
Plus all their variable and fixed costs, selling costs (including freight). It does make me smile when people look at the cost of something as if it puts itself together magically and just appears on a shelf.
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@Hooroo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@nzzp said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Hooroo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Kirwan Surely price sensitivity has some impact on buying decisions? I am all for increasing taxes on fast food etc and using that money to educate people, subsidise fruit & veg and help pay for medical expenses.
I know I refuse to pay $4.80 for a drink at the servo but I am much more likely to buy it when it is $1 at the supermarket. Surely $1 a litre is too cheap for fizzy drinks?
Is education and personal responsibility enough to arrest obesity rates?
But it will still be a $1 a litre at the supermarket despite the increase
Yep, loss leaders are a thing.
100g sugar + 1 L water + flavouring = a few cents for a litre. Tax ain't going to change it, and there ain't a loss leader.
That, and they brand the hell out of it and sell that shit for $2-$10/litre depending on location and volume. It's a great business to be in; output value >>>> input costs
Plus all their variable and fixed costs, selling costs (including freight). It does make me smile when people look at the cost of something as if it puts itself together magically and just appears on a shelf.
oh absolutely. The point I'm making, though, is a sugar tax isn't going to change the price, and that the material costs really aren't that high. Worldwide Coca cola amatil turn over $5B in NZ/Aus (and a few pacific countries), and make 10% profit (on paper; transfer pricing not known). It's a good business to be in
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@taniwharugby said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@gt12 I had a body scan thingee last week, my BMI is 32.2...
I've thought about getting one, but it would just confirm what I already know. The damage is obvious when I have a pair of shorts and a shirt from when I met my wife. I can't fit into the shorts and what used to be a tight shirt is now comfortably a size too large. I almost weight the same as I did back then too.
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I shouldn't really comment on this thread, i have a metabolism that allows me to eat pretty much what i want (not quite now that i am in to my mid-40s) and not stack too much weight on.
that said, i work out 5-6 times a week, and i don't eat breakfast. And i eat a lot of fresh food, the vast majority cooked/prepared by me. I snack on fruit, because i love fruit. i also really fucking love lollies and M&Ms, so i have those too.
Don't drink piss during the week. Do cook your own food. Do make an effort around portion control. Fucking move. That should be enough to make most people fit enough and healthy enough to be in a good spot. Do more if you want.
And do it before you are a fat mess, because once it's there, moving it is fucking hard.
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@antipodean I did it more to get a reading on my visceral fat, which is fine.
I know I could lose some kegs round the middle, my body fat % was about what I thought it would be, but my muscle mass was better than I thought (given I really had no idea on these things anyway)
But since doing it, make some tweaks in my diet, lost 2kg in a week.
