Not entirely sure if this belongs here, but it's topical and will potentially spark some debate, so why not?

It's widely known that the obesity rate is rising, but do you think the government are really doing anything to help?
Do you think they even should? Do you maybe think it's an infringement of human rights to tell a person what they can and can't do to their own body? Do you think it's up to individuals to govern their own health?

Something that's been bothering me for a while about this issue is that owners of fat pets can be taken to court, while parents of fat children are merely frowned upon. I know children are partially responsible for what they eat, but aren't dogs also?
I say this with the knowledge that I have heard only of court cases involving obese pets. I could, of course, be wrong.

My opinion on the whole issue is that it is entirely unnecessary, and frankly, quite revolting, to be morbidly overweight. I think the government should be doing more, but unfortunately, I don't have any bright ideas as far as that is concerned, beyond banning junk food and making exercise compulsory.

Anyway, go forth and spout your opinions.

I think individuals should be governing their own health, unless they are mentally unstable.

And I do think that obese pets are the fault of the owner, but kids aren't as much. You can say that the pets can think for themselves if you want to take the side of the animal activists, but animals don't have the information or even reasoning ability. If you give a dog a ton of treats, it'll eat all of them unless it's REALLY stuffed. And then it'll gain weight. Even younger kids have more reasoning and choice.. and a kid can find ways around eating what they're given... if an owner wants a pet to eat something, he just won't feed him anything else. Sorry, trying to do something else while typing, so sorry if it's repetitive.

I am of the opinion mandatory physical education should be passed in all educational institutions, except for tertiary institutions. Parents DO encourage their children to eat everything placed in front of them, this is true. If this is to occur, the foods must be nutritious, but not only that, perhaps rationing should be put into place to slow their metabolisms. By all means, don't starve them, but serve them small meals more often to keep their energy at a relatively consistent level. I'm a big advocate of the snack often rule, I'm on the lower end of the healthy section of the BMI (I'm a 19) and it works incredibly well for me.

The government should monitor health records for obesity, potentially. I know it's Big Brother-ish but if one is morbidly obese, they either have a serious health problem that may be undiagnosed or a death wish and it needs to be attended to. I realise there are a lot of people who are of larger bone structure and may never be "slim" in conventional terms. This is not the goal. The goal is to get them to a healthy weight range for their height and age. By all means, monitor their records if it reduces fatalities from diabetes, health disease, circulatory issues, et cetera.

Don't you think that's an infrigement on our rights? And how do you think they can make people exercise (which would cost more money for the government, regardless)?

I think that it's the owner of the pet's fault for the dog to be fat, because (in my opinion) I believe that pets eat as much as the owner gives, because to survive, you must eat. In the wild, I don't think they're going to just say "oh I'm not going to eat" because I bet they rarely find any food. I don't know much about animal behavior, though I still think it's the owner's fault.

For kids? If the kid was obese before the age of 12, I think it would be the parents' fault for influencing their children to eat more than they should. If the kid is over the age of 12, then I would think it's the child's fault.

My view against fat people- I don't really like fat people. I'm not trying to discriminate against them, because chubby people are cool. However, I find people who are morbidly obese to be disgusting (especially if they were n adult) to eat that much!

Would you say the same about an anorexic?

It's not an infringement on one's rights when their health is at stake. They can't make people do anything, perhaps merely recommend they seek dietary and fitness assessment if they haven't already. Not just the government, by the way. The department of health.

Good idea of a post; the government is not doing much because, technically, it doesn't have the right to do anything related to this. If it becomes a drastic health concern, it will provide maintenance grants; however, there are things the government cannot do, related to the basic laws in our society:
- It cannot forbid the sale of a specific product without a valid reason linked to the sale of an illegal product. In other words, it cannot prevent the sale of a certain product because it's "potentially bad for your health", only if all cases turn out to be bad (and even then, it's a matter of choice - see alcohol and drugs)
- It cannot impose surtaxes on certain products only, as that'd be a negative discrimination, thus making it unfair for the company manufacturing that product.
- It cannot, obviously, ban restaurants because they have too much energy intake per dish or anything like that.

What else could the government do to help? Nothing much.

get rid of mcdonalds, and i swear our ratio of obese peopl will go down atleast! 60%

but i dont know if its just me, but i see more and more obese people jogging and riding bikes, etc. now?

Banning McDonalds is just as bad as banning certain foods without valid reason (or imposing taxes on them, both of which were said). This is discrimination against the company. Regardless, McDonalds is the sterotypical 'unhealthy' fast food restaurant... but many restaurants have become worse than McDonalds and most are in line with it: Wendy's, KFC, Burger King, ect. Those restaurants satisfy many people (just like the problem with banning tobacco products) and the government earns a LOT of money from it; it can't be banned. People would find another unhealthy product to eat anyway.

Obesity exists because people can't control their own habits. They're lazy so they go to a fast food company to buy fast food. That's not bad, I do that myself 2, but they also don't sport and stuff... Conclusion; ost of the people who have obesity are just lazy, if you sport 4 times a week, you won't ever have a problem with your weight.

Gawd, this is annoying... Hearing people say "I HATE fat people" and "They are lazy" and pretty much that it’s their own fault. Some times it is their fault, and they know it. I am one of these “fat people” you speak of, but I’m trying to do something about it. It doesn’t help anyone to try and rub facts in their face. If they want help, they will seek it.

Another thing, I believe that there could possibly be a “fat gene” but if the child works out enough, they could prevent it from happening. But unfortunately, I wasn’t aware. I was too busy being teased and made fun of for already having a disability and being different in other ways. But here I am, nearly 20 years old, and I am 5’4” weighing more than I should. What am I doing about it? Planning and working. I plan on getting healthier (despite my hatred of textured foods and tastes) this summer with my friend. She has been my best friend for years, and doesn’t have to criticize every detail about the people she doesn’t like. She befriended me and stuck up for me when I had it rough. Dammit, sometimes we can’t help it if we are heavy! I guess what I’m getting at is, if you think the government should help people, then you help the people first. Show them that you want the better for them. Be there for them. Don’t discriminate!



You have got to be kidding me. I worked out hard in high school. I wasn't able to afford going out to fast food resturaunts every day or several times a week. I would work out in P.E. for over an hour, several times a week, and I swear, I didn't lose 5 pounds. You can't just expect fat people to get up and be able to do the same work outs you can! Everyone is different! Gawd, people are stupid...

The person above me is correct. Some people are just naturally fat or skinny. Take me for example. I eat more than most fat people (the fat people that aren't naturally like that, by the way, the ones that simply eat too much), and I haven't gained a pound in about 3 years. Skinny as hell.

im the exact same way, my buddy mike we eat the same amount of food and he gets fatter and i stay the same

Yep same here I eat a whole lot and stay skinny, 97 pounds. I just lvoe how people restate over and over what's already been said.

holy candy!!! your 97 pound D: lol

im 145

i dont think the government has any...and i mean ANY control over what i eat...i make my own choices in life do the things that are the right choice to ME...so what i have a high Metabolism that is not my fault i didnt ask for it, sure being "obese" is unhealthy but its a life choice that people made on their own. the gov't didnt just come at you while you were sleeping and make you fat, it all has to do with our parents raising and domesticating us to do the right things so that in our LATER future we the people will know what to do....sex THE GOVERNMENT!!!

Yep


I think it's all up to the person him/herself. The tools are there, the person just needs to stand up and use them. By the way, people who have a normal weight aren't necessarily any healthier.


May I know what kind of snacks you take or recommend (if I understood you correctly)?


And some people eat a lot because they are sad about something. It's not always because they're lazy idd.


I'm glad you're trying to get healthier, any idea on how you're gonna do it? If I were you I would stay away from anything that's processed, because they will do you more harm than good.
You might also want to do some research on the FAR infrared blanket. It has helped many people to regain a normal weight. But the use of the blanket goes with a good diet.

how tall are both of you?

So you were working out that much but didn't lose anything? That's hard to believe... Maybe you're programme wasn't that intense or maybe you were still eating unhealthy food.

You were already fat when u were working out? Well, if I was fat I would just work harder. Just because it's unhealthy. It's a good thing you're planning to eat more healthy and stuff and if you combine that with a decent work out programme, you cannot fail. I'm sorry to hear people bullied you btw. And I also believe there is a fat gene, but that doesn't mean you have to be fat. It still comes down to the amount of effort you want to put into working out and eating healthy, so if you ARE fat, you're, in fact, lazy. Although I do think it's a bad thing to bully people for being fat, they should be stimulated to lose weight.

Wow, this post is a mess. Hopefully you'll get the message

What snacks do I recommend? A lot of fruit and I also am keen on cheese and crackers.

as much as it pains me to say this the government should not create new legislation to instill better health in its citizens. obesity is a problem and it is extremely hard to fight. obese people don't live in denial of their problem, in-fact they think about it constantly they all have a desire and longing to become less obese but it is as difficult as a 30 year smoker to give up nicotine as an obese person to lose weight, i know i don't personally know the hardships that they go through but i can only imagine. what really helps (and i don't really want to go after school special on you all) is support them and try to bring their self confidence up and please for pete's sake do not try the white goodman globogym approach

There's this family, the Chawner family. They're getting a lot of publicity, and it's because of them I decided to make this thread in the first place. It just makes me angry, it really does. That IS just laziness.

I refuse to believe that obesity is hereditary. I mean, you might be more likely to be obese because of your parents, but I'd say that's more likely to be because of an unhealthy relationship with food started at an early age. Okay, so their MIGHT be a 'fat gene', but if there is, isn't that more reason to try maintaining a healthy weight? If you're too fat, you will DIE. That's all there is to it.